Riverbreeze: Part 1 by Ellen E. Johnson Read Free Book Online

ready.” Jamie answered with a proud
grin. “As you know, they handled beautifully yesterday when I rode
them around the outer edges of the property. Pisador is still a
little excitable and can be a mite mean when he’s in a mood, but
he’s plenty strong enough and Penny is too.”
    By this time they had walked the last few
yards to the stables and Robert sat down heavily on a bench to one
side of the doors, stretching his aching leg out in front of him.
He bent forward to rub his calf through the leather of his new
boots and Jamie watched him with a frown on his face.
    “What?” Robert demanded.
    “Are you sure you’re going to be able to
ride? Maybe we should take the shallop.”
    “No, I’ll manage.” Robert straightened and
waved away Jamie’s suggestion. He knew how much Jamie wanted to
ride the horses to their adoptive father’s plantation so he could
show off his new acquisitions. “In fact, I came down here to see if
you might need help with anything. I know not what I could do…” He
said, hesitating, seeing Jamie raise his eyebrows at him. “Maybe
get in the way?”
    Jamie laughed. “You’re already too late to
even get in the way. All I have to do is harness and saddle them
and then we can go. You just rest there; it won’t take me long; and
then we’ll ride up to the house to pick up Robin.”
    Robert did just that, rested and watched his
little brother ready the horses. First Jamie disappeared into the
stable; then he returned with a bridle and reins for Pisador. He
then fit the animal with the double bridle with both snaffle bit
and curb bit and a double set of reins. Robert had to smile; Jamie
was in his element, taking care of those animals. What a happy day
it had been when the boat had arrived directly at their wharf and
Jamie had been able to run on board to greet them and supervise
their disembarking.
    The horses had been wobbly and dirty and
scared out of their wits, but Jamie had looked upon them as if they
had been the most gorgeous creatures he had ever seen. And Robert
had to admit they were gorgeous creatures. They were some of the
finest horses ever to be had from England by way of the Iberian
Peninsula. The brothers had their grandfather to thank for these
beautiful animals, their bloodlines going back as far as fifty
years of careful selecting and breeding. Spanish horses were and
had been the preferred mounts by the royalty and aristocracy for
numerous years and were even now being bred for use by King Charles
himself and his top officers in the army.
    The horses were sure-footed, having
originally been mountain dwellers and they had cat-like agility,
developing keen senses from living among and fighting the wild
bulls of the mountains of Spain. Robert hadn’t been surprised when
Jamie had announced that he was going to obtain his horses from
Wesley, but he knew how it had galled Jamie to have to pay the man
for them. If their father had lived and they had still been living
at Brentwood Manor, those horses would have belonged to them
already.
    Jamie returned to the barn to retrieve the
saddle and saddle blanket. Earlier, he had complained about not
being able to afford all new tack for the horses and Robert had had
to remind him how lucky he was just to be able to afford the
horses. When their agent had negotiated for the animals, getting
them at a fair price because of their unusual color, (they weren’t
the standard and preferred dappled gray) he had also negotiated for
two full sets of used tack. Much to Jamie’s surprise, he had been
quite pleased when he saw that the leather bridles and saddles had
not been too old and were still in fine shape.
    When Jamie came back out, he was whistling
softly to himself and he had the most cheerful look on his face
that Robert just shook his head. The boy was so excited about this
visit he could barely keep his shirt on!
    It was just the opposite for Robert. He
really wasn’t in any mood to go to this gathering. Since the death
of