Nathan watched wordlessly as Grace spread a toast point with the thinnest layer of butter imaginable and proceeded to do the same with the marmalade. And then she set it down and never picked it up again.

If she had picked it up, it never would have arrived at her mouth, considering she had spent the last twenty minutes talking about the Hamilton social scene in such glowing and exceptionally detailed terms that chewing would have been an impossibility.

Grace was talking primarily to her daughters and to Clara, though she was kind enough to include Nathan with a glance now and then. William was in his usual spot at the end of the table, reading the London Times. Nathan was beginning to understand why the table was so long.

"The Westons, of course, gave the most prestigious holiday ball last season, but they always do. It's no accident that we have our little affair the night before theirs, otherwise our entire guest list would be much too exhausted to attend! This year the last of the Westons' guests wandered out to their carriages at nearly five in the morning! Can you imagine?"

Clara was so rapt that it was clear that she couldn't imagine any of it, and Nathan had to smile at her youthful enjoyment of every word Mrs. Thatcher uttered. Julie was simply nodding in agreement, and Elizabeth was clutching Nathan's leg under the table so tightly that he was beginning to lose feeling in it. That, and the way his wife was raising her eyebrows at him, made him want to burst out laughing.

"Mother?" Elizabeth said finally, having waited quite a while for Grace to take a breath. "What did the doctor say? You seem to be in good spirits?"

Grace suddenly remembered the purpose for her middle daughter's emergency visit and frowned, sighing. "Well, darling, I have good days and bad days..."

Elizabeth smiled sweetly at her mother. "This seems to be a good one, so I hope you won't mind if we all go for a picnic today? Julie and I wanted to show Nathan and Clara the old carriage house."

Grace grimaced. "Oh, Elizabeth, that terrible ancient building? Why not something lovelier, like the greenhouse. The winter jasmine is in bloom..."

"No, Mother. We want to show them where we used to play. Julie and I loved that old cottage," Elizabeth said.

Grace sighed. "Well, if you must. Have James bring out the barouche and plenty of blankets. It should seat the four of you very comfortably..."

Elizabeth smiled at her mother. "Nathan and I will ride," she said, gazing at her husband.

Nodding, Grace said, "Yes, of course, in the carriage..."

"No, Mother. In saddles. On horseback."

For a moment Grace looked as if she was mentally translating what her daughter was saying to her. Her eyes were narrowing just a little. "On horseback." She took a deep breath and looked down the table at William, who had suddenly raised the paper to such a height that he was entirely invisible. Looking back at Elizabeth, Grace said, "Darling, your side saddle hasn't been used in years. James will need to clean it..."

Nathan thought Elizabeth was enjoying this entirely too much. He watched as she raised her chin and said firmly, "That won't be necessary. I'll ride on one of the stable hands' Western saddles."

"Elizabeth!" Grace said, finally at her limit. "You cannot. Your dress..."

"I have culottes. Riding pants," Elizabeth said with more than a touch of pride in her voice.

"Pants?" Grace said, horrified. "Trousers?" She looked down at the end of the table again and this time she wasn't letting her husband off the hook. "William!" she called out.

Dropping the paper, William said, "Yes, dear?" He raised his eyebrows as if he hadn't heard a word of the conversation.

"Elizabeth is going to ride a horse," Grace said.

William nodded. "Very well." He turned to Nathan, who could see the twinkle in his eye. "I assume you've taught your wife to ride?"

Nathan grinned. "Yes, sir." He looked at Elizabeth and then back at William. "She's very good. A natural."

Now pride joined the twinkle in William's eye. "Talk to James out at the stables. He'll bring round a couple of good horses." Then he turned to Julie and Clara. "And he'll drive you out to the carriage house and then come pick you up again whenever you say." He turned to Elizabeth. "I assume you've talked with Collins about a picnic lunch?"

Elizabeth smiled broadly. "Yes, Father."

