Charlotte and the Starlet 2 (4 page)

Leila pouted.

'She's okay. We took the dew out of the ground so it
was easy-peasy for them.'

Unfortunately they couldn't talk more as the arena
was a hive of activity. The Evil Three were all
practising, keeping a wary eye on Charlotte.

Just as Leila was about to take off in an attempt
on the steeple, Lucinda let loose a loud sneeze. It
distracted Leila and her back leg knocked the pole off.

'Terribly sorry,' smirked Lucinda.

'You'll keep,' muttered Charlotte under her breath.

Fiona, one of the hands, went to replace the
pole. Before she could, Chadwick called from an
approaching golf-buggy.

'Fiona, what do you think you're doing?'

Fiona was perplexed. It seemed pretty obvious to
her what she was doing.

'Fixing the steeple for the next rider.'

Chadwick tapped his watch.

'You don't have time for that. You need to help
Bevans mow B paddock.'

'Isn't Mark doing that?'

'I let Mark go this morning.'

Charlotte was disappointed. She liked all the
hands. They worked very hard to keep Thornton
Downs in top condition. She didn't know Mark very
well – he was a quiet, younger guy – but he was always
friendly. Charlotte noted Fiona's face drop at the news
too.

'Which one is B paddock again? Is that One Tree?'
asked Fiona innocently.

Chadwick muttered to himself and puttered off.

Charlotte caught Leila's disgusted look. She knew
what she was thinking: accountants.

Later, back in the stable, Charlotte hung up her tack.

'I'll be back in about five hours.'

Leila's face dropped.

'Five hours? We've barely talked. Why can't we go
for a ride over towards Milthorp?' Milthorp was
where the boy JOES were. Charlotte wished she could
have ridden over there. With any luck she might
encounter Todd taking Warrior for a gallop. She
hadn't spoken to Todd since he'd rung out of the blue
a week ago to say he was looking forward to catching
up. She liked Todd. He might be rich but no way was
he stuck up.

'What's so important you're going to abandon me
for Five Long Lonely Hours?' Leila pushed out her
bottom lip.

'Sorry, but I thought I'd explained. This isn't like
last time when I was on holiday. I have school here.'

'School is for fools. You think I went to school?'

Charlotte resisted the temptation to make any one
of a number of obvious jokes.

'If I don't go to class I get kicked out of the JOES.'

'What am I supposed to do? There's no cable in this
dump. Hey, there's not even an iPod.'

Charlotte had no time to argue.

'I'll bring you my radio, okay?'

'A
transistor
?' Leila could barely spit out the word.
'That's, like, older than the ark. It sounds like flies
buzzing.'

'It's all I have.'

'And that's my fault?'

Now Charlotte was getting annoyed.

'Maybe you should have got a richer girl to ride
you? Perhaps Lucinda or Emma or Rebecca?'

'Maybe I should have. I bet they'd bring more than
a transistor to their loyal, four-legged
superstar
pal.'

'Superstar? That magazine I bought for you said
your last two pictures barely made back their cost.'

'Studio accounting. They were in the black, believe
me. And if Tommy Tempest had the camera more on
me and less on Sarah-Jane ...'

Charlotte stood, hands on hips.

'You know, maybe it wasn't Sarah-Jane who was the
problem.'

Leila turned her back on Charlotte. Charlotte went
to chide her but held her tongue. In this mood it
wasn't worth wasting breath on her, it would only
make Charlotte more annoyed than she already was.
She stormed out of the stall without another word.

This caught Leila by surprise. She had been
expecting Charlotte to break down and apologise. It
just proved the point. Charlotte didn't need Leila now
– out of sight, out of mind. Here was Leila throwing
away a successful Hollywood career, for what? This
was supposed to be fun. It was that Hannah girl. She
was the problem.

The elderly ladies of Snake Hills, though small in
number, were enthusiastic in their efforts to raise
money, be it for the Volunteer Fire Brigade, the church
roof or Charlotte's school stationery requirements.
Charlotte thought of them now in class, not because
she was fingering the new ruler and protractor that
they had funded, although that would have been
perfectly understandable, but rather because of their
tuzzy-muzzies. Tuzzy-muzzies, those posies of dried
flower petals and herbs, along with lamingtons,
formed the biggest guns in the Snake Hills fund-raising
arsenal. The reason tuzzy-muzzies popped into
Charlotte's brain in the midst of her Maths class was
because Miss Batt, the young and enthusiastic Maths
teacher, smelled like one. Too much perfume. Aside
from that minor flaw, Charlotte liked her. She proved
herself to be extremely patient, wading through five
incorrect answers from Rebecca as to the sum of four
times seven divided by the sum of seven times four.
Finally Emma wrote the answer on her hand and
flashed it at Rebecca, who still managed to get it wrong.

'Hmm, a straight line?' Rebecca opined without
conviction.

