âYou canât get up on your own. You know you canât. Let me.â He bent down to help me and I settled myself back in the saddle. Starshine was still contentedly munching the grass. She didnât seem to mind me on her back. I leaned forward to try and untie the reins that tethered our horses together. Fred saw and shook his head. âI should take you home,â he said.
Home, I thought. I looked back at the house. I had no wish to return to Langdown. Here I felt at home. There, I did not.
âNo,â he said again. But I sensed that his resolve was weakening.
âLetâs ride,â I said, looking down at him. âPlease!â
âYes, letâs,â he said, looking back up at me.
He untied the reins that still tied Starshine to Nimbus. âKeep close beside me,â he said, swinging himself up into the saddle. âThen if Starshine bolts againâ¦â
âShe wonât,â I said.
He grinned. âAre you always so sure?â
âAlways,â I said.
I felt so peaceful, riding by his side. We rode across fields that I hadnât even known belonged to the estate.
âI hadnât realized it was so large,â I said.
He shrugged. âItâs not that big. Only a few hundred acres.â
I was used to a much bigger country, but it sounded a lot for one man to own. We passed near a farmhouse. It looked snug and cosy.
âIt looks nice,â I said. âIâd far rather live there than at the manor.â
âThatâs the estateâs dairy farm,â Fred said. âI grew up on a farm like that.â I couldnât have hidden my surprise very well for he grinned and said, âDidnât think I was a farmerâs son, did you?â
âI hadnât thought about it,â I said. I wondered what had made him leave a farm to go into service.
âI didnât want to go into service,â he said, as if heâd guessed what I was thinking. âBut Father died and Mam couldnât afford to keep the farm on. I was lucky I knew enough about horses to get the job here.â
âYou wonât always be in service then?â
Fred shrugged. âMam needs what money I can send her. And here Iâm one less mouth for her to feed.â His eyes strayed over the countryside.
So, I thought, youâre a captive here like me. It made me feel as if there was a bond between us. Neither of us wanted to be at Langdown. I was pleased that heâd confided in me. I felt as though we had stepped over the invisible barrier that had separated us. We rode in silence while I thought what to say.
âBut you love horses, donât you?â
âHorses, yes, all animals. But Iâd like to have my own little patch of land, grow thingsâ¦â He swung round in the saddle: âTell me about India.â
âWell, itâs hot,â I said, âand it smells.â We both burst out laughing.
âYou love it though, donât you. I can tell,â he said. âWill you go back there one day?â
âI hope so â one day. But I donât know when that will be.â When Iâve learned to be a young lady, I thought to myself. And I didnât want to be a young lady. There had to be more to life than that.
I looked around me, at the fields that stretched for mile after mile. In spring the trees would be in leaf, and birds would build nests in the hedgerows. I would ride every day over these fields. It wasnât enough.
I was sorry when the house came into view. We were trotting, but as we got nearer Fred slowed us to a walk. I was glad. I didnât want the ride to end, ever.
âTomorrow?â I said as we clattered into the yard.
âTomorrow,â he said, as he helped me down. I lingered as he led Starshine into her stall. I leaned against the wall and watched as he began to rub her down. Iâd liked to have stayed there in the stall, breathing in the
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