Destiny and Stardust Read online

  “Aidan, this will work! If I hang on to the side of the saddle and stay crouched down low, I can ride Blaze up towards the stallion. He won’t even know I’m there until we’re right up close. Then I can slip a rope around his neck and tether him to Blaze’s saddle so he can’t get away.”

  Aidan said nothing.

  “Well? What do you think?”

  Issie held her breath as Aidan mulled over the idea. Finally, after a long pause, he said, “I think it sounds like the best plan we’ve got. You and Blaze have more chance of catching him on your own. If we all charge in there he’ll just bolt. Now, let me show you how to hang off the side of your saddle properly. We don’t want you getting dragged under Blaze’s belly.”

  After a quick lesson from Aidan, who also helped fashion a lasso for her to slip over the stallion’s neck, Issie mounted up again and got into position.

  “Steady, Blaze,” Issie said as she dropped down into a crouch against the mare’s left side.

  “Are you ready?” Aidan asked.

  Issie nodded. She had only been in position for a couple of minutes now but already her arms ached from supporting her body weight. She could feel her fingers cramping from gripping on to the front end of the saddle with one hand and the back end with the other. She needed to do this fast before her arms gave out.

  “Trot on, Blaze!” Issie whispered quietly to the mare. Blaze responded instantly to her voice aids, breaking into trot as Issie tugged on the left rein, turning the mare in the direction of the stallion.

  As Blaze’s trot quickened the ride got bumpier. Just hang on, not much longer now… Issie told herself. Her arms really ached. She could feel the fingers of her left hand cramping painfully as she gripped on to the pommel. Her right hand, which was wet with sweat, was beginning to slip off the cantle…

  Just as Issie felt like she was losing her grip, Blaze began to slow down and pulled up to a halt. The mare gave a keen nicker and Issie heard the sound of the stallion talking back to her. He was close. Very close. Issie couldn’t see where he was, and she was too nervous to lift her head up above the saddle in case he saw her and spooked. She didn’t know what to do next. She held her breath, too scared to move at all. This was crazy! She couldn’t catch the stallion if she couldn’t see him!

  Then she realised that she could pull the same trick Aidan had done when he had picked her that flower. If she hung low enough under Blaze’s belly then she’d be able to look through the mare’s legs and see the stallion on the other side.

  As she lowered herself down head first she felt her face flush from the rush of blood. Then, there she was, swinging upside down, dangling with her face precariously close to the ground, with just her right hand gripping the stirrup leather to keep her from falling.

  Now that she was down low she could look through Blaze’s legs and see the stallion. She was right. He was very close. In fact he was standing right next to Blaze. If she suddenly appeared, the stallion would be spooked for sure. How could she get close enough to slip the rope around his neck without him seeing her? She had to think fast.

  Steeling her nerve, Issie unhooked the rope from the saddle and slipped her foot out of the stirrup, dropping silently to the ground. She was still hidden from the stallion’s view by Blaze’s body. She leant her back against Blaze’s belly and took a deep breath. Stay low, that was the way to do it. She dropped into a low crouch on the ground next to Blaze, then crawled under her belly and crouched between her legs. It was a risky place to be and Issie knew it. If Blaze lashed out suddenly or even moved a hoof Issie would get kicked. She had to put her faith in her pony. Blaze knew that Issie was there; she wouldn’t hurt her. Blaze didn’t move a muscle as Issie edged further under her belly and got into position.

  The stallion was right above her now. He was so close that Issie could reach out her hand and touch him. The big black horse lowered his head over the chestnut mare and nibbled affectionately at her shoulder. There wouldn’t be a better time to do this. She had to move now!

  In one swift motion Issie slipped out from underneath Blaze’s belly, quickly throwing the rope around the stallion’s neck, grasping the end and looping it back through the lasso.

  The black horse felt the rope against his neck and suddenly noticed Issie. Startled, he reared back, taking up the slack. As he did so, Issie hurriedly tied the rope to the pommel of Blaze’s saddle. Then she swiftly jammed her foot into the stirrup and threw herself desperately back up on to Blaze’s back.

