A Ride to Freedom

by Olivia Tuffin

  Her tone was icy, and Gabby frowned. “He only emailed half an hour ago,” she said.

  Maria rolled her eyes. “Quite honestly, I’ll be glad to get out of here. I’m fed up with horses and kids everywhere and you getting distracted by the wretched creatures all the time.” And with that Maria spun on her high heels and was gone.

  Alice coughed a little awkwardly.

  “Sorry about that,” Gabby said, and her voice lowered. “She’s a little … intense.” She sighed. “Stick to horses, Alice! Far less complicated than people.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  Alice meant it, and Secret nudged her, as if in agreement.

  The morning hack was brilliant, the perfect chance to really get to know the other pony clubbers as they wound their way up into the forest. Talk had mostly been about the upcoming competition, and there was already a buzz in the air. And as bad as she felt for thinking it, Alice was almost glad Finn wasn’t there as she laughed and joked with her new friends. Secret was happy and relaxed as Alice turned him out into the paddock on her return and she watched for a moment as he rolled.

  Then she spotted something at the same time as Secret, and her heart sank. The gate on the other side of the paddock was open, and Secret was trotting purposely across to investigate. He could sense immediately if there were any escape routes nearby.

  “No, no, no!” Alice muttered under her breath as she jogged across the paddock. She didn’t want to start chasing him, as he would turn it into a game, but she had to reach the gate before him.

  “Come on, Secret!” she pleaded. “You’ve stayed out of trouble for three days…”

  Too late. With a joyful kick of his heels Secret was through the gate and cantering up through the rows of lavender that lay beyond the paddock. Alice broke into a run. Ahead was a whole crew of people, a model in a particularly elaborate layered wedding dress, and the entire magazine team along with high-tech camera equipment and lighting. And Secret was trotting straight through the middle of it.

  Had Alice not been panicking, she might have appreciated that Secret was looking his best – the characteristic Welsh trot more exaggerated than ever, his red mane and tail fanned behind him, and his strong neck arched. As he reached the team they scattered, and Alice heard Maria screech. Secret had poked his nose straight through the big reflector, tearing the material with an audible rip until he’d pushed his whole head through.

  Giving a comedy spook, he backed up, shaking the reflector free and sending a tripod flying, before heading over to a table set up with make-up and accessories, shoving his muzzle into the pots and blowing gold dust everywhere as he snorted, his whiskers coated in fine glitter. To Alice’s horror she felt a giggle rise up and tried to supress it. This was so terrible she felt a little hysterical.

  “Secret, stop!” She made another desperate attempt to catch him as Secret picked up a piece of silver material in his teeth and swung it around.

  Alice realised the material was another expensive-looking dress, no doubt now adorned with a mix of red hairs, green pony slobber and gold dust.

  “Secret, put that down! Come HERE!” Alice shouted. Surely it couldn’t get any worse … but then to her horror Maria ran over, flapping her hands and waving a towel, trying to scare Secret away. But Secret trotted over to investigate the towel as Maria backed away, straight towards a trough full of water.

  “You horrid thing! Shoo, shoo!” Maria tried to whack Secret across the nose with the towel, missed, and then stumbled back into the trough, sitting down in the water with a huge splash. Secret gazed down at her with a bemused expression before turning round and heading towards Alice.

  Everyone was frozen as Maria screamed, pushing her damp hair back from her face. Miraculously her sunglasses remained on top of her head. Finn strode forward, a broad grin on his face, reaching down to pull Maria out of the trough and help her to her feet. No one else had volunteered to help, Alice thought briefly.

  “Whoops!” Finn said cheerfully. “At least it’s a hot day.”

  But Maria looked beyond furious. “That…” She pointed a quivering finger at Secret. “That … ghastly creature! He should be destroyed; he’s out of control!” Alice finally had hold of Secret who rubbed his red head up and down her arms with glee, seemingly delighted to be reunited with his mistress after such a jolly jaunt. Slowly Alice turned back round to face the scene of destruction.

