The Thirteenth Horse Page 4

  Emma patted Kristy gingerly on the shoulder. ‘I may be getting on a bit but I do remember what it’s like to be twelve and horse-mad. Now, do you have your own riding hat?’

  Kristy swallowed the large lump that had mysteriously appeared in her throat. ‘I do, thank you.’

  ‘Why don’t you whizz home in your lunch hour and get it. Then you can have a ride this afternoon if you like. The school’s free at four for half an hour.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ said Kristy, her eyes shining. She deserved a dressing down yet Emma had not only given her a second chance, she had offered Kristy the one thing she craved. She couldn’t believe her good luck.

  ‘Yes. Now go and finish mucking out before I change my mind!’

  EMMA FOUND Cassius’s saddle and bridle and helped her tack up.

  ‘Remember to always approach him on his good side so he can see you, and talk to him so he knows you’re there. He’ll be fine on the right rein but he might be a bit spooky on the left rein. Let him turn his head to see where strange sights or sounds are coming from,’ Emma said, giving Kristy a leg-up. She patted the gelding’s neck. ‘Winning any horse’s trust is important, but with a blind horse it’s vital, because they rely so heavily on their riders. You’ll have to become his eyes when he can’t see, and you need him to trust you to tell him where to go and that it’s safe.’

  Riding Cassius was everything Kristy hoped it would be and more. She talked to him constantly as they circled the indoor school on both reins, sitting tall in the saddle but making sure she was supple and balanced. He was stiff on his left rein but Emma told her it was nothing regular schooling wouldn’t sort out. He was willing and, for his size, surprisingly light on the bit. Kristy wondered how his owner could have ever abandoned him.

  As she gazed at his tufty pricked ears Kristy felt a huge wave of responsibility towards Cassius. Physically, he was immensely strong, yet he needed her to look out for him. She decided there and then that she would do whatever it took to gain his trust.

  7

  EQUESTRIAN BALLET

  K risty grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and pulled on her boots.

  ‘Where are you off to so early?’ said her mum.

  ‘The stables,’ said Kristy in surprise, as if there was anywhere else she’d be going at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning.

  ‘But you don’t work on a Sunday. Sunday is homework day.’ Her mum, still in her dressing gown, ran a hand through her rumpled hair.

  ‘I won’t be long. And I’ll do my homework the minute I get in. Promise,’ said Kristy, flashing her a smile.

  Her mum tutted loudly. ‘Those horses see more of you than we do.’

  ‘Oh, Mum, I almost forgot. I got an A for my essay. It was one of the highest marks in the class. And Mr Baker is really strict.’

  ‘Good.’ Her mum bustled over to the kettle and flicked it on. ‘Go on, off you go. I know you can’t wait to see those horses of yours. Just make sure you’re back in time for lunch.’

  ‘Thanks Mum,’ Kristy grinned.

  As she reached Mill Farm a car pulled up in front of her and the twins jumped out.

  Norah looked her up and down. ‘Why are you wearing jodhpurs?’

  ‘Because I’m going riding,’ said Kristy evenly.

  Norah’s eyebrows shot up. ‘You’re not sneaking another ride, are you?’

  ‘Of course not!’ Kristy had no desire to make an enemy of Norah, but she wasn’t about to be browbeaten, either. ‘Emma wants me to get Cassius fit so she can sell him.’

  ‘The big Percheron in the bottom paddock?’ said William, impressed.

  Kristy nodded proudly.

  ‘You could have joined us for a ride but we’ve got a lesson this morning,’ said William. ‘Maybe next time?’

  Kristy pretended not to notice Norah elbowing her brother in the ribs. ‘That would be cool. Thanks.’

  When Kristy led Cassius up to the yard she was surprised to see Emma tacking up her handsome skewbald gelding, Jigsaw.

  ‘I thought I’d come with you for your first ride. Just to make sure everything’s OK.’

  Expecting to retrace her steps back down the driveway, Kristy was surprised when Emma turned Jigsaw along the track that led to Cassius’s paddock and the back of the farm.

  ‘These lanes are much quieter,’ said Emma. They reached a five-bar gate. ‘See if you can open it without getting off.’

