As Cassius gripped the steering wheel and glanced once again in the mirror, Merrick attempted to control the flurry of butterflies in his abdomen. He kept his gaze fixed on the newspaper resting in his lap, because more than likely it was an unconscious action on Cassius’s part. It wasn’t as if Cassius fancied men the same way he did, even if Merrick’s imagination wanted to pretend the long glances they’d shared at the stables days ago meant something.

Merrick reasoned that Cassius’s experience with members of the opposite gender was lacking; he’d told Marjorie as much, so more than likely his longer gazes were born of sheer curiosity coupled with reticence. Hopefully Merrick had not overstepped his bounds by sharing too much of himself, but that was the risk the royal family took when they had the ears of their valets or lady maids on a daily basis. Servants were to be trusted with intimate information and were bound by duty to keep a tight lip. Geoffrey unquestionably knew things that could embarrass Merrick—except for the one secret Merrick hadn’t dared let slip.

The one good thing about Merrick’s time in the stables with Cassius that night was that it had somehow broken the ice between them, even if his valet was still attempting to read him and understand where he stood. He hadn’t helped the situation much by confiding in him, but it felt good, and as a result, the distance between them seemed to lessen. Since then, they’d discussed any number of subjects from politics to family affairs, either while dressing or while he was being chauffeured to royal affairs. During business meetings, Merrick would occasionally catch Cassius’s eye across the room as he appeared to be listening intently to the conversation, and then on the car ride back Merrick would sometimes ask his opinion.

“Sir, I have no opinion,” Cassius had said at first.

“Everyone has one,” Merrick had replied. “Please, humor me. I am dying for a conversation with somebody who is a contemporary. As well as somebody I can trust.”

Cassius’s gaze had sprung to the mirror at that declaration, something like surprise registering in his eyes.

Merrick longed to ask him to drop the formalities when they were alone. But that was not only ludicrous, but a dangerous proposition. Had he asked Geoffrey the same, the former valet would’ve been aghast. He might’ve even given him a good tongue-lashing about proper royal etiquette and warned he’d tell the king.

As Cassius passed the gates of Pinewood Castle, Merrick felt relieved to finally have an afternoon to himself, especially after the long-winded committee meeting he had been bound to attend that morning. There was nothing on his schedule until the family’s evening dinner with the chief consul and other members of the government assembly. It was to be a night of casual entertaining, but the conversation always turned to politics when members of the ruling body were in attendance.

“Thank you, Cassius,” Merrick remarked as the valet held the car door open for him. “I won’t need any further assistance until this evening.”

“Are you quite certain, Your Highness?” Cassius asked in a concerned voice.

“Quite,” Merrick replied with a snicker, happy that he was able to offer his valet some free time. “Enjoy your afternoon.”

“Very well, Your Highness,” Cassius replied, though he lingered as if still unsure of the prince’s dismissal.

When Harris cleared his throat near the doorway, Cassius seemed to snap out of his trance, quickly bowed his head, and strode toward the servants’ entrance near the kitchen.

But despite craving a break in his schedule, Merrick was still restless. After reading a variety of trade magazines in the library, his gaze snagged on the forest outside the window. He noticed it had ceased snowing, and the white-covered grounds looked pristine.

He strode to his bedroom, the itch under his skin strong to ride Ursula into the woods. Merrick changed into his riding boots and a warm coat, then reached for his drawing pad.

On his way down, he paused at his sister’s bedroom door, wondering if she’d perhaps feel like a ride, before he remembered she was with their mother’s greenhouse committee this afternoon, planning for the solstice.

He walked out the front door practically undetected and headed toward the stables, where he unwittingly startled the stable hand.

“Forgive me, Your Highness. I was not expecting you,” the man named Edward said, quickly bowing his head.

“No need for that. I should be the one to apologize,” he replied, holding up a hand. “It was a spur-of-the-moment idea. I felt like a ride before dusk closes in.”

“Of course, Your Highness. Ursula has already been fed, and her saddle was just set so I could exercise her in the yard.”

“Perfect,” Merrick replied as he approached Ursula’s stall. She whinnied and snuffled at his outstretched fingers, showing him how happy she was to see her master.

After Edward opened the gate, Merrick made quick use of time as he slid his drawing pad into the side pouch of the saddle, braced his foot in the stirrup, and pulled himself to a sitting position atop his chestnut mare.

“Enjoy, Your Highness,” Edward called after him as Ursula pranced out of the stables.

“Show-off,” Merrick whispered to her as he reached forward to stroke her soft mane.

