New Boss at Birchfields (13 page)

‘
I don
’
t believe in letting projects hang in the air for weeks at a time,
’
he told her,
‘
and I
’
m quite sure your precious Miss Anderson will be satisfied. We intend to present prizes of a high quality, don
’
t we, Briony?
’
Briony glanced away uncomfortably, as Senga turned
t
owards her, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

‘
So you already have t
his whole thing sewn up? Well, d
on
’
t let me delay you. I can see you
’
re both busy.
’

A
nd, swinging around, S
enga
crashed the door behind
h
er furiously.

A
few mornings later Briony sat in the tack room, a
m
ug of tea at her elbow, pencil and paper before her, as he struggled to compose the first clue.

She took a sip of the strong tea and was biting into
t
he iced bun which accompanied it when a shadow fell
a
cross the doorway and Blane appeared.

With a little twinge of alarm Briony glanced up. He would be annoyed to see her spinning out the morning break in this fashion, and she could hardly tell him that she was lurking in the tack room because she did not want to be in the stable-yard when Senga put in her appearance. Senga, she felt, would hardly be in an amiable mood.

‘
I
’
m—I
’
m working on the clues,
’
she said quickly, as he took a girth from one of the hooks against the wall.
‘
And how are you getting along?
’

With relief, she knew from the tone of his voice that he was not angry.
‘
I
’
m having difficulties with the very first clue—the one that leads to the Dutch barn,
’
she told him.
‘
I don
’
t seem to be able to find anything to rhyme with Holland.
’

‘
Let me see—Holland.
’
He paused for a moment, then said,
‘
You
’
re quite right—there doesn
’
t seem to be anything to rhyme with it. You
’
ll have to use the word Dutch, although it rather gives the game away, doesn
’
t it?
’

‘
It might be as well if the first clue were rather simple,
’
she told him.
‘
It would get things going. And after all, they
’
re only children.
’
She scribbled for a moment and then said,
‘
This is not very good, I know, but perhaps it would do.

Follow
your
pony
’
s nose

And he will lead you to something Dutch.

Let him nibble a bit,

But not too much.

The last line is to give the hint that the next clue is hidden under the hay.
’

‘
Yes, that should get things going,
’
he agreed.
‘
And later clues might be a bit more difficult. By the way, how is it that you get along so well with children? Do you come of a big family? Plenty of brothers and sisters, or perhaps nieces and nephews if you
’
re the youngest of your family?
’

‘
No, not a big family,
’
she replied.
‘
And it was by accident I found I had a way with children. There
’
s a club near us that runs outings and other events for deprived children and I used to go along and lend a hand. Right away, I found that I was getting along with them, although some of them were difficult enough
—
from broken homes, and that sort of thing.
’

‘
A natural gift, it seems,
’
he said thoughtfully. And as he went out, he added,
‘
Perhaps the reason is that there
’
s still a lot of the child in yourself.
’

So that was how he regarded her, Briony was thinking with annoyance. In his own mind he was contrasting her with the sophisticated Senga.

Almost immediately the station-wagon from Laureston School arrived. With a swift, lithe movement Senga slipped from behind the wheel, leaving the children milling about in the stable-yard, and went to join Blane, who was leading out Golden Sovereign. They moved away in the direction of the paddock in which Senga usually practised jumping.

The coast clear, Briony emerged from the tack room and as she did so became aware that the children were unusually excited. Soon the reason was clear—Senga had already announced the forthcoming treasure hunt. This meant that for Briony the business of getting her pupils mounted was even more difficult than usual, because each child now demanded to be given what she felt was the swiftest pony. Briony had to exercise considerable tact before she could get them on their way to the paddock in which the lesson was to take place.

But there was still Sandra to be dealt with.

