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hands scrambling backward. The crumpled figure of a stableboy lay still in the mud, entirely too close to the beast’s stomping hooves.
    Rogan sprinted toward the scene, Caroline at his heels.
    “Get back!” he snapped as he reached the paddock fence. “All of you, back away from him!”
    “We’ve got to get Will!” one of the hands protested.
    “You’re just making it worse.” The stable hands responded to the authority in his voice and melted away from the animal. Rogan shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over the fence post. Mercury snorted and pranced in place, tossing his head as he scented the new arrivals.
    Caroline came up beside him. “What are you doing? You’ll be killed!”
    Rogan barely spared her a glance. “Trust me.” He climbed up onto the fence. Caroline scrambled up beside him and grabbed his arm.
    “You’re not listening to me!”
    He shook off her hold. “Lady Caroline, I’ve been around horses ever since I could walk. I know what I’m doing.” He hopped down into the paddock.
    “Mr. Hunt…”
    Ignoring her, he slowly moved toward Mercury Mist.
    Caroline gripped the fence so tightly that her nails bit into the wood. Rogan slowly approached the stallion, his entire demeanor calm and nonthreatening. The horse pawed at the dirt beside Will’s head, his gaze fixed on Rogan. The animal snorted, shook its head. Still Rogan approached, raising his hands in a reassuring gesture. Dimly she could hear him speaking, singing some sort of soft, lyrical words that made no sense to her.
    Mercury’s ears flickered, and he watchedRogan, his tail swishing with impatience, his nostrils glistening as he took in the man’s scent.
    Rogan stopped just in front of the horse, still murmuring the strange language in a singsong voice. Mercury gave a kind of quiver, pawed at the ground once, ears perked forward, then back, then forward again. Then the horse lowered its head, and Rogan went forward, lifted his hand to gently stroke the animal’s neck. With his other hand, he caught the lead rope.
    Feeling the tug on his bridle, the horse tossed his head with a whinny of protest. But Rogan kept chanting, kept whispering in that musical language, and the animal calmed again. Then he led the horse away from the fallen boy, step by quivering step.
    The stable hands raced forward and spirited the boy from the paddock. Rogan stood at the far side of the enclosure, both man and horse facing away from the activity, and he kept the animal calm until the injured lad had been safely removed from the yard. For long moments he stood there until the horse settled. Then he looked over and signaled for one of the grooms to take Mercury’s lead.
    “Amazing.” The stable hand standing near Caroline shook his head and glanced at his mistress. “I heard stories that the Hunt family were wizards with horses, and now I’ve seen it for myself.” He hopped over the fence and went to help the other stable hands.
    Caroline couldn’t take her eyes from Rogan as he walked back toward her. The breeze teased his black curling hair and molded his shirt to the contours of his chest and arms. As he moved, she couldn’t help but notice he had the well-muscled thighs of a dedicated horseman. Color flooded her cheeks as she recognized the indecency of her thoughts.
    He climbed over the fence to land lightly beside her, then took his coat from the fence post without a word.
    She took a breath to calm her galloping pulse. “That was well done of you, Mr. Hunt.”
    “It wouldn’t have been necessary if those bloody stable hands of yours knew what they were about.” He shrugged into his coat, his face grim with foul temper.
    Stunned by both his profanity and his brusque tone, she took a step back. “I beg your pardon?”
    He noticed her movement and narrowed his eyes at her. “I won’t hurt you, for God’s sake. Didn’t you learn that last night?”
    Hot embarrassment flooded her cheeks. “Your manners are lacking today, Mr.