The Chase (22 page)

Margaret’s house was situated at the rear of Fox Run, secluded halfway up a hill, beyond the gnarly trees of an abandoned apple orchard. More than once, Doug had expressed his concern about Margaret living alone in such an isolated setting, but she had waved off his worries. Margaret insisted the location was ideal for her. It was far enough away from the stable to ensure her privacy, yet it had an eagle’s-eye view of the paddocks and the back of the barn, so she could keep tabs on things.

Doug saw Richard’s Lexus and Smitty’s truck parked in the drive. He pulled to a stop behind the other vehicles, next to a row of mature boxwoods so voluminous, they almost obscured the brick walkway to the front door.

“Would you like me to patrol outside, sir, or accompany you inside?” Mike asked when they got out of their cars.

Doug motioned for Mike to follow him to the house. “Relax, Mike. I’m perfectly safe here. Consider yourself off duty. You can make yourself at home inside, where it’s air conditioned.”

Mike frowned. “Pardon me, sir, but that’s what you said at the beagle kennels. Yesterday. When the snake was put in your car. I almost lost my job over that incident.”

Doug leveled a glance at Mike as he stepped between the boxwoods. “It’s safe here, Mike.”

There was a flicker of annoyance in Mike’s eyes, but he didn’t argue. “Yes, sir.”

Mike followed him up the narrow walk and stood off to the side of the front stoop while Doug grasped the brass fox-shaped door knocker and rapped a couple of times. When no one answered, Doug pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked inside. “Anyone home?”

Margaret stepped into the hall from the room on the left. “
Doug?
I don’t believe it. What on earth are you doing here?”

Doug smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I’m on the board, remember?”

“I’m well aware of that, but I sure didn’t expect to see you here.” She gave him a hug, then held him at arm’s length, frowning as she studied his face. “That’s quite a gash you have on your forehead. Are you sure you should be out and about so soon?”

Doug sighed. “You sound just like Anne.” He took a step backwards towards the open door and motioned for Mike to come inside.

“Margaret, this is Mike. Would you have a cool place where he can hang out during the meeting?” He offered no explanation as to who Mike was, and, although Margaret gave the bodyguard a good once-over, she didn’t ask.

“Of course,” she replied. “Richard and Smitty are in the library. Why don’t you join them, Doug. I’ll show Mike to the back room.”

“Thanks, Margaret.” Doug waited for Margaret and Mike to start down the hall before he stepped into the room.

“Doug, what an unexpected pleasure,” Richard said, striding across the room to greet him. “I spoke with Anne earlier today. She didn’t mention a thing about you attending the meeting tonight.”

Doug shook Richard’s hand. “It was a last-minute decision.”

“Look who’s here!” Smitty said, raising his glass. “You look like death warmed over, my friend.”

Doug smiled. “Thanks.”

Smitty grabbed Doug’s hand in his and laughed heartily. “It’s good to see you. Come on, have a seat. Margaret has drinks set up in the other room. Can I get you something?”

“Not right now. Thanks, Smitty.” Doug eased into a wing chair by the front window.

He heard a knock on the front door and a few minutes later Margaret ushered Wendy Brooks into the library.

Wendy’s eyes widened when she saw him. “Doug, it’s so good to see you.”

He started to rise, but Wendy waved her hand at him. “Don’t get up.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m good.” He gestured towards the chair next to him. “Have a seat.”

Wendy sat down and Margaret settled near Doug on the window seat, shoving aside several magazines, which were scattered across the needlepoint cushion. “Well, Richard, shall we get down to business? I know not everyone is here yet, but I don’t imagine Doug is interested in having this meeting drag on all night. Let’s address the issue that’s on everyone’s mind.
Territory
. Then we can break and have a bite to eat.”