  Kristy spoke quietly to Cassius and turned him side on to the gate. She leant over and he lowered his head so she could reach the latch. She leant further out of the saddle, her arm stretched towards the top bar, but Cassius beat her to it, nudging it open with his nose. Once they were both through he swung his haunches around and backed into the gate until it clicked shut.

  ‘That’s some party trick,’ laughed Emma.

  Kristy grinned and patted the gelding’s neck. ‘Clever boy!’

  They ambled down the lane, past newly-ploughed fields and meadows dotted with dairy cattle and black-faced sheep. Occasionally Cassius would stop, sniff the wind and turn his head so he could see the fields on their right with his good eye. When a tractor pulling a clattering trailer passed them he stood calmly while Jigsaw fidgeted behind him. He didn’t even flinch when a pheasant ran squawking out of a holly bush in front of them.

  ‘Good in traffic and bombproof,’ said Emma approvingly.

  Kristy knew she should be pleased. But it sounded as if her boss was drafting an advert. And her heart plummeted to her boots.

  KRISTY WAS LIFTING Cassius’s saddle onto its rack when Sofia bounced into the tack room. ‘Have you got time for a hot chocolate?’

  She checked her watch. It was still only half past ten. ‘Sure, why not?’

  Sofia flicked on the kettle and spooned hot chocolate powder into two mugs. The door to the tack room opened again, this time letting in the twins and a blast of cold air.

  ‘Make us one, too, Sofia,’ wheedled William. ‘You do it so nicely.’

  ‘Flattery will get you nowhere, William Bergman,’ Sofia said sternly. ‘Make it yourself.’

  William busied himself with mugs and the kettle and gave his sister her drink. Norah, who had bagged the least threadbare armchair, took a tiny sip and pulled a face. ‘You forgot my sugar!’

  ‘Sorry, sis.’ William handed her a small chipped bowl and a coffee-stained teaspoon. She eyed him warily. ‘Why are you being so nice?’

  ‘Honestly, you’re so suspicious.’

  ‘I can’t think why.’ She tipped two heaped spoonfuls of sugar into her mug and gave it a brisk stir. She sat back in the armchair, cupped her hands around her drink and sighed happily. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this. It’s so cold out there.’ She took a mouthful, made a strange gurgling noise and spat it straight back into the mug. ‘Ugh, salt!’

  William’s face was a picture of innocence. Norah, on the other hand, had turned an angry shade of puce. ‘I hate you!’ she shrieked. She leapt from the chair and the mug flew out of her hand, sending a stream of scalding-hot liquid over Kristy, who yelped in pain as the skin on the back of her left hand reddened.

  ‘Now look what you’ve done!’ Norah yelled at her brother. ‘Run your hand under the cold tap!’ she barked at Kristy. Kristy held her hand under the tap until it had stopped throbbing.

  ‘Is it OK?’ William asked sheepishly.

  ‘It’s fine.’

  ‘No thanks to you,’ said Norah, glaring at her brother. ‘She could have suffered third degree burns.’

  ‘What, from a hot chocolate?’ William raised his eyebrows.

  Kristy, wondering if the twins ever stopped arguing, sank into the sofa and flexed her hand experimentally. The skin was still red but it didn’t hurt any more.

  Sofia sprang from her chair as if she, too, had been scalded. ‘I nearly forgot!’ she cried, delving into a plastic carrier bag by her feet. ‘Look what I picked up today!’ She pulled out a roll of paper with a flourish.

  ‘What is it?’ c
horused the twins.

  ‘It’s a poster for the Mayor’s first ever New Year’s Eve show.’ Sofia unrolled the poster. ‘Look, there’ll be ice-skating, a reindeer parade, husky rides and an icicle ball. But most exciting of all, there’s going to be a quadrille and,’ she paused dramatically, ‘they want local riders to enter teams!’

  William snorted. ‘And how is this exciting?’

  Norah rounded on him. ‘I bet you don’t even know what a quadrille is.’

  ‘It sounds boring, and that’s all I need to know.’

  ‘It’s a riding display set to music,’ said Norah.

  ‘Equestrian ballet,’ added Sofia. ‘And the riders and their horses have to wear costumes.’

  ‘It still sounds boring,’ said William.

  ‘Boring?’ Norah exploded. ‘It takes great skill to be able to ride in a quadrille.’

