Amanda dozed until late morning. Light seeped through the drapes, the birds were singing, and her sheets were a tousled mess. Lee may have been absent from her bed, but the same could not be said for her dreams. She'd tossed and turned for hours before finally falling into a fitful sleep.

Sluggishly, she dressed and stumbled outside, too peaky to eat. She squinted through the sun and saw Penny next to her new mount. The white Arabian had been a gift from Bo, although Amanda got the sense that it was more of an olive branch. Or worse, a bribe.

She made her way to the Princess just as a khaki jeep pulled up. Bo hopped out and doffed his hat at them.

"Morning, ladies. My, my, that's a mighty handsome horse you have there, 'Highness."

He was right about that. Amanda wasn't an equine-expert, but even she could gauge that much. The stallion was a stunning specimen. His coat shone in the dawn. He tossed his curved head and shimmering mane, dancing on long legs.

"He's beautiful, Bo," said Penelope. It was the closest she had come to thanking him.

"He's a spirited critter too, so you be careful, y'hear?"

It was a benign enough sentence, but his concern seemed underhanded, somehow. Penelope bristled.

"I've been riding since I was six years old. I think I can handle the horse."

Expertly, she pulled a strap under the animal's belly and cinched it tight. Gentle nickering came from the stallion as she arranged his forelock over the browband. She finished saddling him and swung herself onto his back, sitting sartorial in the stirrups. Then she rotated at the waist to Amanda.

"You sure you won't change your mind and come with me?"

"Oh, no, I'd better not. Allergies, and with this cast-"

"Now that's a crying shame. Having Mrs. King along'd save Mr. Stetson from worrying about your security," Bo said.

No one spoke after that. The air became stale and strained. Everyone's eyes ricocheted from one face to the other.

"I beg your pardon?" Amanda managed to say.

The cowboy's eyes were comically large. "You mean, the Princess doesn't know?"

"Doesn't know what?"

"That you're a G-man. Or should I say G-lady? You do work for Mr. Stetson, don't you?" he said artlessly. Amanda was at a loss for words, but Bo just went on talking, blithe to the betrayal written on Penelope's face. "You see, my foreman Earl just so happened to be outside your window, diggin' for nightcrawlers. He thought you sounded mighty friendly."

Amanda threw up a bit in the back of her throat. Someone was listening.

"I am not a G-man!" she squawked.

"I'd never contradict a lady." To appease her, Bo showed his hands and tipped the brim of his hat, smiling genially. Amanda half-expected a forked tongue to come out from those teeth.

The Princess steered her horse around so that Amanda shrank from their combined bulk. Her spine was ramrod straight but her shoulders shook with each breath. "I thought you came here as my friend, but apparently you were just doing your job," she said.

"Your Highness-"

"'Hope they're paying you well."

"Penny!"

Just as Penelope spurred the horse forward, Amanda reached and snagged the reins in the nick of time. The horse reared, wild-eyed and whinnying, but quickly settled. His rider was not so forgiving. Penelope glowered down at her with flames spewing from her eyes.

"Let. Go."

Amanda wet her lips. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. "I need to explain about last night, and, er, Mr. Stetson."

"I think everything was explained just fine."

"There's more to it than that. Please, just- keep an open mind?"

There was a beat where the only sounds were the flies buzzing around their heads and the swish of the stallion's tail. Bo's head bobbed from Amanda to Penelope then back again. Swallowing, Amanda tightened her grip on the reins.

"Please?"

Penelope still looked uncertain, but dismounted all the same. "Sure."

Amanda opened her mouth, looked at Bo, and clamped it tight. The retired actor stood a little way off, puffing a thick cigar. Realizing that he was unwanted, he meandered back to his jeep and made a show of starting the engine. Amanda narrowed her eyes at his back. She was not keen on being eavesdropped on for a second time.

"Can we go somewhere a bit more private?" she asked.

Penelope must've understood. She jerked her head over her shoulder. "This way."

The two women moved into the shade of the stable. Penelope led the Arabian back to his stall, still-tacked, then beckoned Amanda to join her. It was a tight fit for two women and a fully-grown stallion, but Penny seemed unbothered. She laid a hand on the horse's flank and waited for Amanda to begin.

Wringing her hands, Amanda said, "Bo's foreman wasn't entirely wrong. Mr. Stetson and I are… friendly with each other. Sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"It's complicated," Amanda clarified, and that's when the words started to spill over.

Now she was really going. She told the Princess about the package, about her unorthodox recruitment, and the circumstances that brought her to Bo Johnson's ranch. She even touched on the tryst in her kitchen and den, something she had never disclosed to another living soul. Penelope took it all in, bewildered at her palavering.

"-When Bo Johnson accused me of spying, I felt just awful, because I'm hardly the kind of person who likes spying on friends."

"I see-"

"I didn't want to go at all this weekend, but they convinced me that it would be safer for you and the Prince if I did. And this whole thing with Agent Stetson is awful hard to explain. I barely understand it myself. I mean, it's really very secret. My family has no idea."

