Comet and the Champion's Cup (2 page)

Hester didn't bother to read any further. She knew what the rest of the email said. And she knew exactly what it meant–total disaster. She shut the laptop immediately, as if closing it would keep the bad news locked inside where it couldn't upset her any more. She felt a sudden chill and wrapped her dressing gown tightly around herself as she left her bedroom and walked downstairs.

Padding down to the kitchen in silence with the dogs following at her feet, Hester put the kettle on and began to make coffee. She looked out of the window towards the stables. The horses would be waking up in their stalls and expecting their breakfast. They had no idea about the email–or the bad news it contained.

“Well, my Daredevil Ponies,” Hester said darkly, “I'd like to see what stunt you can pull to get us out of this mess.”

“Hester?”

Hester turned around to find her young stable manager Aidan standing in the doorway. Aidan looked like he hadn't slept either. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing back his long dark fringe to reveal striking blue eyes that were restless with the worry and stress they had both shared over the past few weeks.

“Has there been any news? Have you heard back from the production company yet?”

Hester nodded solemnly. “It's all bad I'm afraid. They've postponed the movie–indefinitely. We're out of work again. I just don't believe it. Three film jobs falling through in a row. We've got the luck of the devil hounding us, Aidan. I just wish we had his money too. I was relying on this movie. There's no way I can keep things going now…”

“Of course you can!” Aidan said. “Hester…I've been thinking about it and you don't have to pay me. I mean, I don't need much to live on and I've got my room and board here. You can forget about my salary until you've got some money again. I was thinking maybe we could do a deal with the feed and grain merchants too. I'm sure they'd help you out. If you just told them the situation, and we promised to pay again when things get better…”

Hester smiled back at Aidan. “That's very kind, dear, but feed merchants aren't very keen on charity. And in case you haven't noticed, it's already been over a month since I last paid you. I don't expect you to keep working for me for free.” Hester looked at Aidan's forlorn expression. “I appreciate your offer, I really do. But even if I wasn't paying your salary, there's still the mortgage. And the maintenance. This place is so big and so old, it needs an enormous amount of money just to keep it running. And all the horses need shoeing and there are vet's bills mounting up…” Hester sank down into a kitchen chair and put her head in her hands.

“Aidan, I've run out of money. Worse than that, for the first time in my life I've run out of ideas.”

There were tears in Hester's eyes as she turned to face her stable manager. “It's over. I have no choice…I have to sell Blackthorn Farm.”

Sell Blackthorn Farm? Issie couldn't believe it. The farm was her favourite place in the whole world, and she knew how much her aunt loved it too.

She still remembered when Hester first bought the farm, complete with a decaying mansion, high in the hills outside Gisborne. Issie's mum had pronounced her sister “officially totally bonkers”.

Mrs Brown worked for a law firm and was very practical about boring things like having a proper job. So when Hester broke the news that she was giving up her acting career, buying a rundown farm manor and becoming an animal trainer, Mrs Brown was far from impressed.

The whole farm, especially the manor, needed loads of work to restore it to its former glory. Loads of cash too.
Mrs Brown called Blackthorn Farm “Hester's Money Pit”. Issie's aunt spent all of her savings restoring the buildings inside and out, including the stable block for her stunt horses.

Eventually, though, even Mrs Brown had to admit that Hester's hard work and determination had paid off. Hester's mad menagerie of movie-star animals–pigs, chickens, ducks, goats and especially horses–were considered to be the best in the business. Her Daredevil Ponies had worked on loads of films doing all sorts of stunts.

“It was all going so well!” Issie said. “I can't understand it. What happened?”

Mrs Brown sighed. “The movie business is unpredictable. Aidan told me they've been out of work ever since
The Palomino Princess
. There was a new project due to start filming this week and it fell through. Now Hester's been left with mountains of debt and no way to make any money!”

“But she can't sell the farm!” Issie said. “What about the horses?” Hester had over a dozen stunt horses in the stables at Blackthorn Farm.