  As the stallion reared back and pulled against her, Issie reined Blaze backwards too, asking the mare to hold her ground against the big, black horse. The stallion strained against the rope, shaking his head and trying to free himself. He gave two little bucks, going straight up in the air. But he didn’t panic. It was as if he knew that struggling would get him nowhere.

  “Clever boy,” Issie said. “You know I’ve got you, don’t you?”

  The stallion gave a defiant toss of his head and pulled back against the rope once more, testing his limits. Then he stopped struggling against Blaze’s weight and stood still. His body was quivering but he seemed almost resigned to being caught.

  “Aidan!” Issie shouted out. “I’ve got him. Bring the halter.”

  Aidan rode up on Diablo, the halter in his hand. He headed towards the stallion but then decided against it and handed the halter over to Issie. “He trusts you and Blaze more than me. You do it!” Aidan instructed.

  Issie nodded and rode Blaze forward, pulling up the slack on the rope in her hand as she went. When she finally reached the stallion, she managed to slip the halter quickly over his head.

  “Steady boy, I’ve got you.” She spoke softly to the horse as she refastened the rope from around his neck, attaching it to the halter instead. “All done. We’ve got him. I don’t believe it!” She grinned over at Aidan who was watching the whole thing.

  “I don’t believe it either!” Aidan shook his head. “Well, well. Aren’t you something, Issie Brown?”

  Issie looked at the black horse, now standing peacefully beside her. “Did you see that, Aidan? He’s so clever. He calmed right down as soon as he knew he was caught.”

  Aidan nodded. “He’s a smart horse.” Then he smiled at Issie. “I think it helps that he seems to be in love with your mare!”

  “I know.” Issie nodded. “He’s happy when he’s with Blaze, isn’t he? I’d better lead him home. Can you ride Diablo and lead Paris?”

  “Sure,” Aidan nodded, “whatever you say, horse-whisperer! Let’s get him home.”

  As they set out along the Coast Road Issie took the lead on Blaze with the stallion trotting along beside her. Issie began to think that Aidan was right. Maybe the stallion was in love with her mare. He trotted along briskly beside her, his head held high, his tail erect.

  “He’s got a beautiful trot, hasn’t he?” Issie shouted back over her shoulder at Aidan, who was riding a few lengths behind her, keeping Diablo and Paris well out of the stallion’s reach in case he lashed out.

  Aidan nodded. “Floating paces. A classic warmblood – just like Avignon. I can’t wait until Hester sees him. I want to see the look on her face.”

  The look on Hester’s face when they arrived was not at all what they had anticipated. Instead of the beaming smile they had been expecting, Hester turned white with shock. Her eyes welled with tears as she reached Issie’s side. She looked up at the black horse and was very quiet for a moment. When she finally spoke her voice was shaky.

  “Do you know,” she said, “when I saw you all coming down the driveway just now it was like seeing a ghost. He’s the spitting image of my darling Avignon!”

  Hester stepped forward, reached out a hand and took the lead rope from Issie, untying it from the saddle. As Issie and Aidan watched, she cooed and clucked softly to the big, black horse. The stallion took a step towards her and Issie marvelled at her aunt’s natural ease with the animal. Within moments she was stroking his nose and running her hands down h
is neck and over his back.

  “Steady there, my lovely boy,” she cooed. “You’re not a bit wild, are you? Where did you come from?”

  Hester smiled up at Issie now. “How clever you both are, catching him like that! Your mother would kill me of course, Isadora, if she knew I was allowing you to go out on a wild horse hunt! But how fabulous! And you were right: I have no doubt in my mind as I look at him now. He is Avignon’s son. You have brought him home. Coming here was his destiny.”

  “Destiny! That’s it!” Issie said. “Aunty Hess, you’re a genius! I’ve been trying to think of a name for him all the way home. That’s the perfect name for him. Destiny it is!”

  Aunt Hester turned to the black stallion. “Do you hear that, Destiny? You’ve got a new home and a new name all in one day.” She smiled at Issie and Aidan. “Come on then, let’s get Destiny settled in. He can go in the field next to the duck pond. It’s too soon to expect him to be stabled. Besides, he would go bonkers if we kept him too near the mares!” she explained.

