They went inside and Grandpa made a flask of coffee for the journey. As he screwed the lid onto his old thermos flask, Josh came in through the door.
‘We can do better than that, Gramps!’ he said, putting down a big picnic basket.
‘Me and Mum made you some lunch. Take a look!’
‘Thanks, Josh!’ smiled Grandpa, opening the lid and taking a peep inside. ‘Oh, cheese and pork pies and lemon cake – my favourites!’
‘You okay, Bry?’ Josh had noticed his sister, sitting in the window seat quietly.
‘Yeah . . .’ replied Bryony. She still hadn’t told him about yesterday. ‘Let’s get you into the car, Gramps,’ she said. ‘You don’t want to be late for the show.’
‘If you’re sure you don’t need company today?’ Grandpa asked.
‘Why?’ asked Josh. ‘I’ll be about, but what’s wrong?’
Grandpa nodded at Bryony and Bryony nodded back. Josh deserved to know the truth. And so, as Grandpa packed the car, Bryony told her brother everything.
‘So, anyway – I don’t stand a chance now,’ she concluded. ‘Jonathan’s parents are coming today, and they’re bringing their horse trailer too. Jonathan seemed to think that Red was just what he’s been looking for.’
No sooner had Bryony finished her story than her brother whipped a crumpled paper bag from his pocket.
‘For you,’ said Josh. ‘I-I brought it in case you hadn’t made quite enough money. It’s well, it’s all my money from Patrick.’
Patrick was Josh’s piggy bank. Josh, Bryony knew, wasn’t great at saving, but she was so touched that he’d give her everything he had.
‘Thanks, Josh,’ said Bryony. ‘But this is yours. And even if we offered Georgina the crown jewels she wouldn’t sell Red to me.’
‘I bet she would!’ nodded Josh. ‘Have it anyway – ’cos . . . well, I just want you to.’
Bryony smiled.
‘Right, then . . .’ said Josh. ‘That’s that.’
It was almost ten o’clock, time for Grandpa to go. The twins went out to wave him off.
‘Have a great time,’ Bryony said.
‘Rev her up, then, Gramps!’ called Josh. Grandpa turned the key and Matilde started, her engine purring majestically.
‘Bye!’ Grandpa called, and he tootled off down the lane just as the rain started.
Bryony decided to go and see Emma. She really ought to tell her how much they’d made. And now that she definitely couldn’t buy Red she’d insist she share the money with Emma. It was the least she could do after Emma had been such a great friend.
Josh went with her. Yesterday he’d promised Will that he’d help him make a go-kart in the garden. By the time they got there, though, the rain was already much heavier.
‘I’m so sorry, Bryony,’ Emma said when Bryony had told her the news about Red. ‘Is that why you left the fête early?’
‘Yep,’ Bryony nodded.
For the next few hours, Bryony paced around, waiting for the sound of a trailer. Josh tried to talk her into helping with the go-kart they were having to build in the kitchen.
‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘I just wouldn’t be able to concentrate.’
Lunchtime came and went. Still no sound of a trailer. And Bryony was more anxious than ever. Then, finally . . .
‘I need to see Red!’ she cried. ‘One last time, to say goodbye! I can’t have him think I’ve forgotten him and that I don’t care.’
Her mind was made up, and no one could stop her. ‘Well, go down Pheasant Walk,’ suggested Emma. ‘That way you won’t be seen.’
‘Pheasant Walk? What’s that?’ asked Josh.
‘Em!’ shouted Will. ‘You told Bryony the secret?’
Emma nodded. ‘She’s my best friend, Will.’ Then they shared the secret with Josh too.
‘Whoa,’ said Josh. ‘A secret short cut wilderness? That’s . . . that’s really cool!’
‘Don’t tell anyone, though,’ Emma said and Josh promised that he wouldn’t.
The others said that they’d go with Bryony. But Bryony wanted to be alone with Red to say her last goodbye and persuaded them to wait for her at the cottage.
‘Right, then,’ she said, borrowing one of Emma’s raincoats. ‘Won’t be long.’
As she set off down the overgrown track, Bryony knew this was the last time she’d ever see Red. No more taking him big red apples, or exploring Brook Dale together, or watching the world flash by as they galloped along the sand.
