Alice nodded. For the first time, Georgia felt old. Normally Melanie, or her mum, or Dan took control. This time she was on her own and everyone was looking to her for a solution. Both Lucy and Secret were in trouble. She had to help. She took a deep breath.
“OK, Alice,” she said, trying to sound normal. “Can you stay here with Secret and keep him calm? I’m going to ride Lily back to the farm to get help.”
Alice’s face paled as she took in what Georgia had asked her to do. Secret needed to stay still so he didn’t hurt Lucy or himself, but at the moment he was thrashing around so much it looked impossible. Still, Alice nodded bravely, biting her lip.
“Just here, like this…” Georgia showed Alice where to sit so she was out of harm’s way but could still talk to Secret.
Instantly, seeing Alice, Secret stopped struggling. “Here, boy; here boy…” Alice trembled as she sat down beside him.
Taking the opportunity, Georgia hauled Lucy into a sitting position and carefully readjusted the jacket around her shoulders.
“Thanks.” The girl smiled weakly, shivering with shock.
Alice was intent on communicating with Secret, gently stroking his face and talking to him constantly. His ears flickered back and forth, and his amber eyes, so like Lily’s, never left Alice’s face.
Georgia turned to Lily. “It’s you and me, girl.”
Lily was understandably concerned about leaving her young colt in danger, just like any mother would be. She pushed her nose against Georgia’s palm, uncharacteristically fidgety and flighty, snorting loudly.
“Come on, sweetheart, it’ll be fine, I promise.” After she’d put on the palomino’s head collar, Georgia vaulted up. She gripped on to the lead rope before guiding Lily round with her legs. Giving a small half-rear, as if she understood the seriousness of the situation, the mare bounded forwards and Georgia wrapped her hands around Lily’s pale mane. Georgia decided to take the most direct route back down to the yard, straight through the fields, even with the fences in the way, otherwise it meant taking the long route through the lanes. There wasn’t a moment to lose!
Flying down the field, Georgia felt the wind whipping past her. As if she had wings in her hooves, Lily galloped the length of the fields in seconds, soaring over the fences that divided them. Still gripping on, Georgia silently thanked Melanie for the hours of lessons in which she had taught her to ride without stirrups. Being small and light allowed her to crouch low over Lily’s withers, urging her on as they clattered into the yard, breaking the stillness and causing Wilson to launch into a crescendo of whinnying as Callie trotted the length of the fence line, watching her friend eagerly.
Leaping off Lily, Georgia hammered on the door of the stable loft where she knew she would find Fergus.
“Fergus … Fergus!” Georgia cried, out of breath. “We need an ambulance and a fire engine! Now, please!” Georgia’s voice was shrill.
There wasn’t time to explain; she just needed Fergus to respond.
As he came to the door, the groom nodded, reacting quickly and punching the numbers into his mobile.
“It’s Secret … and … Lucy,” Georgia explained, once Fergus had got through to the emergency services. “They’re trapped! Up on the downs, beyond the back meadow…”
Fergus relayed the information back to the operator on the end of the phone, before snapping it shut. “They’re on their way. Now, you’d better tell me everything,” he said grimly.
“There’s no time!” Georgia replied as she vaulted back on to Lily and wheeled her round. “Besides, I don’t know everything. Just get up there as fast as you can!”
Fergus ran towards the barn where the quad bike was parked. He leapt on to it and followed Georgia and Lily as they galloped out of the yard.
As Georgia reached the edge of the downs, she slowed Lily down. It wouldn’t help the foal or Lucy if the palomino spooked Secret.
She slid off Lily’s back and pressed a finger to her lips, quietly leading Lily to where Secret lay, dreading what she might find. To her relief, he was quiet and still. What she saw amazed her. Alice was sitting with his head in her lap, crooning and singing softly to him. Lucy had managed to haul herself further up the bank and was safe, wrapped in Georgia’s coat. Secret was no longer struggling, but calmly, patiently waiting for help, his lovely gingery eyelashes lowered, his roan coat scratched and bleeding.
