The Marriage Market (14 page)

“Well done, Mr. Wovington,” she said, her breathing rapid.  “What a glorious run.  Let’s slow down and give them a bit of a rest, shall we?”  James nodded and they pulled their horses into a walk, James puffing from the exertion. 

“He really is a magnificent animal, isn’t he?” Margaret gushed.  “Isn’t it exhilarating to feel all that power beneath you?  Fireball is fearless.  He will jump anything, if you give him his head.  The trick is to trust him and not get in his way.”

James responded, “I prefer to be in control of my mount, Miss House, not just sit back and let him take me for a ride.”

The young lady laughed.  “Ralph has been battling that horse for months, trying to show him who the master is.  I do not think that he has convinced Fireball of his supremacy yet.”

James looked sideways at her.  “Perhaps it is time someone taught this animal some obedience, then.”

“Nonsense, Mr. Wovington.  It’s criminal to break a horse’s spirit.  It will lose its fire, its sheer joy in running, if you do.  It’s so much more gratifying when horse and rider work as equal partners.  Granted, not everyone can ride Fireball.  Only those skilful enough to guide such a primal spirit merit a seat upon his back.”

“I disagree with you, Miss House,” James said with a frown.  “In the relationship between horse and rider, the horse must be obedient to the rider’s will.  The horse may have superior strength, but he is just a brute with no intelligence, after all.  That’s why the horse wears a bit.”

“Well, Mr. Wovington, perhaps Fireball will change your mind.”  

James nodded and said nothing more.  They rode side-by-side back to the woods in silence.  The wind had risen, catching at their clothes, and the trees creaked and swayed over their heads.  Now and then a drop of rain splashed upon their faces, and Margaret lifted her head into the wind and smiled.  “It’s a grand day,” she said, looking at James. 

James, who had been worrying about his hat blowing off, considered her.  “You like riding in the rain?” he asked.

“Yes.  It’s so exciting, isn’t it?  It makes me feel like King Lear, pitting myself against the elements.  Man and horse, all one with nature.  Don’t you agree?  James was spared answering by Victoria and David's arrival. 

“Here they are, safe and sound, Victoria,” David said, trotting forward to meet them.  “How was your ride, James?”

“Exhilarating,” Margaret said, pulling her horse to a stop.  “Mr. Wovington did very well with Fireball.  Dancer and I had to run full-out to catch them.”  David and Victoria noticed James’ frown and did not comment.  “Well, Mrs. Ladbrook, are you ready for your lesson?  There is a log a little way ahead that would make an excellent first jump for you.”

Victoria agreed to try, and the group rode up the path, Margaret and James hanging back while David rode up to the log.  David said, “I’ll jump first, Victoria.  You watch, and then give it a try.  Remember what I told you about jumping.  Lean forward in the saddle and hold onto Miss Suzy’s mane as you go over.  Are you ready?”

Victoria nodded with a determined look upon her face.  David cantered toward the log, and Queenie cleared it easily.  Riding ahead a little way, he pulled his horse off the path, turned, and waved at Victoria to come ahead.  Victoria set her jaw, urged Miss Suzy forward, and let the animal have its head.  The steady little horse jumped the log without any trouble at all, trotting toward David and Queenie.

“I did it, David, I did it!” Victoria exclaimed, bouncing gleefully in the saddle.  “It was not hard at all.  Aren’t you proud of me?”

“Yes, very,” David replied, laughing at his wife’s excitement.  “Would you like to jump again?”

“Yes, indeed.”  She turned Miss Suzy around and followed David back over the log.

Margaret applauded Victoria’s success as James tried to quiet Fireball.  The stallion was dancing sideway in vexation at being kept from the other horses.  “You have a natural talent for jumping, Mrs. Ladbrook,” Margaret declared.

“Miss Suzy makes it easy.  You were so right about her, Miss House.”  Victoria leant over and patted the mare’s neck.  “You are a wonderful old girl, aren’t you, Miss Suzy?”

“Shall we ride back to the stable now?” Margaret inquired.  “It looks like the weather is about to break, and I know that my step-mother will fuss if we come back wet.”  Not waiting for a reply, she and Dancer turned and trotted back down the path.

