Page 37 of Wild About You

‘I suppose. Although aren’t all workplaces just mud and gossip? I agree it is literal mud in this case.’

‘Certainly is.’ I raised my voice. ‘Lovely ponies, Lucinda.’

Lucinda was leading out her beloveds. She gave me a sunny smile. ‘Anna! I suspected you fancied a ride really.’

Callum gave a snort of laughter.

‘I’ve had Kit saddled for you.’ Lucinda nodded towards a bemused-looking piebald pony who stared at me with rheumy eyes. It wasnotlove at first sight.

‘I’ll give you a leg-up,’ said Callum, with a twinkle.

I thought I’d be terrified from first till last, but I almost enjoyed it. Kit was a game little pony, and although he wasn’t nearly as handsome as the bay thoroughbred Lucinda had selected for Jamie (typically, he got the classiest horse), it seemed Kit was not going to be put off by the presence of superior beasts, and neither was I. So off we went at speed. It was easier to stay on than I remembered, even when Kit started cantering, apparently overjoyed to be in a fenceless field. It was only when I heard distant shouts that I got the hint we really weren’t supposed to be going that fast. I gave a little tug on the reins but Kit hurtled on, obliviousto my wishes, as I bumped up and down and adjusted to the rhythm of his canter – which was, er, definitely getting faster. Scrub canter, try gallop.

I wasn’t afraid, and that was refreshing. As we hurtled on, it crossed my mind there was nothing to cling to anymore – not the wreckage of my relationship with Sean, not our future plans – and there was no need to preserve myself to be someone’s mother. There was a kind of freedom in being alone. After all, weren’t we all alone, really – even if most people weren’t confronted with it as harshly as I had been?

We’d been careering towards a hedgerow whilst I thought my la-la thoughts and for a moment I thought Kit was preparing to jump it (slightly terrifying), but instead he decided to implement an emergency stop. With breathtaking speed I flew over his shoulder, bounced off the hedgerow, and tumbled onto the ground, where I lay, temporarily stunned like a bird that’s hit a windowpane.

There was a moment of silence. Just me, birdsong, and I thought for a moment I might be dead. Then I wiggled my fingers and toes, checked for pain (none), and started to laugh. I was still laughing when I heard the pounding of hooves and saw Jamie riding towards me, way ahead of everyone else. My heart was already beating pretty hard but, let me tell you, there is nothing like seeing a man galloping towards you on a thoroughbred with an expression of concern on his face to get the pulse racing. As he came to what I believe is technically known as ascreeching halt, my laughter reached new heights of hysteria.

‘Holy shit,’ he said. He dismounted in one smooth movement, looped his horse’s reins over its head and fell on his knees next to me. ‘Are you hurt?’

I managed to stop laughing long enough to assure him I was not.

‘Are you sure?’ He put his hands on my shoulders, his eyes searching my face. The sudden physical contact coupled with the intensity of his gaze silenced my laughter. ‘Anna? Did you hit your head?’

‘No,’ I said, trying to catch my breath. ‘I’m fine.’ He looked anguished; I smiled to try and reassure him, very aware of our proximity. ‘Really. I promise.’

After a minute he seemed satisfied that I wasn’t injured and sat back on his heels. ‘Thank God for that.’ A smile dawned on his face in answer to my own. ‘You looked like a bloody Thelwell cartoon.’ He seemed to suddenly notice that he was still holding onto me and let go, pulling away as though he wanted to put distance between us.

George and Callum pulled up alongside the field in a Land Rover and came running. Lucinda was off in the distance, proceeding at a graceful slow-motion canter.

‘Crikey,’ George said. ‘That was quite a tumble.’

Jamie got up and put his hand out to me but I brushed it away, my fingers catching his for a millisecond.Be brave, Anna, I told myself,don’t go all fainting maiden now. ‘I’m 100 per cent fine,’ I said. I got unsteadily to my feet, aware that Jamie was hovering beside me. ‘See?’ I said. ‘No need to worry.’

Jamie nodded, and took a step back as I started to brush myself down.

‘Look at the state of you,’ said Callum, and started laughing.

‘I knew you’d make an idiot of yourself,’ said Tally, as Roshni and I traipsed through the office twenty minutes later. I was still pulling bits of hedgerow out of my hair, but managed to give a shocked-looking Fi – who was on the phone – a thumbs-up as I passed. Jamie had entrusted his horse to George and driven me back without saying a single word, whilst Callum sat in the back seat next to me, picking bits of foliage off me and pissing himself with laughter at my plight. Which had started off being okay but ended up being quite annoying.

‘This is me,’ I said to Roshni as we neared the loo. ‘Thanks for seeing me this far – I should check the damage.’

‘Uh uh,’ she said, in the same tone I’d heard her use on her sons. ‘You’re coming up to the flat. You can use the bathroom there – and have a hot sweet tea. Possibly a glass of whisky. Also, you’ve got a scratch on your face. You need a plaster.’

It was true that after the first blissful discovery that I hadn’t broken anything, I was now starting to feel it a bit, so I followed Roshni without protest. It was just her and me in the flat – the boys were still out with Lucinda, playing with the ponies. I’d given Kit an apple before departing, with the words, ‘No hard feelings, buddy.’ He had munchedit happily but looked unimpressed at my attempt to make friends.

We discovered Hugo in the act of dismantling the throws on the sofa. ‘He hates being alone, don’t you, hon?’ said Roshni, stroking his head.

I decided to give in to Roshni’s care. I collapsed on the sofa, let her provide tea, refused whisky, and accepted her first-aid efforts: antiseptic lotion, arnica, and four spoons of sugar in the tea. When the phone rang, Roshni picked it up, and I saw her arch an eyebrow. ‘Anna will be back down when she’s recovered, Tallulah,’ she said crisply. ‘Thank you.’ She put the phone down.

I stifled a groan. ‘Have I annoyed Tally?’

Roshni smiled. ‘Don’t worry, I think she enjoys being annoyed. Also, she doesn’t like me much. She tried to give me a tour of the paintings once, against my will.’

‘I can’t imagine that worked out for her,’ I said.

‘It didn’t.’ Roshni’s eyes sparkled behind her large-framed glasses. ‘In the end I had to tell her George had already given me a veryprivatetour, and I said it in a way which left her lost for words.’

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