William looked at Grace and raised his eyebrows. "Good. All settled." And then he raised the paper up and continued to read.

Grace exhaled and simply said, "Well."

Elizabeth started to push back from the table. "So, we'll see you at supper, then?"

Grace found her voice. "You'll be back before supper because we're having the Kensingtons, and you'll need to freshen up from your... horse ride. We're dressing for dinner. Promptly at six, please."

Elizabeth kissed her mother on the cheek. "We'll be right on time, Mother," she said cheerily. The four of them stood and made their way to the staircase.

"Dress for dinner?" Nathan whispered, taking Elizabeth's arm. "Does that mean there are times when you come to dinner... undressed?"

Elizabeth laughed. "No, it means formal wear. Black tie."

Clara spun around. "Oh, I couldn't possibly. This is the best dress I have," she said, her eyes pleading.

Julie laughed and took her arm. "Oh, goodie, you and I are going right now to my closet. I have dozens of dresses that will fit you perfectly."

They ran up the stairs, leaving Elizabeth and Nathan on the landing. Nathan turned and raised an eyebrow. "Don't suppose Julie has anything in her closet for me?"

Elizabeth laughed softly and led him around toward the kitchen. "No, but Collins does. He has an entire room full of formal wear that he keeps for the times we have to bring in extra help for parties. Mother insists on having the servants only in the best and latest styles. Collins will help you find exactly what you need."

Nathan stopped her in the hallway and looked both directions before leaning down to kiss her. Against her lips he said, teasing her, "Kensington... now where have I heard that name before...?"

Elizabeth laughed and ran her lips across his cheek. "Charles and his parents... yes," she said softly.

Pulling away, Nathan looked at her, delighted. "Ah, Clyde! I finally get to meet him?"

Laughing again, Elizabeth said, "Careful, or you'll actually call him that by accident."

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "In other news, I think your father is beginning to like me," Nathan whispered.

"I knew he would," Elizabeth said, holding the lapels of Nathan's jacket. "Sooner or later..." she added, smiling.

"Yes," Nathan said, "But somehow I was thinking it was going to be later. I'm not really the perfect suitor in his eyes, am I?"

Smiling, Elizabeth put her hand on his cheek. "It doesn't matter. He's not the one married to you. I am." She leaned up and kissed him quickly. Then she laughed softly. "And we've only been here a few days. I'm still betting he offers you a job in one of his companies and tries to convince you to climb the corporate ladder. It's really the only thing he knows."

Nathan frowned slightly. "So if he doesn't offer me a job, should I be offended?"

Laughing again, Elizabeth took Nathan's hand and brought it to her lips. "Nathan. He does like you. I can see it. But more important is the fact that I can see he also respects you. My father likes straight-talkers." She touched her lips to his hand and spoke against the warm skin there. "And they don't come any straighter than you..."

Nathan bent and kissed her again, this time more slowly. He moved her gently against the deep mahogany wood of the hallway, and Elizabeth thought she might actually be forgetting Charles' name herself. Sighing, she put her arms around Nathan's neck, tasting the richness of coffee on his lips and feeling the strength of his body as he pressed against her.

Wanting him. Always wanting him. She pulled away, exhaling. "It's ten o'clock in the morning and all I want is to go back to bed with you. I had no idea…" Nathan didn't allow her to finish her sentence as he moved even closer to her against the wall. And Elizabeth knew that one of the joys of this love was that he wanted her too. Just as much.

But they were still in the servants' access hallway and Elizabeth was certain that at any moment they would be found. She reluctantly pulled away.

Nathan's voice was low in her ear as he caught his breath. "What color is our room tonight?" he whispered.

"Blue..." Elizabeth said, moving her lips down his jaw and onto his neck. "The color of your eyes right now..."

Nathan laughed. "You can't see my eyes right now," he said.

Elizabeth moved his collar slightly and kissed his chest where the soft dark hairs began. "Trust me," she said, breathlessly. "They're very blue."

