Page 75 of Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
“How very astute of you, Ms. Noel.” He grinned.
“I can’t let you ride,” said Isaac, holding the reins firm on Nory’s horse, who seemed to want to retreat all the way back into her stall.
“Not sure it’s down to you,mate.” He managed to make the wordmatesound anything but friendly.
The stable hand, Jimmy, came over and stood beside Isaac. “I’m afraid I can’t let you ride, sir, not while you’re under the influence of alcohol.”
Guy leered at him. “I was riding horses when you were still in nappies.”
“That may be so, sir, but I can’t let you take one of the horses in my charge if you’ve been drinking.”
“Just go back to the house, Guy,” said Nory. She could feel her mare tensing beneath her, swinging her head from side to side in clear agitation.
“Don’t tell me what to do” came the petulant reply.
“You can’t ride in this state. How about I come back to the house with you? We’ll get some coffee...”
“Oh, fuck off, Nory! Don’t patronize me.”
She saw Isaac bristle.
“Please don’t speak to her like that,” Isaac said, his voice even but for a slight tremor of anger.
“You can fuck off too!” said Guy, stumbling forward. Nory’s horse snorted, tossing her head and sidestepping to get away from Guy.
“Guy, you’re upsetting the horse,” said Nory. Isaac held the reins tighter, but she could feel the mare’s agitation. She wanted to get off before the horse threw her. Guy was trying to fasten the strap on his riding helmet but gave up and left the strap hanging.
Jeremy dismounted and came over, arms outstretched toward Guy placatingly, as though trying to calm a barking dog. “Come on, mate, let’s take a walk.”
“I don’t want to walk, Jez, I want to ride. You know me, I can ride a horse backward and blindfolded.”
“That may be, but you can’t take a horse out in this state. For a start, no horse will have you, and I’m not sure the castle’s insurance stretches to piss-artist riders.” He smiled disarmingly. But today Jeremy’s friendly demeanor didn’t soothe; if anything it had the opposite effect.
“Come on, then, Nory, let’s me and you go back to the castle, have some fun, now the old ball and chain’s gone.” He winked.
“I don’t think so, Guy,” said Nory coldly. She didn’t want Isaac to think there was anything between her and Guy.
“I think you’d better take him back to the castle,” Isaac said quietly to Jeremy.
Jeremy nodded and stepped forward, but Guy had overheard, and in a flash, he was up in Isaac’s face, teeth bared, the anger that had been simmering under the surface since Camille had left suddenly breaking through.
“Who do you think you are?” he growled.
The horse whinnied, pulling at the reins.
“Step back,” said Isaac firmly.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Guy, come on.” Jeremy stood between them and reached for Guy’s arm, but Guy shook him off and ducked round him, squaring back up to Isaac. Jimmy, a fresh-faced man in his early twenties, looked alarmed and out of his depth, his head snapping between the men like a tennis umpire.
“Come on, then, big man!” Guy goaded Isaac.
Isaac stood his ground, saying nothing.
“You think you’re something? Big fish in a small pond, mate. You’re just a fucking gardener!”
“Guy!” Nory snapped. She’d been trying to keep her cool so as not to unnerve the horse any more than she already was, but this was getting out of hand. “Go back to the house and sleep it off, you’re being an idiot.”
