Page 47

As he finished buckling the leather straps, he looked up at her.

‘Of course not, Miss Gray. If English riders are fool enough to ride heavy in the saddle like squatting on a stone, that’s their choice.

’ This response did nothing to quell Eliza’s anxieties.

But when she began to walk Ohio down to the starting post, she felt the horse’s spirit and excitement flutter under her.

Mr Flynn walked beside his horse, a hand on her neck.

She was a small, graceful mare, her dun coat polished and gleaming.

Eliza leaned down to whisper to Mr Flynn, ‘I do not wish to be seen by Lord Purfoy.’

‘Don’t worry yourself with him. He’s probably already at the start.

The race will begin before he bothers to look at the horses and riders bunched in behind him.

’ The afternoon was sunny and unseasonably warm, the air growing heavy and thundery.

Eliza noticed Lord Davenport’s beautiful grey, always a horse to stand out from the crowd.

She knew this was Horatio’s main rival and she hoped beyond hope that Lord Purfoy would beat him easily, then she and Ohio could melt away in the crowd.

Catching sight of Mr Shilton’s yellow coat ahead settled her nerves.

She would tuck in behind him and then just make sure she could race Ohio into third or fourth place at the finish line, and fulfil her promise to Mr Flynn.

Then Eliza saw him, the only person she longed to see.

She felt her soul caught in a gust of passion so unexpected it made her shudder.

The power of this new emotion shocked her, but she knew she had to be calm.

Strategy was needed in this race, especially as she had never ridden in one before.

Horatio was the biggest horse there and Raven Purfoy sat tall in the saddle.

They were both dark and striking and once Eliza had seen him, she could not take her eyes off him.

How much she loved this man, but what a delicate path she was about to tread.

He had no idea there was a traitor in his midst. And she shuddered again, but this time with real foreboding.

Zadoc Flynn patted Ohio and looked up into Eliza’s face.

‘You know it’s a mile. Don’t let her have her head until the last furlong.

She’s the fastest little filly I’ve ever seen.

But hold back that speed ’til the last sprint.

’ He was about to leave her with the other milling horses and riders but turned back, a soft light in his eyes, and said, ‘Take care, Miss Gray, it’s a dangerous sport and your life’s far more important than glory.

’ He grasped her hand and kissed it. ‘I’ll see you at the finish. ’ And he walked briskly away.

The race entrants were called to the starting line.

Eliza’s mouth was dry. She looked for Mr Shilton’s yellow coat and headed towards his end of the field, well away from the Lords Purfoy and Davenport.

The race starter climbed up the ladder to his little wooden platform and raised his arm holding a red flag.

Waiting for everyone to bunch up in an approximate line, he let his arm fall and they were off.

Eliza could feel Ohio’s excitement. The mare seemed to have energy pulsing from every cell and Eliza had a struggle to hold her back, but she did try the new riding style of American jockeys and lifted her rear out of the saddle, shifting her weight forward.

Ohio sprung down the course in pursuit of the herd ahead.

Eliza watched Horatio and Eros take off like primed rockets, so quick they left the rest of the field far in their wake.

Clods of damp earth and grass were gouged out of the course by the galloping hooves ahead and flicked into the faces of the pursuing riders and their mounts.

Eliza was concerned. Would those two leading horses keep up their blistering pace or tire?

She prayed that Lord Purfoy and Horatio could maintain this commanding lead while she husbanded Ohio’s speed and remained in the middle of the field.

Riding out of the saddle was an unaccustomed stance for her and put a strain on her thighs and knees, so she sat down for a furlong or two but could feel Ohio’s strength and frustration at being held back.

The crowd’s roar was deafening and where it confused Eliza, it excited her mount.

Ohio just wanted to be given her head and run free.

To Eliza’s consternation, Horatio and Eros, although still well ahead, were themselves tiring; Lord Purfoy’s and Lord Davenport’s contempt for each other was such that they had both thrown caution to the wind, each intent on leaving the other in the dust, and now their mounts were tiring.

It was passion, not strategy, that had dictated their race and their lead was eroding fast.

Just as the final furlong post loomed, Eliza raised herself out of the saddle and let the reins drop in her hands.