There was silence on the phone. And then Mrs Brown finally spoke. “Aidan didn't say, but I guess they'll have to be sold as well.”

“Mum! This is awful…” Issie felt close to tears.

“I know,” Mrs Brown said gently. “Aidan is calling back soon. He says he has an idea that he wants to talk to you about, something that might help.”

“I'm coming home now!” Issie hung up the phone. She turned around and saw Avery standing in the hallway behind her.

“I'm guessing she doesn't just want you to tidy your room then?” he said.

When Issie told Avery the bad news he immediately offered to give her a lift home. Issie gratefully accepted, putting her bike in the back of the Range Rover and clambering into the passenger seat. She spent the ride home in total silence, feeling sick with worry. Aunty Hess couldn't sell Blackthorn Farm. Things sounded pretty bad, but maybe there was still hope. What was this idea that Aidan wanted to talk to her about?

Issie didn't have long to wait before she found out. The phone was ringing as she ran in through the front door.

“I've got it!” she called, making a mad dash down the hallway to grab the receiver. She was still puffing and trying to catch her breath when she heard Aidan's voice at the other end of the line.

“Issie? Is that you?” She knew that they were in the
middle of a crisis here, but still Issie couldn't help smiling when she heard Aidan's voice. She hadn't seen him in ages and she had missed him. She pictured his face, the thick mop of black hair and the long fringe that hung down, almost hiding those startling blue eyes.

“Issie? Are you there?”

“Sorry, I'm still puffed from running to the phone,” Issie panted.

“That's OK,” Aidan said. “You don't need to talk anyway. Just listen. I have a plan to save the farm and I want you to hear it because I'm going to need your help.” He paused. “Issie, I want to start a riding school.”

“What?”

“My mum used to run one years ago when I was little,” Aidan continued, “and I always thought Blackthorn Farm would be the perfect place to have one.”

“But it's miles from anywhere!” Issie protested.

“I know,” Aidan said, “but school holidays are about to start, right? We could run a school holiday camp with ponies. Kids could come and stay during the week and go home on the weekends and we could give them lessons.”

“We?”

“That's where you come in,” Aidan said. “I need
instructors. Hester and I have too much farmwork to do it all ourselves.”

“But I'm not an instructor!” Issie squeaked.

“You've got your B certificate, haven't you? And don't Stella and Kate have theirs too? That means you can be junior instructors. Hester can run the school and you'll be her assistants.”

“Does Hester think it's a good idea then?” Issie said.

“She will do once I tell her about it,” Aidan said. Issie laughed, but he sounded serious. “You've got to help me do this, Issie. It's our last chance. I don't want Hester to lose the farm.”

Issie took a deep breath. “When can you come and pick us up?” she said.

Issie needed to talk to Stella and Kate urgently–and she knew exactly where they would be, since today was rally day. She would find them at the pony club.

Some things never changed at Chevalier Point Pony Club. Take Natasha Tucker for instance. You would have thought, after all Issie and Natasha had been through together as stunt riders on the set of
The Palomino Princess
,
that Natasha would have finally wanted to be friends. But no. From the moment the girls had arrived back at pony club this season, Natasha had become her same old super-snobby self. In fact, she was worse than ever. Issie had been really upset at first when Natasha had stopped speaking to her. Now she just tried to avoid her–which wasn't always easy.

“They must be here somewhere,” Issie said, staring out of the window as her mum manoeuvred her car through the pony-club gates and into the parking area. Issie was so busy looking for her two best friends that she hardly noticed where her mum was driving until it was too late.

“No, Mum! Not here!” Issie shrieked as Mrs Brown pulled to a stop right next to the Tuckers' flashy blue and silver horse truck.

“What's wrong?”

“That's Natasha's truck!” groaned Issie.

“I thought you and Natasha were friends now?” Mrs Brown said.

“So did I,” Issie sighed, “but it turns out that Natasha doesn't think so.” Issie didn't know why Stuck-up Tucker was so against her, although Stella insisted that it was because Natasha was jealous.

“Jealous?” Issie didn't understand. “Jealous of what?”