“Oh, let’s have a couple more jumps first, David,” Victoria exclaimed.

“Certainly.  Sorry, James, we’ll just be a minute,” David replied.

“Easy, now,” James said, reigning in Fireball as the animal tried to push his way between David and Victoria’s horses. 

“I’ll ride up ahead and wait for you there, Victoria,” David said, giving Fireball some room.  He sailed over the log and slowed Queenie to a walk.

That was too much for Fireball, who was in a frenzy of impatience at being held back from the fun.  He lowered his head and bucked across the ground, colliding head first with Miss Suzy.  Victoria shrieked and grabbed Miss Suzy’s mane.  David heard Victoria’s cry and turned to see what was happening. 

Now, Miss Suzy was the gentlest of horses with her riders, but she would not tolerate aggression from other animals.  She spun and kicked the stallion hard in the flank.  Fireball screamed and reared, his front legs flailing at Victoria and her mount. 

James fought to prevent his horse from harming Victoria.  As the stallion flailed at Miss Suzy, James jerked Fireball’s head to the left and kicked him in the ribs.  Fireball started to lose his balance, corrected himself, and jumped in a half circle.  Facing up the path away from Victoria, James pulled out his crop and whipped the animal’s side.  Fireball leapt forward and galloped blindly back through the woods, James lashing the horse and cursing as they broke free of the trees and thundered into the clearing. 

Just as they emerged, the rain came teeming down.  Too furious to give a damn about slipping on the wet grass, James rode the horse hard, thrashing him whenever Fireball began to slow.  They splashed past David, Victoria, and Margaret, Fireball’s hooves spraying rain and mud at them.  Margaret shouted something as they sped by, but James ignored her.  Fireball was lathering with exertion and breathing hard, but still James forced him onward, determined to teach the horse a lesson.  Suddenly, Margaret cut across the field, galloping her horse hard to intercept them. 

“Stop it, you fool!  Stop it!” she shouted.  She thrust Dancer into their path, risking a collision.  James cut a sharp turn and steered Fireball to the centre of the field.  He reined the stallion in and slowed to a stop, waiting for Miss House to catch up with him. 

James’ breathing was laboured and his arms and legs trembled from exertion.  Fireball fared no better, his sides heaving and his head drooping.  Dancer came skidding to a stop on the sodden grass, sending up a sheet of spray.  Gathering her heavy, wet skirts, Margaret kicked her feet out of the stirrups and jumped to the ground.  She stomped over to James, took hold of his arm, and yanked him off his horse.  He would have toppled to the ground if not for her iron grip upon his arm.

“What did you think you were doing?” she shouted, her face red with anger.  “You could have seriously injured that animal.  If Fireball has suffered any injury, any injury at all, I will hold you responsible, sir!”

“The brute needed a lesson.  He could have killed Victoria!  Should I have let that demon hurt her?” James shouted back, losing his temper.

“I told you that he was a spirited animal.  You could have got him away from Miss Suzy without half-killing him to do it.”

“Is that horse more important than the safety of your guests?  Fireball must learn obedience or he will end up killing someone, perhaps even your brother!”

“Nonsense, he just needs skilful handling.  A better rider could have prevented any harm to Mrs. Ladbrook.”

Victoria and David rode up in time to catch the end of their conversation.  David jumped down from his horse and, throwing his reins to Victoria, ran over to James.  Miss Suzy ignored the commotion to begin grazing. 

“Is anything wrong, James?” David asked, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Yes, I’m fine.  So is the horse.”

Victoria said, “Please don't be upset with James, Miss House.  Everyone is fine.  No harm has been done.”

“I'll be the judge of that,” Miss House snapped, turning her attention to Fireball.  She grabbed the animal’s reins, causing him to jerk his head up nervously.  Comforting him with pats and soothing murmurs, she ran a gloved hand over the animal’s filthy sides and legs, looking for injury.  When Miss House had finished her inspection, she turned back to James.  Her hat and riding habit were drenched and sticking to her body, her black hair straggling down her back.  Her expression was cold and hard.