She stumbled through the soaking wet brambles, whacking them away with a stick. Why did bad things always happen to her? Why did Georgina hate her so much? Why did she ever think things could work out fine?!
Bryony emerged from the secret labyrinth by the side gate near the stables. But suddenly she stopped. For there by the gate was . . . Georgina!
Thank goodness, though, Georgina hadn’t seen her. If she could just sneak back into the thicket and wait until Georgina went away, then she could carry on with her plan to see Red.
Georgina was looking up at the stormy sky as she leaned against the open gate. The rain had just stopped but was threatening to return any second.
Bryony started to edge back towards the trees. But she stepped on a twig which snapped loudly, promptly giving her away.
‘Hey!’ called Georgina, her face puzzled. ‘Where have you just appeared from? And why are you here, anyway?’
‘I . . .’ Bryony stopped. ‘I just wanted . . .’ she gulped.
‘Ah, yes,’ Georgina nodded. ‘Of course, I should have known! You just wanted to bid farewell to the sad little pony.’
Her tone was mocking and a teasing smirk danced around her dainty lips. ‘Pity, then, because you’re a tiny bit too late!’
‘What do you mean I’m too late?’ Bryony gasped. Georgina just stood there and laughed.
Bryony rushed to the stables. Red’s door was open wide but Red was nowhere in sight.
‘Where is he?’ she screamed. Bryony didn’t understand. Had Jonathan and his parents taken him already? Perhaps they’d come and gone through the side gate? Is that why she hadn’t heard a trailer go past Emma’s?
But wait – all Red’s tack and blankets were still there. Even his favourite tug-and-toss-ball was hanging up on his peg.
Bryony shook her head. This just wasn’t making sense! She flew back to Georgina.
‘Where’s Red?’
‘Oh, dear,’ smirked Georgina. ‘I’d tell you if I could. But as you can see someone’s been careless and – oops! – left the gate open. If a little pony were to wander through, why, who knows where he might end up? I do hope he hasn’t come to any . . . harm.’
‘What?’ shrieked Bryony. She glanced at the open gate. ‘You! You let him out!’
The world was spinning and Bryony was boiling hot, yet her hands felt cold and clammy.
Turning, she raced back to Gardener’s Cottage, but this time up the bramble-free driveway.
‘Emma!’ she shouted. ‘Josh – quick! Georgina’s let Red wander out! Come on – we have to go and find him – now!’
‘She’s done what?!’ cried Emma, horrified. She too had become very close to Red, spending all that time with him and Bryony.
‘Right, best search close to home first,’ Emma said. ‘Then gradually work outwards. But my dad – he’s out. I can’t leave Will!’
‘Great!’ cried Will. ‘I’ll come too!’ Being only six, this was like a huge adventure.
‘As long as you do as I say,’ warned Emma.
‘Okay!’
By the time they reached the side gate Georgina had gone. Then the sky gave a thunderous rumble.
‘That’s not a bad omen,’ Bryony whispered to herself.
If only she believed her own words . . .
They started their search in the fields around the Manor then fanned out to the meadows beyond.
It had started to rain heavily again and the sky was growing darker all the time. Clearly a huge storm was approachi
ng, and there was still no sign of Red.
‘Okay, where else might he go?’ asked Josh as they regrouped on a soaking wet lane, looking like drowned rats.
‘Anywhere!’ cried Bryony. She was starting to feel frantic.
‘No, wait!’ she gasped. ‘Red loved the beach!’ She remembered that special trip they’d made back when Georgina had chickenpox.
‘Right,’ said Emma. ‘Let’s go there next, come on!’
They set off, running as fast as they could. The quickest way from where they were was through the beech wood. As they headed there Bryony could only imagine how wild the sea would be today. Emma, it seemed, was thinking the much same . . .
‘Will – no going near the waves,’ she called. He was such a little daredevil at times.
Will frowned. ‘I’m not a baby, Em!’
‘I know!’ called Emma. ‘But it’s going to be rough and really dangerous!’
Emma, who’d lived in Brook Dale all her life, knew the tides like the back of her hand.