Elizabeth walked down the line of horses in their stalls. James had pointed out the dray horses that wouldn't take well to having a saddle and rider on their backs, and the choice was down to seven. In the end, she chose a sweet brown mare named Whiskey who reminded her a lot of Sarah.

James had been the Thatcher's stablemaster for just about a year, and though he was young, around Nathan's age, he knew everything there was to know about horses. Like Nathan, he had grown up in a small town on a ranch, and the two of them found they spoke the same language immediately. While James fit Elizabeth for his own saddle, he and Nathan talked amiably about ranch life.

"So the Mounties must have assigned you a horse? Do you get any say in that at all?" James asked, moving Elizabeth's boot back down into the stirrup to check the length. Seeing it was still too long, he said, "Sorry, Ma'am, one more time," asking her to put her leg up on the saddle.

"James," she said, leaning down. "Please call me Elizabeth. No formality necessary with us."

James nodded and bent his head to his task with the stirrup to cover a slight reddening of his cheeks. "So...Nathan?" he said, looking up to be sure the lack of formality extended to Constable Grant. "Were you allowed to choose a horse?"

Nathan nodded. "I got lucky. Newton was the horse given to me when that part of the training started, and we just took to each other. He's been with me ever since."

"But you have horses on your ranch in Airdrie too?" James moved around Whiskey and Elizabeth moved her leg up so he could adjust the stirrup on that side.

"Yes, six of them," Nathan said, running his hand down Whiskey's long nose.

James raised an eyebrow and smiled. "But you've got a special one," he said, making a statement rather than asking a question.

"Yes," Nathan said, smiling back. "Sunset. She's a beauty. I delivered her when I was nineteen."

James turned and smiled, nodding. "Yeah, you never forget the first one, do you?" He looked up at Elizabeth and moved her boot down into the stirrup. "That should do it, Ma'am... Elizabeth," James said, stepping away.

"You didn't need to give me your very own saddle, James," Elizabeth said, settling herself comfortably.

"Whiskey's one of my favorites, and he likes this saddle. I'm so glad to see you're riding. I wasn't aware that you or your sisters were accustomed to riding this way," he said, pulling the reins over Whiskey's head and handing them to Elizabeth.

Laughing, Elizabeth said, "The Wild West, James. It's taught me many things I never learned here."

Nathan pulled himself easily up onto Tango, a spirited black stallion that had been recently acquired by the Thatchers. James was in the process of breaking him in for the carriages, and Nathan had offered to take him out and give him a taste of a new rider.

"He'll try to take the reins from you. Just hold fast," James said. Then he looked up at Nathan and smiled. "You know what to do," he said, seeing how easy Nathan was in the saddle.

James started around the corner where Clara and Julie were waiting in the carriage. "See you out there!" he called out. And then he was gone.

"Ready?" Nathan said to Elizabeth.

"I can't wait," Elizabeth said, grinning. "I need to feel the wind in my hair."

As they walked the horses out of the darkness of the stables and into a beautifully sunny winter's day, Nathan looked over at his wife.

"You're always beautiful, Elizabeth. But on a horse, you nearly take my breath away," he said, reaching out for her hand.

Elizabeth touched his fingers with hers and said softly. "The very first moment I saw you, you were riding up on Newton. I think I fell in love with you right then."

Nathan raised an eyebrow and laughed. "I seem to recall you thought I was rude and arrogant," he said.

Tilting her head, Elizabeth said, "Doesn't mean I wasn't falling in love with you..." She gave him a challenging look. "So, Mountie. You think you can keep up?" She pressed her heels gently into Whiskey's flanks and the mare took off.

Nathan watched as her curls caught the wind and Whiskey threw what little snow there was on the ground up behind his hooves.

He shook his head, smiling, with his heart so full of loving her he had to close his eyes for a moment.

Then, before pulling Tango into a run, he said softly to himself, "Oh, if Clyde could only see you now..."