Flight of the Jabiru (2 page)

He didn't speak to other parents alongside him and he was not cheering his son. She could only imagine how poor Harrison felt having his father glaring at him.

Harrison was astride another horse that seemed even more difficult to control than Echo. The horse was well trained but far too strong for him. It needed an experienced rider with sound horsemanship skills, and this was not Harrison. His teammates had become reluctant to pass him the ball, but suddenly, out of nowhere, it came in his direction, and he went to take a swing at it. Suddenly a much bigger opponent came alongside and shouldered him heavily. Lara watched, horrified, as almost in slow motion, Harrison toppled from the horse, landing awkwardly. She jumped to her feet as he hit the ground hard. With the horses all travelling fast, a rider on the opposing team was upon him and all Lara could see was hooves and horse legs over the top of Harrison. She gasped, as did many of the spectators around her. Her hand went to her mouth to stifle a scream as Harrison rolled onto his side and curled up. Then the horses moved away and for a few moments he lay still.

“Is he dead?” a woman nearby asked aloud.

“Perhaps he was trampled. It was hard to see,” the man alongside her answered.

Lara couldn't listen. Pushing past the spectators, she hurried from the grandstand to the edge of the muddy field in the drizzling rain. By this time, medical personnel were taking a stretcher out to Harrison. When she saw Harrison moving, it was the first time she took a deep breath. Her heart was hammering wildly.

Lord Hornsby stood on the sidelines, his face expressionless and rigid. If he felt afraid or dismayed for his son's welfare, he certainly didn't show it. By this time, Harrison had rolled onto his back and was holding his leg and grimacing in pain, but his father did not rush to his side. This riled Lara. She had the urge to go and shake him and tell him how lucky he was that his son had not been killed.

Lara was undecided about what to do. She wanted to rush to Harrison's side to see if he was all right, but she knew her father would be displeased if she interfered. He'd made that clear. Even so, she felt torn. She watched from a distance as Harrison was loaded onto a stretcher and then carried towards the boundary of the field, where Lord Hornsby was standing. She was also well aware that Lady Nicole Hornsby, Harrison's mother, was not at the match. But Lord Hornsby had forbidden his wife to attend the match, saying Harrison needed toughening up, not mollycoddling.

He appeared to check Harrison over superficially, before taking him by the arm and pulling him to his feet. He then conducted a brusque discussion with the medical staff before literally marching a limping Harrison in the direction of the stables.

Lara was incredulous. Her emotions ranged between feeling furious and being heartbroken for poor Harrison. She decided she had to check on him and reassure him, as clearly he was not getting any sympathy from his father. As his teacher, she felt her concern was justified, and her own father would just have to understand.

By the time Lara reached the stables she could hear Lord Hornsby's booming voice, although she couldn't see him.

“You did everything wrong today, Harrison,” Lord Hornsby ranted. “Has nothing I've ever taught you stuck in your head?”

Following the sound of Lord Hornsby's angry voice, Lara walked through the center of the stable, glancing into open stalls either side.

“Do you know how many times I've fallen from a polo horse? Too many to count. When a true sportsman falls, he gets back on the horse immediately,” Lord Hornsby growled. “He does not lie on the ground, sniveling like a wimp!”

Lara could hear Harrison sobbing and blowing his nose and her protective instincts were further aroused. Her search became as desperate as her need to defend him. Finally she came upon the end stall, where hay bales and bags of oats were stored. Harrison was sitting on a bale with his father looming over him, unleashing a verbal storm of criticism about how he came to be unseated by his opponent. Lara could see that one of Harrison's trouser legs was ripped, and his knee was bleeding. He was holding his leg above the knee as it obviously hurt him very much. His injury, and the shock of landing heavily on the ground from the height of a horse, was too much, especially with his father yelling at him. The boy wanted and needed the comforting arms of his mother and some medical attention.

Lord Hornsby had his back to Lara. “Stop that blubbering,” he boomed at his son.

“You are not a baby, so stop acting like one,” Lord Hornsby shouted angrily.