  “I’m so sorry. I’ll pay for any damage,” she said. “Are you OK, Maria?”

  “No I’m not!” Maria hissed. “I could have been killed!”

  “Bit of an exaggeration!” Finn muttered, and Maria shot him a murderous look.

  Alice felt totally panicked. Surely they would be sent home now; the fashion team must be high-paying guests and Secret had just ruined hours of work!

  “It’s OK,” Gabby said faintly, looking shell-shocked. “I’m sure we can regroup…”

  The fashion team were gathering now, picking up fallen props and tripods and dusting themselves down. Pushing past Finn, a damp and furious Maria jabbed her finger in Alice’s face, who shrank back. “What the hell are you playing at?” she hissed.

  “Don’t, Maria,” Gabby said sharply as Alice paled. “She didn’t do it on purpose.”

  Maria threw up her hands. “This whole thing has been a disaster,” she said angrily. “First the horse freaking out, then that dress getting ruined, now this shoot spoiled by some stupid kid and her stupid pony! What next, Gabby?”

  “Enough, Maria,” Gabby said icily. “These things happen.”

  “No, they really don’t, and they didn’t before you became editor,” Maria hissed. “But you chose this godforsaken place and now we have to deal with dreadful children and their out-of-control ponies!” She turned back to Alice, her eyes flashing. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “I am sorry. I don’t know what more to say.” Alice, trying to turn Secret round to lead him back to the yard, was close to tears, totally humiliated. Then she heard a familiar voice.

  “Don’t you dare talk to Alice like that,” Finn said to Maria, his tone icy. “No real harm has been done. Don’t bother asking for my help again. Come on, Al, I’ll help you get Secret back in.”

  As they walked back down to the yard, the heat shimmering in front of them, Alice glanced at Finn. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

  Finn smiled, his face full of warmth. “Hey, no problem. What are friends for?” His face darkened for a moment. “I’m quite impressed with Secret, truth be told – the whole fashion thing is ridiculous. They need a taste of the real world!”

  Secret walked between them, ambling happily along, and suddenly Alice was transported back to that fateful summer day at the country fair when Secret had run riot over the showground and her world had quite literally collided with Finn’s, and life had changed completely.

  After sitting on her bed for what felt like an age, Alice felt brave enough to creep out into the yard. Surely Maria must have reported the disastrous episode to Mathis and June, and Alice would be in real trouble. But Mathis just gave her a cheery wave and June seemed perfectly happy talking with another district commissioner. Confused, Alice went round to the dining area where Gabby was sitting at her laptop.

  “I’m so sorry about earlier,” Alice said again, more confidently than she felt. “I’ll ring my mum and explain and I’m sure she’ll lend me the money to pay you back for the damage caused.” And that’ll be my allowance used up for about a hundred years, she thought sadly. But to her surprise Gabby looked up and smiled.

  “Honestly, it’s fine,” she said distractedly. “Forget about it. We’ve got loads of those reflector things and we’d got most of the shots we needed. And Maria was fine, just embarrassed. Please don’t worry.” Then she frowned. “Actually, Alice, there is something. You haven’t noticed any of the pony clubbers acting … unusually, have you?”

  “In what way?” Alice asked in surprise.

  Gabby ran a hand through
her hair. “It’s just that someone fiddled around with my laptop over lunch, deleted some important things… I left it by the sofa over there. I shouldn’t have left it out, I know.”

  Alice shook her head, perplexed. She knew that the only guests able to access the communal area were the fashion team and the pony clubbers. But none of the pony clubbers would want to mess around with Gabby’s laptop, she thought.

  Alice had another lesson later that day and Secret performed brilliantly. As she led Secret back to the stables after washing him down she bumped into Seb, and wished she didn’t look quite so hot and bothered.

  “Hey!” Seb grinned. “Just the girl I wanted to find. I’m showjumping later tonight. I’m going to head down a little early and watch first.” Then he gazed right at her. “I’d love it if you could join me, Alice?”