As she followed them, Briony discovered with alarm that the child was once more in her old place, perched on the top rail of the paddock. Dismay made her speak more sharply than she intended.
‘
Where
’
s Teddy? Have you grown tired of him already?
’

Sandra slid off the rail and came towards her.
‘
I was waiting to speak to you,
’
she said reproachfully.
‘
I want to ride a pony today, but it
’
s not because I don
’
t love Teddy any more. It
’
s because none of the others will ride with me if I go to the treasure hunt on him. He
’
s too slow, you see. I must learn to ride like the wind, so that we can get there first and win the prizes.
’

Briony looked at the eager young face turned up to hers, and sighed. Trust Sandra to present her with a problem like this just when she was at her busiest! But she could not bring herself to refuse.
‘
Very well,
’
she said.
‘
You may have a pony, if you
’
ll give me your word that this time you
’
ll learn to ride properly. But you can
’
t begin today. You
’
d better ask Miss MacNeil to bring you with her when she comes for her own lesson tomorrow. Now go and fetch Teddy and you can ride about on him for a while.
’

The date for the jumping competition was drawing close and Senga was taking lessons nearly every day. Her eagerness to become as adept as possible was matched by Blane
’
s interest; he always made time to instruct her himself.

Sandra, it was soon clear, had carried out Briony
’
s instructions and had asked permission to have special lessons, because on the next occasion when Senga arrived, Sandra was with her.

Ignoring Briony, Senga went immediately to join Blane, who had already led the palomino to the jumping paddock, while Briony mounted her pupil on a docile pony and working with the lungeing rein began to give her exercises calculated to develop poise and balance in the saddle.

And now Briony was amazed at the difference she found in this once difficult pupil. Sandra, she discovered, was all eagerness and attention.

Instructing her to take her feet out of the stirrups, Briony taught her to swing her arms down and touch her toes, to throw her arms up and swing them in a circle backwards, to swing around from the waist, first to the right and then to the left, resting between each exercise and then repeating it slowly.

This was not easy for Sandra, who had been accustomed to clinging to the reins and to resting her feet heavily on the stirrups, but she persisted doggedly until Briony called a halt to the lesson.

From that time forward Briony found that she had almost more to do than she could fit into the working hours of the day. Gradually the grooming and general care of the ponies ridden by the children had fallen to her lot, especially the Shetlands, and in these Briony took a special interest. She soon found too that Blane had been speaking the truth when he had warned her that there was a great deal of work involved in the organising of the treasure hunt. And, what with special lessons to be given to Sandra, it was not surprising that at the end of the day she was glad to hurry back to the cottage and tuck into the meal which Hettie had prepared for her.

All in all Briony was delighted when the day of the show-jumping competition arrived to make a break in the usual routine. Briony did not have to give lessons because her pupils had all set off in a specially hired mini-bus to watch their games mistress compete. Blane of course attended, while Johnny drove Golden Sovereign in a motorised horse-box.

As soon as all was quiet in the stable-yard Briony took advantage of the lull to run an eagle eye over the tack under her care, with a sharp lookout for weak patches or loose stitches. This done, there were plenty more tasks to be attended to, and the day flew.

She was still hard at it when that evening Johnny drove the horse-box into the yard. He stepped out, a pleased grin on his face.
‘
Guess how Senga did in the competition?
’
he asked.

‘
I can see from the expression on your face that she did well,
’
Briony told him.

‘
She did! Took first place. And you should have seen the competition she was up against! There were some very experienced riders there.
’

‘
I
’
m glad she did well,
’
Briony told him sincerely.
‘
You
’
re not half as pleased as the boss is!
’
Johnny returned.
‘
He
’
s tickled pink. And why shouldn
’
t he be? It
’
s a great advert for the Lennox Riding School. He
’
s rewarding Senga with a champagne dinner tonight—-just the two of them.
’

‘
Well, Senga has earned it,
’
Briony told him, busily taking hold of the wheelbarrow she had been pushing, as she saw Johnny glance at her slyly out of the
corner
of his eye.
‘
I
’
m delighted for her.
’

‘
Are you?
’
he teased.
‘
Something tells me that at this very moment you
’
re wishing it was you who was going out this evening for dinner with the boss.
’

‘
Now you
’
re being silly, Johnny,
’
she told him loftily.
‘
Am I? Do you think I don
’
t notice that
“
certain something
”
in the air when you
’
re together?
’

‘
Really, Johnny!
’
Briony tried to sound condescending.
‘
You
’
re too young to know what you
’
re talking about. If there
’
s anything
“
in the air
”
, as you call it, it
’
s probably the dreadful smell of the bean mash you keep boiling on the stove.
’

But Johnny wasn
’
t to be sidetracked. An impudent grin split his boyish face as he turned away bawling
‘
Love in Bloom
’
at the top of his voice and with marked emphasis.

