Riders (4 page)

“Fen really has come on. I do hope she isn’t too much of a nuisance down at the stables all day, but she is utterly pony-mad. Every sentence begins, ‘Jake said this, Jake says that’; you’ve become quite an ogre in our home.”

“Oh, Mummy,” groaned Fen.

Jake, thinking how silly she was and unable to think of anything to say in reply, remained silent.

How gauche he is, thought Molly Maxwell.

The junior class, having finished jumping off, were riding into the ring to collect their rosettes.

“Number Eighty-six,” howled the collecting ring steward. “Number Eighty-six.”

“That’s you, Fen,” said Tory in excitement.

“It couldn’t be. I had a refusal.”

“You’re fourth,” said Jake, “go on.”

“I couldn’t be.”

“Number Eighty-six, for the last time,” bellowed the ring steward.

“It is me,” said Fen, and scrambling onto Dandelion, plonking her hat on her head, and not wearing a riding coat, she cantered into the ring, where she thanked Miss Bilborough three times for her rosette. Success went to Dandelion’s head and his feet. Thinking the lap of honor was a race, he barged ahead of the other three winners, carting Fen out of the ring and galloping half round the show ground before she could pull him to a halt in front of Jake. He shook his head disapprovingly.

Fen giggled. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if Africa got one too?”

T
he afternoon wore on, getting hotter. The Lady Mayoress, sweating in her scarlet robes, had a bright yellow nose from sniffing Lady Dorothy’s lilies. The band was playing “Land of Hope and Glory” in the main ring as the fences for the open jumping were put up, the sun glinting on their brass instruments. Mrs. Thomson and Mrs. Maxwell moved their deck chairs to the right, following the sun, and agreed that Jake was extremely rude.

“I’m going to have a word with Joyce Wilton about it,” said Molly Maxwell.

“Horse, horse, horse,” said Mr. Thomson.

“I can never get Fen to wear a dress; she’s never been interested in dolls,” said Molly Maxwell, who was still crowing over Fen’s rosette.

“I’m pleased Sally Ann has not lost her femininity,” said Mrs. Thomson.

“It’s extraordinary how many people read
The Tatler,
” said Mrs. Maxwell.

“Mrs. Squires to the judges’ tent,” announced the address system.

“Miss Squires, Miss Squires,” snapped the hairnetted lady judge, stumping across the ring.

“Wasn’t Dandelion wonderful?” said Fen for the hundreth time.

Tory could feel the sweat dripping between her breasts and down her ribs. She’d taken off her red jacket and hung her white shirt outside, over the straining safety pin.

Competitors in the open jumping were pulling on long black boots, the women tucking long hair into hairnets and hotting up their horses over the practice fence. With £100 first prize there was a lot of competition from neighboring counties. Two well-known show jumpers, Lavinia Greenslade and Christopher Crossley, who’d both jumped at Wembley and for the British junior team, had entered, but local hopes were pinned on Sir William’s son, Michael, who was riding a gray six-year-old called Prescott.

Armored cars and tanks had started driving up the hill for the dry shoot and the recruiting display. Soldiers, sweating in battle dress, were assembling twenty-five pounders in ring two.

“Christ, here comes Carter’s circus,” said Malise Gordon to Miss Squires.

“Hope he can keep them under control.”

“My chaps have arrived,” said Colonel Carter to Mrs. Maxwell. “I’m just going to wander over and see that everything’s all right.”

Jake gave Africa a last polish. Tory, noticing his dead white face, shaking hands, and chattering teeth, realized how terrified he was and felt sorry for him. He put a foot in the stirrup and was up.

If only I weren’t so frightened of horses I might not be frightened of life, thought Tory, cringing against the rope to avoid these great snorting beasts with their huge iron feet and so much power in their gleaming, barging quarters.

The band went out to much applause and, to everyone’s dismay, came back again. Jake rode up to Tory and jumped off.

“Can you hold her for a minute?” he said, hurling the reins at her.

He only just made the Gents’ in time.

Looking into the deep, dark dell of the Elsan, and catching a whiff of the contents, he was violently sick again. He must pull himself together or Africa would sense his nerves. Mrs. Wilton wouldn’t find out; the kids could cope in the gymkhana events for half an hour by themselves. He’d be all right once he got into the ring. He’d walked the course; there was nothing Africa couldn’t jump if he put her right. He leant against the canvas and wondered if he dared risk another cigarette.

