Storm and the Silver Bridle (21 page)

No one, except for Issie, of course, really understood how the colt had managed to make his way back all by himself to El Caballo Danza Magnifico during the race.
Issie had simply pronounced that Storm was super-clever and had obviously found his way to El Caballo stables.

“But it makes no sense,” Francoise had puzzled. “Even if Vega did leave the gate open and he got loose, how could he possibly know the way here on his own? He has never been here before.”

Issie had smiled as she stroked the colt’s fluffy bay coat. “I guess it’s instinct,” she said. “Horses always know the way home.”

But where was Nightstorm’s true home? Issie had been thinking a lot about that lately, ever since her conversation with Roberto in the training arena that day when he had offered to keep the colt here for her and school him as an El Caballo stallion in the traditional ways of the
haute école
.

Issie knew where her home was. She missed Chevalier Point terribly. She had been away for over two weeks and, even though she knew she would return home to soggy paddocks and muddy, shaggy ponies all pepped up from too much early spring grass, she still longed to be home again now that the excitement was over. She missed Blaze and Comet. She missed her mum. She missed Stella and Kate. To say she even missed Natasha Tucker would have been pushing it, but she was so homesick right now that
if Natasha had turned up in Spain at that moment she might even have given her a hug!

Well, she thought, it wasn’t long now. They would be home soon. Avery was busy making plans for their travel arrangements. It would be more difficult this time as they needed to transport Storm, so they would be travelling a different route.

“We’ll leave tomorrow at midday,” Avery told her when they all met in the library that evening for tapas. Issie had grown to love the exotic food. She was nibbling on a shrimp and had loaded her plate with tomato bread, chorizo and slices of Iberian ham. There was Spanish sherry too — a celebration for the adults, although Issie much preferred the fresh orange juice anyway.

“It will be a real pity to see you leave,” Roberto told Issie. “I owe you a great debt. I never thought you would win the Silver Bridle and I must apologise for my lack of faith. You are indeed the great rider that Thomas told me you would be, and you are always welcome here at El Caballo Danza Magnifico.”

“Thank you, Roberto,” Issie said. Then she braced herself and asked the question that had been at the back of her mind ever since she arrived. “If you really owe me a great debt then there’s another favour I need to ask of you.”

“Certainly,” Roberto said. “What is it?”

“Please,” Issie said, “I really want to know… who was it that bought Blaze from you and gave her to me?”

Roberto shook his head. “I am afraid I am not at liberty to say. I promised I would never reveal the identity of your benefactor. I owe you a debt, Isadora, but there is someone else who I am even more indebted to—”

“It’s OK, Roberto,” Avery interrupted him. “It’s time to tell her. She deserves to know.”

Roberto raised an eyebrow at this. Then he nodded. “So be it. You are her
bonifacio
. It is your decision.”

“
Bonifacio?”
Issie was puzzled. It was that word again! The word that Roberto had used when he was talking to Avery that night in the living room. “What does that word mean?” Issie asked.

“It means ‘benefactor’,” Avery replied. “Issie, it was me. I’m the one who bought Blaze for you.”

Issie couldn’t believe it. “But Tom, why? How?”

Avery smiled at the astonished look on her face. “Roberto owed me a great favour. Remember, I had saved his life once before. And he had sworn that if he could ever do me a favour, anything I asked for would be mine. I never thought I’d take him up on it, but when I heard about where Blaze was really from, I knew
that he would be willing to part with the mare for a fraction of what she was really worth. I knew I could buy her back for you.”

“But why did you do it? For me, I mean?” Issie’s voice was trembling. She felt as if she was going to cry.

“I guess I blamed myself for what happened when Francoise turned up and you lost Blaze.” Avery shook his head. “You had only just recovered from losing Mystic and I was the one who had given Blaze to you. I wanted to make everything better, you see. I thought having a new horse, one like Blaze who really needed you to nurse her back to health, would help you to move on. And I was right, you and Blaze were so perfect for each other. Then, when Francoise arrived to take the mare back, I knew it had broken your heart. It was all my fault. I should never have given you Blaze in the first place. I knew the mare might have been stolen — I just never guessed she was from the famous El Caballo Danza Magnifico.”

Roberto interrupted to continue the story. “When Thomas called me, I could not believe it. My old friend, my brother, whom I owed my life to, was calling to collect at last on the great debt I owed him. It made me very happy to let him have Salome. I could never refuse
him, of course. And I promised him that I would never tell you who had been your benefactor.”

“But why the big secret?” Issie asked.

“I didn’t want you to know I’d bought Blaze,” Avery said. “I thought your mum would try to pay me back what I had paid for the mare and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want you to feel that you owed me, because you don’t. I was happy to do it. You’ve got the makings of a great rider, Issie, and I couldn’t stand to watch you lose your horse. I lost a horse myself once, and I never really recovered. So I bought Blaze for you. I honestly didn’t think I would ever tell you. As time went on, it just seemed easier to keep it a secret. And then when Storm was stolen and Francoise turned up, and we came here, I suppose I realised that I was being unrealistic trying to continue to keep it hidden. You deserve to know,” Avery paused. “But I think it’s best, don’t you, if we keep this between ourselves? I’ll tell your mother, of course, when we get home, but I don’t really want the whole pony club to know about this. I can do without the kids all queuing up to get their mystery gift ponies from me!”

Issie giggled. “No, I can see that it would be a problem.” She looked at her instructor, her eyes shining with tears. “Tom, I am so grateful for what you did for me.”

“Don’t be,” Avery said firmly. “It was something I had to do. For me as much as for you. I’m just glad I could help.”

