CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE #2
Sage smiled at her grandfather’s childhood pet name written so formally and sighed, content to be back in familiar surroundings.
Despite the worry over Santiago, she felt safe in the cocoon of the well-known bedroom where she had slept as a child.
She braced herself and switched her phone on, praying that Santiago wouldn’t have been able to get hold of her new number.
She held her breath as the screen loaded, waiting for a barrage of venomous messages to appear.
Nothing. She turned the phone off again, her body relaxing with the relief.
Did this mean he had given up the idea of a reconciliation?
Was he was dropping the threat against Casper?
She laid her head on the comforting Peter Rabbit embroidered pillow that smelt of freshly laundered cotton, beeswax and rosemary, all smells that conjured up the safety that her grandparents had unfailingly provided for her over the years, and fell almost instantly into a deep sleep.
At North Place, third lot was after breakfast: riders had to be on their horses by nine o’clock.
Sage staggered out into the yard, bleary-eyed, with five minutes to spare.
Betsy had woken her only a few moments before, letting her granddaughter sleep as long as she could.
Protocol had been broken and Skylark had been tacked up for Sage.
Dennis strode across to the filly’s stable, his boots crunching on the gravel.
‘Darling! It’s good to have you home. Don’t get used to the preferential treatment, you can tack up yourself tomorrow.
You know what to do but, please, don’t fall off her.
She’s had everyone off this past week, even the professional jockey I shipped in yesterday.
I need her ready for the Nell Gwyn in April and it’s becoming a farce.
No pressure, ha!’ He hurried off to the arena, tapping his pipe against his leg, humming contentedly to himself.
It was a grey day full of drizzle and she joined the other horses in the school, shivering slightly in the gloomy morning and hoping desperately that she was not about to come off.
Skylark walked about, seemingly relaxed; her sometimes bulging, white-circled eyes were calm and golden.
Her back was flat and straight, not humped up and tense.
She seemed happy to have Sage back on board and Sage was equally glad to be back on the temperamental filly.
She felt secure on the familiar contours of the racing saddle and at ease sitting to the long, loping, powerful strides that now ate up the ground.
Sage did not take Skylark’s benevolence for granted though and although she let the horse have her head with a long rein, Sage rode slightly defensively, her legs long in the stirrups and her seat deep in the saddle; the filly might still throw some unplanned, dramatic shapes.
Sage shortened her stirrups to gallop. Happily the filly behaved impeccably; they flew beautifully up the Warren Hill track.
At the top, Sage, flushed and ecstatic, sensibly lengthened her stirrups down again.
She laughed across at Dillon on Dear Morris who they had been working upsides.
They were both exultant and had matching grins, their horses having gone perfectly.
The open sky and crisp air gave Sage a clarity she hadn’t felt for weeks.
The idea she’d been turning over suddenly felt solid and clear, and a calming sense of knowing exactly what she should do settled around her.
Skylark was in great form. They hacked back down the Heath towards Dennis who was waiting in the car park.
‘Good, good. Get them home in one piece,’ he said brusquely, but with a smile.
When Sage got back to the yard without mishap, she untacked and brushed Skylark before rugging her up warmly and then made her way into Dennis’s lair.
‘Well done.’ Dennis leant back in his chair, puffing gently on his pipe. ‘We’re on track for the Nell Gwyn.’
‘Bumpa,’ Sage began. She wanted to get her request across properly.
‘If you think I’m doing a good job, please can we make it official?
Once I’ve managed to get Santiago to sign the damned divorce papers, I can start a new chapter properly, get a little cottage somewhere, maybe a dog.
I was thinking that we might come to some kind of formal arrangement.
If – of course – you want me to carry on riding for you. ’
‘Of course I do! I’ve already been thinking about that but your grandmother told me not to pile the pressure on,’ said Dennis, focusing, as was his custom, on the fragment of information that he was interested in.
‘We thought you might like a whippet pup from Beetle – she whelped while you were away. They’re a cracking litter, very smart. ’
Sage laughed, despite herself.
‘That’s so kind. Funnily enough the dog bit wasn’t what was worrying me the most though.’
‘Believe it or not, you are actually proving extremely useful, Sage. It makes complete sense to put you on the payroll.’
‘I don’t want to be treated differently to the other lads who work-ride for you, Bumpa,’ Sage interrupted.
‘I want to help with everything. The mucking out and cleaning tack, all of it. It’s only fair.
I enjoy riding out and helping you, but I don’t want it to get muddled by you showing me preference.
I want to earn my keep here. Do you see?
’ Sage bit her thumbnail, desperate not to offend him, but adamant that she did not want any handouts.
Dennis nodded, thinking it over.
‘That’s fair. How about this … You continue to work-ride for me for a fair wage – every day that I need you – and in return, you allow me to help you put down a deposit on a house, wherever you like, whenever you like.
If you’d both like to stay at North Place we would love that but if you want your own place, we understand. ’
Sage started to shake her head, raising her hands in protest. ‘No, Bumpa, I—’
‘Hear me out, please, Sage. It’s a sensible way for me to invest. If you must know, I’m going to put a substantial bet on your filly and with that I will hopefully be able to give you a contribution.
You’d actually be doing me a tremendous favour, darling, and provided the filly performs as I expect her to, I won’t be out of pocket at all.
You can do as you like with it – buy your cottage, send Hal to school, feed your new dog. ’
At this, both grandfather and granddaughter laughed.
‘I will give it to you after your divorce is settled so that scumbag can’t touch it. You can then decide if you’d both like to stay here with us or set up home on your own, no pressure either way. Deal?’
‘Well, maybe. I don’t feel comfortable taking anything more than you have already given me.
You’ve done so much.’ She flapped her hand at him, determined for him to let her finish.
‘I’d like to stay here a little longer. If you win a big bet on Skylark, then maybe we could explore putting down a deposit on a little house – but only if we put it in Hal’s name.
Assure him of a little safety net for later on when he needs it. ’
Dennis nodded, trying to keep the satisfied gleam that lit up his eyes from being too obvious. It was exactly as he had hoped. He could see the visible improvements in Sage’s appearance compared to when she first arrived, but he also knew she was healing from the inside too. That, he could feel.
Besides, it worked for everyone. Every time Sage got Skylark home in one piece it was a win for Dennis.
Sage gave him a quick, fierce hug and Dennis held her tightly. Gruffly turning away, he headed back to his office. ‘Must get on. I’ve got things to do.’
Dennis was not an overly emotional man but his granddaughter truly was his weak spot.
Sage made her way back into the house where Maggie and Betsy were tending to Hal’s every need.
‘There’s a bacon butty for you beside the Aga, and there’s coffee in the pot,’ Betsy said, giving Sage a kiss on the cheek. ‘We’ve missed you these past few days, darling – it’s lovely to have you both back. Have you seen the puppies?’
Sage pulled her grandmother into a hug. Betsy let her cling onto her without embarrassment.
They stayed close together while Betsy rubbed her back reassuringly and after a minute or two gently led Sage through to the utility room, where a very proud Beetle was licking her babies.
She looked up, waving her tail in greeting.
‘Will she be all right with Hal?’ Sage asked, sticking her hand out to stop the little boy charging straight into the whelping box.
‘Oh, yes – he’s been in and out all morning. He’s chosen yours – she’s the golden one and her name is “Monkey”, apparently.’ Betsy looked sheepish. ‘I’m sorry, darling, but we can always keep her here with us if she’s not very practical.’
‘She is heaven. Thank you, Gammy.’ She stroked the tiny, wriggling, silken creatures and let out a breath. She had sorted out an income, a potential home, and a puppy for herself and Hal, all in one morning.