“How did you keep him so quiet?” Georgia whispered, crouching beside her. Alice smiled and stroked Secret’s face. Her hands were no longer trembling. “I just talked to him,” she whispered back. “I told him you and Lily were going to help, and he understood. I told him I didn’t want to lose him, like I lost Honey...” She shrugged as her voice trailed away.
Georgia nodded. To her immense relief, she could hear the wail of sirens in the distance and, suddenly feeling weak and vulnerable, she was only too glad to let the professionals take over. Within minutes, paramedics were strapping Lucy to a board and inserting a drip into her arm. They gave her an oxygen mask, which she lifted from her mouth as she was carried past the girls.
“Alice,” she said weakly. “Please believe me. I didn’t do this.”
“I know,” Alice said simply, looking straight at her. “You love ponies as much as I do.”
The two girls looked at each other for a moment, unspoken words hanging in the air, before Lucy’s stretcher was whisked off into the ambulance. The next job for the emergency services was to get Secret out of the ditch.
Working as a team, the firemen quickly and carefully secured straps and a hoist around Secret. The little foal shivered as they tightened the straps around his tummy. Lily gave a little cry as she watched, as if asking them to be gentle with her foal.
Another fireman laid a large tarpaulin on the ground. Seeing Georgia’s questioning face, he told her that it would protect the little colt from any rocks or brambles when he was lifted to safety. Alice was at her side, and instinctively Georgia reached for her hand, which she gripped as she smiled.
“He’s going to be OK, isn’t he?” Alice whispered.
“Yes,” Georgia said, sounding more sure than she felt as she watched the firemen attaching the ropes to Fergus’s quad bike. Fergus was going to slowly drive forwards as the firemen lifted Secret free.
He started the engine and inched along on the bike, and Secret’s body, secured by the hoist, began to slide free of the ditch. The men were straining with the effort, but Secret didn’t fight against them, reassured by Georgia and Alice’s presence close by. With a final almighty effort, he was lifted over the side of the ditch and on to the tarpaulin. As soon as the men undid the hoists and straps, Secret wriggled upright, shaking himself like a dog and whickering at Lily, who blew a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, thank you!” Both Georgia and Alice hugged the brave colt, who shook his fluffy tail and stretched each leg in turn, testing them. Fergus was already on the phone to Josephine, telling her what had happened.
Miraculously, brave Secret seemed entirely unconcerned by his ordeal, despite the scratches to his side. Instead, he was concentrating on nudging Georgia’s pockets, just in case she had any treats.
The men all laughed. “Bit of a character, isn’t he!”
“Yes.” Georgia laughed. “I have a feeling he’ll always manage to find trouble somewhere!” She stroked Secret’s neck. “I can’t thank you all enough,” she said seriously.
“Think nothing of it,” one of the men said, turning back towards the fire engine. “It’s good to put our training into practice.”
“My wife will love hearing this story when I get home for my tea tonight!” another one of them remarked. “Now, take care of the little fella.”
And once they were sure Fergus would escort the girls and ponies back to the safety of the yard, the firemen drove off, taking the straps and hoists with them. Lily walked over to Secret and nuzzled him as Fergus ran his hands down the colt’s legs, checking again for heat or bumps.
; “Well, he’s not lame, and the cuts look superficial,” he said in amazement. “I don’t think he’ll even need to be seen by a vet. He’s one lucky little pony!”
Once Fergus was happy that Secret seemed OK, Georgia and Alice started to lead the ponies back to the yard, side by side. Lily gently nudged her boisterous son. Alice walked happily alongside him, no trace of fear as she slung an arm over his neck. They were silent for a few minutes.
“I hope Lucy is going to be OK.” Alice looked worried as she spoke.
“I’m sure she will be,” Georgia reassured her. “It looked like she’d broken her leg, but the doctors will look after her. I just wonder what she was doing out there.”
“Yes,” said Alice tentatively. “I guess she’s still got a lot of explaining to do.”
As they reached the yard, they were met by a welcoming party. Josephine had obviously hurried back in response to Fergus’s phone call, and her car was just pulling through the wrought-iron gates, her face white with panic. Georgia’s mum and Dan were there too.
