Sage waited for the first of the string to appear, excited to see if Skylark was as good as Dennis thought she was. She knew that her grandfather rarely got excited and that consequently, Skylark must be something special.
‘Here they are,’ Dennis said softly as he peered intentlythrough his binoculars, his pipe hanging, temporarily forgotten, from the corner of his mouth.
Sage focused on Dear Morris, who was galloping hard, his dark brown form flying along with Dillon sitting quietly on top. She then watched Skylark come up beside them, floating easily along before pulling away to skip ten lengths clear, the other three horses in the string trailing behind in her wake. As they flashed past, it looked as though Fred was struggling to pull her up; the chestnut filly was evidently enjoying herself.
‘Bloody hell. What’s that infernal little man doing? I told him to give her an easy ride. She’s got some turn of foot though, darling, hasn’t she?’ Dennis’s eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed with exhilaration.
‘She sure has, Bumpa – she’s rapid!’ Sage agreed happily. The rush of emotion surprised her, and with a jolt she realized that she could not remember the last time she had felt joy.
They got back into the car and drove round to meet the horses. Dennis parked and tried to get out but the door was locked. He swore and pressed a button on the centre of the dashboard. Stifling a laugh, Sage heard the locks give way and watched her grandfather nimbly jump down from the car like an excited child on Christmas morning.
‘Fred, I told you to go gently. That wasnotgentle. You can get off now.’ Dennis glowered at the jockey, who unemotionally unclipped his hat and dismounted, before handing the reins imperiously back to Sage.
‘Gaffer, thatwasgentle. She was hard-held the entire time, never even came off the bridle,’ he said in his nasal, northern accent. ‘What’s its breeding? She’s smart. And what’s the lead horse?’
‘Oh, the lead horse is just some selling plater, Fred – nothing special. The filly isn’t that smart,’ Dennis drawled, fobbing him off. ‘Right, Sage, I’ll leg you up and you can take her home.’
When Sage finally got back to North Place for breakfast, it was half past ten. She groaned as she bent down to take off her boots; she was going to be sore tomorrow. Leaving them in a pile in the boot room, she padded along the stone floors and into the warm kitchen in just her socks. Hal was sitting at the table next to Betsy eating a piece of toast, while Maggie bustled about next to the Aga. Hal’s face lit up when Sage came in.
‘Mumma! Gammy says she is going to get me a pony!’ His huge, dark eyes were full of shining stars and excitement. He had jam around his mouth and all over his sticky fingers, which now reached up towards his mother, demanding to be lifted. Sage bent down beside him and buried her face in his sweet-smelling neck, holding him tight for a moment. It was a relief to get home to him in one piece.
‘Well now, Hal, I said we would talk to Mummy about it.’ Betsy looked embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry, darling, it’s not a done deal – I just thought it would be nice for him, if you agreed.’ She leant over to wipe his face with a napkin and passed it to Sage, who scooped the child up into her arms and moved over to sit at the table, wiping her son’s fingers carefully as she did so.
‘We have dreamt of a pony for so long. That sounds like a wonderful idea, Gammy. Oh, thank you so much, Maggie,’ Sage said, leaning back as Maggie set a cooked breakfast and a huge mug of coffee in front of her. She was ravenous.
‘You’re welcome, pet. Now you come to me, young man, and let your mother eat.’ Maggie plucked Hal off Sage’s lap and took him over to sit next to her beside the Aga. Hal went easily and Sage thought how at home he seemed already; he looked more at ease than she’d ever known him. Lucilla had always been sniping at him about grubby hands but here, no one minded tiny jammy handprints on the walls; they just got fondly wiped away.
As Sage bent over her breakfast and started to eat her eggs, Betsy continued.
‘I happen to know of a sweet little palomino Welsh pony for sale nearby. It’s apparently utterly bombproof. It’s over near your and Casper’s friend Dolly from school, out towards Bury St Edmunds.’ Betsy reached for the surname from her memory and finally extracted it with a flourish: ‘Dolly Laing!’