‘Okay, so it’s three o’clock now,’ she panted. ‘We’ll have until four before the tide will be too high for us to search the beach any more.’
‘Oh, no!’ cried Bryony. That was hardly any time at all!
As they approached the beech wood, Bryony saw her little cottage. There was no time to call in and tell Mum what was up. They couldn’t waste a single second. The advancing tide wasn’t going to wait until their search was done. If Red was at the beach they needed to get to him fast!
Inside the wood the leafy green canopy acted like a huge umbrella, allowing them to pick up more speed.
Everyone sprinted through the wet ferns and piled out of the wood, breathless. They were nearly there, just a lane or two to go.
They ran on until they reached the sandy pathway leading down onto the beach.
‘The waves,’ cried Bryony. ‘Look at them! They’re fierce!’
The sea, now dark grey, was wildly rocking about. In the distance Bryony could see the boats in the harbour. Usually they were in neat little rows but today they were bumping and crashing into each other, pulling against the ropes tying them to the jetty and threatening to rip themselves free. The waves were huge too, hissing and spitting and unstoppable.
Thankfully the tide was still a little way out so they hurried down the pathway onto the sand. As they searched round the sand dunes, the sky looked dark and menacing. Then Bryony saw, in the corner of her eye, a single flash of silvery lightning. She herself had never been scared of thunder, but she knew that Red hated storms. Especially wind, and now it was blowing a gale!
‘Maybe,’ she cried above the roar of the sea, ‘he’s gone to shelter in a cave?’
‘Yes,’ gasped Emma. ‘Yes, you might be right.’
Some of the caves were clearly too small but others would easily fit a pony. And a few of them looked deep and cavernous.
‘Right,’ said Josh. ‘Let’s search them quickly!’ Bryony checked her watch.
‘Three-forty,’ she said. ‘Just twenty minutes left until the sea floods the caves completely! I think we should split into pairs to save time.’
Emma chose Will (to keep an eye on him) and Bryony went with Josh.
‘Meet back here at five to four!’ Bryony called behind her.
It was very gloomy inside the caves, worse than usual because of the storm.
‘Red! Red!’ they called through the darkness, but the only answer they got was their own ghostly echo: ‘Red! Red!’
Bryony could hear the sea crashing outside and each time they changed caves the waves were closer than before. The storm was showing no sign of letting up either.
Bryony thought she spotted Red once or twice but the shadows were clearly playing tricks on her eyes as each time it turned out to just be rocks. They had barely a few minutes in each of the caves if they wanted to get them all checked in time.
Those fifteen minutes passed in a flash, and before they knew it, it was time to meet back up.
They had one more cave to search. The one closest to the steps. And the sea was coming faster than they’d thought.
‘There’s no time,’ said Josh. ‘We’ve only got five minutes. That last cave – look, it’s huge.’
‘But Red . . .’ Bryony gasped. What if he was in there? Waiting. Scared. Alone . . .?
Deep down, though, she knew that Josh was right. Even now the sea had reached their feet, the freezing salty water biting cold. Then suddenly something caught Bryony’s eye. Will was racing off towards the cave!
‘No, Will!’ she yelled.
‘STOP!’ Emma shouted. ‘There’s no time!’
Will was at the mouth of the cave. He heard them though he still ran on inside. Everyone chased after him. Will’s intentions were good but the sea was marching closer all the time.
They piled into the cave. ‘There!’ Josh pointed. He could just make Will out, running further into the damp, eerie darkness.
‘Red! Red! Where are you?’ Will called.
‘Will!’ wailed Emma.
‘Come back!’ called Bryony. But as she raced towards him she didn’t see a rock lying in her path on the ground. She flew past it, but as she did, a jagged bit sticking out cut through the skin on her ankle.
‘Arghhhhh!’ screamed Bryony, tumbling to the ground, her ankle stinging like mad.
‘Bry!’ called Josh, hurrying over with Emma. And Will, who’d also heard, rushed back.
‘Bry! Are you okay?’ gasped Josh.
‘Oh, Bryony, how bad is it?’ asked Emma.
‘Sorry . . .’ said Will quietly. ‘I only wanted to find Red.’
