Sloane’s knees stopped trembling for the first time since she was unceremoniously dumped by Stumps in yet another pile of manure. Her face, as pale as parchment, was beginning to regain some color as she sat on a straw bale, moaning softly to herself.

“Are you feeling any better?” Susannah asked, patting Sloane on the shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” Sloane spat. “My legs hurt, my backside hurts and I think I might die.”

“Well, Miss Sloane, I did try to warn you not to mention the ‘h’ word,” said Wally Whitstable as he handed her a cup of hot cocoa.

“How was I to know what you meant?” Sloane sniffed.

Millie spun around to face her. “Well, if you’re half the rider you say you are, you’d know exactly what that meant.”

“At my riding school, we don’t know about that, because our horses aren’t ill-tempered enough to do what that little brute did.” Sloane slurped her drink and cast a death stare toward Stumps’s stable.

Millie glanced at her watch. “Alice-Miranda should be here by now. I thought she was right behind you, Susannah.”

Susannah frowned. “I thought she was too, but then, do you remember that fork in the road? I wonder if she might have gone the other way.”

“She wouldn’t have done it on purpose,” said Millie. She was starting to worry. Although she knew Alice-Miranda to be a very capable rider, she was also aware that Bonaparte could be a little monster. “Wally, do you think I should go and look for her?”

“Let’s give her a few more minutes,” he replied.

Charlie appeared at the stable door. “Let’s give who a few more minutes?” he asked.

“Alice-Miranda,” Millie said. “We rode out to Gertrude’s Grove this morning, but on the way back Sloane said the ‘h’ word and Stumps bolted. We were all chasing after her, but then Alice-Miranda disappeared. She should have been back by now.”

“Yes, she said that she would ride back with me the whole way, the little liar.” Sloane pouted.

“Oh, do be quiet, Sloane. Just because you’re the most pathetic rider I’ve ever seen! Consider yourself lucky not to be in the hospital.” Millie stood with her hands on her hips.

“Now, now, Miss Millie, that’s not like you,” Charlie chastised. “Don’t worry about the little one. We’ll give her another ten minutes and then we can take the Land Rover out and have a look. You know she’s smart. Bonaparte’s probably thrown a shoe and she’s walking him back so he doesn’t go lame.”

“Yes, that’s probably it.” Millie nodded, glad that Charlie had thought of such a sensible explanation. But Millie had a niggling feeling about Alice-Miranda being out there in the woods on her own. Even though it was still only midafternoon, the sooner Alice-Miranda was back home safely, the better, as far as Millie was concerned.