They galloped the last half mile and then in unison slowed to a collected canter, then dropped to a walk so the horses could cool down.
'I hope you're not going to suggest that we take the horses for a swim, James, as I know you'd really like to ruin my habit. I promise that I'll give it away as soon my new one arrives.'
He chuckled. 'I think it unlikely, my darling, that anyone would want it even as a gift. You might have to pay someone to take it away.'
'I cannot imagine what possessed the young lady who ordered this to choose such a bright colour and then to embellish it with so much gold frogging and so many brass buttons.'
'More to the point, why did her mother allow her to choose it in the first place.'
Suddenly a pheasant flew up from the undergrowth startling both horses. Lucifer reared almost unseating Sofia, the rains slipped through her fingers and the stallion took hold of the bit and bolted.
Rufus shied violently. James lost one stirrup. It took him scarcely a moment to ram his foot back in the iron but already Lucifer was hundreds of yards away.
He kicked his horse into action, stood in his stirrups, and they were away. The wind whipped tears from his eyes, if he didn't stop Lucifer his beloved could die. The gap between them was lessening, Rufus was slowly overtaking Lucifer. No – Sofia was back in control – why had he ever doubted that she'd be able to stop the stallion?
He settled back into the saddle, slowly eased back on the reins and Rufus responded instantly. A few minutes later he was cantering up beside her, mud spattered and shaken, when she kicked her boot free of the single stirrup and dropped to the ground.
'James, it wasn't the pheasant that caused him to bolt. He was hit by something, I'm sure of it.'
She'd pulled the reins over Lucifer's head and the stallion, chest heaving, foam flecked and exhausted, was in no condition to move.
He dropped to the ground knowing Rufus was in a similar state so wouldn't wander off. 'What makes you think that, sweetheart?'
'He didn't flinch when the pheasants came up under his feet but then I felt something behind my boot. He reared which is when I lost control.'
Together they examined the area behind the girth and his gloved fingers came away stained red. 'It's not too serious, won't require sutures, but you're right. Something sharp penetrated his coat.' James rubbed the area dry with a handkerchief and Lucifer stamped and his head flew around, ears back, as if he intended to bite.
'No, none of that, good boy,' she said and rested her cheek against the horse's sweaty neck. Immediately the huge black stallion relaxed and allowed her to fuss him.
'I don't think you should ride, we'll walk them back, it's no more than a mile or so,' James said.
'I'll come up with you on Rufus; we can lead Lucifer.' She froze and turned to look back the way they'd come. 'Listen, I can hear the dogs, they've found whoever it was who threw that stone.'
'Devil take it, you walk Lucifer, I'll go.' He grabbed the reins, was in the saddle and urging Rufus into a gallop before he'd got his boots in the irons. He could hear someone trying to fight the dogs off. They were yelping and snarling and he feared whoever it was might have a knife and seriously injure one of them.
*
Sofia watched him go, not sure for whom she was most fearful, James or whoever was the perpetrator of this attack. 'Come along, Lucifer my lovely boy, I think we can do more than walk. I shall run beside you and you can trot.'
The horse could have knocked her over, pulled her off her feet if he so wished, but he appeared to be enjoying this novel experience of having his favourite person jogging at his head instead of riding on his back.
The closer they got to the altercation the more concerned she was. From the sounds she could hear there were more than two men in the bushes and there was only one of James. Even with his dogs he was at risk of being injured.
She'd already gathered the trailing skirt of her habit and draped it over her arm to keep it from under her feet. She released her hold on the reins and ran flat out. Before she set off, she picked up a heavy stone from the edge of the path. She was an athletic young lady and covered the distance at speed.
She could no longer hear the dogs attacking. This was a very bad sign. The bushes were heaving, James was swearing and she could hear two other voices.
He stumbled backwards, his arm around the throat of one of the assailants. Then the second one emerged a knife in his hand. Sofia didn't hesitate. She threw her missile and it hit the second man on the side of the head. He collapsed without a sound.
James rendered his opponent unconscious and tossed him beside the other one. 'My dogs, they've both been stabbed. These men will swing for this.'
Sofia dropped down beside the whining, blood soaked, animals. She tore strips from her petticoats, made pads from his shirt tails, and between them they stemmed the flow.
'How in God's name are we going to get them back? We need a cart.' They'd been so busy trying to save the lives of the dogs that they'd not noticed the horses were no longer with them.
'Someone will be here very soon. I'll prepare more bandages.'
'Give me four strips, sweetheart, I'll truss these two up.'
