“Course I am,” Amber scoffed dismissively, but Mia noticed her hands shaking on the reins.
Amber pushed Copper into a fast canter. She circled wide, then turned towards the table. Copper began to take charge, his speed increasing towards the broad fence.
“Not too fast, Amber!” Freddie called out. “Turn Copper away if you’re not in control!”
Amber was standing in her stirrups. She hauled on the right rein, and at the last moment steered Copper past the fence. The gelding’s hooves skidded and he almost slipped over, but he just managed to right himself. When Amber finally managed to pull him up, she looked slightly sick. Copper jig-jogged back, anxiously fretting at his bit.
“If you’re not one hundred per cent confident with a fence like this,” Freddie said, walking over to reassure Copper with a pat, “it’s best not to tackle it. It’s a biggie to get wrong.”
Amber bit her lip. “It’s not that I wasn’t confident,” she explained quickly, “but Copper got his striding wrong and I didn’t want to frighten him ahead of tomorrow. And, well, I think I’m just a bit nervous because Lily’s about to start her dressage test at Burghley really soon! I can’t concentrate.”
Freddie looked unconvinced. “Well, okay, but I think you should still stick to the hog’s back in the competition tomorrow.”
Amber didn’t reply, and as Holly glanced over at her she just looked the other way.
Freddie checked his watch then clapped his hands, suddenly snapping back into briskness. “Okay, that’s it for today’s lesson. The last fence – the tree trunk – is really straightforward, so you don’t need to practise that one. Let’s get the ponies back and turned out.”
Everyone began to take their ponies back on a long rein and Freddie quickly walked on ahead. He quickly disappeared into the Hall as the purple team gathered by the hoses near the carriage arch. They sloshed over with water buckets to give to their sweating ponies, who drank deeply. Charlie and Rosie hosed Phantom and Dancer, then ducked their own heads under the water themselves to cool down.
Once the ponies were hosed off , fly-sprayed and turned out in their paddocks, the girls rushed inside to grab a drink. They ran through the back door and heard the sound of the television drifting down the hallway. Grabbing a juice, they held the ice-cold glasses against their faces as they popped their heads into the lounge. The instructors were perched on the arm of a chair Freddie had moved up close to the television. They watched as Lily Simpson rode into the huge arena, elegant in top hat and tails, riding her awesomely big chestnut, Firestorm. More campers began to appear behind the Pony Detectives and they all edged into the room, standing silently by the sofas to watch the dressage test with their instructors. Amber hovered by Alice, her face a picture of anxious concentration and her eyes fixed on her sister. Lily finished with an immaculate halt and she saluted, then burst into a huge smile, leaning down to hug Firestorm.
Amber grinned back at the television, looking flooded with relief. The blue team congratulated Amber and patted her on the back as the next rider entered the arena. Freddie leaned closer to the screen. It was Georgie Belle’s round.
He sat tensely, biting his nails, while Georgie performed her test. When she finished with a flourishing salute, he let out a whoop.
“Well ridden, Georgie!” he cheered. Over by the sofa, Watty giggled with Emily. Freddie cleared his throat, suddenly calming back down.
The girls watched a few more dressage tests, then grabbed their lunches and headed outside. They clambered over the post-and-rail fencing and plumped down under the shade of a chestnut tree with their ponies, watching as Watty and Emily dragged a couple of hay bales nearer the stables to have their lunch on. Alice shared her roll with Scout. A mixture of nerves about the competition and worries about finding Foxy swirled through her.
But she forgot her nerves completely when she glanced across and saw Holly. Alice had assumed that Holly was in the stables with Destiny, keeping Skylark and Topaz company on their no-grass diet. But instead, she was creeping round the edge of the cross-country course. To Alice, it looked like she was trying hard to not be seen.
“Quick!” Alice whispered urgently. “Holly’s on the move!”
As the Pony Detectives got up and sneaked after her, Holly disappeared between the trees near the brook.
“Which way did she go?” Charlie asked as they sprinted onto the course as fast as they could.
