‘Your mare!’ Phoebe yelled, all thoughts of the race receding. ‘Slacken your pace, you’ll injure her!’ she warned.
Aurelia’s only response was to extend her whip with a loud crack that reverberated through Phoebe’s bones. Scowling deeply, she whispered to the greys again and with a final effort, they pulled forward in front of Aurelia’s gleaming white phaeton. But Phoebe felt no jubilation, her only consideration was for Aurelia’s struggling mare. She knew only too well there was a breaking point with horses, and if Aurelia pushed her team too far, they might not finish the race at all.
Rapidly, she racked her brains as one of the smaller entrances to the Sydney Gardens appeared just ahead. There was no way Aurelia would throw the race for a horse, and if she stopped, Aurelia would consider she’d won. But the narrower side path would force them both to slow their horses through the gardens to the Sydney Hotel finish line – if the angle of the entrance didn’t overturn them first.
Summoning all her courage, she took the greys wide.
‘Last one to the hotel forfeits fifty pounds!’ she yelled back, before beginning to turn.
All her focus was on holding the greys steady, yet as she swung through the gates with barely an inch to spare, she could sense the panic on Aurelia’s face, and the shock on her brother’s too, just a short distance behind.
‘Almost as well as a man, wouldn’t you say, Thomas?’ she muttered, holding her team tight as they thundered down the side path.
It was only when she dared breathe again, that a sickening crunch filled the air. Instantly, she knew it was the sound of metal meeting stone, and a shudder passed through her as she glanced back. Aurelia’s phaeton had become irretrievably embroiled with one of the park’s metal gateposts and, as she jumped down and sprinted to the healthy mare’s head, Phoebe saw exactly what she intended to do. She may have spared the injured mare a laming, but Aurelia would never let a wrecked phaeton stand in her way. She was going to complete the race on horseback.
Gritting her teeth, Phoebe pulled in her reins, and then she, too, was jumping down from her perch, and running to her team. They whinnied and stamped in confusion, but there was no time to lose. Aurelia was already on a bench, and preparing to climb, bareback, onto her good mare, while Phoebe’s brothers were just visible beyond the entrance.
From this vantage she could see the expressions on their faces, and it was all the motivation she needed. Swiftly, she loosened the freshest grey, who whinnied in excitement as Phoebe tucked up her skirts. Then, with one swift jump, she was astride his back. It was a manoeuvre that had earned her many a scolding at Knightswood, and briefly, she hoped Thomas was watching.
‘Too late,’ Aurelia shouted as she galloped past, her riding habit billowing out behind her like a cloak.
‘Phoebe, I order you to stop!’ Thomas bellowed.
‘Oh, go to the devil!’ Phoebe yelled, squeezing tightly and leaning low over the grey’s ears.
He was warm, but not spent, and moments later, they were chasing Aurelia along the canal path and towards a small ornamental bridge. Phoebe hadn’t ridden bareback in a while, and as she yanked off her restrictive skirt, she was grateful she’d had the forethought to wear pantalettes underneath.
‘I think we may need a diversion,’ she muttered, tossing the skirt to one side as they galloped over a bridge, conscious her brothers were only seconds behind.
Veering away from the main path, Phoebe guided her willing grey along the scenic canal route and soon enough, they were passing the exact spot where Matilda had fallen. She inhaled as a memory darted though her.
‘What is perhaps less understandable, is your theft of a horse while under the influence, again…’
She flushed, despite everything. Could she really believe such a man actually cared for her?And could she really have cared for him too, all along?
It was just a few words, unravelling weeks of confusion. Yet in this much, Aurelia seemed to be right, and now Phoebe was going to marry his brother.
Because of a world built by men.
She closed her eyes briefly. She could still do one heroic thing before it all caught up.
Leaning low, she and the grey thundered up the bank overlooking the canal. The grass was dewy, but her ride nimble, and soon enough they were winding past the low-hanging apple tree, and onto the bridle path that had witnessed her fall from grace so many weeks before. And if it felt like fate had played a hand in bringing her back, she wasted no time dwelling on it. Instead, she only patted the grey’s flank, as a faint shout went up behind them.
‘I’d say they’ve lost our trail,’ she said triumphantly, ‘and now we stand a chance!’
She urged the grey forward again, and this time she held nothing back. They had precious seconds to make up, and it seemed as though they grew wings along the beaten track, until the bushes disappeared and they were, finally, sprinting across the main lawn with the Temple of Minerva on the right, and the familiar facade of the Sydney Hotel straight ahead.
Which was when she noticed two new important things.
The first was Aurelia, forcing her exhausted horse across the middle of the dewy lawn, a look of grim intent pinned to her face, and the second was two figures, stripped to their waists, in front of the hotel.
A dart of fear reached through Phoebe, as she urged her loyal grey into one final sprint.
Had her brothers got there before her? Had the law caught up with Captain Elliot before they’d had a chance to escape? How could she stop them?
It was only as they flew up the final rise, with Phoebe fully contemplating throwing herself at her husband-to-be with violent protestations of love, that the identity of the figures became clear.
And her fear sharpened.