  They all stood and watched as Destiny moved around the perimeter of the paddock, which had high fencing on every side. He trotted back and forth and let out a few high-pitched calls. Then he galloped the fence-line, charging down on the rails at the end of the paddock. For a moment it looked as if he might try to jump, but at the last moment he swerved and kept galloping. After a few laps of the field, punctuated by moments when he stopped to sniff the ground, looking for the smells of horses that had been there before, Destiny eventually settled down.

  By the time Issie returned from the stables after putting Blaze away for the night, the stallion was grazing peacefully as if he had lived at Blackthorn Farm all his life.

  Issie helped Aidan untack Paris and Diablo, feeding them and bedding them down for the night, then they headed back up to the manor where Aunt Hester was cooking dinner.

  “What’s she making us?” Issie said.

  “Her famous lasagne,” Aidan groaned.

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Issie said optimistically.

  “It’s called famous lasagne because it’s famous for giving you a stomach ache for three days afterwards.” Aidan grinned.

  As they chewed their way through the lasagne on their plates Aunt Hester quizzed them both about how they had caught Destiny. When Issie told her about the stunt-riding trick Hester whooped with delight. “I’m so glad all my trick-training got put to real use for once!” She beamed.

  “Aunty Hess,” Issie said as she put down her cutlery and stopped trying to hack into her lasagne crust, “please, I want to talk to you about the cull.”

  The table went quiet.

  “Isadora, I know how you feel—” her aunt began. But Issie cut her off before she could say anything more.

  “Aunty Hess, you feel the same way. I know you do! We have to stop it!”

  Hester shook her head. “It can’t be stopped, my dear. Don’t you think I’ve already tried? My group, Save the Blackthorn Ponies, have been fighting Cameron on this for years now. We’ve won several legal wrangles, but the Conservation Trust are very hot under the collar about the damage the ponies are doing. They’ve done their homework and their paperwork. They took it all the way to the high court and it has been decreed that the horses must go. Cameron is a good man, he’s given us loads of second chances and we’ve exhausted all the options. I don’t see what else we can do.”

  Issie was about to answer back when she heard Aidan’s voice speaking up next to her. “We can catch them ourselves,” he said.

  “What?”

  “The Conservation Trust doesn’t care what happens to the horses, as long as we get them off the land, right?” Aidan shrugged. “So all we’ve got to do is catch them.”

  “That’s all very well, Aidan, but Cameron and his men have tried that already,” Hester sighed. “Those ponies are damn near impossible to muster and you know it.”

  “Maybe for Cameron and his boys, but we’ve never tried before, have we?” Aidan replied.

  “Well,” Hester said considering this, “what if we do catch them? What then? We can’t keep thirty more horses on this farm! Besides, these are wild horses – they’re unbroken.”

  “Ohmygod!” Issie yelped suddenly. “I’ve just had a really great idea. Aunty Hess! We can do it. I know someone who can help us. We’re going to save the horses! Not just Destiny – all of them!”

  That night, around the kitchen table, Issie laid out her plan to Hester and Aidan. After much discussion, they all agreed that it just might work. Then phone calls were made, further plans were hatched and rooms were prepared with spare beds made up with fresh linen. After all, they needed to be ready. Tomorrow, the cavalry were coming.

  Issie looked anxiously at her watch. Unbelievable! It was almost midday.

  “They were supposed to be here by now. Why aren’t they here?” She complained to Aidan. They were sitting together on the sofa on the upstairs balcony of the manor overlooking the cherry-tree lawn.

  “Issie, calm down,” Aidan said gently. “They said they’d be here by lunchtime and it’s not even—”

  “They’re here!” Issie suddenly leapt up and left Aidan in mid-sentence as she raced back into the house and ran down the stairs.

  Aidan listened to Issie’s frantic footsteps on the staircase. He heard the front door swinging open and slamming shut again as Issie dashed outside. Coming towards her down the long, leafy driveway was a dark green Range Rover. Issie waved, gesturing for it to circle the lawn and pull up in the parking bay right next to the front door of Blackthorn Manor. Dust flew up from beneath the tyres as it pulled to a stop. The driver’s door flew open and out stepped Tom Avery.

  “Well, Isadora, I wasn’t expecting this. It’s quite the grand country estate, isn’t it?” Avery said, looking about.