Alice pointed, saving her breath.
They reached the lightly wooded area by the brook, and peered into the shady area. There was no sign of Holly.
“Well, let’s just keep following the brook round,” Mia suggested.
They kept jogging along, until they were totally puffed.
“At what point do we admit defeat?” Rosie gasped, as quietly as she could. At the same moment, Charlie saw a flash of purple T-shirt ahead in the woods, and warned Rosie to be quiet.
They kept low to the ground as they watched Holly jump down into the brook, splash across, and disappear on the other side. The girls waited for as long as they dared, then followed her.
“This is exactly where we rode through to get to the lane on the treasure hunt!” Rosie whispered.
“If Holly knows this route, she must have taken it before!” Mia said as they splashed through the shallow brook. “And the furthest corner of Chestnut Grove’s land is just the other side…”
They stayed under the cover of the trees as they saw Holly duck down through the hedge opposite and disappear. The Pony Detectives held their breath.
“That paddock belongs to Chestnut Grove!” Charlie gasped.
They tiptoed across the lane and stopped by the hedge. Alice pointed out the small gap near the bottom that Holly had gone through. They knelt down and peered through it. There, on the other side of the hedge, stood a chestnut pony under the shade of a large tree, near where the brook cut through the paddock.
“Hang on,” Mia said with a frown. “That’s the paddock the old lady said wasn’t used much.”
“Well, it’s being used now,” Rosie said grimly.
Holly gave the pony a hug, then scrabbled through another hedge, leaving the boundary of Chestnut Grove’s land.
“That explains the chestnut hairs,” Mia whispered. The others nodded.
They watched silently as Holly ran across a small garden, up to the back door of the small, pale blue cottage. She rapped hard on the door. A few moments later, the old lady Mia, Rosie and Charlie had met during the treasure hunt opened it. She held out both her hands, breaking into a huge smile, then Holly stepped inside.
Mia quickly filled Alice in on who the old lady was, as Charlie and Rosie peered back through the hedge at the chestnut. After their initial excitement that it could be Foxy, their hopes were already starting to dwindle.
“That definitely does not look like a top eventing pony,” Charlie frowned, running her eyes over the safe-looking small cob, “retired or not.”
The girls sat back with a heavy sigh, but the next second they heard the cottage door opening again.
“Thanks for finding this, Grammy,” they heard Holly call out, then the door closed.
“Grammy?!” Charlie whispered.
The four girls ducked across the lane and dived among the trees on the other side. They flung themselves down onto the grassy ground in time to see Holly run back across the lane and into the woods, carefully holding what looked like an old black-and-white photograph.
“EVERYONE ready?” Melissa called out. She was standing in the heat with Freddie and the other instructors, waiting for the campers to get organised for the course walk.
The Pony Detectives had just gulped down ice-cold juices and now it was time to head out.
Holly had got back before them, and they found her spending the last ten minutes of lunchtime with Destiny inside the stables. Both girls gave their ponies one last big hug before stepping outside.
“I hate it that Skylark has to stay inside when it’s so s
unny out here,” Holly sighed as she stood next to Freddie at the front of the group.
“I know,” he agreed, “but it’s better than if he eats lots of grass and gets laminitis.”
“True,” Holly said.
The last group of riders joined the waiting throng. Alice noticed that the blue team were carefully keeping their distance from Amber, for once. Holly, reaching into her pocket, walked timidly over to Amber, just as Melissa called out Amber’s name.
“Amber, can you leave that glass behind please?” she said. “Cans and plastic bottles are okay.”
“Sorry,” Amber said, “I’ll just tip it into a bottle. I’ve got one in my grooming kit. I’ll catch you up.”
As Amber stepped back inside the stables, Holly’s face dropped.
Freddie clapped his hands and grinned. “Okay, let’s go!”
Everyone headed out into the searing sun in shorts, vest-tops and flip-flops or deck shoes. The Pony Detectives stuck together, with Alice getting more nervous with every step.
“I feel so sick!” she groaned.
