Ambitions and Horses at Bracken Page 2

  ‘You?’ Bobby stared at her. ‘Work here, you mean?’ and Ellen looked defensive. ‘Why not?’ she asked. ‘I can groom and clean tack and do a bit of mucking out and I’m not a useless rider.’

  ‘But why would you want to?’ asked Bobby. ‘I thought you were working in that boutique place in Hestonbridge when you weren’t at Winterdene with the Ashfords.’

  ‘I’ve had enough of selling fussy little outfits to kids,’ Ellen told her. ‘And Jay’s gone back to behaving as if he owns me, as if I was a little dog or something. I need a bit of space now I’ve got over that crazy time with Casey.’

  ‘I can ask Guy,’ Bobby was doubtful, knowing her cousin of old, but it could at least be a temporary solution.

  ‘There’s one thing,’ Ellen looked down. ‘Heath’s flat, now she’s married and living at Ken’s farm her flat’s empty, isn’t it?’

  ‘Well, yes, ’Bobby began to understand. ‘But what about Jay?’

  ‘Jay’s got a girlfriend,’ Ellen told her. ‘Called Mags. She doesn’t understand about me and Jay.’

  “Who would?” thought Bobby, but she supposed they could consider it. Guy had offered the flat to Yolanda but she had not wanted to leave her mother alone, and Dean was too settled and too useful to them to want to leave the Joyce’s. Ellen, though, as she knew, could cause trouble and there was something else.

  ‘Your mother,’ she said. ‘She’d have a fit if she knew you were working for us.’

  ‘So what?’ asked Ellen. ‘I really don’t care what she thinks, she’s never forgiven me for Casey. She practically threw me out the last time I saw her.’

  Bobby promised to discuss it with Guy. She had horses to exercise now, she and Dean would go out riding one and leading one each, and Ellen immediately offered to help get them ready. She was very efficient about it and Bobby decided that her offer might help after all.

  By the time they finished for the evening Bobby was ready to consider anything. Rose was being difficult as well, demanding to know why she couldn’t stay at home like Luke did, and when she heard her parents discussing help she announced that she could be helpful herself if they let her stay at home. She had always been quite happy to go to Val Joyce in the day, but Luke was making her feel left out.

  ‘I’m a lot more use than Luke,’ she said. ‘I can groom, and clean saddles, I can reach to brush the little ones, and I always brush Mitzi and when I’m a bit bigger I can ride Folly.’

  ‘Quite a bit bigger,’ Bobby was again feeding Luke and Guy pulled Rose onto his knee. ‘And you are lots of help but poor Auntie Val would be sad if you stopped going to help her as well.’

  Rose half-heartedly agreed and Bobby got up to go and settle Luke. It was no good, the decision was made. Luke would have to go on a bottle. She would continue with this feed and the night and early ones but daytime as well really was too much. She was thankful that already Luke was sleeping a good part of the night, badly broken nights would make things even harder.

  ‘Come and help me now,’ she said to Rose. ‘Then it’s my turn to read to you, Daddy said he can get our supper, and then you can feed Ming before you go to bed.’

  The brown half Siamese cat was Heath’s but he had not approved of sharing her new home at the farm with Ken’s sheepdog and had returned to Bracken looking disgruntled and had decided to stay with Rose.

  Guy was doubtful about Ellen but he agreed that the situation was becoming desperate.

  ‘It’s worth giving her a try,’ he said. ‘Two weeks trial first, and if that works I suppose we can let her use the flat, but she will have to realise that she will be a member of staff, not here to do us a favour.’

  ‘I think she knows that,’ Bobby told him. ‘She has changed a lot since that affair with Casey, but I hope her mother keeps clear.’

  Helen had never liked Guy or Bobby marrying him, she had been viciously rude to them and also been behind an attempt to put them out of business, but Ellen did now seem to have escaped from her influence.

  Heath too was doubtful about Ellen but she knew that someone was needed. She had Yolanda to help her with the riding school for which she said she was glad.

  ‘At least I won’t have to deal with her,’ she said. ‘And I hope she’ll be kind to my little flat. I admit I miss it sometimes although Ken’s house is great.’