“We were worried,” Dan explained. “I couldn’t get through on your mobile so I rang your mum. She said she hadn’t heard from you at home time, so we decided to come over.” He looked so concerned that Georgia couldn’t help but melt a little inside.
“Georgia, why didn’t you have your mobile with you? We’ve been worried sick!” her mum scolded her as Josephine leapt out of the car and hurried over to Alice.
“What’s going on?” she asked, taking in the fact that her daughter was confidently leading a pony. She turned to Georgia, who felt exhausted now the adrenalin from the rescue had started to wear off. Georgia nodded at the younger girl. “Go on, you tell your mum.”
Dan helped Georgia settle Secret into his stable and put Lily in the box next to him while Alice went off with her mother. Lily was still a bit highly strung and concerned about her foal, who seemed only interested in whether he had a hay net or not. Fergus came along with a special feed he had made up for Secret that contained electrolytes, in case he was shocked and also to replace any lost minerals. The colt wolfed it down happily and gave a contented little whicker when he looked up from his feed bucket.
“We don’t think it was Lucy, Mum,” Alice was saying to Josephine as they came out of the house to check the ponies over. “She said she would come and explain when she was out of hospital, but I think she was only trying to help Secret.”
Josephine turned to Georgia. “What do you think?”
Georgia shrugged. “I don’t know why, but I believed her.”
“Can you be here when she comes?” Alice asked Georgia.
Georgia nodded. She was exhausted and filthy, every bone in her body was aching and her head felt like it might explode. So much had happened that day that she needed to think about – not only Secret’s rescue, but also Dan turning up with her mum to check she was OK. It was clear to see how worried he had been about her. Things had all turned out for the best, but she was so tired now that all she wanted to do was go home and climb straight into bed!
Lucy hobbled into the yard a few days later, her leg in plaster. Her dark-brown hair was tied back in a neat ponytail and she looked calm, a far cry from the scruffy, angry girl Georgia had seen at the show not that long ago. There was a crescendo of whickers and whinnies from the stable yard as all of the ponies gazed eagerly at their old friend, who greeted them all with a hug, and tears in her eyes.
“They all miss you,” Alice said shyly from where she stood in front of her mum. Georgia noticed she was wearing yard clothes for the first time – smart navy jodhs and a blouson jacket.
“I miss them so so much too,” Lucy admitted, seeming overwhelmed. She took a shy look at Josephine, who gave her a reassuring glance in return, and Lucy started her explanation. “When Honey went…” She hesitated. “Well, I didn’t want to be reminded of her ever again.”
“I know,” said Alice, remembering the way she had cut up all of her photos. “I felt exactly the same.” Josephine pressed a comforting hand on her daughter’s shoulder.
Lucy was standing next to Secret’s box now and as she stroked his nose, he gazed back at her.
Georgia couldn’t wait any longer to find out what had happened. “So how exactly did you end up in the ditch with him?”
Lucy took a deep breath and gave Secret’s gingery neck a pat. “I shouldn’t have been here that day, I know that, but I knew Josephine was out at the show committee meeting,” she said, sounding guilty. “I wasn’t going to do anything horrible. All I wanted was Honey’s passport and photos. I knew where they would be – in the safe in the tack room – and I can still remember the code.” She hung her head. “I knew how to sneak in through the back fields without anyone noticing.”
“Go on,” Georgia said.
“Well, I didn’t ever make it as far as the tack room,” Lucy continued. “As I started to climb the fence, I noticed a foal galloping around at the top of the field, like he was spooked or something. Then I saw that there was another pony behind him. The foal was frightened and it looked as though the palomino mare was trying to catch him. I tried to stop him, I was calling, ‘whoa, whoa,’ but it was too late – they both jumped the fence at the top, before I could reach them.”
