Showjumpers (3 page)

That first jump gave Georgie a jolt of adrenalin and she felt her confidence come upon her in a rush. She stood up in her stirrups in two-point position, keen and ready for the next obstacle.

At the next jump, a low dry-stone wall, Georgie didn’t need any encouragement and popped Belvedere over it on a lovely forward stride. She was enjoying herself now, feeling the wind in her face, the thunder of hooves beneath her.

James was right beside her, but the rest of the hunters were quite spread out. Mr and Mrs Kirkwood, the scarlet-coated huntsmen and hounds were far ahead in the distance. There were about a dozen hunters in hot pursuit of the front runners, and then behind them came the stragglers, many of them sporting muddy patches on their breeches and hunting jackets.

As they approached the next fence, a large hedge, Georgie was squaring up to take her turn when James called her name and peeled off in front of her, making a sharp turn and riding away from the other hunters.

Remembering his instructions, Georgie pulled hard on the left rein to turn Belvedere away from the hedge and set off in pursuit.

They were galloping towards a small glade of trees – Georgie guessed that James must have an alternative route in mind. Straight ahead of them was a four-barred post and rail fence. James didn’t even slow down. He rode Bambi over it without hesitation and Georgie felt her blood racing as she did the same. Belvedere’s massive frame made it feel like she was riding an elephant, but there was no doubt that this horse could jump!

Over two more fences they went – a low fallen log and another quite large hedge. She heard the noisy crackle of branches as Belvedere dragged his hooves through the top of the hedge like an experienced hunter. Then she heard the low call of the huntsman’s horn and looked back over her shoulder. They had left the hunt far behind. The hounds had veered in totally the opposite direction and were getting even further away. Still, she figured James must know what he was doing. He knew the hunt fields like the back of his hand, so surely he must have a plan.

Ahead of her, James had ridden into a clearing in the middle of the glade. He pulled Bambi abruptly to a stop and flung himself out of the saddle. Georgie saw him dismount and immediately assumed the worst. If he was getting off his horse then Bambi must have thrown a shoe.

“James!” She cantered Belvedere up alongside and quickly vaulted off. “Are you all right? Is Bambi OK?” “She’s fine,” James said.

‘Then why did you dismount? What’s wrong?” Georgie took the reins over Belvedere’s head and led him over to where James and Bambi stood.

Both of the horses were sweaty and heaving. She could feel her own heart racing from the exertion of the gallop. “Why are we here…?” she began to ask. And then suddenly he was standing so close to her that she could no longer tell if it was her own heart racing or his, pressed up against her.

“I think I can smell aniseed,” was all she managed to squeak out, as he moved his face even closer and met her lips with a kiss.

I
t had quickly become obvious that James had no intention of rejoining the hunt. Instead, he took Georgie on a tour of the estate. They followed a bridle path, riding through woodlands and open fields, and by lunchtime they were starving and miles away from the Kirkwood mansion.

Georgie thought she was going to faint from hunger when James finally led the way through a gate out on to the main road and they rode along the grass verge to the junction where a petrol station, general store and diner stood on the corner.

They tied the horses up there and bought burgers and fries and sat down to eat beside their horses on the grass. Georgie was horrified by James’ habit of dipping his fries in his chocolate thickshake.

“It’s a trick I learned at Blainford,” he admitted. “The food in the dining hall is so bad, you learn to improvise.”

On the way home they cantered over the fields, jumping low hedges and spars rather than bothering to stop and open the gates. It was almost dark when they finally made it back to the stables. Georgie took Belvedere to his stall and had started to untack when James stopped her. “You know we’ve got staff who do that,” he told her. “Leave him with the grooms and come up to the house.”

Georgie shook her head. “But I want to do it.” She couldn’t stand the thought of handing over her horse for someone else to do the dirty work. Exhausted as she was, she didn’t want to abandon Belvedere, leaving someone else to mix his hard feed and rug him up. “I’ll groom him myself,” she told James.

“Suit yourself.” James looked mildly amused, as if the idea had never occurred to him. Georgie realised at that moment that the Kirkwoods treated their horses as if they were just pieces of equipment – like a motorbike or a tennis racquet to be put away at the end of a game, rather than a living creature. The horses in this stable virtually had their price tags hanging off them. Which made it even more insulting that Mr Kirkwood had refused to give her Tinkerbell to ride. He didn’t trust her to ride his horse in the same way that he wouldn’t trust a one-armed juggler with a Ming vase.

“I’ll see you back up at the house,” James said. “I’d steer clear of the conservatory if I were you – that’s where Patricia and Dad will be having their post-hunt drinks. A lot of bores with mud on their breeches telling their lame war stories.” He smiled at her. “I’ll be in the games room hiding from them.”

Grooming Belvedere took Georgie longer than she’d expected and somehow all the mud and sweat that had been on the big, brown gelding managed to transfer itself on to her in the process. Her jods were covered in muck and she had the worst case of helmet-hair she’d ever had in her life. It was in this bedraggled state that Georgie entered the mansion. She had planned to go upstairs and get changed, but when she heard Mr Kirkwood’s voice on the landing she detoured immediately and headed to the games room in search of James.

