Sunday afternoon, Adam had spent most of the day standing in the outdoor school whilst he taught his pupils. The school was a fenced square of sand, which in the summer was hot and dusty, and was now saturated. Adam had been standing in a deep puddle since it had started raining about two hours before. He was sure that one of his boots was leaking, but since his jacket and jods' were completely soaked, it didn't really matter. One of the riders pushed their horse into a canter and over the small jump. There was a splash as the horse made contact with the puddle on the other side.
"Very good!" Adam tried very hard to sound at least interested in what was going on. He saw Kate ride towards the gate that led from the moor back onto the yard. She leant down unlatched the gate, and pushed it open, waiting until the other riders had come through before she swung it shut. They made their way down to the main yard. "Hi Kate! How's it going?"
"Don't ask."
"You're covered in mud. . ." Adam laughed. "I know mud packs are good for the complexion, but I can assure you that you don't need it!" Kate scraped a handful of mud from her jacket and threw it at Adam. It splattered across his face. "Come on what's up? Can't you take a joke?" He wiped the mud from his face.
"I'm not in the mood. . ." Kate frowned and dismounted.
"Oh Kate. . ."
"Don't 'Oh Kate' me!" Kate handed the reins of her horse to Caroline who had come up to the school. She limped across to Adam.
"What have you done to yourself?" Adam opened the gate to the school.
"I came off." Kate frowned.
"What..?" Adam tried to stop himself smirking.
"Don't laugh! My horse slipped."
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. . . I've just bruised my leg." Kate sniffed.
"Come here." Adam held out his arms and gave her a hug. "Do you want me to take your next hack? This is the last lesson I'm teaching today."
"I can't ask you to do that." Kate wiped her eyes.
"Of course you can." Adam smiled. "I would have a hot bath if I were you."
"Thanks Adam. . ."
"Are you sure you don't need to see the doctor?"
"No. . . I'm fine. I'll see you later." Kate limped off across the yard.
The rain had stopped by the time Adam returned. Caroline took his horse.
"Thanks Caroline." Adam looked around the silent yard. "Where's everyone else?"
"Everyone else?" Caroline smiled nervously.
"Yes Caroline. There's no one around, and where's Amanda? She said she would come out and tell me if I was teaching tomorrow."
"Amanda? She's gone home." Caroline paused. "Yes, she went earlier."
"Oh! Okay." Adam took his hat off. " Can you make sure that these horses are dried off."
"You go. I'll get the yard sorted out." Caroline watched as Adam walked away.
"Has he gone?" Karen looked round the corner.
"Yes." Caroline frowned. "I'm not happy about this."
"Well, did he see anything?" Caroline shook her head. "So he doesn't know what's going on."
"I don't think so. But. . ."
"But what?"
"We just can't leave her there. . ."
"We're not going to." Karen pointed over her shoulder. "She deserves everything she gets. We'll leave her for a while, just worry her a bit."
"So long as you know what you are doing?" Caroline started to walk away. "I want the horses dried off. Can you get your cronies to do that?"
"It'll be done." Karen smiled. "Relax Caroline. . . It's only a bit of a laugh."
"I don't think that everyone will be laughing."
Adam sat next to Kate on the sofa.
"Was there enough hot water for you?" Kate smiled.
"I think I just about got the last of it. " He paused. "The others are acting a bit strangely this afternoon."
"How do you mean?"
"Well when I came back to the yard, none of them were around. And Caroline was being a bit defensive."
"I think they must just be tired. It's been a long week. They were probably all in the tack room." Kate smiled. "It's not worth worrying about."
"I'm sure you're right!" Adam put his arm around Kate. There was a clatter as the front door opened and the staff stomped noisily upstairs.
"Oh sorry are we disturbing anything!" Karen smirked.
"No! We were just waiting for you lot to arrive. . .Who's cooking tonight?"
"I'll check the rota." Karen disappeared into the kitchen. "It’s Caroline!" She yelled loudly.
"What is?" Caroline appeared through the doorway. "I've not done anything. . . It was the others."
"Done what Caroline?"
"She's joking. . ." Karen leapt out of the kitchen. "She just doesn't want to cook tonight!" She whispered to Caroline. "Shut up! Don't give the game away!"
"Yes. . . I didn't want to cook tonight." Caroline laughed nervously.
"So what are we having Caroline?"
"Well it is Sunday night. What do we have every Sunday night?"