“We haven’t even got to the starter flags yet!” Rosie giggled as they approached the beginning of the course. Amber ran to catch them up, and they walked together in their big group, over the hill, round the slopes and down through the small copse of silver birch trees.
“It doesn’t seem so bad on foot,” Destiny said, “but this drop felt enormous looking down from Topaz’s neck!”
“This whole course feels a lot longer on foot,” Rosie said, wiping her damp forehead, “that’s all I know. Poor Dancer – she has to carry me all the way round at canter!”
Alice noticed Holly keeping close to the instructors. She didn’t have her notepad with her, but she was listening carefully to every word they uttered. She wasn’t even distracted by the boys, who were messing about, leaping over the fences themselves and tripping up, or splashing through the water to cool down.
They all moved slowly round the course, talking about each fence in detail. They walked up to the brow of the hill towards the two flags they’d have to ride through the next day. Mia paused for a second at the top of the hill to check the line she’d ride on Wish. As she walked through the flags, she saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced down the hill towards the paddocks and noticed Phantom and a few of the other ponies trotting round, their tails up. Mia frowned as they stopped, snorted and all stared in one direction. Wondering what had spooked them, Mia followed their gaze towards the stable block. She gasped as she saw smoke rising up and flames starting to lick the outside of the canvas.
“Fire!” She gulped, her heart almost jumping out of her chest, causing her words to get stuck in her throat. She got them out on the second attempt.“FIRE!”
The whole group ran as fast as they could down the other side of the hill to the stable block. The sun was fierce, and the slight breeze was fanning the flames, sending them flickering from one row of stables across to the next. Even as they ran, they could hear high-pitched, terrified whinnies.
“Skylark and Topaz!” Mia cried.
Holly pushed herself, running faster and faster, but it was Freddie who reached the paddock rails first and leaped over.
Alice felt fear rise in her throat as the other instructors stopped the rest of the campers at the paddock rails. Ahead of them, the ponies were careering around their fields, heads and tails raised. They were far enough from the rapidly spreading flames to be safe, but the desperate whinnies from inside the stables and the growing fire had sent them into blind panic.
“Everybody, I need you to follow me around the paddocks!” Melissa called out. “It’s too dangerous to run through the ponies right now.”
The campers immediately diverted their course and raced after Melissa – all apart from Holly. She flew into the paddocks, ignoring the danger, running as fast as she could. As Alice watched from a safe distance, she realised that Holly would have run straight into the burning stables, too, if Freddie hadn’t grabbed hold of her.
“Let me go!” she screamed, trying to wrestle herself out of his grasp.
The rest of the campers came to a panicky, breathless halt by the tents. They were helpless. All they could do was watch in horror as the flames took hold, fiercely raging, spitting and popping in front of their eyes. A wall of heat kept them back.
Beth raced to the far end of the stables and grabbed the hose. She directed the spurt of water right into the flames. Melissa had already rung the emergency services and Alice heard Freddie shout to Holly, “Go to the other campers – NOW!”
The next instant, Freddie took off his T-shirt, soaked it in the hose water, then covered his face with it.
“Freddie, don’t!” Beth yelled.
But Freddie ran into the burning block. Behind him, Holly didn’t go back to the campers. Melissa ran to get her, but Holly wouldn’t budge and stayed, transfixed and shaking by the stables. Alice stood in the group, her eyes stinging. Seconds seemed like hours as everyone looked anxiously towards the flames, willing Freddie to reappear.
Suddenly he burst through the smoke at the tent end, coughing hard. Beside him was Topaz, Freddie’s T-shirt over her eyes. She panicked, trying to shoot away sideways and kicking out. Freddie held onto her for all he was worth, until Lara rushed forward and slung the belt from her jodhpurs round Topaz’s neck. Destiny rushed to open the nearest paddock gate. As Lara led her through it and removed the T-shirt, Topaz bolted forward, breaking free to join the herd.
