Blind Beauty by K M Peyton Read Free Book Online Page B

you. But I’ll give you half an hour in the afternoons until you’re safe to be let out. Buffoon’s no trouble, only getting him to move. You won’t have to know much to ride him.”
    â€œI love him.” She didn’t know why she said it.
    Jimmy said, “I’ve noticed.” He didn’t smile. “Don’t make it hard for yourself. I doubt he’ll stay long.”
    Tessa thought, if he goes I’ll follow him. Wherever. She didn’t care. Jimmy saw her sharp chin lift. What an odd girl she was!
    A woman came round the corner of the barn, lean as the lurcher, a mass of dark red hair knotted roughly back, purple-blue eyes like lasers taking in the scene.
    â€œBlooming riding-school is it now?” she jeered at Jimmy. “I thought you never gave lessons?”
    Jimmy just smiled. He introduced her. “This is Sarah, Tessa. Our head lad. Not ‘lass’ – more than our lives are worth if you call her that.”
    Sarah gave a bark of a laugh.
    â€œHullo, Tessa. Pleased to meet you. You’re honoured, being taught by this one. He never teaches.”
    â€œYes.” Tessa did not disagree. She slipped to the ground.
    â€œYou’re Mucky Morrison’s daughter, I understand?”
    â€œNo, I’m not! I’m Declan Blackthorn’s daughter.”
    â€œOh, Declan’s? I never knew he had one.”
    Tessa looked up, stricken. “You know him?”
    â€œI met him at Goresbridge once. Last year, I think it was. He tried to sell me a useless horse.”
    She turned to Jimmy and started to talk to him, and Tessa was left to take the horse she had been riding back to its box. She felt as if someone had hit her, hard. But why was it such a surprise? Ireland wasn’t a large country and all the horse people milled around meeting each other all over the place. If she really wanted to, she could no doubt trace her father. But why on earth would he be glad to see her? Tessa shrugged unhappily. He certainly had never tried to trace her. Even so the mention of him, so casually from Sarah, was a shock.
    Sarah was a bit of a shock too, although Tessa had been warned.
    When she looked in at Buffoon, she said, “What a dog they’ve given you! Poor Tessa! I’m not surprised Gilly and Arthur didn’t want him. What madman thinks this is a racehorse?”
    Tessa did not say anything, biting back a rude reply. She saw that Sarah was someone to be careful with. Something in the set of her head, the light in her eye… she was tall and quick and would have been beautiful but for the almost male strength in her face. Imperious. Headmistress material, Tessa thought – the sort she preferred not to come up against. Magistrate’s bench… a shiver ran through Tessa. Everything mattered now, and she must not alienate Sarah, whatever she said about Buffoon. Life was suddenly very challenging.
    â€œHe’s a good horse,” she said stubbornly. “I know he is.”
    Sarah grinned.
    â€œOne thing about racing, it’s full of surprises. Who knows? I won’t argue with you. Time will tell. Talking about surprises, how did you get Jimmy to give you a lesson?”
    â€œI asked him.”
    â€œThe British team has asked him, to no avail. What is it about you?”
    Tessa had no reply. A surge of gratitude ran through her – almost love – for Jimmy. It shook her. She wasn’t used to these sort of emotions. They confused her utterly. She was only used to hating, resisting.
    Sarah said, kindly, “When you go back to school, you can come in the evenings, and weekends, if you like. Wisbey will have Buffoon next week, when he comes back. You can help him in your spare time. He’s a nice lad.”
    â€œWisbey?”
    â€œHe works in a holiday camp in the summer. Comes back in September. Like me. There’s no work here in the summer, then come autumn it’s all go.”
    Tessa could not