Ursula walked toward their usual path in the woods, and as he inhaled the cold air into his lungs, he already felt alive. There was nothing quite like being atop a horse—it was as if you could see the whole world from up there.

“There is something about horses that soothes whatever ails you.”

Merrick sighed at the memory.

Just as they were partway inside the woods on the footpath toward the back of the castle, Merrick noticed a lone figure perched on a rock, his head buried in a notepad as his fingers moved over the page. By now, he’d recognize that head of dark hair anywhere. Cassius.

His heart beat unsteadily as they trotted closer. It was as if his thoughts had produced him out of thin air.

Cassius’s head sprang up, a startled look crossing his features. He must’ve been deep in thought, else he would’ve clued in to their approach seconds ago.

As soon as Cassius recognized the rider, he jumped up from his perch and hastily bowed in greeting, his eyes wide and assessing. “Your Highness.”

“I’m sorry if we disturbed you,” Merrick replied, glancing down at the pad of paper Cassius had cast to the side. “Do you also like to draw?”

“Draw?” Cassius responded, his eyebrows knitting together before he looked down at the notebook and snatched it up. “No, sir. I dabble in a bit of writing.”

“As in…a journal?” Merrick inquired, marveling at his valet. He certainly wanted to learn more.

Cassius shook his head, his cheeks coloring. “No, sir. I…I mostly write poetry and short stories.”

Merrick’s heart pitter-pattered. Will wonders never cease?

“Sounds lovely,” Merrick replied as Cassius clutched the book to his chest. “No need to worry. I wouldn’t ask to see any of your poems. I understand how protective one can be of their art. I rarely allow anyone to view my drawings, except those auctioned for charity, of course.” Though at times Merrick felt his talent had gone to waste, his drawings sold for a king’s ransom at fundraisers, so at least he felt useful.

Relief flooded Cassius’s eyes. “Of course.”

“In fact, that was where I was headed now…to draw at my favorite spot in the forest.”

Cassius glanced around the strapping pine trees as if searching for such a place.

“Would you like to come along for a ride?” Merrick found himself asking as his pulse skittered at his neck. He had promised that night in the stables that they would ride.

“Your Highness?” Cassius’s eyes shone with equal parts interest and trepidation.

Merrick knew it was an inappropriate request and that he should be more careful, but they were alone, and he longed for some companionship.

“There isn’t much daylight left,” Merrick replied, glancing at the dimming sunlight through the trees before holding out his hand. “Climb aboard.”

“I…I shouldn’t.”

Merrick withdrew his hand, feeling immediate regret. Were it not for the valet’s look of disappointment just then, he wouldn’t have persisted. “No pressure. You said you haven’t ridden, and I thought perhaps we might take this opportunity. It would be no fuss, and we’d be back in plenty of time to prepare for our boring dinner tonight.”

Cassius cracked a smile as Merrick hoped he would.

“Very well.”

He slid the notebook inside his coat, and using Merrick’s hand as leverage, he placed his foot in the stirrup and climbed atop Ursula. There wasn’t much more room behind him, but Merrick noticed that Cassius attempted to sit as far back as he could so as not to crowd him.

Still, Merrick could feel his warm thighs as they brushed against him and the tenuous grip of his fingers as they grasped hold of his coat. Merrick thought that if he never felt another man beside him again, he could live in this simple memory of having his shy valet’s touch so very near him. This was unlike the quick and expert hands Cassius used when dressing him, which almost never lingered. This was altogether something different. More…intimate. They were now bound to ride together unless Cassius changed his mind.

With that thought, Merrick was prodded to action. He grasped Ursula’s reins as she softy huffed in the cold air. “Ready?”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He could feel Cassius’s thighs trembling against him, either from nerves or excitement.

“On one condition,” Merrick remarked, looking back at Cassius. He was tempting fate, treading a dangerous line, but he could not seem to help himself. “You may refer to me as Prince Merrick or simply Merrick for this trip. We are just two companions enjoying a simple horse ride together.”

There was a long pause as Cassius considered his request.

“As you wish, Prince Merrick,” Cassius replied, and Merrick huffed out a breath.

“Thank you.” He placed his heels against Ursula’s haunches and dug in ever so slightly, his signal for her to take off at a trot. “Hold on.”

Ursula cantered forward, and Cassius was forced to clutch at him, except he only changed his grip slightly, and Merrick was concerned he’d accidentally slip off the horse.

Sensing the valet’s hesitation, he shouted over his shoulder. “I don’t bite.” He heard Cassius snicker. “I also will not think any less of you if you decide to hold on properly. I promise.”

