The sound of hooves thundered behind him and he turned to see Louisa charging his way on her horse with another one alongside her. She passed him in order to turn the snorting animals and bring them to a halt across his path.
She steadied the beasts, taking a moment to compose herself. ‘I was rude,’ she said. ‘It was unnecessary.’
Stratton knew he should have simply insisted that she forget the tour since he was leaving in a few hours but he couldn’t bring himself to.
‘After last night you had every reason to leave,’ Louisa continued. ‘You did not, which . . . it’s to your credit. My father wants you to stay and train the men. It was wrong of me to act the way I did.’
She had said her piece but without actually apologising. Stratton decided to hold out for it.
It was as if she had read his mind. She turned away so that he could not see her rolling her eyes. ‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
‘I couldn’t hear that,’ Stratton said. ‘What was that last thing you said?’
Louisa clenched her jaw and flashed her eyes at him. ‘I’m sorry,’ she repeated, tersely.
He decided it was the best he was going to get and smiled victoriously at her.
‘Can you ride?’ she asked coldly. ‘This one’s a little feisty but she has a good spirit,’ she said, holding out the reins to him.
Stratton had been on horseback a few times in his life but he would not have described himself as a confident rider. He didn’t think in any case that a tour of the camp was essential. But he found that he was suddenly enjoying Louisa’s company in a weird kind of way.
‘I’m assuming you can sit in a saddle - but then, you don’t look the type to have been in the cavalry,’ Louisa said, clearly baiting him.
Stratton slung the M4 across his back, took the reins, held them fast on the saddle’s horn while he placed his boot into the stirrup and pulled himself up. He made the move successfully but sitting on a saddle felt alien immediately.
Louisa did not wait for him to settle in and she headed across the field at a trot. Before he could do anything his horse set off after her. Stratton was not in control of the animal but if it was happy to follow hers then he supposed that was good enough.
‘What were you talking about with my father?’ she asked as he came alongside her.
‘We were talking about instincts. He’s a perceptive man. I suppose that sort of thing can skip a generation.’
‘Oh? I also figured you were vulnerable to flattery,’ she said. ‘Starved of it, more like,’ she muttered, but loudly enough for him to hear.
Stratton wasn’t used to verbal jousting with a woman and immediately felt vulnerable. He decided to back off.
‘Did he ask you about your family history?’ Louisa asked.
Stratton grew cautious, aware that she was not done with him yet. ‘No.’
‘Your boss, Steel? He told Sebastian that his father fought with the Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. It’s the sort of thing my father would respond to. I think Steel’s a liar. Don’t suppose your grand father was in the Spanish Civil War, by any chance?’
‘No, but I’m told my grandmother wore puttees and wanted to join the Gurkhas.’
Louisa looked at Stratton as if he were strange. He remained poker-faced. ‘I’m glad you have a sense of humour,’ she said as she spurred her horse into a canter. His animal followed automatically.
The ground sloped steeply away before them, providing a breathtaking view that stretched for miles. The jungle unfolded into the distance like a series of huge overlapping waves. Louisa’s horse eased into a spirited gallop down a slope covered in knee-length buffalo grass. Stratton’s beast responded in kind and they quickly reached a speed that was a new experience for him on horseback. He focused all his efforts on staying on the animal’s back. His only thought was that if the horse tripped they would both probably die.
Stratton leaned forward and gritted his teeth, remembering an old adage: the only way to deal with speed was to want to go faster.
Louisa’s ponytail came loose and her hair flowed behind her. She gradually became lost in the rush as she pushed her animal to the maximum.
The ground seemed to disappear a few hundred metres ahead, the jungle becoming visible again only in the far distance. Louisa eased her