Hilary stood open-mouthed. “There’s only the groom’s cottage, but my head girl lives there.”
“Well, she can give over her space then.” Grace smiled. “Tell her to move her stuff out. Olivia, you can move in. Hilary, keys.”
* * *
“Sally… Where are you?” She popped her head over one of the stable doors, body brush in hand. “I would go now if I were you before you lose your cottage.”
I watched as she raced across the yard and could hear raised voices. Sally came back with Hilary following closely behind.
“You know you can’t say that to her!”
“What? You cow! You’ve just made me homeless.”
“She is our sponsor…”
“She may be your sponsor…” Sally took a deep breath. “No, screw this!” She flung down the brush and stormed across the yard, getting in her car and driving away.
“Oh, shit…”
“Sorry Hilary, I’m not really sure how that could have gone worse? Can I do anything?”
“Oh, Adam… Please can you sort out Olivia’s needs? I need to find Sally and apologise.”
I nodded allowing Hilary to rush to her own car before walking back to the cottage. I popped my head around the door where Olivia was complaining about the furnishings.
“Well, I will buy them more so you can live in some comfort.”
“Hello… Sorry, Hilary had to pop out. She’s asked me to help in any way I can.” Two pairs of eyes glared at me. “Can I show you around the yard, Olivia?”
“Adam, it was Adam wasn’t it.” Grace drawled. “No, I am going to take Olivia for lunch, she’s been upset by the other groom. I will then arrange for some proper furniture to be delivered this afternoon to make this hovel at least habitable by a proper human being. Olivia will be back tomorrow morning.”
Then, as soon as they had arrived, they left. I watched the Range Rover cruise down the driveway before going back to the yard to finish my duties.
* * *
I’d finished the yard alone, completing the feeding before dragging myself, exhausted, to the caravan. I slipped off my boots grabbing a can of baked beans from a kitchen cupboard, too tired to even cook them. I flopped onto the sofa and ate them cold from the can. I’d almost fallen asleep in front of the telly when there was a gentle knock on the door. I stood up and opened the door.
“Oh hello, didn’t you used to work here?”
Sally stepped into the caravan. “Hilary asked if I could share with you.”
“Sorry, step back a little here. I thought you’d resigned.”
Sally sighed. “She needs me, I can’t just leave her. Especially with that nasty cow around.”
“She really doesn’t deserve you… Okay, you can have my room. It’s the bigger one, I’ll change the sheets. Have you eaten? Okay, I’ll make you something to eat.” Sally suddenly burst into tears, I sat beside her, hugging her. “Come on… Let’s not let her win. You’re still the boss.”
* * *
Thrown together, it was clear when I woke in the morning and made a cup of tea, Sally was depressed by the situation. I’d already been out and collected a load of her belongings which I’d seen dumped outside the cottage in the rain and put them in the living area. Sally picked through the water-damaged photographs and rosettes. She sighed as she pulled out a now damp photo of her in the arms of a handsome rider. Sighing, she pushed the photo back into the box.
“I’m sorry. Let’s see if we can face this together…”
We headed to the yard. I saw Sally looking at her cottage as she passed, there was no sign of life so we went down and fed our hungry horses.
“Right, she is getting up to muck out.” Sally stormed to the cottage and started to pound on the door, after almost ten minutes the door opened. Olivia stood in her dressing gown staring at Sally.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I am getting you up to do your job… Be on the yard in two minutes.”
“Piss off!” Olivia slammed the door in Sally’s face.
“What the-…”
“Wait, Sal, speak with Hilary first. She may not have made her role here clear.”
“She is a working pupil. That means, whoever she thinks she is, she has to work…” Sally stormed past me, shoulder slamming me on the way past.
7
Riding Lessons
“No!” Hilary shook her head. “You cannot just cut the line like that. Adam, please show her the proper line to take.”
I cantered my horse, jumping the combination before turning into the next set of jumps. As I returned to the centre of the arena, I saw the look of disdain on Olivia’s face.
“But the line he took was slower. I just rode it more competitively.”
“Olivia, the line you took was too tight. Yes, you might clear the jump, but you are more likely to miss the combination and flatten it. Yes, you might lose half a second, but it is a safer line if you don’t want faults.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “You think you know better?”
“I think you’ve lost your edge and should give way to a younger generation.” Olivia drawled.
I looked across at Hilary, anger in her eyes, however, she resisted commenting directly.