In the games room Kennedy Kirkwood was playing pool. She had taken off her top hat and coat and was leant over the table dressed in her breeches and white blouse, her frilled hunting stock still tied at her throat. Beside her, also holding cues, were Tori, Andrew and Damien.

“And what happened to you on the hunt field today?” Damien raised an eyebrow and gave her a cheeky look. “You seemed to vanish.”

“We should be so lucky!” Kennedy commented as she took her shot and managed to sink the black ball mid-game by mistake.

Andrew swept his arm across the table to clear the remaining balls. He didn’t even acknowledge Georgie’s presence and seemed determined to pretend she wasn’t there as he racked up for another game.

“Where is my brother anyway?” Kennedy glared at Georgie. “You didn’t actually manage to lose him on the hunt field?”

“He told me he was going to be in here,” Georgie said. “I haven’t seen him since he left the stables…”

The large French doors in the games room opened straight out to the gardens and the sound of giggling and splashing could now be heard right outside.

“Well we know where he is now,” Damien said, peering out the window. “He’s out by the fountain with Arden.”

Georgie felt herself turn strangely cold. It was almost nightfall outside. Why was her boyfriend hanging out in the garden?

Her suspicions got even darker when James and Arden tumbled in through the French doors, giggling and panting, as if they’d been playing chase. James was still in his riding clothes, but Arden had got changed into a stunning emerald green chiffon dress. Her hair was blow-dried perfectly and tied back loosely and she’d taken off her strappy high heels and was carrying them delicately dangling in one hand, as if she’d just stepped out of
Vogue.

“Georgie!” James seemed surprised to see her. “Finished mucking out the stables then?”

Georgie tried to take his teasing in her stride. “Yeah, well, Belvedere is a big horse – it takes a while to groom all of him,” she said. Then she added, “What were you and Arden doing outside?”

“None of your business!” Arden said airily, dropping her shoes on the floor and collapsing dramatically into a chair.

James gave Georgie a grin. “We weren’t doing anything,” he said. “Just hanging out.”

Frances entered the games room at that moment to announce it was time for dinner. Somehow Arden managed to manoeuvre herself closer to James as they walked to the dining room and snaffled the seat beside him at the table. She then spent the entire meal whispering in his ear, winding Georgie up even more. Unfortunately the Kirkwoods served dinner in six courses and it took forever. All the time, James hardly even bothered to look at Georgie and by the time dessert was being served she felt close to tears. Unable to stomach any more of Arden’s flirting, Georgie said she wasn’t hungry and left the table. She was heading for her room when she heard footsteps behind her in the hallway.

“Georgie! Wait!”

It was James. He ran to catch up with her. “Going to bed early?” he asked.

“I’m just tired, I guess,” Georgie said unconvincingly.

“Don’t go,” James said. “We can go back to the games room.”

“Why don’t you go and hang out with Arden?”

The words were out of her mouth before Georgie could stop herself. She looked at James’ face, and saw a brief smile cross his lips.

“Don’t be like that, Georgie,” he said sweetly. “We had fun today, didn’t we?”

Georgie wanted to say that it had been more than fun – it had been one of the best days she’d ever had. “I’m so sorry,” she blurted out. “It was an amazing day. It’s just… I’ve never felt like this about anybody before and I—”

And then she had to stop talking because, for the second time that day, James Kirkwood was kissing her.

As the light poured in through the curtains the next morning, Georgie’s first thought was of James Kirkwood and that kiss. As she got up and began to dress she heard the sound of the jet engines. It sounded as if a plane was taking off from the airfield behind the mansion. She didn’t give it too much thought at the time, and headed down to the dining room where Frances was serving breakfast. She’d dished herself up some scrambled eggs and was about to sit down to eat alone when Damien Danforth burst in through the dining-room door. He was dressed in jodhpurs and long boots and his cheeks were ruddy from the fresh air.

“Hello!” he said, looking rather surprised to see Georgie. “Are you still here?”

“Of course I’m still here!” Georgie replied. “Where have you been?”

“Oh, we’ve been for a morning ride,” Damien said, heading straight over to the buffet. “Frances!” he yelled out. “Got any of those field mushrooms?”

A moment later the rest of the party came rushing in. Andrew as usual didn’t bother to speak to Georgie, Tori and Arden came in giggling, and then Kennedy followed them. When she saw Georgie, her face dropped.

“Are you still here?”

Georgie frowned. “Yes! Still here. Why does everyone keep asking me that?” She looked behind Kennedy through the open doorway. “Where’s James? Is he with you?”

A look of dark delight appeared on Kennedy’s face. “You don’t know?” she said. “He didn’t tell you?”

“What are you talking about?” Georgie asked.

Kennedy purred with pleasure, “Oh, it’s too fabulous!”

Georgie suddenly felt awfully vulnerable. Kennedy clearly knew something that she didn’t.

“James has gone,” said Damien.

“Gone where?” Georgie was confused. Was he down at the kennels with his father? Out on the estate?