"Not leftovers again." Kate sighed loudly.
"I think it would be nice to go out for the evening." Karen took the last of the dirty plates off the table and handed them to Adam who was washing up.
"Go out?" Caroline frowned.
"I think that's a great idea!" Adam looked over to Kate. "Do you think you would be up to it?"
"I'm sure I could manage to limp down to the pub."
"What about the rest of you?" Karen looked across the expectant faces. "Well that's settled then."
"Do you think we should? Don't we have things to do tonight?" Caroline stood up.
"Things to do?" Adam shook his head. "Like what? You'll enjoy a night out. It'll do you good. After all, it has been a busy week for us all."
"Let me have a word with her." Karen led Caroline into the living room.
"What are you doing suggesting that we go out. . . What about..? You know!" Caroline hissed.
"Caroline, we can't just disappear onto the yard. Adam and Kate would get suspicious. If we all go out. We can leave them at the pub and nip back here and sort everything out."
"But..."
"Please. Caroline it is just a joke. But Adam and Kate would get annoyed. They just don't have a sense of humour!"
"Shall we go then!" Kate stepped into the living room. "Is there anything wrong."
"Wrong? No, nothing is wrong. I was just saying that someone should stay back at the yard, make sure everything is okay."
"And I had said that everything will be fine." Karen stepped forward. "Caroline is a real worrier!"
"Yes. Come on Caroline. I'm sure we can all go out for an hour or so with no problems."
"Okay. I'll get my coat."
Karen watched as she left the room, quickly she pulled out a mobile phone and dialled a number. It rang once before she spoke softly.
"It's me. Everything is ready..." She paused sniggering. "Pre-packaged as well!" Karen shut down the phone and thrust it into her jacket pocket.
The village of Redbridge was little more than a church, post-office stores, phone box, pub and a couple of houses. If you wanted any more excitement than a quiet drink you had to go the fifteen miles to the nearest town, and without a car there was no way to get there except on-foot.
The collective staff of the Redbridge Riding School filled the small saloon bar of 'The Horse & Groom' public house. Karen took out a ten-pound note and handed it to the landlord.
"Keith. . . I need a favour." Karen whispered to Keith Bevan the landlord of the small pub.
"Yes. What do you want?" Keith was a portly individual who enjoyed a good drink as much as his patrons did.
"We are having a bit of a celebration." Karen paused. "Erm. . . Its Caroline's birthday."
"How nice for her."
"I wondered if you could pep up her drinks a bit. She says she only wants an orange juice. . ."
"I understand." Keith added a large shot of vodka to the glass. "It will help her enjoy herself."
"Thanks Keith." Karen laughed. "It will. . . I think she needs to enjoy herself more!"
Karen walked over to the table and placed the last drinks down.
"Your orange juice, and a pint for you Adam."
"Thanks Karen." Caroline took a sip of her drink. "Oh. . ."
"What's up Caroline?" Karen bit her lip.
"That tastes very nice!" Caroline took a large gulp.
"Good! I'm sure you will enjoy it." Karen chuckled into her drink.
"It's getting late. . . I think we should go back now." Adam glanced at his watch.
"Okay." Karen smiled, possible a little too much. Her speech was slightly slurred.
"What about her?" Caroline was fast asleep on the floor.
"What do you want me to do with her?" Karen beamed.
"I think you had better take her with you. If you can wake her up that is!" Kate shook Caroline's shoulder. "Come on Caroline, it's time to go home."
"I don't want to go to school. . ." Caroline rolled over.
"Don't wake her up. . ." Adam stood up. " I'm sure a couple of you can drag her back." The staff groaned. "I'm sure she would do the same for you. We'll see you in the morning!"
"Aren't we going home now?"
"I think there's time for just one more drink, don't you?" He walked to the bar.
"I see Caroline is enjoying her birthday." Keith nodded towards the door.
"Her birthday?"
"Yes Karen told me it was Caroline's birthday, that's why she spiked her drinks."
"Really. . . I must talk to her in the morning."
Soon afterwards, Adam and Kate walked home, along the quiet road back to the yard. The moon shone lightly allowing then to see their way and the stars glistened like diamonds. All too soon, they were back at the yard. Adam fumbled with the front door key before letting them into the flat. As the door closed, he caught sight of the two cars sitting out in the darkness, and ignored them. Not that he knew it then, Adam would live to regret his eagerness to hurry into the warmth of the flat.
~~~