thank-you letter, but I’ll be too busy revving up to ride Wilkie in the National.’ Then, gratified at the outrage on the faces of both Marius and Olivia, she sauntered out. ‘See you at Aintree.’
Her mobile rang as she hurtled down the drive. It was Taggie.
‘I’ve left Marius,’ gasped Amber.
‘Hurrah,’ said Taggie, ‘come and stay at Penscombe.’
Next morning Amber took Wilkie drag hunting and Rupert was just pondering whether he dared risk putting up Eddie on Lusty in the National, when Lusty broke a blood vessel on the gallops, spraying blood all over Eddie. Later the horse scoped dirty, proof of a virus, which probably explained why Furious had beaten Lusty in the Gold Cup. This freed up Eddie to ride Furious in the National, giving Rupert a legitimate excuse to jock off Rafiq.
Eddie, who detested the way his grandfather insisted he work in the yard, feeding and skipping out horses, had been winding up Rafiq all morning. For a third time, he flicked droppings over the partition into Furious’s box, narrowly missing Rafiq.
Then Rupert came out and broke the news that Lusty was a non-runner and Eddie would be riding Furious.
‘I’m not riding that goddam awful pig,’ protested Eddie, throwing down his shovel with a clatter.
Emerging from Furious’s box, a distraught Rafiq launched into a stream of Urdu expletives.
‘Don’t speak of Furious like that,’ he yelled. ‘I’m riding him in the National.’ If he said it loud enough someone might believe it.
‘Afraid not,’ said Rupert, ‘you don’t have the experience.’
‘You’re just a bloody racist,’ snarled Rafiq.
‘I am not,’ replied Rupert in outrage. ‘I have two black children, my son is going out with a Muslim girl whose Pakistani parents I get on with extremely well. Don’t you dare call me a racist.’
‘Prove it,’ said Rafiq haughtily, ‘let me ride Furious.’
On cue Furious put his head out of the box, laying it on Rafiq’s shoulder.
‘Loosen up, Rafiq,’ drawled Eddie, ‘National’s for the big boys.’
At which Rafiq jumped on Eddie and tried to throttle him and four other lads had to be called in to pull him off.
Tommy’s father had rung Rupert that morning, warning him yet again to watch Rafiq, so Rupert sacked him, banning him from the house and the yard.
The moment he cooled down, Rafiq was devastated to be leaving both Tommy and Furious, and realized he had nowhere to go. He couldn’t return to Throstledown and the sneers of Tresa and Josh. Rupert offered him £500, which he threw back at him. He still had his Gold Cup winnings. Clutching the little gold replica of the cup he had won, he flcavalry charge up to theed, howling vengeance, down the drive.
An utterly distraught Tommy, who had been riding out and missed the drama, pleaded with Rupert to change his mind. ‘Rafiq’s been on edge because he loves Furious so much. Even if he doesn’t ride him, let him stay on to do him, you’ll have a million times better horse.’
‘He’s a security risk,’ Rupert told her coldly, ‘and your father feels the same. He rang me today.’
It didn’t help that the son of Rupert’s great friend Drew Benedict had been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan the day before.
134
The Grand National approached. All the media were featuring cuddly Wilkinsons and Chisolms, expressing the hope that the speed they were careering out of the shops – resembling the cavalry charge up to the first fence – was a good omen for Mrs Wilkinson on Saturday.
Adding a bestselling toy to his other triumphs, however, had not made Valent happy. Rafiq being jocked off was the last straw. Etta was still refusing to speak to him.
Valent also felt guilty about the syndicate, who were observing a faint media neglect of late. There were no badly parked journalists’ cars or television vans for the Major to chunter over. Would Niall be allowed to bless Wilkie? Would anyone visit Painswick and Pocock’s teashop? Mop Idol was desperately trying to prevent Joey putting his £50,000 on Wilkie. Woody was busy trying to find a cure for Rupert’s chestnut avenue, their grey trunks cracked and slashed as though Rafiq had taken a sword to each one. The ladies, Phoebe, Corinna, Debbie, Bonny, even Tilda, were outraged to have been denied access to Rupert and his yard. Trixie was desolate not to have been summoned to cherish Furious. Alan was frantic for an ending to his book.
To cheer them up and to tempt Etta out of her mega sulk, Valent invited the syndicate to