“He’s gone to New York with his dad,” Damien said. And then he added in a gentler tone. “I’m sorry, Georgie, I thought he’d taken you with him.”

“Well, when will he be back?” Georgie asked.

“He’s not coming back,” Kennedy said. “He’s gone with Dad and then he’s going straight to Blainford.” She gave Georgie a look of mock pity. “Looks like he’s left you behind.”

Georgie couldn’t believe it. “But there are still three more days until we’re due back at school. He can’t just leave me…”

“He just did,” Kennedy said. “This is so typical of James. Dumping you and making it our problem!”

Georgie would have burst into tears, but she didn’t want to give Kennedy the satisfaction. Instead, she put down her breakfast plate and left the room. She was halfway down the hall when she heard Damien calling after her.

“Are you OK?” he asked as he ran to catch her up.

“Not really.” Georgie shook her head, still struggling to hold back the tears. “Why did he go off like that without saying anything?”

Damien shrugged. “He was in a weird mood this morning. He said he had to get out of here and he’d tell me all about it when we got back to school. Then he left.”

Back in her room, Georgie sat down on the bed in despair. How could James abandon her at his house with Kennedy and her stuck-up friends? It was so unbelievably awful she couldn’t help but think there must be some mistake. She couldn’t believe that James would do this.

“That’s right, he’s gone to New York with his father,” Patricia Kirkwood confirmed. Georgie had looked everywhere and finally found James’ stepmother in the library. However, Mrs Kirkwood seemed to show scant interest in Georgie’s predicament.

“It’s just…” Georgie hesitated, “Well, he brought me here and now he’s gone and, umm, I’m still here.”

Patricia Kirkwood stood up and began to rearrange flowers in a vase on the mantelpiece. “So I see,” she said flatly. “You’re welcome to stay of course,” she added. “I’m sure you can get a lift back to Blainford on the weekend with Kennedy and the others when they go.”

“Thank you,” Georgie managed to stammer out, “only I wasn’t expecting to be, well, abandoned by James.”

Patricia Kirkwood froze, and suddenly her focus became quite resolutely fixed on the vase in front of her. “To be honest, Georgina, we weren’t really expecting James to bring home a girl… like you…”

She paused to withdraw a dead rose from the vase. “There’s a certain calibre of girl that is suitable for the Kirkwood household. I think perhaps James was forgetting his position when he asked you here in the first place.”

Looking back, Georgie would think of endless biting comebacks that she wished she had said to Patricia Kirkwood. But at the time, her jaw literally hung open in shock. No wonder the Kirkwoods had seemed aloof. They’d never wanted her here, because they didn’t think that she was good enough for James!

Patricia Kirkwood pulled out another dying rose and then turned on her heels and walked briskly out of the room. Georgie was reeling! What was she going to do now? She was stuck here without James, unwelcome and yet unable to leave for another three long unbearable days. Then she would be forced to get on that plane and fly back with Kennedy and her sidekicks, gloating and taunting her the whole way.

Back upstairs in her room she curled up in a ball on her bed, feeling utterly lost and alone. Why had she come here? She should have taken Alice up on her offer and gone to her house instead.

Alice!
Of course.
Georgie leapt off the bed and searched in her bag. With trembling fingers she dug through her things until she uncovered her mobile phone, and scrolled through to find Alice’s number. Alice lived in Maryland too, not far from the Kirkwoods.

Georgie listened to the dialling tone on her phone.
Please pick up, Alice!
she pleaded silently. She held her breath and waited and then, just as she was about to give up, there was a familiar voice at the other end of the line.

“Georgie!” Alice’s cheery voice almost made her burst into tears with relief. “Are you having a good time at the fabulous Kirkwood Mansion?”

“Not so much,” Georgie admitted. There were gasps of horror and disbelief from Alice as Georgie told her the ‘highlights’ so far.

“So where are you now?” Alice asked.

“I’m hiding in my bedroom,” Georgie said. “Which is probably where I’ll be staying for the next three days until I can leave.”

“No,” Alice said firmly. “You won’t be. I’m coming to get you right now. Get packed. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

It didn’t take Georgie long to throw her things in a bag. Once she was ready, she went back downstairs and told Frances she was leaving. She couldn’t wait to get out of this place. But there was one final goodbye that she had to say before she went.

“Belvedere,” Georgie cooed as she unbolted the door of the gelding’s stall and stepped inside. “I’ve got something for you.”

At the sound of Georgie’s voice, Belvedere came closer. Georgie reached out her hand and the big brown hunter spied a carrot in the outstretched palm. He stepped forward and used his soft lips to nuzzle the treat from her, crunching the carrot with his enormous jaws.

“Thank you for being such a super horse,” Georgie told him, patting his broad muzzle before slipping back out the stable door. “Bye, Belvedere,” she said sadly. “You were the nicest of all of them.”

As she walked through the gardens towards the house, Georgie half hoped that she might see a car in the driveway, but no one was here to collect her yet. Instead, she saw Kennedy standing on the steps to the front door with Arden and Tori. They were holding racquets and waiting for Tori to do up the laces on her tennis shoes.