She paused, shuddering at the memory. “The foal then tried to jump one of the ditches, but he was too small and he misjudged it. The palomino stopped on the edge, luckily. I watched him fall. I couldn’t stop it. At first, I thought he had died, like Honey, and then when I saw he was just stuck, I tried to climb down to help him. He was in the water, at the bottom. I got my hand on his mane and tried to pull him out, but he was struggling so hard that he kicked me in my thigh. I heard it crack but I couldn’t let him drown. He freed himself, but he could only get halfway up the bank before it became too steep. And that’s when you found us.”
“I think I know what happened,” Josephine said grimly. “See this?” She held out her hand, which contained a broken gate clasp. “I think it was Secret,” she explained to Lucy. “He must have let himself out, and then something startled him – perhaps a rabbit or something. He’s going to be one to watch!”
“So you … you actually saved him,” Alice said quietly to Lucy, turning the clasp over in her hand. “I owe you one – forever.”
Lucy shook her head. “I only did what you would have done. I was just there at the right time.” She paused. “At first I…I wanted you to hurt badly after what happened to Honey. I sent some stupid texts and wasn’t very nice at all, but I realise now you loved her as much as I did.”
Georgia turned away, embarrassed to be listening in to such a personal exchange. Hot tears were coursing down Alice’s cheeks. “I miss her so much,” she said. “Honey was my best friend.”
“I know now that it was an accident,” Lucy continued quietly, putting an arm around Alice. “I saw the vet’s report. I know she died of a heart attack, and there was nothing that could have been done, but I wanted to blame someone – I was just so angry. I’m sorry, Alice. I’m sorry, Josephine. I understand if you can’t ever forgive me.”
Josephine rubbed Lucy’s shoulder. “Of course we can forgive you.” She reached over and hugged her, before smiling gently. “And there’s a whole yard of ponies who have missed you and Alice too, although…” she turned and smiled at Georgia, “Georgia has been doing a fantastic job at riding them in the shows.”
“I know,” Lucy smiled. “You’re an amazing rider, Georgia.”
“An amazing rider indeed,” said Josephine. “But Georgia has to go back at some point. The Easter holidays are nearly over. I’ll be looking for a new rider then.” Josephine looked tentatively at Lucy.
Lucy smiled shyly under her long eyelashes. “You don’t mean you would take me back, do you?”
“I would,” said Josephine, “in a flash. That is, if you think you’d want to…”
“Want to?” cried Lucy. “Of course I want to!”
Georgia smiled. She felt relieved
that the air had been cleared and it was all sorted, but not just that – she was pleased that she would be going back to Melanie’s soon. The showing world was fast-paced and exciting, but Georgia couldn’t wait to get back to her friends and her normal routine.
Lily nudged her shoulder, as if to say that she agreed, and Georgia smiled again.
Alice reached out a hand to stroke Secret’s mane, scratching behind his ears.
How does she know he likes that the best? Georgia wondered, although the answer was obvious. The younger girl was totally and utterly smitten with the colt, just like Georgia was with Lily. Call it an intuition for horses, but the bond was undeniable.
Once again, Georgia felt a slight pang of jealousy. Secret, born out of her beloved mare, was a free spirit and had always been independent, right from day one. She’d hoped that eventually she and the colt would grow close, but he’d obviously made his own choice about who he made a special bond with.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” Josephine said finally. “I think this calls for cups of tea all round.”
“You’re quiet.” Dan placed a glass of squash in front of Georgia later that day as they sat in the kitchen at his dad’s farm. Georgia couldn’t believe the Easter holidays were almost over. She would miss the Smalley yard and all its ponies – she had learned such a lot there. Most of all, she was pleased that Lucy and Alice had become friends again. But she still couldn’t ignore the little voice in her head that kept reminding her that in a couple of days Melanie’s lorry would pick the ponies up and take them back to Redgrove, and Alice would be left heartbroken without Secret.
Georgia dragged herself out of her thoughts and looked up, smiling. “Sorry, Dan,” she said, aware that she had only been half listening to him chattering away about Hattie the collie dog’s latest escapades with one of the shop customers. “I was just thinking.” She smiled again at her friend, a lump forming in her throat. A thought about Secret had been taking shape in her mind, but she just wasn’t ready to voice it yet, not even to Dan!
The Palomino Pony Wins Through Page 6
