Page 52 of Lady of Fortune
“Well, it makes sense now why your mother left her employ with the Dorchesters to come to us all those years ago. As for this business with Torrington and the horse… it’s unfortunate, to be sure, but I do hope there will not be any long-term ramifications.”
“Except that I may never ride again,” Eddie said with a rueful laugh, shoving a hand through his hair after taking the cap off his head. “No one will hire a jockey with such a reputation.”
“Never fear, lad, it will all work out. Perhaps you could ride for us in the future, if the new man, Smith, doesn’t work out, or you could take some of my other horses.”
Eddie nodded mutely, then came to a sudden realization. Smith — Julia. The race would be starting at any moment. He hoped she wouldn’t concentrate overly much on where he was and would remember his advice to focus only on what lay before her between the starting gate and the judges’ box at the end line.
He wanted nothing more than to be out there riding next to her, but that, clearly, was not in the cards today.
“I will speak to you soon, my lord,” he said with a quick bow to Lord St. Albans, and then the two of them went off in opposite directions, each with the same intention — finding Julia in order to watch the race. Only the Earl was looking for his daughter the spectator and Eddie knew exactly where to find her — on the back of a horse.
* * *
Julia wasin equal parts grateful and slightly worried when her father disappeared shortly before the race was about to begin. It was certainly not like him — he preferred to be in his seat well before the race started, in time to discuss with the others who were the favorites, determine what the betting was looking like, and if there were any last-minute changes. He insisted on never missing a moment of not only the race itself but all the fanfare that surrounded it.
His mysterious disappearance, however, had also provided her with the opportunity to sneak away. She told her mother she was going to speak with Elizabeth and perhaps even watch the race with her. The moment they were out of sight, she and Maybelle sprinted toward the stables and into one of the empty stalls, where, with her maid’s help, Julia rapidly shed her dress to reveal the silks she wore underneath, and then made a mad dash to the scales, once more at the last moment, just in time to miss all of the other jockeys and yet still with enough time to reach Orianna. Unlike most jockeys, she didn’t have much to worry about when it came to keeping her weight down. None of the jockeys were tall, it was true, but she was tiny in comparison to the rest of them.
Julia ran out the door of the weight room to find Finter pacing back and forth in front of Orianna, clearly agitated.
“Thank God, man!” he said upon seeing Julia. “Up and away with you, the race is about to start.”
Julia nodded with her head down, then swallowed hard as she clasped the pommel and then hoisted herself up on Orianna just as the bugle sounded. Her horse walked to the starting gate, though she stamped her feet slightly impatiently, and Julia stroked a hand down her withers to calm her. Orianna responded to her touch and her murmured words of comfort.
Julia looked around for Eddie, but couldn’t see him anywhere. How odd. Will caught her eye and waved at her with a bit of a shrug as though he, too, was confused. Julia looked down the line and it seemed that perhaps they were one horse short. Had something happened to Valiant? Was he injured?
Julia took a deep breath and realized she had to set her worries aside. Whatever had happened to Valiant — or Eddie — was now completely out of her control. For the next few minutes, she had one focus and one focus only. Everything else would have to wait.
She closed her eyes, placing her hands against Orianna once more to draw strength from her as she reviewed her plan one last time. She knew how Orianna best responded — she likely knew Orianna better than any other jockey would know their mount. She liked to get ahead, to run nearly full out, holding back just slightly until a final burst of speed. And, like Julia, she preferred to run her own race, so if she could separate herself slightly from the other horses, she would be much better off.
She had one mile. One mile to win the Two Thousand Guineas — as owner, something none of the other jockeys were racing for — but even more importantly, one mile to prove to herself that she was able to do this. She, Julia Stone, a woman, could race men and win.
The horses stood at attention at the starting post, prancing as they waited to go, and Julia was ready, sitting straight and square, her heels down in her stirrups.
Julia knew that around her, the racecourse would be teeming with life, with food sellers and bookmakers calling out to capture the attention of all who watched, from the pickpockets and prostitutes to the nobility who sat in the carriages and the watchtower. She closed her eyes, ignoring it all, focusing only on the rolling green in front of her, this time knowing the track, knowing which hollows to avoid, where the horses might stumble, and when the turf began to rise to the finish.
The starter’s white flag waved, and the horses leaped out of the gate. Julia was prepared for the shock of the race’s beginning, and she leaned down low over Orianna’s neck, stretching her body out over top of her while remaining as close to her as she possibly could. She focused on what came before her, and the judge’s box far in the distance — her eventual goal.
In the background, she could hear the roar of the crowd that lined the track, the thundering of the horse’s hooves around her, and the crack of the whips from the other jockeys, most in the air around her. Julia left her whip where it is was — in the back of her pants. There was no need to threaten her horse and, in fact, it would only ensure the stubborn Orianna did the exact opposite of what Julia wanted.
Julia gave Orianna her head and found that she was nearly neck-and-neck with two other racers. Will on a bay, Cloud Dancer, and the other a jockey she had only seen in passing riding a gray — Thunderstruck, she knew was the horse’s name. The rest of the field was within her vision, but ever-so-slowly dropping out of sight. She hoped she hadn’t allowed Orianna too much speed too soon. She shook her head slightly. These were the thoughts that she had to avoid. No second-guessing, no looking back, she could hear Eddie telling her. Only forward.
The third horse, Thunderstruck, began falling ever so slightly behind, and soon it seemed to be between Julia on Orianna and Will on Cloud Dancer, riding neck and neck. Clearly Valiant wasn’t in this race, for he would be out front, or, at the very least, riding amongst them. Julia was disappointed — she had looked forward to racing Eddie once more, but she couldn’t think of that now. The green watchtower was becoming prominent to the side, and as the white fence posts passed, Julia wondered if she should urge Orianna faster now or wait a bit longer. This was the part that she had practiced, but knew she had to go by feel.
Just another moment, she thought, one more — but then Cloud Dancer began to break away, and Julia knew it was now or never. She flipped the reins, urging Orianna forward as they began the slight uphill climb, shouting in her ear to run, and run fast.
She and Will were now in an all-out sprint, giving everything they had. Julia pushed Orianna, feeling the power of the horse beneath her, knowing intrinsically that she was running with all the speed she possessed. And then they were past the finish, slowing as the crowd roared, and Julia closed her eyes for a moment before turning around to look back at the colors revealed on the judge’s stand.
Purple and white.
CHAPTER26
She couldn’t believe it.
Julia blinked once, twice, and then looked around her in disbelief at the crowd cheering her on. She looked up to the grandstand where her father typically stood, though of course she couldn’t see him from this distance nor through the bodies between them.
With a cry of delight, she leaned down and wrapped her arms around Orianna’s neck, the hair of her mane tickling her nose.
“We did it, girl,” she said fiercely, thinking she could kiss the horse. “We did it. We won the Two Thousand Guineas.”
