Stable Mates by Zara Stoneley

Author:Zara Stoneley
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780008101732
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Lottie had that strange empty feeling in the pit of her stomach as she stood holding Flash, just outside the entrance to the yard. Coming to see Uncle Dom was a bit like visiting her gran: it made her feel like an awkward kid again. The pair of them had something that nobody else in Tippermere had got. That natural authority, that aura about them that said old money. It gave them confidence, even if most of the money had long since gone and left them with the type of debts that would have sent most people into a spiral of despair. But people like the Stanthorpes didn’t do despair, they preferred the Dunkirk spirit and determination. And the only way out was death.

They’d been born into a certain type of life, and it was never going to leave them. Elizabeth and Dominic Stanthorpe had the breeding and background that money just couldn’t buy, and with it came a kind of arrogance that couldn’t be eradicated or ignored. They could trace their ancestors back through more generations than a kennel-club-registered best of breed. The term landed gentry could have been coined for them, but much as Lottie loved them both, she sometimes felt like the runt of the litter. Or worse. She had a feeling that the Stanthorpes liked Billy, although even if they hadn’t they would have been polite, as society dictated, but she sometimes felt that her and her dad just weren’t quite good enough. They were a disappointment that had to be endured. Dom could make her feel small, insignificant and stupid without even trying. And now she was bringing Rory’s horse here. And his opinion of Rory was probably much the same as his opinion of Billy. Hoi polloi.

But however stupid and unworthy she felt, she always felt a kind of proud awe when she stood here. She was part of this place, whatever lapse in the breeding plan had been responsible, and it was the most amazing, magnificent place she could imagine. And it was a part of her. Just like her dark hair and long legs. And nobody could take that away.

Lottie paused for a moment and took a deep breath. However many times she came here, whatever mood she was in, no matter who had been bugging her, Tipping House Estate could brush it all away, with one single sweep of its history and majesty.

She could remember coming here as a little girl, and even then it had seemed magical, she would tiptoe through the archway, leaving behind the generous spread of parkland, the old oak trees and the avenue of elms, take a step away from the timeless space, the blue of the sky and green of the grass that was in perfect harmony whatever the time of year, or decade, and step into a perfectly preserved slice of history.

Now, she did what she’d always done then. Stopped and looked behind her before taking that step into another world.

Her shabby horsebox was the only jarring part of the view, the reminder of who she was and how she didn’t fit.

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