I felt a little like a mother whose four-year-old had just toddled happily off to preschool without her.

“Lady Rhiannon?” ClanFintan’s voice held an edge of impatience.

“Coming,” ready or not. Mostly, not.

The centaurs had been busy while I was snoozing. The eight who were going with us were loaded and ready to move out. I guess it had been too dark last night for me to notice that each of them had a couple sets of saddlebags draped over their horse backs, as well as dangerous-looking long swords, a lot like claymores, strapped over their chests and resting across their human backs. How confusing. Anyway, the saddle packs were obviously where the food and blankets had materialized from. Wonder what other goodies they were hiding. ClanFintan was standing apart from the rest of the group, his torso twisted around as he strapped my saddle blanket to his back. I finished my breakfast in one fast gulp.

Well, I might as well take the bull by the horns. So to speak.

At the sound of my approach he finished cinching the girth and flopped the stirrup down.

“Ready?”

“Sure.” I stood there—staring. He was bigger than Epi, and I had had problems getting aboard her without help.

“Do you need help mounting?” He seemed to be enjoying himself. I glanced at the rest of the centaurs, but they were suddenly oh so busy studying the local flora and fauna.

“Yes.” I paused and smiled teasingly, hoping I didn’t have a big hunk of biscuit between my teeth. “This one time.”

He grinned back at me as he reached down with his left arm and grabbed me firmly under my left elbow.

“On three…One…two…three!”

Up I went—actually up and almost over the other side. He was a lot stronger than I had anticipated, or maybe I was lighter than he thought I was, because I had to grab his shoulders to keep myself from being tossed all the way off his back.

“Ooof,” I said gracefully.

“Oh, I am sorry.” He sounded anything but sorry.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. Not all horses can be as easy to mount as Epi.”

“You might be surprised.” I was pleased to notice he had his own teasing tone in his voice.

I busied myself putting my feet in the stirrups and acted as if I hadn’t heard him. I thought I felt his chest rumble briefly with a chuckle.

“So, do I nudge you or cluck or something to get you to go?”

“Just hold tightly to me, I will see that we move from here.”

I gave Epi a quick wave goodbye as he started forward. The rest of the centaurs fell in behind us. Maneuvering up the bank made me grab for a nonexistent saddle horn. Which brought to mind the first Riding My Husband Dilemma.

“Um, what exactly should I hang tightly on to?”

He smiled back over his shoulder at me. He was having way too good of a time with this.

“Put your hands on my shoulders, or grasp my waist. Basically, do what feels most comfortable.”

I yanked on his thick ponytail (no pun intended). “How about here?”

I heard muffled snorts of laughter from the centaurs closest to us.

“I would rather you did not.”

“Not a problem.” Score one for me.

Once clear of the bank, he broke into a quick canter. I rested my hands on his shoulders, appreciating the feel of his muscles beneath my hands (and, quite frankly, my thighs). His gait was smooth and easy to sit, and I found myself relaxing and enjoying the speed at which we moved through the forest.

I leaned forward and spoke into his ear.

“How long can you keep up this pace?” It was a little like talking to someone while they were driving a motorcycle—except there was no engine noise.

“Quite a while.”

I leaned closer to his ear, liking the way his back felt against the tips of my breasts. (Give me a break, he’s my husband!)

“This would have exhausted Epi in less than an hour.” I was delighted to see his bare arms break out in goose bumps as my breath tickled his ear. Or perhaps it was because my nipples tickled his back. My, he certainly was sensitive.

“Centaurs have more stamina than a horse—” pause for effect “—or a man.” His voice had deepened and I felt a rush of pleasure, a little like electricity, pass down my spine, and for a moment I thought I was trapped in a steamy romance novel. Not that I’d mind.

“Glad to hear it.” I breathed into his ear and squeezed his firm shoulders.

And decided once and for all—Rhiannon was a fool.

9

We didn’t stay on the small path I’d been following. Instead, ClanFintan led us away from the river and through the trees until we came to a well-defined road (obviously the one I had been avoiding). Shortly we came to a fork in the road, and we took the northwest branch, decidedly away from the river. I searched through my memory of my floating trip and decided that this must be a quicker route than meandering along the river road. Incredibly enough, the centaurs picked up the pace. ClanFintan and his buds seemed tireless as their gallop ate up the distance to the castle. Tracking me had obviously slowed them down.

Traffic on the roadway was fairly brisk, but all were heading back the way we had come. The groups of travelers were mostly made up of large families, where the women rode in flatbed wagons and the men either walked or rode horses alongside, usually accompanied by a small selection of farm animals. I did notice that the people looked prosperous and well kept, not like I’d imagined peasants would look. They weren’t scraggly with rotten teeth and matted, parasite-infested hair. Honestly, they were uncommonly attractive people—almost as nice-looking as their horses. This land must really like fine horseflesh. All that day I didn’t see one nag.

I couldn’t help but feel a little smug at the fact that my Epi was outstanding even among these great-looking horses. Actually, so was ClanFintan, but he didn’t fall in the strictly horse category, so I guess it was unfair of me to be smug about that.

I wondered, before we had crossed paths with any of the locals, if I would be recognized. My answer was quick in coming. The first family we passed began politely greeting the centaurs, but stopped as soon as they noticed me. Their polite greeting changed abruptly into exuberance.

“It is Epona!” The mother, who was driving the wagon filled with several adorable children and bags of supplies, noticed me first. Her children took up her cry and began waving enthusiastically.

“Epona!”

“Blessings to you, Lady Rhiannon!”

“May your journey be safe!”

I smiled and waved and felt foolishly like Miss America on a runway. But I’ve never been accused of being shy or timid, so I realized quickly that it was a feeling I could get used to. They were just all so nice! Guess Rhiannon’s people weren’t aware of what a bitch she was. Good thing for me. And that was pretty much how it went all morning. The centaurs kept up an amazing pace, and travelers headed in the direction of the temple kept trickling by.

We didn’t talk much. I wasn’t convinced that this pace was quite as easily kept up as ClanFintan had boasted, and I didn’t want to bother him. I spent the time taking in the local scenery, waving to my adoring minions and trying my best to maintain a comfortable, well-balanced seat.

The land was beautiful, lush and obviously prosperous. The countryside was covered with rolling vineyards interspersed with crops and cottages. Wildflowers decorated the meadows with splashes of orange and violet and yellow. We had to cross several clear, tinkling little streams that irrigated the green land. From the air and through the cover of night it had reminded me of the Umbria region of Italy. From up close it was more like England’s Lake District, except the hills were more tamed. And it was warmer. And it hadn’t rained. And, well, there weren’t any Brits. But all in all it was a land anyone would be proud to call his or her own.