A moment later, Cassius slid his hands around Merrick’s midsection, clasping his hands together in a near-death grip as they began sailing through the woods. He heard Cassius’s exhilarated chuckles, and his heart clenched that he could give him this moment of joy.

After several long minutes, Ursula slowed to a trot at a small clearing surrounded on all sides by a line of narrow pine trees. “Here we are.”

After they dismounted, Cassius glanced around the space, at the tops of the trees forming a canopy of sorts, secluding them. “It’s quite magical here.”

Merrick smiled. “I’ll have to agree.”

Cassius tied Ursula to a nearby branch, and Merrick slipped his drawing pad out of the saddle.

They sat on opposite rocks in companionable silence, Merrick drawing and Cassius writing, possibly inspired by the ride or the new location. It was the most content Merrick had felt in a good, long while.

But too soon, the light faded, and disappointment clung to Merrick’s insides.

“We’ll need to head back.” Merrick stood and tore a page from his pad, then walked toward Cassius with an outstretched hand. “For you.”

Cassius, mouth gaping open, glanced down at his likeness on the page. It wasn’t Merrick’s best work, but hopefully his inspiration made up for it. “I thought…maybe your family would like to have it. To know you are…well cared for and…safe.”

Cassius’s eyes softened as he glanced at Merrick, then back down at the page. “Thank you, Your Hi…Merrick.”

Merrick’s breath caught in his throat at hearing that one simple word. Merrick. Not that he hadn’t been called by his birth name previous to this. But coming from Cassius, knowing how little of himself he gave away, it somehow meant more.

They shared a long, contented look that seemed to last for ages…until Ursula whinnied, breaking them out of their reverie.

“The woods are growing dark,” Merrick remarked. “I know of a shortcut.”

They hastily mounted the horse and began the journey back to the castle. Merrick pointed up ahead at a fork in the path to warn Cassius of the upcoming change in terrain. “We must go down a steep trail. But this will cut ten minutes off our ride.”

As Ursula cautiously descended the hill, Merrick tightened his fingers on the reins, angling his body backward to take the brunt of the sudden shift. Gravity altered at a sharp angle, pulling both of them toward the ground. They were strapped so tightly together that Merrick could feel every part of Cassius’s torso—from his broad shoulders to his flat stomach—as well as his hot breath on his nape.

The only sound was of snapping twigs beneath Ursula’s hooves as they concentrated on the task. As they neared the bottom, Merrick could feel Cassius’s thighs squeeze tighter around him as an almost inaudible gasp sprang from his mouth. Merrick was confused at first, wondering if Cassius was anxious about the rest of the ride, but then he felt it, a growing hardness against his buttocks, and Merrick thought he surely must be dreaming it.

Once they were on level ground, Ursula began a full trot again as Cassius tightened his grip on Merrick’s waist. But the bulge did not disappear—it only grew harder. And Merrick felt his own prick lengthening in response, his breaths growing ragged. He held in a shiver that was sure to wrack his body at any moment.

When they neared the rock where he first saw Cassius writing earlier in the day, he pulled on the reins, and Ursula slowed to a stop. Suddenly Cassius pushed away from him and dismounted the horse, nearly catching his leg in the stirrup as he scrambled to get farther away.

His cheeks were flushed, and he refused to look at Merrick. “I must prepare for your evening, Your Highness.”

The air caught in his lungs. “No, Cassius, wait. There is something we should—”

Suddenly a voice rang out near the castle. “Your Highness!” And then two figures appeared around the bend—Marjorie’s lady maid, Isabella, and Valor, who worked in the kitchens.

Merrick and Cassius froze in place as they neared.

“Lady Marjorie asked me to find you, Your Highness.”

“Whatever for?” Merrick huffed in exasperation.

“There’s been a change in dinner plans. Her Majesty has included additional guests at the table. The Wellington family was invited along with their daughter, Penelope.”

Christ, Mother. Not tonight of all nights. Not after—

His skin felt so tight, stretched across his bones, as a hot brand of frustration pierced his chest.

“All right. But why were you needed to fetch me?” He looked down at his watch, realizing it was later than he’d initially planned.

“Because they have already arrived, Your Highness.”

Merrick’s eyes flew directly to Cassius’s, and their alarm mirrored each other’s.

Without Merrick having to utter further instructions, Cassius took off toward the castle to prepare his wardrobe, barking an order to his friend Valor. “Please, take Ursula back to the stables. Follow me, Your Highness.”