‘It’s o-okay,’ shivered Bryony. It was too dark to see how deep the cut was but she felt blood trickling onto her foot.
‘Listen, I’m f-fine!’ Bryony said. ‘But we’ve g-got to get out of here – now.’
They helped her up, and as they went to head out, a surge of freezing water came at them.
‘The sea! It’s inside!’ Bryony shouted. ‘Brace yourselves!’
The wave hit and then they waded through numbingly cold water as the sea gulped and gurgled around them. Bryony winced as the salt stung her ankle. She pushed on, but it was hard fighting against the waves. As hard, thought Bryony, as the battle to get Red away from the cold-hearted Georgina. Like fighting against the tide – Bryony didn’t stand a chance. She never had!
Suddenly she felt cold to the bone and sick, and the echoey cave started to spin.
‘Dizzy . . .’ she gasped. Josh held her tight, helping her through the icy water until all four of them were outside. As they staggered up the pathway leading off the beach they looked back to see the last patch of sand disappear in a surge of ice-cold water.
‘Red,’ whispered Bryony.
There was nowhere he could shelter. Not now . . .
The rain was finally stopping as they walked back through the beech wood. Bryony was still thinking about Red.
‘I miss him so much,’ she murmured to Emma.
‘I know,’ replied Emma. ‘But if you can, try to not think the worst.’
They walked on a little further when . . .
‘Bryony! Josh!’ It was their mum, with Grandpa back from his car show.
‘Where have you been?!’ cried Mum rushing over, Grandpa hurrying behind. ‘Me and Grandpa – we’ve been looking for you for ages.’
Before anyone could answer, Mum hugged them. Then she noticed the cut on Bryony’s ankle.
‘Bryony, what happened to your foot?’ she cried. But Bryony’s mind was not on herself.
‘She c-cut it on a r-rock,’ Emma shivered.
There was seaweed on their clothes. Grandpa noticed it too.
‘Don’t tell me you’ve been in the caves?’ he said. ‘It’s not safe in high tide, and you know it!’
Josh, Emma and Will all looked really sheepish, but Bryony was still distraught.
‘It was her,’ she said, gulping back a sob. ‘Georgina Brook sent Red out and now he
’s never coming back!’
‘Never coming back?’ Grandpa repeated. ‘But we saw Red just ten minutes ago.’
‘You what? You saw him? Where?!’ gasped Bryony. She could hardly believe what she was hearing!
‘At Brook Dale Manor,’ Grandpa answered. ‘We went to see if you were at Emma’s and then – well, we saw him there.’
‘By the way, Emma,’ Mum now said, ‘your dad’s very worried too. He’s gone off to the park to search while we searched here in the wood.’
‘I’ll go and tell him I found them,’ Grandpa nodded. He turned to leave but Bryony stopped him.
‘Grandpa – but Red! Was he okay?’
‘As right as rain!’ Grandpa replied. ‘He was coming back in through the side gate with Seth Davies.’
Seth Davies was the farrier who fitted Red’s shoes, or trimmed his hooves when they needed it.
‘I think Mrs Brook must have “summoned” Seth,’ said Grandpa, ‘to take Red in to get new shoes. When I saw them Seth was in his Land Rover, pulling Red’s trailer behind. He was bringing the little pony back, like I said, ten minutes ago.’
Bryony now breathed a huge sigh of relief. ‘Thank goodness!’ she cried. ‘Red is fine!!’
‘So what made you think he wasn’t?’ asked Mum.
‘Georgina!’ cried Bryony. ‘She deliberately let me think that Red had wandered off and she’d let him!’
‘On a day when anything might have happened to him,’ added Emma.
‘What?’ cried Grandpa. ‘What a rotten trick! Even for Georgina!’
‘But, Bryony,’ said Mum, ‘if you think about it, it didn’t make sense, did it? I mean, why would Georgina let Red stray away when that boy that you told me about yesterday was just about to come and buy him?’
‘I know!’ Bryony felt so foolish now. ‘I should have worked it out! It was just . . . well, the way she said it, Mum. The way she says everything! She just gets me so angry and confused I don’t think straight!’
The Pony With No Name Page 11