Lara couldn't believe that Harrison's father would humiliate him by saying such a terrible thing. She could see that the boy was trying to pull himself together, trying to be grown up, but he couldn't manage. His small shoulders lifted every time he struggled to catch his breath. He was also holding his side as well as his leg, obviously in pain. Lara was immediately worried that he'd cracked or broken ribs and she was angry with his father for not having him examined by a doctor. It took all her willpower not to rush to his side and take him in her arms. Unfortunately, her willpower did not extend to her tongue.

“Stop bullying your son,” she said angrily before she could stop herself. Pushing the gate wide open, she entered the stall, trembling and on the verge of really losing her temper. “Harrison is not a man! He's a boy, with plenty of time to grow up and face adult life. And he doesn't like horses or the sport of polo. If you weren't so obsessed with living your sports ambitions through your son, you might know that.”

Harrison lifted his head to reveal a tear-stained face. For the moment he forgot his pain because he was so shocked to find Miss Penrose standing up to his father on his behalf. Lord Hornsby was equally startled. Virtually no one would dare to speak to him in such a manner and he was completely taken aback. This initial reaction was quickly replaced by outrage.

“How I treat my son is not any of your business, Miss Penrose,” Lord Hornsby snapped.

“He's injured, perhaps with broken ribs, and all you can say is ‘get back on the horse and act like a man.' He's ten years old for goodness sake.”

“I won't have him mollycoddled by a woman,” Roy Hornsby snapped. “It's painfully obvious to me that he needs to toughen up if he's to survive in this world. Being competitive is a good start to making a man of him.”

“I'm sorry you can't ride anymore, Lord Hornsby, but forcing poor Harrison to compete will not make you feel any better.”

Lara had hoped to make Harrison's father see that what he was doing was wrong, and he was trying to live his life vicariously through his son, but unwittingly, she couldn't have said anything worse to him. His face turned florid and his lips compressed to a thin line, making him appear even crueler. His eyes flashed darkly, seeming to bore right through her.

“How dare you,” he spat furiously. He took a step towards Lara and despite her bravado; she felt more than a little intimidated. His temper was legendary, but experiencing it firsthand was far worse than she'd ever anticipated.

“You are just like your father,” Lord Hornsby growled, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction. “You overstep the bounds of your profession. Well, I won't have it. I won't have my employees talking to me as if we are peers. I certainly won't have you criticizing how I treat my son.” His anger seemed to be growing — if that was possible. He took another step towards Lara. Despite how angry she felt, Lara at this moment regretted ever crossing swords with him. He was a frightening man, regardless of his stature. She had a very clear picture of exactly how poor Harrison felt and she would stand up to his father.

“As your son's teacher, I'm very concerned about his welfare,” Lara said as calmly as she could. “He's a sensitive boy...”

“You are the daughter of my stable manager,” Lord Hornsby shouted. “A man lucky to still be in my employment because, like you, he's over-opinionated on matters that do not concern him. Neither you, nor your father, are my peers! You'd be wise to remember it.”

“You might consider us beneath you,” she said outwardly calm. “But that does not mean its right to treat Harrison so badly. He's your flesh and blood.”

“I don't need reminding of that!” Lord Hornsby shouted. “It's because he's a Hornsby that he needs to stand up for himself. As for you! I'll see that you are fired for your insolence.”

Lara was incredulous and blinked. “Fired!”

“That's right,” Roy Hornsby said with a confident sneer, leaving Lara in no doubt that he had the power to do it.

“For defending your son and worrying about his welfare?” She just couldn't believe he'd go that far.

“For having the audacity to interfere in the way I raise my son.”

Lara's anger simmered. If she was going to lose her position, she was going to have her say. What did she have to lose? “You, sir, are a bully,” she said venomously. “You use the power that comes with your title in a detrimental way. You use your former rank as a military officer to intimidate everyone around you. You are just a little man with an over-inflated sense of self-worth. Thankfully, Harrison is nothing like you.”