“Okay, I think we should work on your seat. Quit and cross your stirrups, let’s see you jump again without them this time…” I watched the smile slowly cross Hilary’s face and started to pull down my own stirrups. “Oh, you don’t need to Adam…”
“Oh, I’m game if Olivia is…” I shot her a look. I’d spent many hours practising gymkhana games; Olivia was looking considerably more nervous. I crossed the stirrup leathers in front of my saddle and pushed the horse into a canter lining up for the first jump. We jumped the first clear before taking a tight turn into the combination also jumping them clear.
Despite her nerves, Olivia wasn’t going to lose face against me. She lunged for the first jump, slithering on the saddle before attempting a tight turn. The horse lost its footing for a moment, stumbling and she fell, hitting the sand hard. Winded, she lay still for a moment before Hilary approached her.
“As you can see, if you turn too tightly you can have an issue. Right, get mounted and try again.”
I had to stop myself from giggling as Hilary walked away. Olivia was still lying prone on the damp sand. Her horse had stopped and was now looking down at her. She leapt up, snatching the reins, yelling abuse at the horse before hitting it hard with her crop.
“Oi! That horse did nothing wrong…”
“Fuck off! I’m teaching it…”
I rode towards her, pausing until she was standing beside me, between the horses. I leaned down; she was now out of sight of Hilary. “If I see you do that again, I will not be responsible for my actions…” I kicked on my horse, turning to the nearside, its quarters struck her hard, knocking her from her feet and she found herself sitting on the arena sand again. “Whoops…” She was glaring at me now. “Shall we try that again Hil’s?”
* * *
“Oh please, tell me again what happened.” Sally was leaning forward on her chair, a massive grin on her face.
“I can do better!” Hilary stepped into the tack room. “We can study the footage later.”
Of course, Hilary had CCTV cameras across the yard and in the arena, not just to protect against theft, but also to allow for review of lessons. I’d sat with her before studying, frame by frame, my riding position and jumping style and it was a powerful tool. Sally looked as if Christmas had come early and was already requesting multiple copies.
* * *
Olivia was back in the afternoon, we were in the arena, she was sitting on her horse paying more attention to her phone than what Hilary was saying. We’d been working on dressage and it was clear this was boring her. Hilary was not rising to the bait and carried on as if nothing was happening as we worked our horses through a series of exercises.
“Olivia? Do you not want to concentrate on this? Honestly, dressage is one
of the areas you could improve on…”
“Duh! I’ll do fine. I just need to ride the jumping faster and I’ll make up the points.” She turned back to staring at her phone.
I cut Hilary off before she could comment and we discussed several transitions, however, I could see she was fuming. Olivia hadn’t spoken to me since the session earlier and whereas she no doubt thought I would be regretting her silent treatment; I was quite glad not to have to interact with her.
The remainder of the session was frustrating with Olivia’s lack of interest upsetting Hilary and distracting what could have been useful riding time. As we walked back to the yard she threw her reins at Sally and walked off. I shook my head as I saw her open her mouth to comment.
Sally and I were in the hay shed later filling hay nets when Hilary stepped in. Sally sneered.
“Oh, are you going to help us? Are you sure you’re able?”
“Very good Sal. This is the one place I can get away from that opinionated madam. I’ve had her mother on the phone. Apparently, she’s bored with dressage training, despite it being a major part of three-day eventing which she so desperately wants to excel in. I’m to stop the flatwork and concentrate on her jumping. What can I do?”
“Well, it seems if you want sponsorship you have to do what you have to. But you knew that. I am guessing we just have to put up with her. Look, Hilary, there must be other sponsors surely you could-”
“Adam, I wish it was that simple. It’s not like the old days, there just isn’t the money in the sport. And…” She bit her lip. “I’ve tried.” The sigh was heartfelt. “When I spoke to other potential sponsor’s, they said they didn’t want to cross her. She’s made it clear she would sue for breach of contract if I went with another sponsor. If she can’t have something, no one can.”
“Shit! Well, there doesn’t seem to be an answer to this. I’m sorry Hilary.”
“I just wish we could get rid of her…” Sally shook her head.
“Sal, I’m open to suggestions. Now, while we are all together. Would you both like to come round for dinner tonight?”
“Oh, that would be nice. As long as you don’t intend to do the cooking?”
Hilary looked shocked.
“Adam, she really is a terrible cook…” Sally laughed.
“Okay. I’ll make something for us to eat.”
“Thank you, Adam!”
