When the weather turned warm, the earl and his wife left Earlshall Park.
They wanted to spend time in London with some family members.
Most of the horses were left behind, including Ginger and me.
Mr. York went with the earl, leaving a senior groom named Reuben Smith in charge of the stable.
The earl's two oldest daughters, Lady Harriet and Lady Anne, stayed at home with one of their brothers and some cousins who had come to visit for the summer.
Lady Harriet was a sickly young woman who never went out in the carriage and rarely showed her face outdoors.
Her sister, Lady Anne, on the other hand, was as lively and healthy as could be.
She loved to spend time outside, and she went riding as often as she could with her brothers and cousins.
Soon she became my primary rider, renaming me Black Auster.
I enjoyed our rides very much. Lady Anne was an excellent horsewoman.
Her hands were light, and her mood was always cheerful.
Her favorite riding companion was a cousin named Blantyre.
While some of the young men liked to ride Ginger, Blantyre's favorite was a different mare known as Lizzie.
Lizzie was a bright bay with a smooth, fast canter and a lively spirit.
Young Blantyre was always telling anyone who would listen what a fine horse she was.
But Ginger, who knew Lizzie better than I did, once told me that Lizzie was rather nervous.
One day when Lady Anne came to the stable, she asked the groom to put the sidesaddle on Lizzie.
The sidesaddle was the type of saddle always used by young women.
Lady Anne also said that Blantyre could ride me that day.
When the young man himself arrived, he seemed surprised and a bit uneasy.
"What's going on?" he asked Lady Anne. "Are you tired of Black Auster?"
"Of course not!" she replied with a laugh.
"But I'm nice enough to let you ride him just this once.
And after all the good things you've said about Lizzie, I can't wait to try her myself!"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Blantyre said.
"Lizzie is a charming creature, but she's much too nervous for a lady.
I don't think it's safe for you to ride her.
Please, let's have the saddles switched back."
Lady Anne just laughed.
"My dear cousin, you don't have to worry about my safety!" she exclaimed.
"I've been riding since I was a baby.
Now stop looking so worried and help me mount."
Blantyre bit his lip, but said no more.
He helped her into the saddle, handed her the reins, and then mounted me.
We were riding toward the gate when we heard someone calling.
It was one of the house servants.
"Lady Harriet has a question for Dr. Ashley," he said, holding up a slip of paper.
"Would you mind delivering this note to his house and bringing back an answer?"
"Certainly," Blantyre said, taking the note. "We'd be happy to help."
The village where the doctor lived was about a mile away.
We rode along at a pleasant walk.
Blantyre was a good rider, and I was enjoying the exercise in the fresh air.
Lizzie seemed to be having a good time as well.
She was giving Lady Anne no trouble at all.
We pulled up in front of the doctor's gate.
There was a short path leading between some tall evergreens that hid the house from view.
"Go ahead and take the note in," Lady Anne told her cousin.
"Lizzie and I will wait for you here.
You can hang Black Auster's rein on the gate—he won't go anywhere without you."
Blantyre looked dubious. "Are you sure you'll be all right?"
"Of course. Now go!" she said with a laugh.
Blantyre dismounted and hung my reins on the fence.
Then he disappeared between the trees.
Lizzie was standing quietly by the side of the road on a loose rein.
Lady Anne was smiling and humming a cheerful tune.
We were right across the road from an open gate leading into a field.
While we were waiting for Blantyre to return, some horses suddenly came trotting across the field, jumping and kicking.
A boy was chasing them, cracking a large whip.
Before I knew what was happening, one of the horses spotted the open gate and darted through it.
The boy saw the escape and raced over, yelling and cracking the whip loudly.
The colt raced across the road, bumping into Lizzie's hind end.
Just then the whip let out another loud crack.
"Oh!" Lady Anne cried, barely hanging on to the saddle as her horse gave a violent kick.
A second later Lizzie bolted down the road at a headlong gallop.