  Alice felt her stomach flip. There was something about the way Seb looked at her … but her thoughts drifted to Finn and his mixed messages – appearing like a knight in shining armour one minute and completely blanking her the next. Alice tried to clear Finn from her head. She wanted to have some fun. An evening watching showjumping with Seb was exactly what she needed!

  The festival was in full swing by the time Alice and Seb headed down to the showjumping. The strum of live music played in the background and the trade stands, selling everything from handmade bridles to Western saddle cloths and showjumping jackets, were busy. A good crowd of people had already started to gather for the evening competition.

  In the main arena, the huge showjumps shone, illuminated by the setting pink sun and spotlights, giving the ring a dramatic atmosphere. Grabbing two Cokes, Seb sat down next to Alice, close enough that she could almost feel the warmth of him. He was wearing light breeches and a shirt, ready for his turn in the ring, and his tousled blond hair shone.

  “I’ll need to head back soon and warm up Clea, but I wanted to spend a little time with you first. You might bring me good luck…” he said in a soft voice.

  “Er, thanks,” Alice replied. His closeness caught her off guard so she swung the subject back round to horses. “How many classes are you doing?”

  “Loads. I’ll be doing as much as I can over the festival,” Seb explained. Then he looked up and his expression changed. “Uh-oh.”

  A pretty girl in white breeches came striding up, her dark hair in a high ponytail. Blanking Alice, she started to speak furiously in French to Seb, a look of fury on her face. Seb held his hands up, replied calmly, and the girl gave a short bitter laugh before turning to Alice.

  “Don’t get sucked in,” she said in accented English, before spinning on her polished boots and stalking off.

  “Sorry, Alice.” Seb seemed unconcerned. “I won a show last week and she thinks I broke the rules, which I did not.”

  Hmmm, Alice thought. It didn’t exactly sound like an argument over showjumping. From the little she had understood, it sounded like a heated argument between a boyfriend and girlfriend!

  When Seb wandered off to get Clea ready, Alice headed over to where the other pony clubbers were sitting.

  “Hey, Alice!” Holly waved at her, and Alice flopped down under the trees.

  “Hanging out with gorgeous Seb again?” Holly grinned, taking a huge bite of her burger. “Good for you. I mean, Finn is dreamy, but gosh he’s moody!”

  Alice knew Holly meant well, but it felt weird comparing the two boys out loud. She knew Finn was moody, but the others would never know about the stuff he had going on behind the scenes, because he wasn’t ever going to be the kind of person to open up to people he didn’t know well. Mind you, he wasn’t exactly opening up to her either…

  “Oops!” Clapping a hand to her mouth, Holly looked embarrassed as Finn appeared behind them. He’d caught the sun over the last couple of days and looked tanned and relaxed. Alice noticed several girls in the stands swivel round to stare as he passed.

  “Finn!” Alice said brightly, hoping he hadn’t overheard Holly. “I’m so pleased you’re here!”

  Settling down as the first class got underway, Finn explained that it was just the fashion team at the chateau that evening. “They were on about the last photos they’re taking tomorrow. It’s all about a ring. A ring that’s worth more than our whole yard.” He lay back, placing his hands underneath his dark head, staring up at the crescent moon, which was now hanging in the dusky sky. “It’s madness.”

  The class started, and for the next hour or so the group happily watched the jumping, discussing the good and bad rounds, and it was like it was just Alice and Finn again, chatting away in the horsebox on the way home from a show.

  But when Seb cantered in Alice couldn’t help but shift forward slightly to get a better look. He jumped a stylish clear, waving at the crowd who clapped as he finished. Then, later, when he won the class, he singled out Alice in the crowd and blew her a kiss. Alice was uncomfortably aware of Finn next to her, who’d gone very still.

  “Finn … I…” Alice began, not really knowing what she was going to say. But just then Seb came racing up to the side of the arena, leaned over the rope and swept Alice up into an embrace. Even though she was distracted by being squashed tightly in his arms, Alice realised that she hadn’t seen him yet pat Clea.

  “I’m going to find the Rebel Riders,” announced Finn.

  Finn. Wriggling out of Seb’s arms, Alice saw him heading away into the crowds.