  ‘We’ll be performing in the town square in front of hundreds of people. How can that be boring?’ said Sofia.

  Norah frowned. ‘We? I thought you wanted us to go and watch.’

  Sofia gave an impatient tsk. ‘No, silly. We’re going to enter a team!’

  ‘No we’re not,’ said William. ‘Riding to music is for girls and sissies.’

  ‘Aha, that’s where you’re wrong, actually. In the olden days cavalrymen performed quadrilles to prepare their horses for battle. You can’t get more heroic than that,’ said Sofia.

  ‘I suppose,’ said William grudgingly.

  Norah’s eyes lit up. ‘Can I be the team captain?’

  ‘Hey, it was my idea!’

  ‘The team leader needs to be organised, methodical and, most of all, assertive. Sorry Sofia, this job’s got my name written all over it,’ said Norah.

  ‘You can say that again,’ muttered William under his breath.

  ‘If you don’t agree to do it I’ll tell Mum about you burning Kristy,’ said Norah.

  ‘But I didn’t -’

  ‘You’re already in so much trouble for hiding the car keys in the bread bin.’

  ‘It was meant to be a joke. Alright, I’ll do it,’ said William, grabbing the poster from Sofia. ‘It says the quadrille is open to teams of four.’

  ‘Four?’ said Norah. ‘But there are only three of us.’

  ‘No there aren’t!’ cried Sofia. ‘What about Kristy?’

  Kristy squirmed in her seat as three sets of eyes swivelled in her direction.

  8

  APOLOGY ACCEPTED

  K risty hid behind her fringe and plucked at a loose thread on the arm of the sofa.

  ‘But she hasn’t got her own pony,’ said Norah.

  ‘She can ride Cassius,’ said William.

  ‘What, that big old clodhopper?’

  ‘Norah!’ cried Sofia, aghast. ‘Don’t be so mean.’

  ‘I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking,’ Norah said huffily.

  ‘Speak for yourself,’ said William. ‘I think Cassius is cool.’

  ‘If you like woolly mammoths,’ said his sister. ‘We’d be a laughing stock.’

  Kristy could feel a tight bubble of anger building inside her chest. She wasn’t bothered that they were talking about her like she wasn’t in the room. But there was no way she would let anyone insult Cassius.

  ‘He should be pulling a cart, not riding to music,’ Norah continued, not noticing that Kristy had risen to her feet and was glaring at her with flinty eyes.

  ‘Has anyone ever told you you’re a bully, Norah Bergman? No, I didn’t think so. Let’s get one thing straight. You can be as bossy and rude to me as you like. I can stick up for myself. But don’t you ever, ever, be mean to Cassius. He’s the gentlest, bravest, kindest horse I’ve ever met. And if you ever looked further than the end of your nose you’d see that. So lay off him, alright?’

  Norah looked close to tears and Kristy felt a pang remorse. ‘You just need to think before you speak, that’s all,’ she muttered, pushing past her to the door.

  ‘But will you be in our team?’ Sofia called after her.

  Kristy stopped in her tracks and swung around to face them. Sofia and William looked hopeful. Norah looked chastened. Kristy shook her head. ‘Not in a million years,’ she said, slamming the door behind her.

  EMMA FOUND her in the bottom paddock, watching Cassius graze. She got straight to the point.

  ‘Sofia’s said you’ve had a falling out.’

  Kristy was silent.

  ‘I can’t have my stablehand arguing with the liveries. What if they decide to take their ponies elsewhere?’

  ‘It was more a difference of opinion,’ said Kristy.

  ‘That’s not how they described it. But whatever it was, you need to sort it out.’

  ‘You didn’t hear them, Emma! Well, just Norah really. She was being so rude about Cassius. She called him a clodhopper!’ The Percheron wandered over at the sound of his name and Kristy stroked his nose absentmindedly.

  ‘They told me about this quadrille. They want you to be in their team.’

  ‘They need me to be in their team, more like. There’s no-one else,’ Kristy said grumpily.

  ‘Don’t you think you might actually enjoy it?’

  ‘I like Sofia and William’s OK, but Norah treats me like I’m her personal dogsbody. Can you imagine what she’ll be like, bossing us all about?’