Lord Hornsby's eyes narrowed with malice and his fists clenched at his sides. He looked about to erupt and Lara was more than aware that they were the only three people in the stables. She didn't regret her words: he deserved them, but she couldn't help feeling terribly afraid. She had no idea of what he was capable.

Anticipating that this arrogant man was going to come towards her again, perhaps to attack her, she sidestepped so that she was standing in the open gateway of the stall, where she could make a hasty retreat if she had to. As predicted, Lord Hornsby took a step in her direction, shaking his fist at her in outrage.

Suddenly, the handle of a rake flew out of the hay lying on the floor of the stall, striking him full force in the face, and knocking him off balance. Instantly, he fell backwards, hitting his head on a bucket left alongside the stall wall. He lay still. She noticed a trickle of blood running from his mouth. Lara's eyes widened in shock. Did the fall kill him?

Lara could not believe what had happened. She glanced from Lord Hornsby's body to the rake. It must been hidden in the hay on the floor and obviously he'd trodden hard on the head, causing the handle to fly up and hit him in the face.

Harrison looked at his father and then at Lara with a blank expression.

Lara pulled herself together. “Lord Hornsby,” she cried in panic and knelt beside him. Examining him, she found a pulse and sighed with relief. She moved him so that his head was no longer at an odd angle, and then turned his head to the side and opened his mouth. Blood ran out, along with his front tooth and she gasped. The back of his head wasn't bleeding, fortunately, but a lump had already formed and it was growing bigger by the second.

“Is my father ... dead?” Harrison whimpered.

“No,” Lara said, standing. “He's going to be all right, but he needs a doctor. And you need one too. I'm going to fetch help.”

“Don't leave us,” Harrison cried pitifully.

The boy's features were always pale, but Lara thought Harrison was unusually pasty. “Be brave, Harrison,” she said. “Watch your father while I go and get him help.”

“But what shall I do if he wakes up?”

“Nothing. Just keep him still if he tries to move. I won't be long, I promise.”

Within an hour, Lord Hornsby was in the White Lodge Emergency Hospital on Exning Road, Newmarket, and had been medically assessed and put in a room for observation in case he had concussion. Lara got a glimpse of him from outside his room as nurses went in to attend him. She could hear him barking orders at them, so they were flustered and red faced when they reappeared. His face was bruised and his lip was swollen. She dreaded to think about how furious he must be about his missing front tooth.

“May I see Lord Hornsby?” Lara asked the nursing sister meekly.

“He won't see anyone, miss. He wouldn't even allow his wife in the room when she came to collect their son,” the sister said. She looked at Lara as if she was quite mad for wanting to spend any time with him.

“I have something for him,” Lara said, producing her handkerchief, which was neatly folded.

The nursing sister looked at the handkerchief. “He won't need that,” she said confused.

Lara unfolded the handkerchief carefully and the sister glanced at what was inside. Just for a second her lips moved upwards in the merest of a cheeky smile, but then her face was a mask of professionalism again. She picked up the tooth. “I'll see he gets this,” she said.

“Thank you,” Lara said, and left.

Lara went home, where she found her father in a flurry. At the stables he had been told that Lord Hornsby had been taken away in an ambulance. At first he'd thought there was some mistake because it was likely Harrison who'd needed treatment and care, and apparently he'd been in the ambulance, too. But then he'd been given vague details about his employer having fallen and been knocked unconscious.

“Where've you been, Lara?” Walter asked his daughter as soon as she came inside.

“At the hospital,” Lara said.

Walter blinked in astonishment. “Why?”

“I wanted to see if Lord Hornsby was all right.”

Walter did not understand. “Why?” he asked again.

“I was there when...” Lara began. She searched for the right words to explain what had happened.

Walter groaned. “Don't tell me you had something to do with this, Lara.”

“It wasn't my fault...”

“What do you mean? I told you to keep away from the stables,” Walter said irritably.

Before Lara could further explain, there was an insistent knock on the door. Walter opened it to find two constables.

“I'm Sergeant Andrews,” the elder of the two said. “And this is Constable Formby, sir. I believe a Miss Lara Penrose lives at this address.”