“You and Dan!” Stella said. “She has got, like, a huge crush on him and you're always hanging out with him, which makes her blood boil.”

It was true. Issie and Dan were pretty tight–but big deal! Stella and Kate and Ben were her friends too! Dan was most definitely not her boyfriend. Still, if Natasha wanted to be jealous of Issie's non-boyfriend then she guessed there wasn't much she could do about it–except stay out of Natasha's way.

“Mum? Do we have to park here? Can't we move?” Issie pleaded again. But it was too late because at that moment, a blonde girl with hair braided into ramrod-straight plaits emerged from behind the corner of the blue and silver horse truck. She was leading an elegant rose-grey gelding.

Issie attempted a cheery greeting. “Hi, Natasha!”

Natasha didn't smile back. “What are you doing here?” she said flatly. “It's a rally day and you don't have a horse to ride, do you?”

“Ummm…I'm looking for Stella and Kate,” Issie faltered. “Have you seen them?”

“Why?” said Natasha. “What do you want them for?” Natasha's frosty stare made Issie start to babble and
before she knew it she was telling Natasha all about Aidan's phone call.

As soon as she started, though, she wished she had kept her mouth shut. Natasha's face was like thunder. Even though she would never admit it, it was obvious that in some weird way Natasha was upset that Issie wasn't asking her to join them this time. Issie sighed. If she had actually asked her, Natasha would certainly have said no. Now, because she hadn't asked her, Natasha was in a total huff. You just couldn't win.

“So Aidan is looking for some pony-mad slaves to rope in to do all your aunt's donkey work yet again,” Natasha harrumphed. “I hope you're not thinking of asking me this time because I've already done dung duty for her once and I'm not planning on falling for that again.”

“It's not like you were her slave! Aunty Hess paid us to work on
The Palomino Princess
!” Issie said indignantly.

“What-ever!” said Natasha. “Anyway, I'd rather be riding my own horse than trying to teach some snot-nosed brats how to keep their hands steady. You probably won't even get a chance to ride. You'll be too busy mucking out the stalls and grooming all their ponies for them.”

Natasha smirked at this put-down, then made a vague gesture across the club grounds to the far paddock. “Anyway, if you're looking for Stella and Kate, I think I saw them over by the main arena.” And with that, she turned her back on Issie and began to busy herself with attaching Fabergé's bell boots.

Issie didn't care what Stuck-up Tucker said. Maybe the riding school would be a lot of hard work and not much actual riding. But it would still be fun just being near the horses, helping to groom them and look after them. She just hoped that Stella and Kate would both feel the same way. Aidan needed all three of them.

Issie found Stella and Kate with their horses, under the shade of the plane trees by the main arena. The girls had finished riding for the morning and were watching the other riders in the showjumping arena.

Stella was lying on the grass next to Coco, her little chocolate brown mare. She had taken off her riding helmet and her wild red curls were sticking out at funny angles with a flat patch on the top of her head where the helmet had been. Kate was standing next to her holding the reins of her rangy bay Thoroughbred, Toby. She was taller than the other two girls, even though they were all in the same form at Chevalier Point High School. Kate still had her
helmet on and she wore her blonde bobbed hair tucked up neatly out of the way in a hairnet–which was actually a rule for club days although Stella clearly hadn't bothered. Stella wasn't very big on rules. Issie noticed that she wasn't even wearing her club tie underneath her navy vest.

“Issie! Ohmygod. What are you doing here?” Stella shrieked when she saw her best friend. She shrieked even louder when Issie told her about Aunt Hester's riding school.

“Us?” Stella shrieked. “Riding instructors!”

“Uh-huh,” Issie said. “The kids are novices so we'll just be teaching them the basics. Plus, we'll have to help Hester to run the camp, doing all the other stuff like cooking meals and grooming the horses. She can't afford to pay us, but we get room and board. Plus you get to bring Toby and Coco with you and we can hack out across the farm after we finish schooling each day.”

Stella grinned. “Cool. If I can bring Coco then I'm totally there!”