Tory was not happy. Excited by the microphone and the armored cars and the crowds, Africa pulled and fretted as she jogged up and down.

“Thanks very much,” said Jake, taking the horse from her.

Tory looked at his white face and chattering teeth and felt so sorry for him. “I get just the same before dances,” she blurted out.

Jake smiled slightly.

“Take your partners for the torture chamber,” he said, mounting Africa again.

He rode very short, almost jockey length, crouching over the mare like a cat, settling down into the creaking leather. Africa, a netted cord of veins rippling under her shining coat, tugged at the reins, now this way, now that. Trying to catch Jake out, she danced over the grass, shying at the tea tent, the ladies’ lavatory, the flags. Jake didn’t move in the saddle.

Christopher Crossley, the good-looking boy on the chestnut with four white socks, cantered past, startling Africa, who bucked and swished her tail. Jake swore at him.

“Jake rides lovely, doesn’t he?” sighed Fen.

Even Tory’s uncritical eye could see that he rode wonderfully lightly; his hands hardly touched Africa’s mouth. Taking her away from the crowd, he popped her over a couple of practice fences.

Colonel Carter sat down beside Molly Maxwell, announcing that his chaps were itching to get started. At that moment a competitor on a huge gray paused in front of them to chat to some friends. The gray promptly stuck out its penis. Mrs. Maxwell caught the colonel’s eye and giggled.

“Aren’t horses rude?”

The colonel gave a bark of embarrassed laughter. Mrs. Maxwell found she couldn’t stop giggling. Tears were making her mascara run.

The band was playing a selection from
The Merry Widow.

“Delia, oh Delia,” sang Colonel Carter, brushing his khaki leg against her silken thigh.

“Will you be able to get out again this evening?” he asked.

Molly stopped giggling with a little hiccup. “Oh, Tory’ll babysit. That’s one way she’s useful. Oh dear, I don’t mean to be bitchy.”

“You never say an unkind word about anyone.”

No, thought Molly, perhaps I don’t.

The colonel looked at his watch.

“Half an hour to blast off,” he said. “I hope Malise Gordon gets his finger out.”

There were nine jumps in all: a brush fence, a stile, a gate, parallel bars, the road-closed sign put up to a nasty five foot, another brush with a pole on top, a water jump which had been drained by various dogs, a wall, and a triple.

The two stars, Lavinia Greenslade and Christopher Crossley, stood side by side slightly apart from the other competitors.

“The jumps are much too low and flimsy,” said Lavinia. “Bound to be loads of clear wounds. We won’t get away for at least an hour and I did want to look in at Henwietta’s dwinks’ party.”

“Not much competition anyway,” said Christopher, adding to the groom, who was holding his horse, “Cindy, can you adjust that bandage?”

The first competitor trotted out, an enormously fat girl with a huge bosom.

“Give herself a couple of black eyes every time she jumps with those boobs,” said Christopher.

The girl went clear.

“I told you there were going to be loads of clear wounds,” said Lavinia petulantly.

“I can’t see, I can’t see,” said Fen in a shrill voice.

“You come through here then,” said a man on a shooting stick, making a gap in the crowd through which Fen dragged a desperately embarrassed Tory to the ropes.

A chestnut came in, ridden by a boy with a big nose who jabbed his horse in the mouth over every fence.

“Jumps well,” said Tory.

“Horse does,” said Fen. “Rider should be shot. Bloody hell,” she added as he went clear. The man on the shooting stick who’d let Fen through looked at her with less indulgence.

Lavinia Greenslade was next, the gray peering seductively through the long forelock of its mane, Arab ears curling upwards like eyelashes.

“Her father spends a fortune on her horses,” said Fen. “That one was third at the Horse of the Year Show last year.”

Sure enough, the gray bounced serenely round the course like a Ping-Pong ball, followed by Sir William’s son, who also went clear.

To the course builders’ relief a man came in on a horse wearing so much leather it looked like a bondage victim and proceeded to demolish the course completely. Fear traveled through the collecting ring and for a dozen rounds no one went clear. The wall, the principal bogey, had to be laboriously rebuilt each time.

Colonel Carter looked at his watch. Five minutes to go. Time and the colonel waited for no Malise Gordon.

Lavinia’s boyfriend, Christopher, then went in and killed the jinx by jumping a very fast clear round. Jake envied the casual way he threw his whip to his groom, slid off the horse, and went back to the ringside to join Lavinia and watch the rest of the rounds.