  “Tom!” Issie grinned. “Thanks so much for coming—”

  She was interrupted by the sound of the other doors of the Range Rover opening.

  “Issie!” Stella squealed, jumping down from the passenger seat and running round to give her best friend a hug.

  “Ohmygod, it is amazing here!” Kate shrieked as she hopped out of the back and ran over to join her friends. Ben and Dan emerged now too, stretching dramatically and shaking out their arms and legs.

  “I feel so cramped up after that long drive! We left at five in the morning to get here!” Ben groaned.

  “Oh, stop complaining!” Dan snapped at him. “You slept most of the way. You were snoring and drooling on my shoulder.”

  “Hi, guys,” Issie beamed at them. “Thanks for coming. I really, really appreciate it.”

  At that moment there was a sudden yelp and a chorus of barking as Strudel, Nanook and Taxi officially announced the arrival of the new guests. The three dogs bounded out the front door to greet everyone, followed by Aunt Hester and Aidan.

  “Aunty Hess! Come and meet my friends. This is Stella, Kate, Dan and Ben,” Issie began her introductions. “And this is my riding instructor, Tom Avery.”

  “Welcome to Blackthorn Manor, everyone!” Hester said brightly. “Lovely to meet you, Tom. Isadora has told me so much about you. You know, I used to watch you ride on TV. I once saw you do a clear round in the cross-country at Burghley on that enormous bay gelding of yours…”

  “Lucky Jim?” Avery said. “He was a fabulous horse. Never slowed down for a fence, mind you. I rode him in a gag, but he was still impossible to stop.”

  “Oh!” Issie said, spotting Aidan quietly standing behind Aunt Hester. “I haven’t finished my introductions. Everyone, this is Aidan. Aidan, this is Tom, Stella, Kate, Dan and Ben.”

  “Hello…” Aidan stepped out from behind Hester and gave them all a shy wave.

  “Hi, Aidan!” they all replied.

  Stella, who was boggling at Aidan, leant over and whispered rather too loudly in Issie’s ear. “That’s him? Issie, I told you so! I knew it. He’s totally gorgeous!” Issie elbowed Stella roughly. “Ow! What did you do tha
t for?” Stella said. Issie glared at her, willing Stella to shut up.

  “Aidan helped me catch Destiny,” Issie said. She kept an eye on Stella as she said this. She was terrified her friend might say something else. She would be so embarrassed if Aidan thought she had a silly crush on him or something.

  “I’m dying to see him!” Kate said. “I’ve never even seen a stallion before. I bet he’s beautiful.”

  “We’ll show you to your rooms and then you can meet the horses.” Hester smiled brightly. “Come on in – we’re all ready for you.”

  While Aidan showed Avery and the boys to their rooms Issie took Stella and Kate on a whirlwind tour of Blackthorn Manor, showing them the vast ballrooms downstairs, the grand dining room and the wood-panelled billiards room.

  “This must be what a princess’ house looks like!” Stella gasped as she stroked the brilliant green feathers of one of the stuffed pheasants and stared up at the oil paintings of racehorses on the walls.

  “This is most amazing room I’ve ever been in,” Kate agreed as she cast her eyes around the ornate ceilings hung with sparkling crystal chandeliers.

  “It’s so good that you’re here! I still can’t believe it!” Issie beamed at her friends. “I’m really sorry for dragging you away like this. I know you were doing the summer dressage series and everything…”

  “What? Are you nuts! We couldn’t wait to leave,” Stella said. “Natasha was driving us crazy. She was winning by like, a million miles on that new horse of hers. Which is fine, except after every competition she would go over the leader board in the clubroom with a highlighter pen and highlight her scores so that everyone could see how much she’s winning by and—”

  “Oh, just forget about it, Stella! We’re here now!” Kate shut her up.

  “Come on” Issie told them. “You can unpack your bags later. Let’s go to the stables. I can’t wait for you to meet Destiny.”

  Dan, Ben and Avery were already at the stables when the girls arrived. They were watching over the rails as Destiny paced and fretted along the fenceline. With an audience to watch him, Destiny broke out of his high-stepping trot into a canter, tossing his head as he circled the paddock.