Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath #2) - Kristi Ann Hunter Page 0,100
range of those infernal whips.
They rounded the curve, rushing toward the end post. The crowd gave Equinox a burst of motivation, and he surged forward. Sophia nearly cried in relief as she urged him to go even faster.
This was no longer about racing or people’s opinions. This was survival.
When the horse crossed the finish line, she wasn’t going to pull up. They’d ride straight to the weigh house, and she wasn’t getting down until she was back at Hawksworth. Her torturers were behind her as she passed the finish post, so at least she hadn’t been last. She rather doubted she’d been first, though it didn’t matter. The race was done.
The horses from the previous race were still milling about the weigh house, but no one stopped her from moving to the front of the line. As soon as the horse’s weight was recorded, she fled the area. They weren’t running at a race pace anymore, but they were certainly going fast enough to make everyone get out of their way.
As the noise of the crowd fell away, she allowed Equinox to slow and her tears to fall. Perhaps she could get the worst of the crying out while she was alone. With any luck, the stable would be empty, with everyone still on the Heath to watch the races.
Instead of jumping from the saddle, she rolled onto her stomach and slid down the horse’s side. Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to the gravel drive. A dark sweaty muzzle bumped her face, inspiring a laugh to cut through her falling tears.
“You ran well, Equinox. You deserve a good brushing and an entire trough of oats.”
Using the horse for leverage, she managed to get to her feet and limp her way into the stable and down to the farthest box stall.
Without the excitement of the race, the pain of every single blow pulsed all the way to the bone. Her leg was certainly the worst, though she might be sleeping on her stomach for a few days.
She was struggling with the saddle buckles when Jonas arrived, riding Midas right into the stable and up to her stall before dismounting with a wince. He dropped his horse’s reins and wrapped his arms around her.
The last of her control broke. She sobbed into his chest and clung hard to his shoulders. Once the surge of emotion subsided, an eerie calm followed. She pulled away from him with a shuddering breath. Callused thumbs wiped her tears away, and she finally looked up into eyes the same green as her own.
“You didn’t win.”
She couldn’t stop the laughter. “I guessed as much. Seeing the tail of another horse for most of the race is a good indicator.”
“It looked rough.”
“It was nothing like that challenge race. Nothing like running the Heath with the others.” She sighed. “They hated me.”
“What do you mean?”
She took a step back and looked around the stable. “You can’t tell anyone, Jonas. It’s done, and chances are no one would believe it was intentional.”
“Sophia, what happened?”
“Looking back, I can think of several things I could have done differently, solutions I could have tried. It was a race, though, and all I could think was go forward, go faster. At least two of the other jockeys didn’t like me. I think a third was in on it too, but I can’t be sure.”
“Soph.”
She leaned over and pulled up her riding skirt and the trouser leg beneath. “Part of me couldn’t believe it was happening. I didn’t want to believe anyone could do this.” She tugged the fabric higher. “Having trousers beneath the skirt helped, though. Fewer layers would have made it worse.”
She finished pulling the skirt and trouser up her leg, exposing her thigh and the scattering of red welts forming on it. “There are some on my lower right leg as well, but these were—”
“What happened?”
The animalistic growl had Sophia snapping her head up and dropping her skirt. Jonas stepped immediately in front of her. Even Equinox skittered sideways.
Aaron stood in the opening of the box stall, staring at her now-covered leg.
“Aaron, I—” Sophia glanced to her brother, realizing she’d just slipped up and called Aaron by name in front of another person, but Jonas wasn’t paying her any attention. He was watching Aaron.
“I don’t think I want to ride racehorses anymore.” Sophia was quite proud of the calmness in her voice. Considering the tension of the moment, calm and steady was a necessity.