by Lynn Mann
‘Well I’d never have believed Infinity could run that fast, never mind jump a flaming five bar gate!’ Rowena’s excited voice jerked us all back to the physical world. ‘Gas could have overtaken you both, and probably Liberal, but the rest of us were pushed just to keep up! There’s no stopping her now is there Am?’
I laughed. ‘No, I don’t think there is.’
Marvel suggested untacking the horses so they could graze the river bank while we rested awhile in the sunshine, but gave in with good grace when we all reminded him that our students would be waiting for us back at the paddocks. We made our way back along the river bank at a walk, enjoying the warm sunshine and the sound of the river as it rushed along its path. We revelled in the camaraderie we felt with our horses and with each other.
‘This responsibility is most inconvenient, in fact now that summer’s beginning to announce itself, I’m thinking of jacking it all in.’ Marvel’s voice rang out loudly, and he made a show of covering his head with his arms to protect himself from our shouted protests.
‘Pick your reins up, you feckless man, you just dropped Broad and left him to balance on his own,’ scolded Rowena.
‘No, I didn’t, I have him with my thighs, see, look at my legs. You really are the bossiest woman…’ Marvel’s voice was drowned out by our laughter.
‘It’s good to hear her back to her old self,’ I said to Justin as we rode on, chuckling.
He nodded. ‘That’s our Ro, and Marvel seems to revel in being the focus of her tyranny!’
We were quiet for a time, then I voiced the question that had been going over and over in my mind. ‘How long do you think we’ll be needed here?’
He shrugged. ‘As long as it takes, I guess. You’re itching to be off, though. The Woeful?’
I nodded. ‘I can’t stop thinking about the one who killed Shann, how he was feeling, his worry for his family. We can’t let them go through another winter like that, we have to help, and like Marvel said, summer isn’t far away. It’ll be autumn and then winter again before we know it and there’s just so much to do. We have to find them and persuade them to trust us, we have to come up with a plan of exactly how they and humans can share communities and live alongside one another and then we have to persuade the villagers to cooperate with it all, which isn’t going to be easy.’
Infinity increased her presence in my mind, pushing my worries to one side. I remembered. Everything is as it should be, I agreed with her and then broadcast it to All That Is, wondering if maybe some of the Woeful would pick up on my thought and know that we would try to make things right. EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE!
Justin smiled. ‘It always comes back to that, doesn’t it.’
Infinity pushed off into a slow canter and Gas was soon cantering alongside. Our friends’ initial protests at the lack of warning were soon replaced with shouts and laughter as their horses joined ours, and the slow canter became a gallop as our horses egged each other on in the sunshine.
We really are the luckiest girls in the world, Fin.
Luck does not exist. We are who we are and we have done as we agreed. In time we will attempt more.
If you have enjoyed The Horses Know, you may like to know that the story continues in The Horses Rejoice (The Horses Know Book 2).
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Other books by Lynn Mann
The Horses Rejoice (The Horses Know Book 2)
And
The Horses Return (The Horses Know Book 3)
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Acknowledgments
My heartfelt thanks go out to:
Darren Mann for his never-ending support and encouragement;
Fern Sherry, Leonard & Ann Palmer, Rebecca Walters, Susan Wilkinson and Wendy Evans for editing, copy editing and proofreading;
Dashel, Ivy and the late Sidney, my canine companions who accompanied me on walks whenever I needed a breather;
Coxstone Infinity (stable-name Pie), my beautiful, blue-eyed mare who is the horse I always hoped I would find and the inspiration for this book;
Jon Morris of MoPhoto for generously supplying the wonderful shots of Pie used in the cover design;
Gavin and Annabelle Scofield for all of their help with Pie and me over the years;
The Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies (now Redwings SWHP), who rescued Pie from a desperate situation, saving her life and that of her foal;
My readers – not only for reading, but for all of your emails, reviews, messages and comments on facebook posts, they are hugely appreciated!
