Page 7 of Lady of Fortune
Julia brought her hand to her muzzle, petting her gently as she ran her hands over the light gold, palomino horse. Where was everyone? Just then the door of the stall eased open, and the groom pulled up short when he found her within.
“Lady Julia!” Finter exclaimed, wringing his hands together, and Julia’s own nerves were on edge when she noted his countenance. “What are you doing here?”
“Wishing Orianna luck and taking her into the parade ring,” she said. “But first I need Mr. Abney. I do not suppose you would know where he is?”
“Well, you see, that’s the problem, my lady,” Finter said. “He didn’t show up to the track when he was expected, so we went looking for him. We found him, but…”
“But what?” Julia asked, her fists on her hips as she demanded to know what had happened. “Where is he?”
“We found him outside one of the pubs, and, well… it seems he was there all night and most of the day so far. He isn’t fit to race, my lady.”
Julia’s heart beat fast as all she could do was stare at the groom. This was Orianna’s first race. One which Julia had completely overseen. And now it was already entirely ruined by a jockey in whom she had placed far too much trust. She should have chosen a jockey who had more of a reputation, who had proven himself. Whatever was she to do now?
While there weren’t many bets placed on Orianna, Julia knew her father had bet a fair amount on Orianna. This would be such a disappointment to him. Perhaps she could find another jockey. Yes, that was it. A horse could have gone lame, or withdrawn from the race, which would leave a man available, would it not?
Julia patted Orianna one last time, they made her way through the stables, asking any silk-clad jockey she came across if they were available for Orianna’s race. But her hopes were soon dashed, and when none agreed, Julia began to be filled with desperation as she found herself once more in front of Orianna’s stall.
She had to find an official who could help her, perhaps put a call out. All she had to do—
Just then she heard a shout begin to echo down the corridor, announcing the start of the race was quickly approaching. There was no time. She pushed open the door into Orianna’s cell.
“Is there another pair of silks?” she asked the groom, who nodded and began to rummage through the shelves next to Orianna, passing her the white-and-purple clothing.
“You’ve found someone, then, my lady?” Finter asked.
“Yes,” she said hurriedly, needing to be rid of him. “He will be here in any moment. Will you go tell the outrider that Orianna will be there momentarily? To wait for just a minute?”
The groom, while slightly confused, nodded and exited, and Julia hurriedly rounded to the other side of Orianna. This may be the biggest mistake of her life, she thought, but then the rush of excitement began to take over. It could also be the best thing that had ever happened to her.
CHAPTER4
Julia pushed back the errant strands of hair up into the cap. Luckily her blonde curls had already been up on top of her head in a chignon, which the cap fit over easily, though it was slightly uncomfortable. The clothing had fit reasonably, though it was slightly baggy. While jockeys tended to be small, she was even slighter than most of them. She had practically destroyed her dress attempting to remove it herself, but she would worry about that later.
She exited the stall, leading Orianna, surprised when a hand roughly came to her back, pushing her along.
“Ye’ve almost missed the weigh-in,” said the man, who must be the outrider, as he took Orianna’s lead from her. “The horse will meet you at the starting post. Off to the scales with you now, and hurry. Here, don’ forget your saddle!”
The weigh-in — of course. The jockeys had to meet at the scales before each race. Where they were located, however, she had no idea.
Just then, Julia spied the bright silks of another jockey ahead of her and, carrying the light saddle, she followed the man, watching him enter a separate facility that looked something like a cottage. She trailed him into the room, her eyes widening at what she realized were the scales in front of her. They were nothing at all like she had imagined.
There were a few bright silks of jockeys who had just finished their own weigh-ins, although it seemed most had departed and the Clerk of Scales waved her forward urgently. She nodded as she walked through the narrow room toward the scales that hung from the ceilings. On one side was a pan with a couple of brass counterweights stacked upon it, on the other a jockey dressed in orange silks sat upon a mesh, metal seat.
Satisfied with the jockey’s weight, the Clerk nodded and the man jumped off. Thank goodness she had witnessed how he had handled the contraption. Julia nodded at the other jockey, though she kept her head bent low to hide her face, and took his place on the scales.
“Name and horse?” the Clerk asked her, and Julia started, not having expected the question, although of course it made sense.
“I’m riding Orianna,” she said as gruffly as she could. “I’m a last-minute replacement. J-James Smith.”
He nodded and wrote down the information. There was no issue with her own weight, of course, as Julia and the saddle were well under the required eight stone. After thanking the Clerk, Julia stepped back out the door, now following the sounds of the crowd beyond to find the entrance of the racecourse.
Relieved when she chose the correct exit, she saw the outrider holding Orianna, who was snorting and pawing at the ground. Apparently, she had already heard the roar of the crowd who awaited them, and Julia pushed away her own nerves as she found Orianna and soothed her with a few words and a hand on her neck before she placed the saddle on her horse’s back and mounted. It had been some time since she had ridden astride, but after shifting a few times, she found her seat.
All too soon, the bugle sounded, and the jockeys still on the ground mounted their horses, while the outriders began to lead them all onto the track. This was all happening too soon. Julia realized she was being a fool, having acted before truly thinking any of this through. What if she were recognized? Her mother despaired of Julia’s reputation being marred forever simply by the fact that she was managing a horse. But to ride one?
Julia’s heart began to pound, and she closed her eyes and willed away her fears, focusing on the lessons she had learned so many years ago. She had insisted Eddie teach her to race, as he had told her that he had been waiting for years to race himself. She knew he was now a successful jockey in his own right, so clearly he had known what he was talking about. Funny, she hadn’t thought of him in some time now. Even when she had seen him race, she had done all she could to keep her thoughts and focus from straying toward him, knowing that to do so might be utter folly. It had taken years to overcome all she had felt for him as a girl, and she had no desire to go through that again.
The race, Julia, the race. Think of that. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves as she bent low over Orianna’s neck, so appreciating the freedom of riding astride and not in the blasted sidesaddle she had been stuck with since the season had begun.