  ‘But you are happy, aren’t you?’ Bobby asked and Heath said that she was.

  ‘Ken’s kind and cheerful and good company,’ she said. ‘I’m glad I came to my senses at last.’

  She was called away by Yolanda wanting advice on which horses were going out next and Bobby was left with a slight sense of unease. She suspected that Heath still had some reservations about her marriage.

  Dean too was doubtful, but Bobby assured him that Ellen would only be on trial.

  Chapter two

  The new regime began next day. Luke rather thoughtfully accepted his first bottle for breakfast and although Bobby was sorry it did mean that she had the whole morning free to be outside while Guy, still protesting, was in the house ready to give his son the next feed. He did come out to look at Minos’s leg, which Dean was hosing, and he insisted on carrying out a booking for a lesson, saying that all he had to do was lean on the fence and shout.

  Ellen behaved as a dutiful groom. She put plenty of energy into grooming, had the horses due for work saddled and ready when Dean and Bobby came in with the ones before, and washed bits and wiped tack over in between.

  Anthony, the nephew of Guy’s sponsor, came to ride his lively little grey Cracker and also offered to exercise Guy’s eventer Lord of the Rings who had been bought first for him and had now been handed to Guy to ride. It was still after lunch before Bobby could start to work her own horses and after the break while she was pregnant and then having Luke she was really starting to tire.

  Guy looked at her anxiously when she came in to eat the frozen pizza which he had ready.

  ‘You’re going to have to slow up a bit as well,’ he told her. ‘It’s only just two months since you had Luke, no use both of us ending up laid out.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Bobby knew he was right. ‘I was thinking of getting on Lass again but

  maybe I’ll just ride Star Man this afternoon.’

  ‘I’d like to be around when you start riding that mare again,’ said Guy. ‘She’s just had six months off and she was thoroughly disturbed before that after the rough treatment she’d had.’

  ‘But her owner won’t wait for ever,’ Bobby told him, and Guy said he hadn’t much choice. ‘She’s hardly saleable at the moment,’ he said. ‘And he’s got a lot of money tied up in her.’

  Bobby supposed that he was right but she had a feeling of the season ticking on. She had missed most of last season running the riding school while Heath was away and now having Luke had held up this year’s start.

  Star Man was a nice, willing little horse always slightly on edge because of his deafness. He enjoyed jumping and Bobby got Dean to help her build him a little course in the school. He went well and Bobby decided that she needed to find a little show to which to take him. He had show jumped with his owner, who was still paying towards his keep while Bobby worked with him, but how he would cope with his one sided hearing at a show was yet to be seen. He wore an ear muff on his good ear in an attempt to even things out, but he still had moments of panic when something took him by surprise.

  It was time that Folly, too, began to compete more seriously. He had shown huge promise when winning a four year old class last season and now at rising six he was ready to move on. There was plenty to do and the need for a slow start was frustrating.

  By the end of his first week off Guy’s patience ran out. With Luke settled in his buggy in the tack room he took over cold hosing Minos’s leg and took two of his regular coaching lessons in the school while Bobby and Dean were exercising and Ellen was grooming. Then he tackled Bobby about Lass.

  ‘I can watch and advise,’ he said. ‘And Dean can spend half an hour moving the poles about if we get that far. She’s been off too long for any serious jumping but we could see what she thinks about a pole.’

  Bobby knew that it was use telling him that he was still supposed to be resting but when she mounted the mare in the yard the proposed schooling session came

  to an abrupt end. Lass refused to go near the school and it’s jumps.

  After ten minutes of running back and kicking out which ended with the long legged chestnut threatening to rear Guy called a halt.

  ‘Dean,’ he said. ‘Move those poles to the side. Bobby, keep her walking, just round the yard.’

  Bobby patted Lass and did as he said. The mare was sweating and Bobby could feel long quivers running through her.

  ‘She’s terrified,’ she told Guy. ‘I reckon they really beat her after that show where we saw her refusing.’

  ‘I think you’re right,’ Guy agreed. ‘We’ll have to go right back to the beginning with her.’