* * *
Their two expectant faces meant I just couldn’t have just said no to them, and, to be honest, I quite enjoyed cooking, especially if it took me out of the static caravan for an evening. The farmhouse had a beautifully fitted kitchen, it was something which would have been fashionable twenty years ago and, as I rifled through the near-empty cupboards I saw it was seriously underused. It was clear that Hilary was an infrequent visitor, there were a stack of ready meals in the fridge and a distinct lack of any other ingredients. In the end, I drove out to the local shop for supplies and created a simple ragù sauce served with meatballs and spaghetti. I made a big pot intending to be able to leave them some for a meal over the weekend, but they easily finished it all off with the big lumps of warm bread I’d baked in the oven.
We all slumped onto the sofas in Hilary’s cosy living room which was lined with pictures of past victories, rosettes and horse photos. I recognised what must have been Hilary’s parents and felt a pang of jealousy, as my own parents had died in an accident at an early age.
It was clear to see Hilary and Sally were great friends, despite a potential falling out over Olivia, so I asked how they had met. They glanced between themselves before Sally started to tell her story.
“Well, we’ve known each other for years, I used to compete myself as I am sure Hilary has mentioned, so there were times when I would see Hilary in the collecting ring with her posh parents and top of the range horse…”
“Oi!” Hilary playfully slapped her shoulder. “What Sally is saying, is I worked hard and was sometimes in a more advanced class than her.”
“Am I telling this story or you? Okay, well, madam was more advanced, naturally, and, what with my lack of ability and the run-ins with Olivia I decided I wasn’t cut out for the spotlight of competition. So, I started grooming. I worked at quite a busy event yard with Peter Fitch, you will have heard of him of course. He’d just won Badminton and was a bit of a star in the horse world. We got on very well, extremely well… Stop sniggering. I was pretty infatuated with him and we used to travel to events in his horsebox. Look, I was a grown-up and so we… Well, you know. Oh… He was a very handsome man and so I was attracted to him… And…”
“And? Sally, oh, you’ve gone bright red… It’s better when I tell the story. I was competing at an event in Wiltshire, back then it was just me, I didn’t have a sponsor or a groom at the time. Sally sort of dropped in on me. It was quite late; I was just about to go to sleep when someone fell through the door of my horsebox. Now it was only a tiny one so the living compartment was really small. Sally sort of fell on me.”
“She fell on you?”
“Oh, it gets better Adam. She was stark naked at the time! She had been… Well, you can guess whatever she’d been doing with her employer when his wife came into their horsebox. Yes, I know! She’d travelled up to surprise him and my goodness she did just that! She had walked into the bedroom area, pulled back the duvet and screamed blue murder. Sally had leapt up, as she was and ran straight out of the horsebox, being perused through the horsebox lines by his very angry wife carrying a pitchfork. She apparently grabbed the door handle to my box thinking it was empty and threw herself inside to hide. She begged me to keep quiet. We could hear this poor woman outside; goodness knows what might have happened if she’d caught Sally.
So, there she was. Naked as the day she was born, feeling pretty sorry for herself having lost her boyfriend, and her job - she certainly wasn’t going to show her face at the yard in case the wife recognised her. I took pity on her. We made a deal, she could borrow some of my clothes and a place to hide overnight, all I wanted in return was a groom for the next phase.
And so, here we are, five years later with my loyal and honest groom. Definitely not a home-wrecking little, what did she call you?”
“Oh, my goodness!” I laughed. Poor Sally was shaking her head. “You dark horse you. No wonder you tried to jump me…” I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth and the sudden change in Hilary’s expression told me it was time for me to leave.
I stood up rapidly, grabbing my jacket, “Right, is that the time. It’s been lovely. See you in the morning…”
8
All Change
Hilary was apologetic however there was still no sign of Olivia who finally appeared at ten o’clock immaculately dressed in brilliant white breeches and polished boots.
“Why do I think madam is not going to be doing any work here today…” Sally hissed.
“You!” I looked up and saw Olivia gesturing in my direction. “Get my first horse out.” She had already turned and was walking away.
“Olivia let’s start as we mean to go on. I’ll show you where the horse you’re riding is, I’ll show you the tack room and even lend you a grooming kit if you don’t have one yet. But I am not your groom. So, shall we start again?”
She rolled her eyes and walked away. “I’ll be in the arena. Waiting.”
Death Rider (The Rider Series Book 2) Page 6