Loving Spirit

her uncle at High Peak Stables.
    Well, he can say what he likes, but I’m not going to ride for him , she thought mutinously. I’m not going to be bossed about .
    The determination gave her something to concentrate on, taking the edge off her misery. She was hot in all her clothes now and her long hair was sticking to her face. Getting out of bed, she turned on herbedside light. The house was very quiet. Checking her watch, she saw that it was past midnight. Ellie’s stomach rumbled as she pulled some pyjamas from the drawer. She hadn’t eaten since she was on the plane. With a sigh, she pulled a brush through her hair and then opened the door to go to the bathroom. She stopped. Someone had left a packet of crisps and a Kit Kat outside her door.
    Joe , she realized. It had to be. Her uncle wouldn’t have left them and she could hardly imagine Luke doing such a thing. She picked them up, feeling slightly warmer inside. Thank you , she told Joe silently, imagining him in one of the bedrooms downstairs.
    Ten minutes later, she was back in bed. The empty crisp packet and biscuit wrapper lay on her bedside table. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she stared out of the window, thinking about her new life. She wasn’t usually the sort of person who moaned. She was good at getting on with things. But how could she get on with living here? She didn’t know the answer to that.
    It was seven o’clock when Ellie woke again and she could hear the horses kicking their stable doors and whickering. She got out of bed, her feet freezing on the cold floor, and looked down at the stables.
    Len, Luke and Joe were just leaving the house, andStuart and the other grooms were arriving. Ellie hesitated and then opened one of the drawers and pulled out her jodhpurs and a fleece. She had never been lazy in her life, and although she had no intention of riding the ponies as her uncle had ordered she also had no intention of being the only person in the house who didn’t help.
    When she walked out on the yard, she wondered what reaction she would get. Luke was the first to see her. ‘Got over your tantrum, have you?’
    She gave him what she hoped was a withering look, but Luke just laughed and turned away.
    Her uncle was standing by the water trough. Steeling herself, Ellie walked over.
    ‘So you’ve come out.’ His voice was curt.
    ‘What would you like me to do?’ she spoke steadily, although her heart was beating fast.
    ‘Fill the water buckets.’ Len motioned with his thumb to the stables to the right. ‘Start that side and work your way round.’ She started off. He called after her. ‘And make sure you scrub out every one.’
    Len was a hard taskmaster and Ellie soon saw why everyone did as he said. He had a fierce temper and he could rip people to shreds with his tongue when his anger was roused – a horse with hooves not properly picked out, a stable not bedded down to his exacting standards, straw blowing loose on the yard.If something wasn’t right he soon let everyone know about it. In that first morning, Ellie quickly learnt to be careful. After the horses had been fed, the stalls mucked out and the yard swept, Len and Luke took two of the horses out into the ring to school them while the grooms had their breakfast, and Joe showed Ellie around, introducing her to the few livery clients who were about and showing her all the horses who were still in the stables.
    ‘These are some of the stars of the yard,’ he said, pointing out the horses in the stables round the courtyard. ‘Although they’re not looking their best at the moment. The ponies go to shows all through the winter but most of the horses have a break until their classes start again in March. You’ll have to imagine them with a lot more muscle and a shine to their coats.’ Joe gestured towards a massive grey with a noble head. ‘This is Hereward, he’s a heavyweight hunter. He’s got a real name for himself on the county circuit. And this one …’ He went to the smaller bright bay in the next box. ‘This is Gabriel. He’s an Intermediate working hunter and one of our rising stars. He got his ticket to the Horse of the Year first time out –’
    ‘Whoa – stop!’ interrupted Ellie, putting up her hands at the flood of information. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s the difference between a hunter and a working hunter? And what’s a ticket?’
    Joe grinned. ‘Oh, wow. You have got a lot to learn! OK. Hunter