Royal - Danielle Steel Page 0,103
hardly speak, she just beamed. And the queen was equally pleased she’d accepted.
Her aunt Victoria called her that night from the South of France. She was due at Balmoral any day.
“Well, you’re certainly giving us some dignity, dear girl. I’m so proud of you, I could burst. George called me at midnight the night you won the race in Kentucky. He stayed up to watch you. Actually, half of England did. I won a thousand pounds on a wager, so thank you for that. I’ll take you to lunch with my winnings when you come to London.”
“Aunt Alexandra just asked me to ride for her in the Ascot Gold Cup next year.”
“Fantastic!” Victoria said enthusiastically.
She hesitated for an instant then, and decided to tell her. “I saw Anthony the other night, at a party down here.” She knew it was a delicate subject.
“How is he?” Annie tried to sound neutral about it, but she wasn’t. It still hurt terribly, and Victoria could hear it. But she didn’t want to keep it secret that she’d seen him, in case Annie heard it from someone else.
“Actually, he’s a mess. He looks terrible. He looks like he’s been drunk since you left for Kentucky. I saw him before that. I think he got sacked from his job, but I’m not sure of it. He didn’t tell me, someone else did. You know how London is, a hotbed of gossip. He didn’t mention you, but I suspect he misses you terribly. He’s a fool if he doesn’t. But he’s probably too proud to admit it.”
“I called him a few times, but he didn’t pick up or call me back. It’s just as well. There’s nothing much to say now. I did exactly what he forbade me to.”
“ ‘Sorry I was an idiot’ is always refreshing, but they never say that, do they? They paint themselves into a corner, and then go up in smoke. He had some dreadful woman with him. He looked like he was ready to kill her. Maybe he will, and go to prison. Suitable punishment for leaving you. He should at least apologize for that.”
“It was a point of pride for both of us,” Annie said in a subdued voice. They had been apart for three months by then instead of getting engaged. And she was booked for two major races next year, which he would never tolerate.
“It always is with men, darling girl. It always is. Well, I’ll see you at the races, as they say. I’m glad Alexandra asked you to ride for us. You might as well instead of winning for the Americans. Give us some of that magic dust.” Annie was happy talking to her, and she liked hearing about Anthony, even if he was unhappy and hated her for putting her dreams ahead of everything else, for a while anyway. She doubted that she’d do it forever, but for a while. She could pick and choose which races she’d do now, which was a nice position to be in. She hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly. No one had. And she least of all. Anthony had predicted it.
She lay in bed and thought about him after she and Victoria hung up. She wondered if he was as unhappy as Victoria thought he was, or if he also felt he had done the right thing. He probably wouldn’t admit it to anybody, and she’d never know. She doubted that he’d ever speak to her again, or not for a long time. Their paths would cross inevitably at some point. They had gone out for almost three years, but that meant nothing in the end, and certainly not now. Whatever they had shared was dead and buried. He wanted nothing to do with her. He hadn’t even congratulated her for her victory in Kentucky. He was history in her life now.
She went back to Newmarket at the end of August, and began training with Starlight for the Gold Cup race at Ascot, which was still nine months away. She had gotten confirmation that she could ride in the Kentucky Derby in May, and planned to spend March and April in Virginia, training with Aswan for the Derby.
* * *
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She spent the next six months working hard for Anthony’s father, training new horses and working with Starlight. She worked diligently with Starlight for Ascot and was pleased to find that the horse was both high-strung and receptive and easy to work with. Within a month,