The next competitor was an old woman in a hairnet with raddled face, scarlet lipstick, and withered cheeks embedded with rouge.

“She’s only seven stone,” said the man who’d let Fen through.

“Half of that’s makeup,” muttered Fen.

The old lady rode as if she was steering a Rolls-Royce. Her cob went clear without any visible effort.

“Jake’s after this,” said Fen, as a girl with a bun escaping from her hairnet came in on a mangy brown mare and proceeded to scatter every fence. As she came to the wall the mare dug in her toes and skidded four feet into the wall; then, as the bricks collapsed around her, she bolted on to totally demolish the triple.

“Oh, poor Jake,” said Fen, as they waited and waited for the course to be repaired.

At last they called Number 195. Out came Jake from the gap in the crowds, his face a gray mask. By contrast, Africa, who danced and plunged, merry eyes gleaming at the crowd, coat rippling like a furniture polish advertisement, looked the picture of joy.

“Jack Lovette,” said Dudley Diplock. “From Brook Farm Riding School.”

“Not another one,” Malise Gordon groaned inwardly.

Tory could see Jake’s lips constantly moving as he reassured Africa.

“Only time he talks is to horses,” grumbled Fen.

Once in the ring, Jake found his nerves had gone. He shortened his reins and stood up in the stirrups. Africa bounded towards the first fence.

“Too quick,” muttered Fen.

But Africa was over safely and Jake’s eyes were already trained on the post and rails ahead, which she cleared easily. At the gate, catching sight of a balloon in the crowd, she stopped concentrating and rapped her hock hard. The gate swung, but miraculously didn’t come down.

“That’ll teach her,” said Fen, as Africa dragged her leg for a couple of paces.

“Rides well,” said a voice in the crowd.

“Horse carrying a lot of condition.”

“Isn’t that Jake Lovell?” said Molly Maxwell.

Africa slowed down at the wall, then changed her mind and cleared it with a violent jerky cat jump, which would have unseated most riders.

Haven’t seen that boy before, thought Malise. Handles that horse very well. She’s not at all an easy ride. With increasing pleasure he watched Africa clear the post and rails and the parallel bars and sail over the water jump and the wall.

But, as Jake turned her towards the triple, Malise realized it was unnaturally high. One of the arena stewards, who’d been crossed in love and in the beer tent all afternoon, had just seen his beloved saunter past on the arm of a rival and had put the top bar up to six feet.

Malise Gordon stepped forward to protest but it was too late. Africa had turned and was approaching the triple at a steeple-chaser’s pace, her feet drumming on the ground, fighting for her head.

“Steady, darling,” crooned Jake.

The top bar, white against pitted gray-green turf, was higher than Africa’s ears. For a second she hesitated, caught on a short stride, then, like a helicopter, rising off her hocks, she made a colossal jump. It seemed to the gaping crowd that she had taken off like a bird into the sky and bore no relation to the white poles below her.

“Christ,” said Malise.

At the same time Sir William’s binoculars fastened on Africa. He checked his program: From Brook Farm Riding School, of all unlikely places. She might do very well for Mikey next season.

The crowd gave a long sigh of rapture and sent up a great cheer.

Colonel Carter looked at his watch.

“Bloody good round,” said Christopher Crossley.

Jake jumped off Africa, patting her, determined not to betray the surge of exultation that was sweeping over him.

“That’s it,” Malise Gordon told the arena party. “Restrict it to six jumps, raise the pole over the first jump and the gate, put another row of bricks on the wall, and put the triple at five feet. Buck up, or Carter will start letting off his guns.”

“That’s seven clear rounds,” said Fen, counting on her fingers.

Colonel Carter heaved himself out of his deck chair.

“Are you off?” said Molly.

“Enemy wouldn’t wait, would they? The men will start the display in ten minutes,” he said, striding past Malise.

“Don’t be bloody silly,” snapped Malise. “If you fire a single shot before the last horse has jumped, you’ll cause chaos—and accidents.”

“Quarter of an hour; should give you ample time.”

“I’ll send someone to give you the okay.”

Colonel Carter ground his big yellow teeth. He was tired. Last night, with Molly, had been wonderful but rather exhausting. He hadn’t had much sleep; the effects of Sir William’s hospitality at lunchtime had worn off and, worst of all, he resented Malise’s complete refusal to take his display seriously.