“Fine.” Richard took a seat on the sofa. “Let me start with a bit of good news. You all know I received a letter a couple of weeks ago from the farm manager at Rolling Acres, informing us that the Middleburg Foxhounds are no longer welcome to ride across the farm because of the incident last season when the yearlings got all riled up. Well, I finally got Harry Adams on the phone at his summer home in Nag’s Head, and he was astonished to hear that his manager had written such a letter. Harry couldn’t have been more apologetic and said we have carte blanche to hunt through Rolling Acres whenever we want. I promised him we’d make sure his manager has ample notice when we hunt that territory, so he can put the horses up.”

Margaret grunted. “I knew that letter had been sent without Harry’s approval. Harry has been a loyal supporter of the Middleburg Foxhounds for too many years to shut down our territory like that.”

Richard nodded. “And I’m sure Harry’s high regard for you played a part in his gracious response, Margaret. He made a point of asking me to pass along his greetings to you, by the way.”

She shrugged off the compliment. “I guess all those hours I spent visiting landowners with Daddy when he was master are still good for something.”

“Speaking of landowner relations, Doug’s been doing some good in that regard as well.” Richard turned towards him. “Tell them how you charmed Lilibet Parsons into letting us hunt across Hickory Vale.”

A movement outside the window caught Doug’s eye, and he looked towards the door, expecting to be interrupted by a knock. The front hall remained quiet, however, and he turned his attention back to the conversation. “I didn’t charm anyone. It’s just fortuitous that Samantha is in the same ballet class as Lilibet’s daughter. We got to talking after one of the recitals about life in the hunt country and how much nicer it is to raise a family here than in the congested suburb of Dallas where Lilibet used to live. I simply pointed out that as long as there is foxhunting in this area, people will fight to maintain open space. But if large tracts of land are closed to the hunts, the foxhunters will be forced to move farther west and subdivisions will inevitably take over.”

“She called me the next day to say she’d changed her mind and we are welcome to hunt across Hickory Vale,” Richard said with a smile.

“But I thought she was dead set against the notion of a fox getting killed,” Wendy said.

Doug nodded. “She is. But we had a long talk about the sport of foxhunting, and when I explained to Lilibet that in America the emphasis is on chasing the fox, not killing it, I guess she saw things in a different light.”

Margaret squared her shoulders. “Well, thank God we dodged a bullet with Harry Adams, and Doug got permission for us to hunt Hickory Vale, because the situation that’s brewing next door is a nightmare.”

“Which brings us to the bad news,” Richard said with a sigh. “I received word yesterday that Mulvaney Farm is off-limits to riders.”

Smitty frowned. “With the Callahan subdivision going up on the other side of Fox Run, that means you’re landlocked Margaret.”

“That’s right,” Margaret replied, her mouth set in a firm line. “When my granddaddy settled here, I’ll bet he never could have envisioned Fox Run being all hemmed in like this.”

“It’s disheartening, isn’t it?” Richard said.

“Thank God you have almost five hundred acres of your own, Margaret. That’s still plenty of land for you to hold your horse shows and hunter trials, no matter what happens around you,” Doug said.

“I’m not worried about Fox Run. I’ll be all right. But we all know five hundred acres isn’t enough land for a decent day of foxhunting. We’d end up running around in circles. If we can’t ride through Mulvaney Farm, Fox Run is useless as a hunt fixture. And that will put an end to the tradition of having opening meet here.”

No one spoke for several minutes; then Doug asked, “Why the sudden move? The sale is contingent on subdivision approval and that application will be tied up in red tape for some time. It will be months, at best, before any work could begin on the property.”

“You’re right, Doug,” Richard said. “There is no immediate need to close off the land, but the lawyer for the purchaser apparently decided it was a liability to have riders crossing the property, so they’ve padlocked all the gates and posted the farm with No Trespassing signs.”

“Are we still in the dark as to who the purchaser is?”

Richard nodded. “Yes. And Percy Fletcher says he’s obligated under the sales contract to maintain confidentiality.”

Margaret snorted. “Percy just sees big dollar signs, that’s all. I’ve tried talking some sense into him, but he won’t give me the time of day.”

