When Madra woke up the next morning, her thoughts from the previous night still lingered in the back of her mind. She wondering if Lance really cared about her or if he said that because he thought she might be awake. But she pushed the disturbing thoughts out of her mind and called for the maid to help her dress. After her appearance was perfect, she went out into the main living area of the suite to look for Lance. She didn’t see him and asked the doorman if he knew of her husband’s whereabouts.
“Mr. Bass left early this morning to go to the stables, Mrs. Bass.” The doorman replied to her request.
“Thank you Buford.” Madra said, dismissing him. He went back to his post outside their doorway. She mulled over what she would do while Lance was gone. Deciding on some simple needlework, she settled down on the settee.
Lance worked the horses at the stable.
Most of the time, when he was traveling, he had the servants handle them,
but he needed to work off some steam and frustration.
The horse he chose for this particular venting session was a young,
unbroken black stallion. The
animal’s coat shone with sweat from the workout Lance was giving him.
Lance himself had a thin sheen of moisture on his forehead.
At the moment he didn’t care that it wasn’t gentleman like.
He was immersed in the beauty of the young stallion galloping around the
corral and lost in his own thoughts.
Those thoughts at the moment were of his new wife. She captivated him in every possible way. The flash of her eyes entranced him every time he looked into the deep blue pools. The smell of her skin bewitched him each time he got close. Her pridefullness made him proud in turn. She just baffled him altogether. Concentrating again on the horse, he put the young stallion through his gaits again.
Back at the suite, Madra quickly tired of the needlework she was doing.
She got up and paced the floor, thinking that Lance would be back soon.
She was wrong though, because it was after noon before he returned.
When he walked through the door, Madra was dozing, but she woke up when
the door opened. At first, she
jumped up, eager to know what had kept him so long, but she quickly smothered
the urge to ask. She didn’t want
to admit that she was curious.
Lance looked on as Madra went from almost happy to see him, to about to ask him something, then to seemingly indifferent. He tried to hide his amusement at her inner conflict. “Hello Madra.” He said politely before disappearing into his bedroom.
Madra stood in the middle of the floor with her mouth open. She couldn’t believe that he had just dismissed her like that. And she could have sworn that she saw a smirk on his face before he closed the bedroom door behind him. ‘I’ll show him.’ She thought to herself and stalked into her own room. “Tell Mr. Bass I have a headache and will remain in my room for the rest of the day.” She instructed the maid.
“Very well ma’am.” The young black girl replied with a curtsy and left the room.
Sitting on her bed alone, Madra had a long time to think about her situation. She was growing quite fond of Lance, despite herself. Her heart seemed to have a mind of its own and defied her mind in every aspect where he was concerned. She felt a warm tingle in her stomach every time she looked at his light blond hair and pale green eyes. There was something about him that mystified her. It had every since that night at the barbeque. But her pride wouldn’t allow her to make that first admission. She wanted her life to be happy and filled with love, but it seemed that she was thwarting her own wishes.
For the remainder of the honeymoon, Madra was quite and brooding. Lance patiently watched her wage her inner battle and stood aside to let her come to grips with reality on her own. He could tell that she was warming up to him. It showed in her eyes when he managed to catch her gaze. For the time being, he decided to let Fate run its course.
~*~ after the honeymoon, at Lance’s house in Charleston ~*~
Two days after they arrived in Charleston, Madra was wondering over the grounds. She was walking through a wooded area, when she heard Lance’s voice. She stalked to the edge of the tree line to try and figure out who he was talking to. The sight she was met with caused her to suck in her breath sharply. Lance was in the middle of the clearing working with a young black horse. He had taken his shirt off in the Virginia heat and his body was glistening with sweat from his exertions. Madra looked on as he led the young colt around in the circle. She stared as his sinewy muscles stretched and retracted under his sweat covered torso. The hot sun beat down him, making his hair seem even lighter. Off to the side Madra noticed his shirt and vest laying in the grass. Without a thought she went to pick them up.
Lance heard brush snapping in the small grouping of trees off to his side
and glanced that way. What he saw
brought a wry grin to his face. Madra
was walking to where his discarded clothes were.
It looked like she was going to pick them up.
It also seemed, for the moment, that she’d forgotten about him.
Determined to make her noticed him, he walked to the nearest tree and
tied the colt up. He strode to where she was standing.
“Lance.” She whispered, his tan body causing her to blush. “I… I was going to take your clothes in the house so that they didn’t get ruined.” She said unsurely.
Lance didn’t say a word. He stepped closer until there was barely any space between there bodies. Taking her face in his hands, he brought her lips to his.