Adelaide laughed a little, her cheeks warming beneath the stirring power of his dark eyes. “Well, I don’t exactly want to go down into the mine with the workers, but I would like to see more so that I might become more familiar with Cornwall and its people.”

“As you wish, my lady,” Basset murmured, the warmth in his voice curling her toes. He nudged his head toward the path leading down. “Let us go and see them.”

The horses had an easy time of it, the way simple for such well-trained creatures, and Adelaide, returned to the horse she had lost at her insistence, had to smile at the irony. Emblyn had been right; the neighbors had found the horse and returned it to Trevadden without hesitation. The horse had seemed appropriately apologetic for leaving Adelaide on the moors, nudging her hand and nickering sweetly in the stables.

Only that convinced Adelaide to trust the creature again, and he had been as docile as any mouse on earth.

One could only hope he would continue to be so, under the watchful eyes of his master.

They followed Basset and his mount in a careful line and arrived at the grounds of Wheal Lidden shortly thereafter. A few children giggled and darted about as the horses stopped, and Adelaide looked after them with some concern.

“Children?” she asked, gesturing toward them. “At a mine? Is that not dangerous?”

Basset hopped down from the horse, shaking his head. “Not those children. They know the dangers. When the boys are old enough, they go down and begin to learn the trade, while the girls become bal maidens. They don’t go down the shafts, but they do help with the preparation of the ore for smelting.”

Adelaide nodded, pretending that she understood what smelting meant. “And the younger ones?”

“They carry messages, run errands for Bodville, and the like.” Basset came to her, placing his hands at her waist and helping her down from the saddle. “It’s really all very straightforward.”

“One would hope,” she murmured, patting his arms in thanks. She looked around at the people watching them, some smiling at the sight of them. “I believe the smiles are for you, my lord.”

Basset looked around, grinning easily. “They know me well enough, and it is no pleasure for them. The smiles are for you. They are not accustomed to seeing a woman of such grace and beauty among them. It must be like a visit from an angel.”

Adelaide looked up at him dubiously. “Flattery does not suit, Basset. I am no angel, and you know it well.” She looked down at her appearance, frowning alittle. “Perhaps I have dressed too finely for this. I do not wish to be unapproachable.”