"Amanda-"

"Do you know he won't even look at me when we talk in public? Just straight ahead, pretends like I'm not even there. It's like I'm invisible. So when he came to my room last night-"

"Amanda, you can stop."

"I can?"

"I believe you."

"You do?"

Nodding, Penelope smoothed her horse's mane. To Amanda's horror, a high laugh trickled from her lips. She made a wounded expression and the Princess scrambled to placate her.

"I'm sorry. I don't think it's funny, not really. I understand the situation. It's just… wow. I mean, with the station wagon and the kids, who would've thought that mild-mannered Amanda King was actually… superspy."

"Hardly. They give me little jobs and they never tell me anything more than they have to."

"Still, it must be exciting."

"I got to meet you."

"I'm glad," Penelope said, sincerely. She rested her forehead on the horse's neck and snickered to herself. "God, do I feel silly. Here I was encouraging you to get something going with Mr. Stetson, and you've been having an affair with him all along!"

"Keep it down, will you?" Amanda begged. "It is not an affair. It was just one time. Or, two times, technically-"

"Amanda." Penelope gasped, fanning herself. Somehow the horse looked scandalized too.

Amanda kicked some straw, painfully aware of the hole that she was digging for herself. "Listen, it was one night, OK?"

"A lot can happen in one night."

The adage hit Amanda hard. She sneezed up some horsehair and gulped on a mouthful of dust.

What was one secret more?

She leaned in and lowered her voice. "Something did happen that night."

A hectic procession of words passed from her mouth to the Princess' ear. After a few seconds, Penelope wrenched herself upright. Her gasp was almost as loud as Amanda's sneeze.

"And he doesn't know?"

"Nobody does—nobody but you."

"Wow, and I thought I had problems."

Despite the situation, Amanda couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I'll take my problems over politics and assassination attempts any day."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

Another round of laughter rocked the stall, and this time Penelope joined in. A great weight seemed to lift from Amanda's shoulders. It felt good to confide in someone. No judgement, no unsolicited advice. The chuckles simmered down and Amanda glanced downwards. Her feet and belly filled her vision.

"We don't need to talk about it anymore. I can tell it's very difficult for you," Penelope told her.

A rush of blood diverted to Amanda's face. To say that she was overwhelmed would be an understatement.

Before she could reply, the outside of the stable broke into a layered racket. She heard the jeep roar into the yard, and over top of it, Lee's voice shouting her name. "Amanda? Your Highness?!" There was a flurry of gunfire, and through the din, a high, piercing whistle.

Chaos erupted in the cramped stall. The stallion sprang to life, unleashing a raw bugle that curdled Amanda's blood. Gone was the docile animal from moments before. He bucked and lunged at the confines of the box, lashing out with iron-clad hooves. Wood splintered and Amanda screamed.

And then, out of the blue, Lee was there with them. He sidestepped a kick and warded back the beast, speaking softly.

"Whoa, 'ho there…"

After some trial and error, he was able to get within arm's reach of the animal. He kept a firm grip on the muzzle and bridle while Penelope came at him from the other side, making low sounds. Together, they were able to soothe the stallion into standing still. Amanda cowered in the furthest corner, rendered immobile by the commotion.

Lee passed the reins off to Penelope and helped Amanda up. He brushed bits of straw off her sweater.

"You were right. You and horses really don't get along," he teased.

/

As it turned out, Bo's gift was more of a Trojan horse than an olive branch. It was trained to kill on command, and without a way to get to a cliffside, it'd gone berserk. Penelope didn't blame the animal, of course, but Amanda was still shaken.

She watched from a safe distance as Bo and his foreman were restrained. Lee was consulting with the Prince's security team. Somewhere by the bunkhouse, he'd managed to catch a confession on audio. That, plus the shootout in the yard and some of the assassin's belongings was enough to take Bo to court.

The Princess stepped beside her. She braided her fingers in front of her jodhpurs and rocked on her heels. "Now that this is all over, maybe Rheza and I can have a real vacation."

"Yeah, I bet the Prince will enjoy Disney World," Amanda replied.

"If I can give our guards the slip, I'll try to buy a sexy nightgown for him."

A quiet giggle echoed between them. Amanda was almost reluctant to say goodbye.

Over just a short stretch, they'd built a rapport that transcended most friendships. Part of that came from shared experience, but the rest stemmed from their differences. Penelope came from a whole 'nother world. She did not have the same sensibilities as Amanda's peers. There was no risk of rumours spreading to the rest of the neighbourhood. She would take her secrets back to Zakir and then to the grave.

"You take care of yourself," Amanda said, at last.

Penelope grinned at her. Her arms hooked loosely around Amanda's torso and her chin alighted on her shoulder.

In an impish tone, she said, "Make sure you write, OK? I'm dying to find out how things work out with Mr. Stetson, and Stetson Jr."

AN: Might keep fiddlin' with this one.

Guess which episode is next, hoho.