Charlotte and the Starlet (18 page)

'Charlotte Richards didn't take the pizza, I did.'

The voice, sounding like a young American
woman, came out of the shadows. Strudworth
couldn't think of any American girls in her squad. She
peered in the direction of the voice and was startled
when Charlotte's horse emerged.

Dressed for bed in her pyjamas, Charlotte had been
crossing towards the stables with a carrot for Leila
when she'd heard Leila's voice. Leila? Talking? She
changed direction and pulled up, horrified. Leila was
in the yard
talking
to Strudworth. Oh, no! Charlotte
ran.

Miss Strudworth was so shocked to find herself being
addressed by a horse, she found herself going along
with it.

'You did?'

'Yeah, you see ...'

Charlotte cut in, 'I can throw my voice.'

Strudworth's head whipped to Charlotte, who
glowered at Leila, but Leila wasn't to be silenced.

'Charlie, stay out of this. I was to blame. I should
take the rap.'

With a fixed smile on her face, Charlotte said
firmly, 'Thank you, but I can handle this.' Before Leila
could respond, Charlotte reached over and held
Leila's mouth shut.

Miss Strudworth watched on, eyes bulging.
Charlotte carried on.

'The thing is, Miss, I know stealing is wrong. But I
never intended ...'

Strudworth held up a hand.

'You don't need to explain. I understand a lot more
now. Those girls you were rooming with were mean. I
should have stood up to them on your behalf but
I failed you. You were lonely, felt abandoned.'

Charlotte attempted to speak but once more
Strudworth's hand shot up commanding silence. 'It's
all right. I've been there. I've been the odd girl out all
my life. You sought comfort food. It's understandable.
The failing is mine, not yours. I'm sure from here
on in you'll have no need for such behaviour.
Consequently, if you can qualify for the JOES, I will be
delighted to endorse you.'

Later in the stable Charlotte admonished Leila for
exposing herself like that. What if Charlotte hadn't
shown up?

'They'd probably think Strudworth was a loony and
you'd be home free. It was a can't-lose strategy any
way you look at it,' Leila cackled, which set her off
into a fit of dry coughing.

'I think I should get the vet for you.'

'All I need is a good night's sleep. You too.'

Charlotte kissed Leila goodnight and took herself
off to bed. She was sure they had scored well on
today's dressage – all they needed now was a solid
round on the jumps and the point-to-point and she
would be a JOE.

Charlotte was in the dining room, dressed for a day of
jumping, about to scoff down a quick bowl of cereal,
when Miss Strudworth burst through the door and
came striding towards her. Charlotte's first thought
was that Strudworth had changed her mind about the
deal and she was back in trouble.

It was something far worse.

'I'm afraid it's Leila. She has a fever. The vet is with
her.'

Charlotte didn't even feel the bowl slip from her
hands. Before it hit the ground she was running.

Emma, who had been next in line, steadily poured
herself a tomato juice and turned to Rebecca, who
stood beside her, cramming a pastry into her mouth.

'Now, isn't that a shame.'

Charlotte swung into the stables, her heart bursting.
She ran full pelt towards Leila's box, arriving just as
the vet stood and closed his bag. He was talking
to Bevans.

'I've done pretty much all I can. From here it's in
the lap of the gods.'

'You mean Leila might die?'

The words ripped their way out of Charlotte's
mouth. The vet turned and studied her. 'She's your
mount?'

Charlotte looked down at Leila, who was curled in
a heap on the ground. 'She's my friend.'

The vet gestured helplessly. 'I wish I could give you
a better prognosis. She has a viral infection. It could
disappear in forty-eight hours or it could kill her.
I'm sorry.'

As he and Bevan moved off she heard him tell the
foreman that she needed to be kept warm. Charlotte
threw herself down and hugged Leila with all her
strength.

'Come on, Leila. You'll be fine.'

But the horse's eyes were closed and from her body
came a deep and steady wheeze. Charlotte felt big
warm tears well up and fall. No, this couldn't happen.
She had loved her mother and she had been taken
from her. Not Leila too.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up
through teary eyes to find Strudworth looking down.

'I'm terribly sorry, Charlotte. I know what it's like.'

Charlotte recalled the stuffed horse in Strudworth's
parlour. Was that the fate that would befall Leila?

Strudworth coughed deliberately and said gently,
'The jumps trials start in half an hour.'

Charlotte looked at her blankly. 'Obviously, I
can't ...'

'You are entitled to a replacement mount. Not the
ideal situation, I grant you, but I'm prepared to let you
ride my horse, Romeo.'

'But I couldn't ...'

'It's quite within the rules. You have had no chance
to organise a replacement. Romeo is very tractable.'

Charlotte continued to shake her head. 'I mean,
I couldn't compete while Leila was sick in here.'

Strudworth sighed. 'Loyalty is a wonderful thing
but I'm sure if Leila could talk, she would urge you to
carry on and make the JOES.'

But the words were bouncing off Charlotte like
hailstones on a tin roof. She shook her head furiously.

'No, I'm staying with Leila.'

'Charlotte, if you miss the hurdles you won't score
any points. Your chances of making the JOES will be
minuscule.'

'I don't care. I can't do it.'

Strudworth tried one last shot. 'Your father is
coming down to see you ride. It was meant to be a
surprise. He'll be here tomorrow for the point-to-point
but if you're not jumping ...'

'He'll understand.'

Mr Graham poked his head into the stables.
'Caroline, we need to go through these guidelines.'

'Yes, I'm coming.' Miss Strudworth looked sadly
down at Charlotte. 'I have to go now but I urge you to
reconsider. Don't throw away a career.'

