Scarlet and Ivy 3-book Collection Volume 2

Chapter Twenty-five

IVY

“I don’t like the look of that one,” Scarlet whispered, pointing to a huge black horse that reminded me uncomfortably of Raven, Miss Fox’s horse. It was stamping angrily as Rose led it across the yard, its hooves clicking on the cobbles. Rose seemed unfazed, but I supposed she was used to that sort of thing. I had to admit that I felt a little relieved when she led the horse to Mrs Knight instead of us.

Miss Bowler bustled around, putting us into height order. She spent a good amount of time trying to decide which way round to put me and Scarlet, even though I was fairly sure we were exactly the same height. She was a mirror image of me, after all. Scarlet was somewhat miffed when it was decided that I was taller. “Hmmph!” she declared loudly.

I hoped we might get some nice riding helmets, but no such luck – we were stuck with the awful ones that Miss Bowler had brought for caving. I at least got one that wasn’t cracked this time, but it was rather worryingly wobbly instead.

The stable girls began helping people on to horses. Some were obviously more experienced and just jumped up with one foot in the stirrup. Others got a boost or used the mounting block. I had a suspicion that we’d need it too.

Eventually Rose came over and tugged at our sleeves. She seemed to be considerably happier – she was in her element, I supposed. She led us to a pair of almost identical grey horses – same height, same dappled coats, same saddles. She held her arms out, smirking as if she’d done something really funny.

“What?” Scarlet said suspiciously.

“Oh!” I exclaimed. “I get it! Grey twins! Like us!”

Rose laughed, nodding. Both of us grinned. I felt a pang of shame that I’d doubted her.

Another girl, short and wearing boyish dungarees, came over to help us get on. She told us that the horses were called Shadow and Whisper. Sweet names, but I still wasn’t sure I wanted to ride either of them. They at least seemed calmer than some of the other horses I’d seen, standing there peacefully, only gently flipping their tails to keep the flies off.

I went over to the one named Whisper – remembering our mother’s secret society, the Whispers, and hoping it was a good omen. “Hello,” I said nervously. She put out her nose and nuzzled my hand. Well, that seemed a good start.

The stable girl was apparently known as Emma Two due to there being several Emmas. She led our horses over to the mounting block and then pulled sugar cubes out of her pocket to keep them occupied. “Up you get,” she said to us with a toothy grin.

I took a deep breath and climbed the small steps up on to the block. My palms were sweating. Getting on a horse is nothing, I tried to tell myself. Yes, but it’s staying on that’s the hard part, my mind insisted.

I looked over at Scarlet for reassurance, but she was chewing her fingernails and pointedly looking anywhere other than at the horses. No help there.

“You remember how to do it?” Emma Two asked in her singsong accent. Seeing my expression, she put her hand in the stirrup. “Just stick your foot here, put your weight on it and then throw your leg over the other side. And make sure you end up facing the right way.”

I tensed my muscles … and did as she said. My foot seemed to swing over the horse all on its own. I waited several seconds before I dared to open my eyes. I was the right way round, at least. I slid my foot into the other stirrup.

I’d done it! I was on!

Whisper took a few steps forward, and I gripped the reins.

“Whoa, there,” Emma Two said, her toothy smile making another appearance. “Keep calm. If you’re fine, she’s fine.”

I swallowed and tried to tell myself I was definitely fine. But I had to move. I couldn’t stay stationary by the mounting block – Scarlet needed to get on too, for one thing.

Steadying myself, I tried to remember what I’d done when pony trekking in the past. I gave Whisper the gentlest squeeze I could manage, and she walked off across the yard. She came to a halt beside a water trough and began having a drink. I had successfully led my horse to water. Well, that was something.

“Are you from around here?” I heard Scarlet ask Emma Two. I got the impression she was stalling.

“Oh yes,” the stable girl said. “I was born here. I live on a farm down the way.”

Scarlet said nothing for a moment. And then she said: “So you know the story? About the lake, and the village? Is it true?”

My horse pulled her head up, water dripping from her mouth, and I remembered to pull the rein to turn her round. Now I was back facing my twin again.

