don’t mind me sayin’, sir, the grass is softer to fall on!”
But Arkady was already wheeling the boy’s bicycle towards the drive.
Jeremy ran after him.
“Sir. I would come with you, but I have duties in the garden.”
“Of course! Go back to work. I will return your bicycle when I have mastered the art of riding it.”
The young lad looked doubtful, but then the Head Gardener was approaching, pushing a wheelbarrow full of young plants and he knew that he must take them and start digging them into the flowerbeds.
So he said nothing as Arkady mounted the bicycle again and wobbled precariously away.
It was hard going at first and Arkady kept having to put one or other of his feet to the ground to keep upright, which meant that his progress along the narrow country lanes was very slow.
But gradually he found that he could keep his feet on the pedals for one or two complete revolutions and then he realised that the faster he went, the easier it was to keep his balance.
Suddenly the bicycle began to pick up speed as the lane took a gentle slope downwards. Arkady took his feet off the pedals and found himself flying forwards, his hair blowing back in the wind.
He had no idea where he was going, but ahead of him in the distance, he could see the sun shining on a wide expanse of blue water, which must be the sea.
*
“Lady Chiara!” Jonah dropped the bundle of hay he was carrying and peered over the door into Erebus’s stable. “Whatever be wrong?”
He had caught her unawares and Chiara buried her face in Erebus’s long white mane to hide the fact that she had been crying.
“It’s nothing, really, I am just a little upset.”
But Jonah continued,
“It isn’t that Mr. Hunter, is it? I know he’s here, as I had to take his horse from him when he arrived. I saw him speakin’ to you when he was here before.”
Chiara stayed silent.
She did not know what to say. She could not tell Jonah that Mervyn Hunter had kissed her and left her full of a strange excitement that was so strong it frightened her.
“A nervous creature the poor beast is, too!” Jonah said. “No gentleman should ride a fine thoroughbred horse like that so hard. Drenched in sweat, it was, when he gave the reins to me.”
“Poor thing. But I am sure you have taken good care of it, Jonah.”
“Indeed. I put him in the little paddock to relax and enjoy the sun. But will you not ride today, my Lady?”
She looked down at her silk skirts.
“I cannot, Jonah.”
Her sensible woollen riding habit was hanging in her wardrobe and she did not want to go back to the house to change, in case she encountered Mervyn Hunter again.
“That’s a pity, as it’s a perfect afternoon for a ride,” Jonah said and, as Erebus nudged Chiara with his nose, he added, “see! He agrees with me.”
“I will ride!” Chiara cried. “Saddle him for me!”
The sunshine was warmer than usual on this spring afternoon and it would not matter at all that she was only wearing a thin dress.
It would be Heaven to feel the soft wind in her hair, blowing away all the unpleasantness of luncheon and she did not intend to go far. Just a quick turn around the Park.
Erebus was a fine spirited creature with hot Arabian blood running in his veins and he was overjoyed to feel Chiara’s light weight on his back again. He knew that she would let him gallop, instead of trotting sedately along the roads, as he did for his daily exercise with the groom.
He tossed his head, tugging hard at his reins and he then danced over the gravel with little prancing steps in his impatience to be speeding across the Park.
“Steady!” Chiara told him, for it had been many weeks since she had ridden and she had almost forgotten what is was like to sit on an eager lively horse.
As soon as they left the drive and Erebus felt the soft springy turf of the Park under his feet, he broke into a swift bounding canter.
Chiara’s hair was soon tumbling down around her shoulders and she
But Arkady was already wheeling the boy’s bicycle towards the drive.
Jeremy ran after him.
“Sir. I would come with you, but I have duties in the garden.”
“Of course! Go back to work. I will return your bicycle when I have mastered the art of riding it.”
The young lad looked doubtful, but then the Head Gardener was approaching, pushing a wheelbarrow full of young plants and he knew that he must take them and start digging them into the flowerbeds.
So he said nothing as Arkady mounted the bicycle again and wobbled precariously away.
It was hard going at first and Arkady kept having to put one or other of his feet to the ground to keep upright, which meant that his progress along the narrow country lanes was very slow.
But gradually he found that he could keep his feet on the pedals for one or two complete revolutions and then he realised that the faster he went, the easier it was to keep his balance.
Suddenly the bicycle began to pick up speed as the lane took a gentle slope downwards. Arkady took his feet off the pedals and found himself flying forwards, his hair blowing back in the wind.
He had no idea where he was going, but ahead of him in the distance, he could see the sun shining on a wide expanse of blue water, which must be the sea.
*
“Lady Chiara!” Jonah dropped the bundle of hay he was carrying and peered over the door into Erebus’s stable. “Whatever be wrong?”
He had caught her unawares and Chiara buried her face in Erebus’s long white mane to hide the fact that she had been crying.
“It’s nothing, really, I am just a little upset.”
But Jonah continued,
“It isn’t that Mr. Hunter, is it? I know he’s here, as I had to take his horse from him when he arrived. I saw him speakin’ to you when he was here before.”
Chiara stayed silent.
She did not know what to say. She could not tell Jonah that Mervyn Hunter had kissed her and left her full of a strange excitement that was so strong it frightened her.
“A nervous creature the poor beast is, too!” Jonah said. “No gentleman should ride a fine thoroughbred horse like that so hard. Drenched in sweat, it was, when he gave the reins to me.”
“Poor thing. But I am sure you have taken good care of it, Jonah.”
“Indeed. I put him in the little paddock to relax and enjoy the sun. But will you not ride today, my Lady?”
She looked down at her silk skirts.
“I cannot, Jonah.”
Her sensible woollen riding habit was hanging in her wardrobe and she did not want to go back to the house to change, in case she encountered Mervyn Hunter again.
“That’s a pity, as it’s a perfect afternoon for a ride,” Jonah said and, as Erebus nudged Chiara with his nose, he added, “see! He agrees with me.”
“I will ride!” Chiara cried. “Saddle him for me!”
The sunshine was warmer than usual on this spring afternoon and it would not matter at all that she was only wearing a thin dress.
It would be Heaven to feel the soft wind in her hair, blowing away all the unpleasantness of luncheon and she did not intend to go far. Just a quick turn around the Park.
Erebus was a fine spirited creature with hot Arabian blood running in his veins and he was overjoyed to feel Chiara’s light weight on his back again. He knew that she would let him gallop, instead of trotting sedately along the roads, as he did for his daily exercise with the groom.
He tossed his head, tugging hard at his reins and he then danced over the gravel with little prancing steps in his impatience to be speeding across the Park.
“Steady!” Chiara told him, for it had been many weeks since she had ridden and she had almost forgotten what is was like to sit on an eager lively horse.
As soon as they left the drive and Erebus felt the soft springy turf of the Park under his feet, he broke into a swift bounding canter.
Chiara’s hair was soon tumbling down around her shoulders and she
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