Issie still couldn’t believe it. She had come all the way to Spain to get her colt back and she had ended up with so much more. She knew the truth now, the real story behind the mystery benefactor who had given Blaze to her. It seemed like fate that she was here. Her path was destined to connect with El Caballo Danza Magnifico. This place had been Blaze’s home. Her special mare had grown up here. And now, Storm had brought Issie here too. It had to be more than a coincidence, didn’t it? Issie put her hand up to touch the gold half-heart that hung around her neck. She knew at that moment that the Silver Bridle was not their only reason for coming here. She knew she had something else that she had to do.

As Roberto poured a second glass of sherry for each of them, Issie excused herself from the group. “I’m going down to the stables to check on the horses,” she said.

The night air was warm against her skin as she walked across the cobbled courtyard in the dark to the stables. She entered the stallion stables and Angel poked his head out of the stall immediately to greet her with a friendly nicker.

The big grey horse had run so bravely for her in the
village square. He had been given a hero’s welcome at the finish line — and he had relished it. As the wreath of red roses was strung around his neck in the ceremony afterwards, Angel had stood proud and noble, his head held high. He wore the scars of the
serreta
now as a badge of his courage, rather than a reminder of the cruelty that had once been inflicted on him. He was the champion of El Caballo. Their greatest horse. His race would be spoken of throughout the generations, would become part of the legend of the Silver Bridle in the time to come. Issie had always known he could do it, but as they’d crossed the finish line ahead of Vega even she’d had to admit she hadn’t known the grey horse could run quite as fast as he did that day.

“You’re a hero, Angel, you know that, don’t you?” Issie whispered to the horse as she stroked his satin neck. “A real hero.”

The stallion nickered to her and Issie pulled a carrot out of her pocket for him. “Even a hero likes a pony treat now and then,” she giggled.

Further down the corridor, at the other end of the stallion loose boxes, Storm was also waiting for his carrot. He had his wee colt nose poking up over the Dutch door. He could hear Issie’s voice down the corridor and he
nickered anxiously, calling for the girl to come to see him. Then he bashed one of his front hooves impatiently against the door of his stall, insisting that she pay attention to him.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m coming!” Issie called back to him, laughing at the colt’s bolshy new attitude.

He had grown up so much even in the past few weeks. He was getting bigger now, he would be a yearling soon, and then what? Issie felt gripped with uncertainty. Sure, she knew a lot about horses, but did she really know how to train a young colt, how to school and prepare a horse with the amazing bloodlines and potential that Storm had? She remembered Roberto’s offer. He had told her that he would school the colt, make him a true El Caballo stallion, in exchange for the colt’s own progeny, his sons and daughters, when he grew up and became a stallion. Issie hadn’t wanted to listen at the time. All she could think of was getting Storm back and taking him home with her, home to Winterflood Farm where Blaze and Comet were waiting.

But where was home? Could it be that the colt’s home was here? At El Caballo Danza Magnifico? Here, he could run free each day in the green, sweet pastures of Andalusia with the mares and their colts. He could be
schooled, as Blaze had been, in the classical style of the
haute école
. He could be given everything that she could not give him back in Chevalier Point.

Issie unbolted the door of Storm’s stall and walked inside. The colt stood perfectly still as she ran a hand over his soft bay coat. He knew this girl, he trusted her touch. She would never hurt him, never betray him.

“You know,” Issie said, feeling the tears already rolling down her cheeks as she realised what she had to do, “you know I love you, don’t you, Storm? I came here to get you back. I love you more than anything. But I think this is what I have to do.”

“Isadora?” There was a sound outside the stall now and Issie looked up and saw Francoise standing there. “Isadora?” Francoise saw the tears running down Issie’s cheeks. “What is the matter, what’s wrong?”

Issie couldn’t speak at first. She felt as if she was ripping her own heart out doing this. She knew, though, that it was the right thing to do. She had to do it for Storm.

With trembling hands, she reached around the back of her neck and undid the clasp of the gold necklace.

The necklace fell into the palm of her hand and she gripped the chain with the broken heart tightly in her balled fist. She couldn’t bring herself to let go. Then she
took a deep breath, wiping the tears away with the back of her fist, and reached out her hand to Francoise.

“Here,” she said, her voice shaking. She passed the necklace to Francoise.

The Frenchwoman recognised it immediately. “Isadora,” she said, “this is the necklace that I gave to you. Half of a gold heart. The other half is attached to Blaze’s halter.”

Issie nodded. “I’ve never taken it off, Francoise. Since you gave it to me, I’ve always worn it as a symbol of my love. No matter where I am, half of my heart is always with Blaze.”

She pressed the necklace firmly into Francoise’s hand.

“When I leave, Francoise, will you do something for me? Will you take this half of the heart and put it on Storm’s halter? I want him to know, I want him to know…” Issie had to stop speaking for a moment as the tears overwhelmed her, and then she continued. “I want Storm to know that half of my heart now will always be here at El Caballo with him.”

“You are leaving him here? In Spain?” Francoise said.

Issie nodded. “I have to, Francoise. I don’t want to, but I have to. I know that now. You’ll look after him for me, won’t you? And it won’t be forever, will it?”

Francoise nodded. “I will look after him, of course.
He is in good hands here. It is a very great thing that you are doing, a brave thing also.”

“Don’t!” Issie said. “I don’t want to think about it or I will change my mind.”

And with that she threw her arms around the colt’s neck and embraced him for what she knew would be the last time in a long while.

“I have to go now, Storm,” she said slowly, reluctantly letting go of him. “Francoise will look after you now.”

She put her hand on her chest where the necklace had once been. “I don’t need the necklace. You’ll be right here, in my heart with me always,” she said, biting her lip now to stop the tears. “And I’ll come back for you,” she told him. “One day. I’ll be back. That’s a promise.”