The sun was going down when they reached the house. Mina rode the mare directly into the barn and dismounted. She knew Chaeyoung had followed her, but she refused to look in her direction as she unsaddled the mare and put it in a stall. With her head held at a proud angle, she moved purposefully toward the house.

Once inside the front door, the lass allowed the tears to fall. She had most certainly acted in an unladylike manner. Why had she allowed Chaeyoung to take such liberties? How she must despise her! The girl would never have touched her if she hadn't encouraged her. And the girl would never believe that she hadn't set out to entice her.

Moments later Chaeyoung entered, and their eyes met. She noticed the forlorn expression on Mina's face and knew she was responsible for hurting the Japanese lass again. Mina didn't know that by hurting her, Chaeyoung wounded herself to the very core of her being. At that time she had to used the only means she'd had to fight against taking her there in the snow. Chaeyoung had forced herself to say those hateful things to drive Mina away from her, because if the lass touched her one more time, she would not have been able to stop until she was inside and takes her fully.

She came up to her and removed the lass coat, draping it over her arm while she led Mina to the fire. "You are cold as ice. I don't want you sick."

Mina shook her head, and her stomach tightened in a knot. She could hardly draw a breath, her heart was pounding so hard. "How can I ask you to forgive me for what I've done? I feel so miserable, and I most humbly ask for your forgiveness."

Chaeyoung's voice was deep and strained, her eyes intense. "It wasn't your fault. Don't you know that?" she asked gravely.

"You said that--"

"Forget what I said. You are an innocent. You only reacted to what I was doing to you. I'm the one who should ask your pardon." Chaeyoung moved to coatrack and hung the coat there, keeping her back to the lass. "Will you forgive me, Mina?"

The Japanese lass frowned and walk over to Chaeyoung, forcing the girl to look at her. "Tell me what you want from me."

"I think you know."

Chaeyoung's eyes were like hot silver, and Mina could no longer look into them. "How can I know unless you tell me?"

Chaeyoung drew in an impatient breath. "Nothing. I don't want anything from you." the girl turned away from her, but not before she saw the muscles in her neck cord and her teeth clenched.

Mina had thought that she was beginning to know the girl so well. But there was a part of this girl that she kept hidden from her.

"You certainly have nothing to blame yourself for," she said to the girl.

"Yes, I do. I knew what I was doing---you didn't." Frustrations was reflected in Chaeyoung's eyes. "Believe me in this, if you never believe anything else I say, Mina: I was manipulating you, so don't take the guilt that belongs to me alone."

Mina moved closer to the fire and held her hands to the warmth. "You are a gentlewoman, so therefore you are attempting to free me of my part in what happened." Mina her lips, deciding to tell the girl exactly what she had felt. "I liked what you did to me, Chaeyoung. I didn't want you to stop. You were the strong one---not me. It was you who stopped before it went too far."

Chaeyoung took a step toward her, trying to ignore the desire to throw honor to the wind. Chaeyoung had made Mina desire her because the girl wanted the lass to. She knew just what a woman liked, and the Japanese lass had responded to her prowess.

Mina's eyes were wide and innocent, and the girl saw the hurt she tried to conceal. It had been her duty to protect Mina, and she had very nearly stepped over the line and become the one she needed to be protected from.

"We could talk about this all night and still come to the same conclusion. I instigated what happened, and that's the end of it."

Mina was silent for a long time, not knowing what to answer. There was no warmth coming from the girl, and no sign of the one who had held her in her arms and kissed her that afternoon. "Then, I will say goodnight."

Chaeyoung's voice stopped Mina as she moved to the bedroom. "Mina, I will be gone when you get up in the morning, and I don't want you to be in the house alone. I will leave instructions to Young K to sleep here by the fire. I trust him with my life , and you will be safe with him. Have you any objections to him staying in the house with you?"

Mina paused in the doorway and turned back to the girl, frowning. "Do you expect trouble?"

"Not really. But I will not take a chance on your safety." She forced a smile. "Jeongyeon would never forgive me." The girl's eyes suddenly took on a serious expression. "And Mina, I don't want you to go out riding alone. If neither Young K nor Wonpil can go with you, then stay near the house."

Mina nodded. "I understand." the lass gazed past the girl, unable to look into the girls eyes. "How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know. Several days, a week, maybe more. It's hard to say."

Mina turned away, feeling that any time spent without the girl would seem like a lifetime. "Good night, Chaeyoung. Have a safe journey."

"Good night, Mina." When the door closed behind her, Chaeyoung stood for a long time staring at nothing. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. The hardest thing she'd ever had to do was walk away from the lass today, and the second hardest would be to leave