Page 15 of Lady of Fortune
“Now, tell me,” he said, “How didyoucome to manage Orianna?”
Julia was slightly relieved that he had turned the conversation around to something safer, something that put her at ease.
“Orianna and I took to one another from the start,” she said, patting the horse’s muzzle. “It was always clear that Father wanted to race her, but then he saw how I loved her, and how much I loved the races. My brothers attended, of course, but they don’t hold the same fascination as my father, and I think he recognized that kindred spirit in me. When he offered me the opportunity, I was ecstatic.”
“Your father would always do anything for you,” Eddie said, and Julia nodded. She knew it, and she should remember to be more grateful for it. The thought also filled her with guilt at the deception she was now playing. She hated lying, especially to her father, but she had now allowed herself to get in too deep.
“Well,” Eddie said, “Let’s get you onto that horse shall we, see what you’ve got? Give her a good warmup, and then put her through some paces.”
Julia nodded, checked Orianna’s saddle, and then mounted her, her heart lifting as they rode out onto the track, over the dew of the morning grass. The world was beautiful at this hour, and she was on the back of her beloved horse, doing what she loved. She resolved to take this moment and simply enjoy it.
CHAPTER8
By the time their session was over, Julia practically fell off of her horse, and Eddie had to reach out an arm to steady her.
Her cheeks were pink with the exertion of the morning’s training, and her forehead was shining with perspiration. She looked, in Eddie’s opinion, positively delightful.
When he had first walked into the stables, it had been difficult to greet her with the required ambivalence. How Finter couldn’t tell that she was a woman — let alone Lady Julia — he had no idea, but he supposed that sometimes people only saw what they expected. And in this case, it was jockey James Smith.
Eddie had to admit, Julia rode well. She always had, but she had certainly matured, and it was obvious by the way she handled her horse. There was respect between the pair of them. Some trained with fear and discipline, others with positive reward. Julia didn’t seem to need either, at least, not with Orianna. It was as though Orianna wanted to please her, and responded to her every command.
The pair of them moved as one, all fluidity and grace, yet still with precision and exactness. It was why Eddie was surprised when he saw how much Julia had exerted herself, for from afar, her riding looked absolutely effortless.
He had solved one puzzle. He now understood how she, an untried, practically untrained jockey when compared to the rest of the pack, had been so successful in a competitive race. Someone so inexperienced should have been left far behind the lot of them despite Orianna’s natural speed.
Most of the other jockeys had contributed this mysterious man’s fortune to beginner’s luck, but it was more than that. It was her connection with the horse, a bond that no one else held so deeply. He figured he would likely feel something of the same had he the opportunity to spend more time with Valiant, but despite the affinity he held for the colt, it was difficult to develop such a deep attachment in the limited time they were together.
Which reminded him — as much as he was enjoying this, he needed to focus on his own race and his own mount, or he was at risk of losing it all himself.
He waved Julia over, also surprised at the look of relief that covered her face, for he had been of the impression that she was greatly enjoying herself. Though he supposed he hadn’t been at all easy on her. If she wanted to be a jockey, to race against the best of them, he had determined that she would train like one. It had been an interesting training session, for part of it was for Orianna, and part for Julia herself.
“That’s enough for today,” he said after she had dismounted, and she nodded as she leaned back against Orianna, though the horse seemed tired as well.
“Yes,” Julia nodded. “It was only yesterday Orianna raced. We shouldn’t overly tire her.”
“No,” Eddie said, using all of his willpower in his struggle to keep a straight face at Julia’s apparent concern over the horse and not her own physical condition. “We should not.”
They led Orianna into the stable together, Julia leading her horse as she cooled down.
“You ride her well,” Eddie said, knowing a bit of praise could go a long way. “I’m impressed. The two of you are well suited.”
Julia nodded, and it seemed Orianna knew of what they spoke, for she nuzzled Julia’s neck.
“To be honest, I have no idea how it came to be that way,” Julia said. “You know how it is, sometimes you find you have an affinity with a horse — or a person — and sometimes you don’t?” Eddie nodded. He knew exactly what she meant. While a good jockey should be able to ride nearly any horse, and a competent thoroughbred should be able to race well with any decent jockey, to win and find continued success, it took the sort of magic of which she described.
“Well, from the very start, Orianna and I were taken with each other. I was actually there when she was born,” Julia said with a bit of a laugh. “I wasn’t supposed to be, of course, but had come in to ride my mare when I heard quite the commotion in the corner of the stable. I couldn’t keep myself away and once I was in the stall, it seemed as though that was where I was meant to be. She was born quickly, with ease.”
“Like how she races,” Eddie said, and the two of them shared a laugh together.
Eddie couldn’t remember ever conversing so easily with a woman. He certainly enjoyed the company of all different types of females. He loved to flirt, to coax out true smiles and nervous blushes. But he couldn’t recall the last time he hadn’t had to put any effort into it at all, or when he had awaited a woman’s response to his questions with such anticipation. It was their common love of horses, he told himself.
And then they had their shared history. Eddie smiled when he remembered her as a girl, so eager, so enthusiastic. She had always wanted to be part of everything, with him, with her brothers. His smile fell somewhat as he thought of what good friends he had been with her brothers, and how that had faded as they had left for school, their summers short while he simply worked harder in their father’s stables.
But Julia … she had never changed, which was somewhat amazing, he realized now. And that was why, he attempted to convince himself, it was natural that they should get along well with one another. They had so much shared past. Nothing else needed to explain his comfort with her than that. There couldn’t be anything more, for just as he and her brothers were not expected to be friends following childhood, neither could a relationship – of any sort –
between the two of them ever be.
Besides trainer and jockey. And even that would be disastrous were they ever found out.
