Soul Survivor. G. S. Willmott

he took her through the castle’s main rooms.

       [no image in epub file]

       Floor Plan Raby Castle

      They made their way through the ballroom and the various sitting rooms, the large kitchen and the banquet room. Finally, Andrew asked Lara whether she would like to see the dungeon. She didn’t know what a dungeon was but agreed. Carrying a torch, Andrew took her hand and led her down a dark stairway.

       Stairway Leading to the Dungeon

      Lara pleaded with Andrew not to move any further down the dark, cold stairwell.

      ‘I don’t like it here. Can we please go back?’

      ‘There’s nothing to be frightened about darling. I’m here. We’re almost at the end. Then we can explore the dungeon.’

      ‘I don’t care. I want to go back.’

      ‘All right, maybe we can explore it another time.’

      Andrew and Lara returned to the sitting room where Lisbeth and Mr Spencer were enjoying a cup of tea.

      ‘Well, you two, did you discover anything interesting?’ asked Lisbeth.

      ‘Yes, we pretty much covered the entire castle. Lara saw pictures of her ancestors, and I showed her the bedroom where her father and I slept when we were here as boys,’ said Andrew.’

      ‘Did you enjoy it, Lara?’ asked Lisbeth.

      ‘Yes, but I didn’t like the staircase going down to the dungeon much, I became frightened.’

      ‘Andrew you didn’t take her down there did you? No wonder she became frightened.’

      ‘Harry and I went down there all the time when we were young boys.’

      ‘Young boys and seven-year-old girls are entirely different. I ask you not to take Lara down there again.’

      That was the last they spoke of it. Lisbeth had a surprise for Lara after lunch she hoped she would respond well to it.

      No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.

      Winston Churchill

      Chapter 9

      Lisbeth and Lara walked around to the stables behind the castle the estate kept twenty racing thoroughbreds. The nanny had arranged with Westmoreland’s caretaker Peter Bryant to bring Princess up to Raby a couple of days before Lara and she arrived. She hoped that Lara would begin riding the pony again. She hadn’t seen Princess since the day of Megan’s fatal accident.

      ‘Darling, would you like to see the horses – they’re beautiful?’

      ‘I don’t mind. I suppose so.’

      They walked into the magnificent stables where Peter was feeding the horses their oats.

      ‘Hello ladies, have you come to help me?’

      ‘What do you think, Lara? Should we help Mr Bryant with the feeding?’

      ‘What do we need to do, Nanny?’

      ‘Well, we just fill the feed troughs with oats.’

      ‘So we don’t have to go in with the horses?’

      ‘No darling, we just fill the box from the outside of the stall.’

      ‘All right. I’ll try.’

      ‘OK, pet, just take some oats from the bag and place them inside the feeding box,’ explained Mr Bryant.

      ‘There. I did it, he seems to like them. Look how he’s gobbling them up,’ said Lara.

      ‘Would you like to feed another one?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘Why don’t we feed the horse at the very end of the stable. I’m sure she’s hungry.’

      ‘All right then.’

      The three of them walked to the end of the stable where a pony was restless in the stall, waiting to be fed. The little girl stopped in her tracks looking at the pony – she didn’t approach it.

      ‘That’s Princess. I’m not feeding her.’

      ‘Why not darling?’ asked Lisbeth. ‘She’s your pony – you loved her.’

      ‘She killed Megan.’

      ‘Lara, it was a terrible accident. Princess didn’t mean to hurt her.’

      ‘If it weren’t for her Megan would still be alive.’

      ‘OK, sweetheart let’s wander back to the castle and have afternoon tea. As they both left the stable Lisbeth looked back over her shoulder at Peter. He shook his head.

      After dinner, Lara asked to be excused. She went to her bedroom and lay on her bed. She tried to come to grips with Princess being in the stable and whether it was the pony’s fault that Megan was killed. She thought of all the wonderful times she and her pony had had, riding through the grounds of Westmoreland. Lara remembered how she used to groom Princess and feed her apples. They were the best of friends.

      Lara finally concluded that Princess was only a pony and didn’t know any better. She would ask her nanny if they could go riding the next day, but not on the river trail.

      In the morning at the breakfast table, Lara announced her decision.

      ‘Nanny I’ve decided I would like to take Princess for a ride today if that’s OK.’

      ‘Why yes darling that would be wonderful. What changed your mind?’

      ‘I don’t think Princess meant to kill Megan. It was an accident.’

      ‘I know. You’re right, sweetheart. Princess is a lovely pony. It was just one of those things. I’ll contact Mr Bryant and have him saddle up our horses.’

      Lisbeth and Lara made their way to the stables. Mr Bryant had saddled up Bonny and Princess and both horses were champing at the bit. Neither had been ridden for some time.

      Once they had mounted their steeds they walked towards the Heather Moorlands where they could experience a comfortable ride. The young horsewoman had no desire to trot or canter; she preferred to walk Princess until she became more confident on the pony. The ride took an hour and back at the stables, Lara expressed her delight and indicated to her nanny a desire to ride again the following day.

      Horse riding became a daily routine during the holiday at Raby Castle. Each day brought increased confidence to Lara, who by the end of the week was cantering around the estate on Princess who also enjoyed the exercise.

      The Christmas holiday came to a close. They all returned to Westmoreland and Lara returned to boarding school.