“You know,” he went on with a straight face. “I wanted to see those white horses with their gilded carriages, and those men in red coats and tall, furry hats, and ladies with funny, floral hats.”
“I’m sorry to hear of your disappointment.”
“Not at all.” He waved my disappointment away. “Eih. I’m not a fan of the royal family, I’m afraid of horses and I don’t really see the point of those tall, furry hats.”
I smiled, so pleased to talk about something other than the goings on at Barry Park. When I’d reluctantly accepted his invitation, it was with a desperate need to get Matt and Susie out of my mind, and Ricky was accomplishing just that.
“Are you really afraid of horses?”I said.
He nodded as he picked up his dainty cup.
“You know you have several scenes on horseback, don’t you?”
He set his tiny espresso cup down onto its saucer with a clang. “What?! Me? On horseback? That’s not in my contract!”
For a second I wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not, then he glanced at me with that playful grin.
“So, you’re not really afraid of horses?”I ventured.
“Oh, I’m afraid, all right. I just didn’t tell my agent when I was offered the part of Henry Crawford. I hadn’t read the script, but I knew there was a fair chance horses would be involved.”
“How do you plan to get through the scenes?”
He snorted. “I...have...no...idea.”
I set my cup down. “Well, I have an idea.”
*****
WE RETURNED TO BARRYPark and as we got out of the car, I grabbed his hand.
“Come with me.”
“Ooh...where are you bringing me, sweety?”
“Don’t get fresh,” I said.
He laughed until he realized where I was taking him.
“Oh, no. No, you don’t.” He stopped walking.
“Come on, Ricky. I followed you into town and trusted you when you took me to that shop, and that café and that museum. It’s your turn to trust me.”
He looked at me and for the first time I saw the true fear in his eyes.
“You don’t understand,” he said.
“You can’t wait until the day of shooting to make your acquaintance with these animals, Rick. And your meeting will be easier with me there.”
With a hesitant step, he accepted my outstretched hand, and we continued our way to the stables. Once inside, he again stopped and froze.
“It smells kind of funky in here.”
“Yeah. Stables do have that special smell. Nice, isn’t it.”
“How many horses are in here?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Ten. Maybe twelve.”