  With the jumps gone Lass very unwillingly consented to go into the school but she was still very tense.

  ‘Just walk and trot round,’ said Guy, and Bobby did so. Gradually the mare relaxed and Guy said, ‘that’ll do. Hacking out in future, get her confidence in you back, and we’ll see what happens.’

  It was a depressing start, and Bobby felt furious with the people who done this to the mare. Just over a year ago she and Lass had won two good classes at the royal International and now she was afraid of facing a pole. Lass had always needed tactful riding and had jumped in her own individual style but she had huge power and scope and could judge the fences herself.

  After turning Lass out again Bobby paused to speak to Shelta whom she hoped was in foal again. She and June had both been fertilised by frozen semen from
a top show jumping stallion, the same one that they had used for Shelta the previous year.

  That foal had been born dead after the mares had been chased by stray dogs but Bobby hoped that this time nothing would go wrong. The third mare, their faithful elderly pony Coffee had been away to be covered by a lovely hunter pony stallion who ran out with his mares.

  Shelta seemed fine and Bobby patted her and buried her face in the soft chestnut mane, breathing in the sweet smell of horse and grass and her mare’s special individual scent. She thought she would be able to pick Shelta out in a group by that scent alone although Guy laughed at her for believing that.

  ‘I think horses are as much individuals as you do,’ he said. ‘But I’m not going that far,’ but Bobby still thought that she was right.

  Although Guy said that he was recovering they were glad of the extra help from Ellen. She had worked quietly and efficiently and even dressed the part in tidy jeans and tops instead of her favourite long flowery skirts. With her long blond hair contained in a ponytail and no makeup on she was every inch a working groom.

  Dean was still wary but Ellen was tactful with him and even Heath, who had seen plenty bad of her in the past, agreed that she was proving helpful. Guy had asked around to see if anyone knew of a girl wanting yard work but he had not heard of anyone and so after two weeks he agreed to keep Ellen on and she moved her few belongings into the stable flat.

  ‘What does Jay think?’ Bobby asked her, and Ellen replied that he was not happy.

  ‘He can’t have it all ways,’ she said. ‘He sits there with his arm round Mags wanting to talk to me as usual and he can’t see why Mags won’t accept that I’m just a sort of surrogate sister or something.’

  ‘Would you be happy with that?’ asked Bobby, and Ellen looked away.

  ‘Not really,’ she said. ‘Not like I was before Casey. It’s awkward Bobby, I’ve started to fancy him, watching them makes me wish he’d put his arm round me like…like that. I needed to get away before I did something to send Jay off me completely.’

  Bobby thought that nothing was every straightforward with Ellen. She and Jay had thought that they understood each other as friends completely for a long time, but it seemed that they were wrong.

  ‘Does Darren understand why you’ve moved out?’ she asked. Darren was Jay’s

  sister.

  ‘Yes,’ said Ellen. ‘She says she warned Jay he couldn’t keep us going like that, but this Mags got under his skin. She’s a mad rider, for a start, like him, good, too. She did some racing earlier in the spring, that impressed him.’

  It sounded like a thoroughly confused situation to Bobby, but they would have to let Ellen sort it out herself. Anyway, Bobby could not think of any useful advice to give.

  With Guy almost back to normal and Luke a little less dependent on her alone Bobby looked through the calendar for a suitable show for some of her horses. Star Man and Folly needed something novice, Frost was jumping bigger courses. Taking three at different levels would mean being away too long. Mrs. Joyce would have Luke, but Bobby did not want to leave her baby for a whole day. Guy went back to the doctor and was signed off but warned not to do really heavy work for another week.

  ‘And don’t fall off any more horses,’ the doctor told him and Guy promised to try not to.

  Minos was going to take longer to heal. Lisa scanned his leg again and said that the tendon was starting to mend but he was still on box rest with some walking in hand.

  ‘I’ll do that,’ offered Ellen. ‘I’m still fond of the old boy, I had a lot of fun with him.’

  Guy agreed and Ellen conscientiously walked the beautiful dun horse round the yard and up and down the track between the fields twice a day.