Sage looked up in surprise. She had been thinking about Dolly just yesterday. When Sage had told her she was going with Santiago to Panama, Dolly had been so shocked that she’d confessed all the worries she had about Santiago. But Sage hadn’t listened, brushing Dolly’s mistrust of Santiago aside. Although Sage tried to salvage their friendship by making Dolly Hal’s godmother it had never fully been repaired. Not helped by Santiago always making it so difficult for her to speak to Dolly – he’d become brusque with her if she asked him to mind Hal so she could make a phone call of any decent length. Sage knew that it was her own fault and wanted, desperately, to heal the breach. They still spoke now and then but it was not the same as it used to be; for the past few years the distance had been more than purely geographical.
Sage looked at her grandmother suspiciously but Betsy did not seem to be working on any other agenda. She was looking at Sage expectantly, her kind, wise eyes not giving anything away.
‘I’ve actually been meaning to call Dolly to let her know that we’re home. She’s Hal’s godmother – as you very well know, Gammy – and I’d really love to see her. We used to be so close. She and Cas were good together but I don’t think they were ready for each other, to be honest. They were too young … Cas was too wild.’
Betsy looked at her granddaughter innocently. ‘Ah yes, darling, I do remember now. They were a great match. So … on anotherentirelyunrelated matter, what did you think of Casper’s new “friend” Isabel?’
‘Erm … she wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.’ Sagepulled a face as she picked up her mug of coffee and took a fortifying glug. ‘She just wasn’t overly friendly. I wouldnothave put the two of them together,’ she finished tactfully, not wanting to be disloyal to her twin, who was clearly taken with Isabel, but unable to say anything remotely positive about her.
‘She’s a complete cow, Sage. Although that’s monstrously unfair to poor cows. Your brother has fallen for her hook, line and sinker. I somehow don’t think it’s her warm heart and nurturing temperament that have bewitched him.’ Her grandmother arched an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth twitched with a mirthful smile.
‘Gammy!’ Sage laughed in surprise. ‘I have never heard you say anything so horrid about anyone before!’
‘Well, I admit she’s good-looking but the minute her mouth opens and you realize what a sour thing she is – especially to Casper – you forget she has a pretty face. I do hope he finds someone kinder and softer to look after him,’ Betsy continued sadly. ‘He needs a bit of care, the poor boy, he works flat out.’
‘I thought exactly the same thing when we left her house,’ Sage admitted. ‘How serious do you think it is, though? He won’t ask her to marry him, will he?’
‘Gosh – I don’t know, sweetheart. I still think you two are too young for all that but then I suppose not.’ Betsy lifted her shoulders in a Gallic shrug and gestured helplessly in Hal’s direction. ‘You obviouslyareold enough, as you seem to be in somewhat of a marital predicament! We must just hope that Cas sees sense before he gets himself into trouble like you.’ Betsy put a warm hand on her granddaughter’s shoulder to soften the blow and show that she meant no harm. ‘I amthrilledthat you and sweet Hal are here, darling – I just wish it was under happier circumstances. You are both welcome to stay here for as long as you like. I know it goes without saying, but this is your home.’
‘Thank you, Gammy. I’m just very conscious of being aburden to you and Bumpa. I don’t want us being here to upset your lives in any way. You both have such a lot on your plates.’ As Betsy opened her mouth to interject, Sage hugged her quickly. ‘I know you’ll argue with me, but that’s the whole point, you’re far too kind.’ Changing tack to divert her grandmother, she said, ‘Let’s go and look at the pony tomorrow, shall we? We can drop in on Dolly on the way home.’
‘That’s a grand idea altogether,’ added Maggie. ‘And bring that lovely Dolly back with you for Casper afterwards, he’s coming here for supper tomorrow.’ She chuckled to herself as she made another pot of coffee.
‘That’s not a bad shout,’ replied Sage thoughtfully.
‘Morning all!’ Dennis came in smiling, and sat down opposite his wife. He took off his flat cap, setting it down next to him on the table along with his mobile and car keys, then looked across at his granddaughter. ‘Well done today, it’s good to have you home.’