  ‘I know she can come across as a bit…autocratic -’

  ‘Are you kidding? She’s the bossiest person I’ve ever met.’

  ‘I think it’s because she lacks confidence,’ said Emma.

  Kristy gave her boss an incredulous look.

  ‘No, seriously. Lots of bossy people lack self-esteem. William and Sofia are both naturally talented riders. As are you, if I may say so. But Norah has to work twice as hard to keep up with them. She feels inferior and she disguises it by ordering the others about. She probably doesn’t even realise she’s doing it.’

  ‘Even if that’s true, she’s been really unfriendly towards me since I started working here,’ said Kristy.

  ‘She probably feels a bit threatened. Worried that you’ll steal the others away from her.’

  ‘I’d never do that.’

  ‘I know that, and you know that, but Norah doesn’t. Why don’t you prove it to her?’

  Kristy picked a handful of grass and offered it to Cassius. ‘How?’

  ‘By joining their team. And Cassius would love it.’

  ‘That’s blackmail,’ Kristy sighed.

  Cassius gave her a gentle nudge, as if he agreed with Emma.

  ‘Where’s your fighting spirit? Prove her wrong. Show her that he isn’t a clodhopper,’ Emma persisted.

  Kristy felt outnumbered. ‘All right, I’ll think about it. On one condition. She needs to apologise first.’

  KRISTY WAS SITTING in her usual spot in the library the next day, finishing a history assignment, when someone cleared their throat and said nervously, ‘Have you got a minute?’

  She swung around to see Norah standing behind her, clutching her schoolbag to her chest, her face solemn.

  ‘That depends,’ said Kristy slowly, ‘on what you’ve come to say.’

  Norah took a deep breath. ‘I’m sorry I spilled my drink over your hand. I’m sorry I was rude to you. But most of all I’m sorry I was mean about Cassius. He’s not a clodhopper. I don’t even know why I said it. William’s always telling me I’m a bigmouth and he’s right.’

  ‘Shhh!’ hissed the librarian, pointing to a sign hanging over the door. Quiet please.

  ‘Sorry,’ mouthed Norah to the librarian, sliding into the chair next to Kristy. She grinned self-consciously and whispered, ‘I seem to be doing a lot of apologising today.’

  Kristy put her pen down carefully.

  ‘Please be in the team, Kristy. We need you.’

  ‘That depends,’ said Kristy.

  ‘On what? I’ll do anything.’

  ‘I totally get that you can treat me like your personal slave when I’m working. But you
have to give me your word that when we’re training for the quadrille we’re equals. No ordering me about like I’m the hired help, OK?’

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ said Norah earnestly. ‘If it’ll make a difference I’ve told Sofia she should be the leader. After all, it was her idea.’

  Kristy raised her eyebrows. ‘Yes, it was.’

  ‘We’re having a meeting to discuss it all in the tack room at six o’clock tonight. We’ve made it then so you’ll have finished your shift. Please say you’ll come?’ She looked at Kristy with anxious eyes.

  Kristy had enjoyed watching the other girl squirm but she wasn’t one to hold a grudge. ‘Apology accepted.’ She gathered her books, shoved them into her bag and stood up. ‘Alright, I’ll come.’

  A CHINK of golden light slunk through a knot in the wooden door of the tack room like a solitary ray of sunshine as Kristy walked past, pushing the final wheelbarrow-load of clean straw to Copper’s stable. The chestnut gelding was tied up outside, his head buried in a haynet, snug in his quilted rug. As Sofia, Norah and William had all ridden tonight Kristy hadn’t had to bring the ponies in or change their rugs. She was almost finished and it was still only a quarter to six.

  Emma followed her into Copper’s stable and took the fork from Kristy’s hand.

  ‘I’ll finish off here. You go and have your powwow.’

  Kristy pushed open the tack room door.

  ‘You’re here!’ cried Sofia with relief.

  Kristy kicked off her muddy boots and curled up in an armchair.

  ‘Can I make you a hot chocolate?’ asked Norah.

  ‘As long as you don’t throw it over me this time,’ Kristy deadpanned.

  Sofia giggled and reached for a notebook. She waved it at them. ‘I’ve written an agenda for the meeting -’

  ‘Crikey, that’s a bit official, isn’t it? This is supposed to be fun, remember,’ William grumbled.