  “Alice,” Seb beamed, seemingly totally unaware of the tension between Alice and Finn. “You brought me luck, like I knew you would! I just won two thousand euros! Let me treat you to a bite to eat?”

  Alice thought about Finn, and how two thousand euros translated to eighteen hundred pounds, more than enough to pay off the yard’s debt. Seb was so flippant about that huge amount of money! All of a sudden Alice felt tired, and just wanted to find Finn. She’d seen something in his eyes when he’d left so suddenly. They’d spent so long skirting round the issue of their friendship, never quite telling each other how they felt. She wanted to talk to him, not about the yard and the problems they faced, but about them.

  “Actually, Seb, sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m going to go back to the centre to get an early night. Maybe it’s this heat.”

  Seb scowled at her. He clearly wasn’t used to being turned down. But before he could persuade her to stay she was heading up the driveway. The sky suddenly felt unbearably heavy and Alice could feel the beginnings of a headache. She crossed the courtyard and let herself into the cool whitewash of Secret’s stable, hoping Finn would be around, but not quite having the energy to go and search for him just yet.

  The little gelding was resting a leg, but hearing Alice’s footsteps he gave a whicker and crossed sleepily over to see her, burying his nose into the crook of her arm and sighing. Alice bent her head, breathing in his familiar, comforting smell. For some reason she started thinking about Gabby’s words from a few days ago, about how it was best to stick with horses. She was right, Alice thought, thinking about Seb and Finn and all her mixed-up feelings. Perhaps it was better just to concentrate on Secret and the competition for now. Then, when she’d hopefully done well and could hand over the prize money to Finn, she’d tell him how she felt. Perhaps then it would finally be the right time.

  The next day Alice was up early to muck out and groom Secret ready for her lesson with Mathis. Finn had already gone out with the Rebel Riders, and Alice had only had time to give him a brief wave as he left the yard.

  Secret was in a great mood. As the music from the festival began to drift up to the riding arena he bounded over the jumps and Alice grinned as she pulled him up after their round. She was just glad that they hadn’t let the Hilltops branch down during their ridden work. Although Secret had got into one or two scrapes, what with chewing the sign and crashing the photo shoot!

  “He’s a great pony,” Mathis said, smiling. “But I want to see more accuracy from you. It’s all very well being able to jump the height, but, believe me, the course builders on Frid
ay will be stretching you all. We’ll do some final exercises tomorrow.”

  Alice nodded. Mathis had told the group more than once that the class would be top standard. She just hoped she was up to the standard as well. Accuracy was one thing they struggled with at times, so she needed to work really hard in the next lesson.

  Just then Seb strode into the arena and flashed a bright grin at his dad before turning to Alice. “Hey, you,” he said charmingly. “The big day is nearly here!”

  Alice nodded. As they neared the end of their stay the competition felt real, and she wanted to do well more than anything else in the world.

  “So listen, you heard what my dad said about accuracy. Shall I show you what I would do? Can I ride your pony?” Seb then said to Alice’s surprise.

  Alice frowned. No one had ever ridden Secret but her, not even Finn.

  “Why?” she asked hesitantly.

  “If I can feel for myself how he goes, then I can really help you with your final preparations for the competition,” Seb suggested. “And it’s good for ponies to have another rider every now and again. It would just add another angle, you know?”

  Alice thought about this, imagining her and Secret jumping at Hickstead, Alice wearing the cobalt blue jacket she coveted, her feet in the blue stirrups, Secret flying over the jumps like he had wings on his feet. And although she did want to win the prize money for Finn, she wanted to do well for herself too. She wanted to be a showjumper, and perhaps Seb could help her achieve her dream. Sure he approached horses differently … but he was very successful, and clearly knew his stuff.

  “OK,” she agreed. “He’s all warmed up.”

  Seb grinned. “Great!”

  Feeling weirdly apprehensive, Alice climbed down and handed the reins to him. “You don’t need to force him, or hold him back. And no whip. OK?” she added firmly, and Seb grinned at her.