“Fireball seems fine, Mr. Wovington, but I will ride him back to the stable to ensure that he is not lame.  I will lead Dancer behind me and you can walk back to the manor.  I will speak with you there once I have seen to the horses.  Mr. and Mrs. Ladbrook, please return Miss Suzy and Queenie to the stable immediately.” 

“Of course,” Victoria murmured.  Miss House turned to mount Fireball, waving off David’s silent offer of assistance, and guided the two horses back across the meadow without even a backward glance.

Victoria said, “James, I am so sorry.  If I were better at controlling my horse, I could have moved Miss Suzy out of Fireball’s way.  I am sure that Miss House will make amends to you once she has calmed down.”

James looked up at her with a cool expression.  “You’re not in the least to blame, Victoria.  Maybe I was presumptuous in trying to teach that horse a lesson, but Miss House is wrong.  A dangerous animal like Fireball should be kept away from other riders.  Do not fret, Victoria.  Miss House’s reaction was most revealing.  I did not hear her inquire about your well-being once.  She was more concerned about that damn horse than about you.  All in all, this has been a most enlightening experience.”

“But Margaret could see that I was not injured.  I’m sure that she would have been concerned had you or I been hurt.”  James stared silently at Victoria, the rain dripping off the end of his nose.  David stepped forward to retrieve Queenie’s reins from his wife.

“Let’s get back to the stable before we all drown,” he said.  “James can ride Miss Suzy, and Victoria and I will double up on Queenie.”

James shook his head.  “Thank you, David, but I have had all the riding that I can stomach for one day.  You and Victoria go ahead.  I’ll walk back.”  Victoria protested, but James was determined.  The couple watched while their sodden friend set off across the field, his boots squelching on the grass.

“Better leave him alone, Victoria,” David said.  “Let’s take the horses back to the stable and get ourselves dried off.  James will be fine.  He’s not made of sugar.”  Victoria sighed and nodded; there was nothing more to be done.  Things had been going so well between James and Miss House until this happened.  It was a shame.  David mounted Queenie, and the couple rode back to the stable.

Chapter Fourteen – A Business Proposition

Extract of a letter from Mrs. David Ladbrook to Mrs. Joseph Greene:

June 15, ______

“And so, Jemma, just when I thought things were progressing so well between James and Miss House, they argued over the horse and broke off their friendship.  James did not return to the Manor until an hour later that day.  He was drenched and chilled and did not come down to dinner.  Mrs. House had a tray sent up to his room, and the footman who delivered it reported that James had a frightful headache and was going to retire early.  David and I were able to converse alone with Miss House and Mr. Ralph House about the whole affair before dinner.  Ralph House seemed indifferent to James’ treatment of Fireball, but Miss House was still indignant.  David and I defended James vigorously.  In the end, she admitted that she was at fault for offering Fireball to James before she was certain of James’ horsemanship, but that was as far as she would go toward absolving him.  She also made a point of saying that she did not trust a man who mistreated horses.  I gave up on their friendship at that point.  You would have to know Margaret House to understand how quick and absolute her judgements can be.

Unfortunately, our relationship with our hosts deteriorated even further that evening.  David spoke to Mr. House, Sr. when they were alone in the dining room about disturbing my rest the previous evening, and Mr. House did not take it very well.  His face was purple when the gentlemen joined us, and he left the Manor to get some air.  Then Miss House complained of a headache and retired to bed.  I felt sorry for Mrs. House, who was confused about the inattentive behaviour of her family.  We went up to bed before Mr. House came back inside.  The next morning, James was determined to leave a day early.  We went down to breakfast, but the family had already left for church.  When they returned, we told Mrs. House that James was not well, and that we meant to escort him home immediately so that he could be attended by his own physician.  Poor Mrs. House was very concerned about his health and offered to send for her own doctor, but James declined.  In the end, James stopped overnight with us at Eston House because he truly was not well, but he rode back to town the following day.  A few days ago, he sent us a note saying that he had business to attend to in Bath, and would be leaving for an indefinite stay.