Betrothed to Trouble

Chapter 16 - Meet The Parents

The stables were in uproar when we returned from the ride in our situation; Sergei and I atop Aura, with Storm tied up at the back.

“What happened?”

“Is the princess hurt?”

“Why is the prince wet?”

“The poor mare is barely holding up under all that!”

“That damned beast of a horse is drenched and muddied!”

“Well, I’m lucky I don’t have to wash him down!”

Sergei ignored their comments and the barrage of questions aimed at the two of us and jumped off Aura, quickly disappearing to the Horsemaster’s office to get help. Thankfully, Gibson appeared and shooed all of them away, yelling out an order for someone to grab Louis and tell him to tend to Storm. Once they were gone, Gibs hobbled up to me and offered me a hand, but I shook my head with a grimace.

“I can’t, Gibs,” I smiled sadly down at his worried expression. “I sprained my ankle,” I told him embarrassedly.

“Good heavens!” he exclaimed in horror. “Which ankle?” he asked urgently, peering down at my legs.

“My right one,” I mumbled sheepishly. I bit my lip and prepared myself fot the pain as he bustled over to my right foot and slowly began easing it out of the stirrup.

“There,” he announced proudly when he managed to remove it without causing so much as a fleeting stab of pain on my sprain. “Now you ease your left leg over to this side. Yes, that’s right. Now jump down,”

“What?” I exclaimed in disbelief. “No! You can’t possibly catch me Gibs!” I protested vehemently. Gibs isn’t weak, but he is an old man of sixty. He can’t possibly catch my weight if I flung myself at him. He has arthritis!

“Let me,”  a rough, husky voice rasped from behind us, causing my head to shoot up in surprise. Louis? Why does he sound like that?

“Ah, yes, Louis! We could use your help here,” Gibs gestured at him to come over to us. “Help the princess down, won’t you? She sprained her right ankle,”

Avoiding my gaze, he quietly walked over to stand in front of me and held out his arms to catch me. Baffled by the sudden turn of events and Louis’s strange sullen behaviour, but relieved that poor ole Gibs wouldn’t have to catch me, I took a deep breath and lowered myself down. Within a split second, I was safe in Louis’s arms, my feet barely touching the ground as he held me close to him. Smiling at the familiar warmth of his embrace, I gladly wound my arms around his neck, snuggling closer to his earthy scent. Just being in his arms made me forget everything around me; my sprained ankle, Gibson watching us, even the possibility of Sergei walking in on us.

His reponse? He stiffened like a marble column. Cold, hard and unyielding. He did not return my hug, and instead pried off my arms and tried to lower me to the ground.

“Don’t,” he murmured quietly under his breath.

“Wait,” I whispered desperately, feeling suddenly cold and unwanted as I felt my left foot touch the ground. Careful to keep my right foot supended in the air, I held on to his shoulders and forced him to look straight at me. His eyes were slightly swollen and red-rimmed, and they wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“You cried,” I whispered quietly, shocked by my discovery. It wasn’t a question. The last time I saw him cry was when I left for France, and he was only 16 then. “Why?” I reached out and cradled his face, lifting his chin and forcing him to look at me.

Behind us, Gibson cleared his throat pointedly. “Sorry, to interrupt, but the Horsemsaster is here,” he hissed at the two of us, clucking his tongue disapprovingly.