CHAPTER SEVEN

As Briony turned away she caught sight of a small figure cycling along the drive in a rather wobbly fashion.
‘
Sandra!
’
she cried,
‘
what are you doing here?
’

‘
I
’
ve come for my lesson,
’
Sandra replied rather breathlessly, as she propped the bicycle against the wall of one of the loose-boxes.
‘
Remember, you promised to show me how to trot properly.
’

‘
Yes, so I did!
’
Briony agreed
‘
But I thought you
’
d be at the show-jumping today.
’

‘
Oh, I went all right,
’
Sandra assured her.
‘
And Miss MacNeil was simply wonderful. She looked just beautiful flying over the jumps on Golden Sovereign and
‘

Briony sighed. Sandra
’
s arrival had put paid to her hope of catching up with her chores before Blane
’
s return.
‘
Very well, now that you
’
re here, you may as well have your lesson,
’
she broke in.

The lesson that afternoon was difficult—as usual
—
and Briony had to remind herself that, as Sandra made heavy weather even out of the simplest movements in riding, it was not surprising that she found the trot a stumbling block. Sandra was inclined to drop heavily into the saddle after the rise and to push herself up from the stirrups. Patiently Briony repeated her instructions over and over again, giving her plenty of practice, but, as so often happened with untalented riders, Sandra was rather worse at the end of the lesson than she had been at the beginning.

As Briony led the
pony
back towards the stable
-
yard, Sandra walked by her side, looking very solemn. Unexpectedly she asked,
‘
Do you like Miss MacNeil?
’

‘
Yes, of course,
’
Briony replied, wonderi
ng where this question was leadi
ng.

‘
I didn
’
t like her myself—not at first,
’
Sandra confessed.
‘
You see, she was always saying I was a terrible show-off and a notice-box, and that wasn
’
t a nice thing to say, you know.
’

‘
Well you must admit, Sandra,
’
Briony told her,
‘
you
were
a bit of a notice-box.
’

Sandra thought this over for a moment or two.
‘
I suppose you
’
re right,
’
she agreed reluctantly.
‘
But I
’
m better than I was, aren
’
t I?
’

‘
Yes, indeed you are,
’
Briony told her warmly.
‘
You
’
re quite different now.
’

‘
I
’
m glad of that,
’
Sandra said solemnly,
‘
because I want Miss MacNeil to like me. When I saw her jumping on Golden Sovereign today I felt so glad and proud. I only wish I were prettier, and then she might let me be one of her bridesmaids, and—
’

‘
Bridesmaids?
’
queried Briony.
‘
Is she getting married?
’

‘
But of course.
’
Sandra lowered her voice confidentially.
‘
Everyone says they
’
re going to announce their engagement at any moment.
’

‘
And who is she getting engaged to?
’
asked Briony, although she guessed what the answer would be.

Sandra looked surprised.
‘
To Blane Lennox, of course! She
’
s
madly
in love with him. Everyone knows that! Maybe he
’
ll give her the ring this very evening. Wouldn
’
t it be lovely and romantic?
’
she added dreamily.
‘
Perhaps he
’
ll gently slip it on to her finger over a candlelit table with music softly playing in the background.
’
She sighed ecstatically.

So Sandra had caught wind of the celebration dinner!
‘
They
’
re going out together because she did so well at the competition and made him so proud of her,
’
Sandra told her rapturously.
‘
He
’
s madly in love with her—just as she is with him. Of course she
’
s not beautiful—not
strictly beautiful, that is, but she
’
s so elegant and soign
é
e—and that
’
s more important, I think. Don
’
t you?
’

But by this time they had reached the stable-yard.
‘
Now how about getting you back to the school, Sandra,
’
Briony broke in briskly.
‘
I
’
d better drive you back. You
’
ve had just about enough exercise for one day.
’

But Sandra protested vehemently.
‘
Oh no, I
’
m going to cycle back again. Daddy got it for me specially. It folds up, you see, and you can fit it into the trunk of a car, it
’
s so very small. But at the same time, it goes like the wind.
’

‘
Do be sensible!
’
Briony urged.
‘
It
’
s quite a long way and the road through the moors is so very lonely.
’

‘
But I
’
m not tired, not really,
’
Sandra said as she took her cycle from the stable wall.
‘
And I shan
’
t be the smallest bit lonely. You can see the school when you
’
re a long way off, so you feel you
’
re nearly there, even when you
’
ve still got a distance to go. And don
’
t worry, I shan
’
t get lost, because I know that part of the country like the back of my hand. You see, we often go out on paperchases and I can find my way across the moors like a bloodhound.
’

Afterwards Briony was to blame herself for not insisting on driving the child home, but at that moment Sandra looked so eager and so proud of her new toy that she yielded.

