Showjumpers

“Don’t go,” James said. “We can go back to the games room.”

“Why don’t you go and hang out with Arden?”

The words were out of her mouth before Georgie could stop herself. She looked at James’ face, and saw a brief smile cross his lips.

“Don’t be like that, Georgie,” he said sweetly. “We had fun today, didn’t we?”

Georgie wanted to say that it had been more than fun – it had been one of the best days she’d ever had. “I’m so sorry,” she blurted out. “It was an amazing day. It’s just… I’ve never felt like this about anybody before and I—”

And then she had to stop talking because, for the second time that day, James Kirkwood was kissing her.

As the light poured in through the curtains the next morning, Georgie’s first thought was of James Kirkwood and that kiss. As she got up and began to dress she heard the sound of the jet engines. It sounded as if a plane was taking off from the airfield behind the mansion. She didn’t give it too much thought at the time, and headed down to the dining room where Frances was serving breakfast. She’d dished herself up some scrambled eggs and was about to sit down to eat alone when Damien Danforth burst in through the dining-room door. He was dressed in jodhpurs and long boots and his cheeks were ruddy from the fresh air.

“Hello!” he said, looking rather surprised to see Georgie. “Are you still here?”

“Of course I’m still here!” Georgie replied. “Where have you been?”

“Oh, we’ve been for a morning ride,” Damien said, heading straight over to the buffet. “Frances!” he yelled out. “Got any of those field mushrooms?”

A moment later the rest of the party came rushing in. Andrew as usual didn’t bother to speak to Georgie, Tori and Arden came in giggling, and then Kennedy followed them. When she saw Georgie, her face dropped.

“Are you still here?”

Georgie frowned. “Yes! Still here. Why does everyone keep asking me that?” She looked behind Kennedy through the open doorway. “Where’s James? Is he with you?”

A look of dark delight appeared on Kennedy’s face. “You don’t know?” she said. “He didn’t tell you?”

“What are you talking about?” Georgie asked.

Kennedy purred with pleasure, “Oh, it’s too fabulous!”

Georgie suddenly felt awfully vulnerable. Kennedy clearly knew something that she didn’t.

“James has gone,” said Damien.

“Gone where?” Georgie was confused. Was he down at the kennels with his father? Out on the estate?

“He’s gone to New York with his dad,” Damien said. And then he added in a gentler tone. “I’m sorry, Georgie, I thought he’d taken you with him.”

“Well, when will he be back?” Georgie asked.

“He’s not coming back,” Kennedy said. “He’s gone with Dad and then he’s going straight to Blainford.” She gave Georgie a look of mock pity. “Looks like he’s left you behind.”

Georgie couldn’t believe it. “But there are still three more days until we’re due back at school. He can’t just leave me…”

“He just did,” Kennedy said. “This is so typical of James. Dumping you and making it our problem!”

Georgie would have burst into tears, but she didn’t want to give Kennedy the satisfaction. Instead, she put down her breakfast plate and left the room. She was halfway down the hall when she heard Damien calling after her.

“Are you OK?” he asked as he ran to catch her up.

“Not really.” Georgie shook her head, still struggling to hold back the tears. “Why did he go off like that without saying anything?”

Damien shrugged. “He was in a weird mood this morning. He said he had to get out of here and he’d tell me all about it when we got back to school. Then he left.”

Back in her room, Georgie sat down on the bed in despair. How could James abandon her at his house with Kennedy and her stuck-up friends? It was so unbelievably awful she couldn’t help but think there must be some mistake. She couldn’t believe that James would do this.

“That’s right, he’s gone to New York with his father,” Patricia Kirkwood confirmed. Georgie had looked everywhere and finally found James’ stepmother in the library. However, Mrs Kirkwood seemed to show scant interest in Georgie’s predicament.

“It’s just…” Georgie hesitated, “Well, he brought me here and now he’s gone and, umm, I’m still here.”

Patricia Kirkwood stood up and began to rearrange flowers in a vase on the mantelpiece. “So I see,” she said flatly. “You’re welcome to stay of course,” she added. “I’m sure you can get a lift back to Blainford on the weekend with Kennedy and the others when they go.”

“Thank you,” Georgie managed to stammer out, “only I wasn’t expecting to be, well, abandoned by James.”

Patricia Kirkwood froze, and suddenly her focus became quite resolutely fixed on the vase in front of her. “To be honest, Georgina, we weren’t really expecting James to bring home a girl… like you…”

She paused to withdraw a dead rose from the vase. “There’s a certain calibre of girl that is suitable for the Kirkwood household. I think perhaps James was forgetting his position when he asked you here in the first place.”

Looking back, Georgie would think of endless biting comebacks that she wished she had said to Patricia Kirkwood. But at the time, her jaw literally hung open in shock. No wonder the Kirkwoods had seemed aloof. They’d never wanted her here, because they didn’t think that she was good enough for James!

Patricia Kirkwood pulled out another dying rose and then turned on her heels and walked briskly out of the room. Georgie was reeling! What was she going to do now? She was stuck here without James, unwelcome and yet unable to leave for another three long unbearable days. Then she would be forced to get on that plane and fly back with Kennedy and her sidekicks, gloating and taunting her the whole way.

Back upstairs in her room she curled up in a ball on her bed, feeling utterly lost and alone. Why had she come here? She should have taken Alice up on her offer and gone to her house instead.

Alice! Of course. Georgie leapt off the bed and searched in her bag. With trembling fingers she dug through her things until she uncovered her mobile phone, and scrolled through to find Alice’s number. Alice lived in Maryland too, not far from the Kirkwoods.

Georgie listened to the dialling tone on her phone. Please pick up, Alice! she pleaded silently. She held her breath and waited and then, just as she was about to give up, there was a familiar voice at the other end of the line.

“Georgie!” Alice’s cheery voice almost made her burst into tears with relief. “Are you having a good time at the fabulous Kirkwood Mansion?”

“Not so much,” Georgie admitted. There were gasps of horror and disbelief from Alice as Georgie told her the ‘highlights’ so far.

“So where are you now?” Alice asked.

“I’m hiding in my bedroom,” Georgie said. “Which is probably where I’ll be staying for the next three days until I can leave.”

“No,” Alice said firmly. “You won’t be. I’m coming to get you right now. Get packed. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

It didn’t take Georgie long to throw her things in a bag. Once she was ready, she went back downstairs and told Frances she was leaving. She couldn’t wait to get out of this place. But there was one final goodbye that she had to say before she went.

“Belvedere,” Georgie cooed as she unbolted the door of the gelding’s stall and stepped inside. “I’ve got something for you.”

At the sound of Georgie’s voice, Belvedere came closer. Georgie reached out her hand and the big brown hunter spied a carrot in the outstretched palm. He stepped forward and used his soft lips to nuzzle the treat from her, crunching the carrot with his enormous jaws.

“Thank you for being such a super horse,” Georgie told him, patting his broad muzzle before slipping back out the stable door. “Bye, Belvedere,” she said sadly. “You were the nicest of all of them.”

As she walked through the gardens towards the house, Georgie half hoped that she might see a car in the driveway, but no one was here to collect her yet. Instead, she saw Kennedy standing on the steps to the front door with Arden and Tori. They were holding racquets and waiting for Tori to do up the laces on her tennis shoes.