“It’s all true,” Emma said. She patted Shadow on the nose. “It wasn’t so long ago. My ma was still young, but my nanna remembers it well. Our farm is up on the hill, so they didn’t have to move, but they lost the village.”

Scarlet put a tentative hand on the saddle. “What about the stories about restless spirits?”

Emma Two’s expression darkened a little. “Nanna doesn’t like to talk about that.”

Scarlet looked at me. I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what that meant.

My twin couldn’t stall any longer. I watched as she swung herself on to the horse in much the same worried and undignified way that I’d done. “I did it!” she said. I grinned at her.

I think we both felt like we were managing really well – at least until we looked around, and saw that Ariadne was already doing laps of the yard.

When everyone had a horse, Mrs Hunt called out a few instructions and then took the lead, trotting off out to the main driveway. People followed her, some looking totally at ease, others (like Scarlet and me) taking it more slowly.

There was misty rain in the air, but at least it cooled things a bit, and seemed to make the horses more alert. Whisper went forward quickly, eager to follow the others, her ears pricked. I just tried to sit back and let her do what she wanted. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Even Rose was riding – I knew how much she loved horses and ponies, but I’d never actually seen her on one. She looked totally at home, and she trotted ahead of us, rising and falling in the saddle. Elsie and Cassandra shared a glance as she passed.

Scarlet was beside me. She looked a little green.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“It’s high up,” she said, gripping her reins.

I had to agree with her. I was attempting to not look at the ground – it didn’t help that the rain was starting to make it slippery, and the horses’ hooves were skidding on the wet ground. Mrs Hunt had reminded us to keep our heels back in the stirrups to help us stay balanced, but mine kept slipping forward.

“Couldn’t she go a bit slower?” Scarlet muttered. Mrs Hunt was already getting ahead of everyone as she went down the hill.

“Come on!” she shouted to everyone, waving her riding crop at us. “We’re heading for the trail!”

Ariadne trotted up to us. “Isn’t mine lovely? His name is Rusty!” She patted his rust-coloured coat.

“Same word I’d use to describe my riding skills,” Scarlet said grumpily.

We followed Mrs Hunt. Riding downhill was even worse than on the flat. I kept thinking Whisper was going to slip and fall over. The road led down to the lake, but rather than continuing along, the riding instructor took a trail that led off into the forest. I shared a worried look with Scarlet.

“Yippee!” Ariadne cried, trotting past us towards the trees. She still had her camera round her neck, which didn’t seem like a brilliant idea, but she was enjoying herself so much that I didn’t want to say anything.

We entered the forest, and it was almost like a different world. The canopy of trees sheltered us from the rain, and the scent of pine was stronger than ever. The trail led through an endless sea of green, well worn by the hooves of horses that had walked it before. I started to relax a little. The ground wasn’t too steep, and the horses were calm, crunching gently through the undergrowth.

The trail seemed to be leading round the lake, because every so often I caught a glimpse of the water shining through the trees. I wondered if it led anywhere, or if we were just going to go all the way round.

My question was answered when we came to a clearing in the forest. There was an enormous rock in the centre that looked as if it had been casually tossed there by a giant.

“Don’t forget to tug on your reins to stop!” Mrs Hunt called out as Anna sped past the clearing and had to turn round and come back again. “Not too hard!” she added. Cassandra had pulled up on her reins so hard that she had almost tipped over backwards.

Scarlet and I thankfully managed to get our horses to stop with some gentle tugging. They began trying to nibble at what little grass there was on the forest floor.

“Right,” Mrs Hunt said. “This is Goliath’s Rock. Many thousands of years old, we think. Probably left here by a glacier.”

“Ooh, ooh!” said Ariadne, raising her hand. “It’s called an ‘erratic’!”

“How did you even know that?” Scarlet asked her.

Ariadne shrugged happily.

Mrs Hunt smiled a tight smile. “Right, a good place for a brief stop, but n—”

BANG!

Before I even knew what was happening, birds were shooting upwards from the treetops, and Mrs Knight’s black horse had reared. I watched in horror as her saddle slipped and she went tumbling off.

And suddenly the horses were running, scattering into the woods, and all I could do was hang on for dear life …