‘
I suppose you
’
ll be all right,
’
she said reluctantly.
‘
Just keep on the road and you
’
ll get there in the end.
’

Sandra took off her riding hat and, putting it in the neat white box behind her saddle, mounted her cycle and rode off.

She had hardly gone when Blane
’
s car drove into the yard.
‘
Was that Sandra I saw going past on a very diminutive cycle?
’
he asked, as he got out.

‘
Yes, it
’
s a new toy of hers,
’
Briony smiled.
‘
She
’
s
really been very good. She cycled all the way from the school for her
l
esson. She
’
s very keen.
’

‘
And is she going to cycle back? Isn
’
t she rather young for so much exercise in one day?
’

‘
I did offer to drive her back,
’
Briony said quickly.
‘
But she insisted and
—’

‘
And you gave way!
’

‘
Yes,
’
she admitted.
‘
Perhaps I shouldn
’
t have—but she seemed so pleased, and there
’
s so little Sandra is
really good at, and
—’

‘
Oh well, she
’
ll probably arrive in one piece, although it may take her a while. After all, it
’
s a straight road. She can
’
t lose her way. And now tell me how you
’
ve got on since I saw you last.
’

‘
I had a look through the tack for the Shetlands,
’
Briony told him.
‘
There are a few pieces which are pretty
badly worn, and
—’

But it was clear he was hardly listening.
‘
I suppose you have heard the news?
’
he asked.
‘
Senga came first. Johnny probably told you.
’

‘
Yes, it must have been wonderful,
’
she said enthusiastically.

‘
She
’
s not experienced in competition conditions, and perhaps it was a bit of a fluke, but she has plenty of courage and that carried her through. To take first place against the riders she had to compete with was a real triumph. Oh yes, all in all I think we can say we
’
ve had quite a successful day.
’

He took a few restless steps about the stable-yard.
‘
But now it
’
s over and we must push on to the next thing—and that
’
s the treasure hunt. We must make a success of that too. By the way, we haven
’
t fixed on a spot in which the prizes could be hidden. Has anything struck you?
’

‘
What about the hollow in the oak tree by the burn?
’
Briony suggested. He looked at her enquiringly, and she went on,
‘
You may not have noticed it, but there
’
s a
hollow in the bark on the far side of the trunk. There
’
s a nook inside in which one can hide things
.
I used to do it myself when I was a child.
’

‘
Sounds just what we need!
’
he agreed.
‘
But perhaps you
’
d better show it to me. Could you possibly come back after tea and we
’
ll take a look at it?
’

When Briony entered the cottage she found Hettie dressed to go out.
‘
You
’
re a bit late this evening,
’
she commented, as she pulled on her gloves,
‘
but there
’
s a casserole in the oven and I
’
ve baked an apple tart. It
’
s cooling on the table by the window and there
’
s a jug of cream to go with it.
’

When Hettie had gone off to the dressmaking lessons which were held in the Church Hall Briony went through the living-room and into the bathroom at the back of the cottage. It was too tiny to house a full-length bath, but had an excellent shower. Briony wore no shower cap, but allowed the water to pour over her hair, then towelled it dry and rapidly set it into a smooth cap-like style with her fingertips. She put on a fresh white blouse and pullover and clean jeans, then went into the kitchen to take the casserole out of the oven.

But the care Hettie had put into her cooking was wasted on Briony. As she ate she was in a rebellious mood. Thanks to Senga, this had been a successful day for Blane. But already in his restless mind the triumph was moving into the past. Let
’
s push on to the next thing! That was his attitude. It was just a chance that the next thing happened to be the treasure hunt. Hurry home, have your tea quickly and then hurry back so that we can get on with the organising of the hunt
—
that was what he wanted. And suddenly she felt she could not endure another moment of it.