Charlie stood frozen as Freddie faced the flames again. She watched, terrified, as he was beaten back by the heat, but he tried a second time. She saw Holly standing with her hands to her mouth as Freddie failed to get past the flames.
“Get out, Freddie!” Melissa yelled. “You’ll be killed!”
Freddie still tried to battle forward into the acrid smoke. Charlie craned to see as he disappeared from view, but seconds later he reappeared.
“I’m so sorry, Holly,” he gasped, coughing. “I… I can’t get back in for Skylark.”
“We have to!” Holly screamed, her eyes wide. “We… we can’t leave him in there!”
She ducked past Freddie and tried to sprint in, but he caught her arm, swinging her back to him.
“It’s too dangerous, Holly!” Freddie shouted.
For a second Holly fought to get free, but as part of the stabling collapsed and the fire took a fiercer hold, she stopped. Her face crumpled and she dropped to the floor, crying out in pain. All the campers watched her hopelessly, some of them in tears. Mia’s insides twisted, as she imagined how she’d feel if it was Wish trapped in there.
Melissa rushed forward and helped Holly get to her feet, then supported her past the burning stables to the hall. Alice heard sirens sound in the distance, and minutes later she watched as a fire engine raced up the avenue and into the lorry park. She wanted to shout that they were too late. Firemen leaped out as the engine stopped, a co-ordinated unit unreeling thick hosepipes under the carriage arch.
As thick jets of water began to pump out of the pipes, the flames began to die back with a steamy hiss. Thick plumes of white smoke drifted upwards into the blue sky. Everyone turned away, horrified by the thought of Skylark trapped in there. Alice felt the tears choke in her throat, as she thought about Skylark leaping over the cross-country fences just hours earlier, bucking for joy, full of life. Holly would never hear Skylark’s welcoming whicker ever again. Alice was unable to take it in.
As soon as it was safe, Beth quickly hurried the campers past the charred ruin, through the carriage arch and into the Hall. She led them to a large sitting room up the stairs, and told them to stay there until the fire was completely out.
The next hour seemed to last for ever. The ponies in the paddocks started to calm, although they wouldn’t settle to eat. The firemen raked through the remaining ashes, and searched around the ruined framework. Freddie was out there too. He looked like he was in a daze.
“They’re trying
to find what caused the fire, I bet,” one of the boys said, looking down from the first-floor window.
Charlie frowned as she looked over to the blue team, who were still keeping their distance from Amber. They kept glancing over at her as they whispered amongst themselves.
After a while, Amber left the room to get a drink. While she was out, Watty spoke quickly to the room. “Does anyone else think it’s odd that we were just saying at breakfast that it would take a disaster to stop Holly winning the competition? Well, that’s what we’ve had, and Amber was so desperate to be top of the leader board…”
Alice looked confused for a second. “Hang on,” she said, “you can’t think Amber started the fire on purpose?”
“Well, she was the last one in the stables,” Emily chipped in. “She nipped back in just before our walk. Funny, don’t you think?”
“And check this out,” Watty added dramatically. “At breakfast she asked us to mess up Skylark’s stable so that Holly would lose points in the inspection. She was that desperate to win.”
The door opened and Amber walked back into the room. Watty and Emily stopped talking and looked away pointedly. Amber noticed and sat down heavily on her own once again.
“I know Amber wanted to win,” Mia whispered to her friends, “but I don’t think she’d actually start a fire, do you?”
Her three friends shook their heads.
After a while the door creaked open and Holly crept into the room. She came in with Melissa, and sat quietly by the window on the arm of a chair. Her eyes were puffy, her face still pale beneath her tear-stained, sooty cheeks. The room fell quiet.
“We’re all really sorry, Holly,” Destiny said, rushing over. Her voice cracked.
The pain was etched on Holly’s face. The tears began to tumble again at Destiny’s words. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with a crumpled tissue. She nodded her thanks, then turned to look out at the blackened mess of stables, her forehead resting on the cool glass.
Beth came into the sitting room and had a quiet word with Melissa, then disappeared again.
Foxy: Rivalry at Summer Camp Page 10