  Watching them Guy said ‘That horse is a saint. The Miller would be off his head by now and so would most of the others. He’s just so accepting, I should never have pushed him so far.’

  ‘You still don’t know if that was what went wrong,’ Bobby told him. ‘Any horse can make a mistake,’ but she knew that Guy was not convinced.

  ‘How did Fiona accept hearing that her flagship model horse was off for a bit?’ Bobby asked him. Fiona was joint owner of the riding and horse ware firm who sponsored him, and Guy said that she had been very understanding.

  ‘It’s a good thing I’m riding Lord for her lot,’ he said. ‘There’s publicity from him as well, and from the photos they took of Mitzi for their new pony ware. Without those we might have felt a draught.’

  Bobby knew that he was right. Bracken was not doing badly but they could not easily afford to lose such good sponsorship.

  Luke seemed to be thriving on his new feeding regime and so Bobby decided to try things out by taking Frost to a show. She could take one horse on her own which meant the yard would not be too short staffed and Guy would be there if he was needed for Luke.

  It was wonderful having the baby but there was a great sense of freedom as she set off in the lorry with her nice, sensible grey horse.

  Chapter three

  It was not far to the show, held at a big equestrian centre at which she had often competed and there were many familiar boxes in the lorry park. Bobby was surprised not to see Keith Rhodes’ lorry among them. She and Keith had been, mostly friendly, rivals for most of Bobby’s competitive life, and although they had fallen out over Lass, who had first been jumped by Keith, she was quite sorry not to see him or his show jumping wife Joanne.

  Frost seemed glad to be at a show again. He was sharp like most ex-racehorses but sensible with it and he jumped the practise jumps with his usual care. That care had meant he was too slow over racing fences and still not really competitive in speed classes, but he jumped consistent clear rounds up to his comfortable limit at about 1 metre 30 and that was what he did today.

  There would be a jump off and as Bobby dismounted outside the ring and started to loosen his girth Ian Garland, another of her regular rivals, stopped his own horse beside her.

  ‘Looks like being you and me in this jump off,’ he said. ‘We’re the only ones quite up to this course with Joanne not here and poor Keith out of things.’

  ‘Why, has something happened?’ Bobby stared at him and Ian looked awkward.

  ‘Of course,’ he said. ‘You’ve been off the circuit for a bit haven’t you? There was an accident a couple of months back, his lorry was hit by a dozing driver in an artic, tore the side out and Keith was trapped. He…he lost a foot.’

  ‘What?’ as the image hit her Bobby felt everything swim and Ian jumped down and put an arm round her.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Should have been a bit less blunt. Are you alright?’

  ‘Y…yes,’ Bobby hung onto Frost’s neck, feeling sick. ‘The horses?’ she asked. ‘And…Joanne?’

  ‘Joanne wasn’t with them,’ Ian told her. ‘Just Mel, on the passenger side.’ Mel was Keith’s groom. ‘She got away with it, well, apart from a broken arm. He lost two horses but Rampant was just cut about a bit. Look, let’s forget this jump off, you look as if you could do with a stiff drink.’

  ‘No, I’ll be alright,’ Bobby was starting to feel steadier. ‘It was just a shock. What an awful thing. But …we can’t just walk off, they’re calling us now.’

  Ian nodded and stood back. ‘O.K.’ he said. ‘If you’re sure. By the way, congratulations on your new baby. I bet Guy’s pleased.’

  Shakily Bobby thanked him and climbed back onto Frost. Keith, hard, competitive Keith who had once fancied her and tried to persuade her to leave Bracken and join him in riding Harold Johnson’s string of horses. How terrible it must feel to him to have his career cut short in such a horrible way and how awful for Joanne.

  Bobby rode the jump off in a daze but Frost carried her round in his careful, serious way and somehow she remembered the course. They finished second to Ian and Bobby rode Frost straight back to the lorry. She did not want to cope with Ian’s sympathy or more discussion about Keith’s accident, she just wanted to go home.

  Back at Bracken Guy came to meet her as she drove in and knew at once from her face that something had happened. He pulled open the door and Bobby jumped down into his arms.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘Are you alright?’