The crowd and the mass of gamblers who had wagered on this unknown outsider roared with excitement.

Ohio was propelled like a bullet just fired from a gun.

She stretched out her legs and threw back her head, then with her neck and ears flexed forward, she galloped in pursuit of the front runners, as if her life depended on it.

Eliza felt the pure thrill of speed, being in partnership with a magnificent animal whose fluidity, strength and grace was as one with her rider.

She noticed with some alarm that they had easily passed Mr Shilton on Avatar.

Too late she wondered if she should attempt to rein in Ohio, but was aware that so much money was wagered on this race that she would be heavily censured if deemed to do anything to alter the outcome.

The dark figures of Horatio and Lord Purfoy were still ahead of her but the gap was narrowing and she felt a terrible sense of imminent doom.

It was too late; she could do nothing now to change her fate.

Suddenly, as the flags marking the finish were in view, Ohio surged ahead and crossed the line first. The sky was rapidly darkening and as Eliza wheeled Ohio off in a large loop, she could not bear to look at Lord Purfoy.

Zadoc Flynn was there in an instant, as he said he would be, and put his hand out for Ohio’s reins to lead them off into the crowd.

‘Wait a moment, sir!’ Lord Purfoy’s voice rang out.

Eliza turned and met his scowl, more thunderous than the sky in a face pale with shock. She dismounted and waved for Zadoc Flynn to take Ohio back to the stable and rub her down. Lord Purfoy had also dismounted and Eliza noticed Taz riding up from the starting line, and even his face was grim.

The crowds and horses were thick around them when Raven Purfoy took her arm and steered her to the shade of a nearby tree.

Eliza’s heart was beating inordinately fast, all her senses heightened.

She noticed the raindrop that had fallen on Lord Purfoy’s shoulder, the smell of the damp air, the intense stormy light that seemed to gild everything with a greenish glow.

There was a sudden gust and Taz looked up at the sky and sucked his teeth.

‘A storm is runnin’ on the wind,’ he said to no one in particular.

Eliza was aware of the pressure of Lord Purfoy’s fingers on her elbow, how close he was to her, and she met his eyes at last. He said in a quiet voice full of suppressed rage, ‘Is this the way you show your contempt for me, Miss Gray? Disguise yourself, keep it a secret, then humiliate me?’

‘No! I’d agreed to ride Ohio for Mr Flynn before you…

’ Her voice tailed off; she was about to say before you told me you loved me , but had he really declared his love ?

It was so complicated and upsetting that she hastened to add further explanation.

‘I only ever meant to ride for fourth – at the most, third place. And I never intended for you to recognise me!’ Her voice rose with emotion.

‘How could I not recognise you? I’d know that pert profile anywhere, even swamped by a ludicrous hat. And don’t forget I’ve already seen you riding astride in male clothing. Your figure and style are not unknown to me!’

The rain was beginning to fall in large drops that splashed Eliza’s face. ‘I never meant to win,’ she said in an impassioned voice.

‘So, it was just an accident you won!’ He clapped his hand to his forehead in disbelief.

‘That is even more demeaning. I’m riding Horatio flat out yet cannot beat you, a chit of a girl riding a small frisking mare, with no intention to win!

’ He was pacing, rage, humiliation and disappointment creating havoc in his breast.

Eliza made the mistake of trying to assure him of her best intentions, and added, ‘Horatio should have, would have won. It’s just you rode him out too fast at the beginning.’ She heard Taz’s sharp intake of breath. It was a reckless move to criticise his master’s horsemanship.

This reasonable but injudicious statement hit such a sore nerve, Raven Purfoy whirled round to face her again, his hair whipped by the wind and rain, his dark eyes blazing.

‘Miss Gray, I don’t need any lessons from you!

I’m a far better judge of horseflesh and indeed racing than you could ever be.

But you’ve shown me how very poor my judgement is of women and love. ’

His words were so bleak and damning Eliza could think of nothing but getting away.

She had no horse, Mr Flynn having taken Ohio back to the stables.

In her distress, her eye fell on Horatio quietly cropping the grass.

Driven by her determination to escape this dreadful debacle of her own making, she leapt onto the horse’s back in one balletic move.