Then she turned on her heel and Charlotte was left
alone with Leila. She rubbed Leila's muzzle. She was
burning up.

Charlotte stayed cuddled up to her for a long time.
Exactly how long, she couldn't have said. She was
solely focused on getting Leila well. It was probably
about midday before she even thought about the trials
again. The other girls had long since come and taken
their mounts out. They would be competing right
now. Charlotte had laid her jacket over Leila and now
she placed a damp cloth on her brow.

Leila groaned.

'Water ... I need water.'

Charlotte screwed up the wet cloth so some water
dripped into Leila's mouth.

'Don't taste like Perrier. I gotta have Perrier, gotta
have class ...'

Charlotte lied. 'It's Perrier. The fever makes it taste
different.'

Leila relaxed. 'Girl's gotta keep her standards up.'
Then she let out a high, deranged giggle. 'Perrier,
yeah. Perrier the derrière. My butt's too big ... gotta
watch that new Palomino filly, Chiquita ... start out
as your understudy, next thing they're the star and
you're an extra ... can't trust nobody ... Hollywood
... not real friends ... No mom or dad. You gotta look
out for number one. Nobody else will.'

Charlotte lay her head against Leila and pleaded
with her mother, if she could hear her, to not let Leila
die.

Strudworth watched the last of the riders complete
the jumps. Some of the girls had been of a particularly
high standard but that hadn't cheered her one bit. All
she could think of was what might happen to the
Richards girl if Leila didn't pull through.

Her train of thought was broken by Mr Graham,
approaching at a brisk walk. 'That's it, then?'

'Yes, that's the last of them.'

He could see she was worried. 'Still fretting about
Charlotte Richards?'

'I can't help it.'

'Nonsense, Caroline. You did everything by the
book.'

She felt like saying to Mr Graham that while that
was true, sometimes it was wiser to not follow the
book. But she did not say that. Instead she smiled
bravely and said, 'I'll see you tomorrow for the
dressage.'

Leila had been rambling off and on in a delirium for a
little while now. She started up again.

'I know I let you down, Mom. But see, I was
frightened when you left. I was a frightened itty-bitty
little foal. I played the brat for attention ... and now,
now I've been sent ... I'm burning. Daddy ... I wish
you could help me, I wish I'd known you more but
now here I am, roasting. Oh, it's soooo hot. Please,
Daddy, save me ... I'M SORRY.'

Charlotte leaned over and kissed her. Leila seemed
to calm. Then her eyes found Charlotte and she
smiled. Her breath stank badly but Charlotte said
nothing about that.

'My angel. My guardian angel. Is that you?'

'It's me.'

'Thank God you're here,' she whimpered and
drifted off to sleep.

Around sunset the other girls returned with their
horses. Most of them poked their heads in and wished
Charlotte good luck, but Emma, Lucinda and Rebecca
kept their distance.

'It's her own fault,' whispered Emma in that
superior tone of hers as they hung up their tack. 'The
horses are there to serve us, not the other way
around.'

Lucinda said she suspected it was all a con. 'Look at
that pathetic effort against Milthorp. She's not very
good at jumping so she piked out.'

Rebecca merely gazed at herself in the mirror
hanging by the tack and wondered if her zit would go
down in time for the dance with the Milthorp boys the
next night.

Eventually they all shuffled off and Charlotte was
back alone with Leila, just how she liked it. Around
seven that night Miss Strudworth arrived with food
for Charlotte. Charlotte told her she appreciated her
going to the trouble but she wasn't hungry. Strud-worth
asked if she minded if she joined her.

'Of course not,' said Charlotte, but she was lying.
Miss Strudworth checked Leila's temperature and
noted it was much the same.

'Can't we put her on a drip or something?'
Charlotte wanted to know.

Strudworth explained the vet had said with this
virus it was pointless. She began talking of her days
as a young rider like Charlotte and how she had
experienced a similar trauma with Zucchini. She had
nursed him for three days after the vet had written
him off. Eventually he came good. The story bucked
Charlotte up.

'Unfortunately,' added Strudworth with gravity, 'we
haven't got three days. Leila may recover but it will be
too late for you.'

'Isn't it too late already?' asked Charlotte absently.
She assumed she was already out of contention.

'If you win the point-to-point tomorrow, and only if
you win, you would have enough points to qualify,'
explained Strudworth. 'You owe it to your father, your
town and yourself to have a go.'

'But suppose I did ride Romeo. Suppose I won the
race ...'

Strudworth, who saw this discourse as a positive
step, was nodding along.

'And then I raced back here and something horrible
had happened to Leila. How could I live with myself?'

It was then that Strudworth realised the futility of
her mission. 'Very well, Charlotte. Have it your way.
You may sleep the night here with Leila.'

Charlotte smiled a warm thank you.

The night passed slowly. Unwanted memories of a
vigil by her sick mother's bed kept forcing their way
into Charlotte's brain but she forced them right back
out. She kept talking to Leila about all the fun they
were going to have together. She reminded Leila she
had promised to show her Hollywood and Charlotte
told her one day she would show her Snake Hills. She
tried to think of anything about Snake Hills she hadn't
yet told Leila but in the end didn't worry if she was
going over old ground. Leila couldn't really hear her
anyway. Extremely self-conscious, Charlotte even
hummed a few of Leila's favourite songs. Finally, in
the darkest and stillest part of the night, exhausted,
Charlotte's heavy eyelids dropped down and she fell
asleep.

She awoke when a rooster crowed in the distance.
She jumped up, remembering where she was, and
thrust out her hand to feel Leila. Her heart stopped.
Leila was cold. She had died in the night and
Charlotte had not even realised. Tears gushed. 'No,
no, it's so unfair,' she wailed.