“Aren’t Percy and your son good friends?” Wendy asked. “Maybe Manning could talk to him.”

Margaret shook her head. “Manning and Percy parted ways after that debacle they had with their racing stable at Charles Town. Each one wanted to blame the other, rather than own up to their shortcomings. I don’t think Manning has spoken a word to Percy in fifteen years.”

“Well then, that’s a dead end,” Richard said. “Doug, do you think it would be worthwhile to talk to the purchaser’s attorney and try to alleviate his liability concerns?”

Doug shrugged. “I don’t know if it will do any good, but I’m happy to give it a try.”

“Great. I think that’s our best course of action for now.”

Smitty grinned. “Don’t underestimate your powers of persuasion, Doug. After all, you were able to turn Miss Lilibet around.”

Laughter rippled through the room and Margaret stood. “I think this would be a good time for us to break for a bite to eat. That will give the others time to arrive before we discuss the trail-clearing schedule.”

Doug glanced outside and saw that dusk had set in. He rose but hung back with Margaret while the others headed towards the dining room. “If there aren’t any other urgent items on the agenda, I think I’ll slip out and head home.”

“Of course, Doug.” Margaret walked with him to the front door. “You go on out to your car. I’ll tell your friend Mike you’re ready to depart.”

“Thanks.”

Doug eased outside and waited beside his car, enjoying the peaceful chorus of crickets and the flickering of lightning bugs. Margaret emerged from between the boxwoods a few moments later, with Mike in tow. Mike started to follow her towards the Porsche, but Doug waved him off. “Go ahead and get in your car, Mike. I’ll just be a minute.”

“Yes, sir.”

Margaret studied Mike as he walked to his car. “Is he what I think he is?”

Doug sighed and folded his arms, leaning against the side of the Porsche. “A bodyguard? Yeah. Anne’s worried about me.”

“And rightfully so.”

He nodded. “I know. That’s why I brought Mike along. I just can’t stand it when he acts like my shadow.”

Margaret smiled. “How’s Anne holding up?”

“She’s okay.”

She patted his arm. “You better get home to her.”

“Good idea.” He opened the driver’s door and was halfway into the seat when Margaret grabbed his shoulder.

“Doug! Who drew that on your window?”

He frowned as he backed out of the car. “Drew what?”

She pointed towards the outside of the rear window. Despite the fading evening light, Doug could see a fresh drawing in the dust-covered glass.

Margaret let out a rush of air. “My God, Doug. It looks like a skull and crossbones.”

“
T
hanks.” Kendall drank greedily from the bottle of water Jake offered. “What are you doing here so late?”

Jake folded his arms across his chest and leaned lazily against the rail beside the outdoor arena. “I was passing by on my way to my cottage and saw you teaching, so I thought I’d stop and watch the lesson for a while.”

She lifted the ice-cold bottle to her temple. “I can’t believe it’s still this hot at nine o’clock at night.”

He smiled. “You’ve had a long day.”

“No kidding.” She perched on the rail next to him. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I told Margaret I’d teach these lessons tonight, after a long day of camp.” Actually, Kendall knew exactly why she’d agreed to it.
She needed the money
.

“You’re a good instructor. I enjoyed watching the lesson.”

Kendall shrugged dismissively. “You know what they say: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”

Jake shook his head. “Not in your case. I’ve seen you ride. You do both well.”

She felt her cheeks burn. “Thanks.”

“Hey, want to go grab a bite to eat somewhere?”

“
God no
. I’m all dusty and sweaty. I wouldn’t dare go into town looking like this. I’m going to go home, take a shower, and collapse in bed.”

“You need to eat, don’t you?”

“I’ll grab something at home.”

“Sure. I saw how well your refrigerator was stocked the other night.”

She laughed. “Guilty. I survive on wine and cheese.”

He smiled at her. “Come on. You deserve a real meal after a day like today. Let me take you out to dinner.”