Emma's head sank in her hands. Miss Batt was
momentarily lost for words, perhaps thinking she
might have started the Geometry class without
realising it. It was one of the few moments of the class
Charlotte was actually engaged in. But she soon found
herself switching off and dwelling on her tiff with
Leila. Leila was her best friend and the last thing
she wanted to do was make her feel she wasn't
appreciated. Leila could be self-centred but she had
given up a lot to do the JOES with Charlotte. Leila
could have been kicking up her hooves in Hollywood,
not ...

'Charlotte?'

Charlotte suddenly became aware Miss Batt
was staring at her with large brown eyes full of
anticipation. The rest of the class had swung her way,
waiting for an answer to the question Charlotte had
missed. She could see the look of anticipatory delight
on the faces of The Evil Three.

'Um ...' Charlotte tried to stall while she searched
her memory for what she might have been asked.
Hannah engaged her eyes meaningfully as if to say,
'watch me'. Then she blinked three times.

Charlotte got the message.

'Three.' She was about to sit back but caught
Hannah's urgent 'not yet'look. Hannah pointed into
the air. Charlotte understood and quickly corrected.

'Three point ...'

Hannah made a circle with her mouth.

'Three point O ...'

Hannah made as if she were eating.

'... eat. I mean eight! 3.08.'

Miss Batt smiled.

'Excellent. Well done, Charlotte.'

The Evil Three sank back in their chairs, disappointed.
The rest of the classes passed uneventfully.
Miss Batt did all the Science and Maths classes while
Mr Craven, a thin, nervous young man who stammered
and wore a shirt with a frayed collar, taught
English and everything else. When it came time to
break for lunch Charlotte immediately started
towards the stables but Hannah intercepted her.

'Where are you having lunch, Charlotte?'

'Actually, I was on my way to Leila.'

She could see Hannah wanted to be asked to join
her. It was very awkward. She and Leila needed to
have a private heart-to-heart but, at the same time,
Hannah had saved her in Maths. She decided she
would have to wait till later to speak to Leila.

'I suppose I can see Leila later. Where are you
having lunch?'

Hannah brightened.

'I thought under the tree away from those horrible
three. Did you see? They kept flicking wet spitballs of
paper at me during class.'

Charlotte had been so wrapped up in what she was
going to say to Leila she hadn't noticed. The news,
however, did not surprise her.

'They're just jealous because you're smarter than
them.'

From her stall Leila was able to look out across the
lawn to the main building. She saw Charlotte moving
off with Hannah. Well, that certainly proved who
the third wheel was. It hurt. It really hurt. You could
put a big chocolate sundae in front of Leila right now
and she wouldn't even be able to touch it ... Okay, she
could maybe have the ice-cream, the chocolate sauce
and the nuts but not the cherry. No way. She was too
upset.

It wasn't until the afternoon session that Charlotte
made it into the stables. She opened the stall door to
be confronted by Leila's backside.

'Sorry I couldn't come before.'

Silence.

'Leila, come on. We have to get out to the exercise
yard.'

Leila turned her head around.

'Sure you can spare the time? Maybe Hannah needs
you to brush her hair.'

'Don't be pathetic.'

The other girls entered and conversation became
impossible. Charlotte saddled Leila up and led her out
without a further word being spoken. And that was
the way it stayed for the first twenty minutes of the
session. Finally Charlotte felt it was just too childish
to continue. She decided to make the first move.

'Leila, I apologise if I've upset you.'

'Yeah, right.'

Leila was pleased Charlotte was making the right
noises but wanted her to squirm.

'Come on, you're not being fair.'

'
I'm
not being fair? You didn't have to stand in a
boring stall with a bunch of dumb nags for five hours.
You were off with Han-NAH.' Leila used a particularly
smarmy inflection on her name.

'But I've explained. There was nothing I could do.'

'Except choose me instead of her.'

They were trotting around the perimeter of the
paddock. It gave them some privacy and enough
space to talk.

'We should be catching up now, enjoying our time
together, not arguing.'

'I'm not arguing, I'm just telling it like it is, holding
a mirror to an unjust world.'

Charlotte sighed deeply.

'How about if I bring you a special treat tonight?'

Leila's ears pricked up. Now Charlie was talking.

'How special?'

'A shortbread biscuit.'

'Nothing short. Do I look short to you?'

Charlotte groaned. In these moods Leila could be
very trying.

'It's nothing to do with the biscuits being short.
And, anyway, it's not good for you to eat too much
junk. Horses who eat too much sugar get a horrible
disease called laminitis.'

'Don't tell me. Their hooves turn into lamingtons?'
Leila had encountered these yummy square spongecakes
in Snake Hills. At first she'd thought they were
dice to hang off a car's rearview mirror.

'I'm serious.'

Further discussion was cut off by the blast of
Strudworth's whistle, signalling the end of the session.
Dusk was starting to settle. Charlotte galloped Leila
over to where the girls were gathering around
Strudworth, who sat majestically on her horse,
Romeo.

'Attention please, girls. I have an important
announcement. Tomorrow morning after breakfast
you will leave for Charmsworth Deportment College
at Glenhaven. I was not planning to begin your
deportment classes until later in the term but the JOES
have been invited to attend a number of international
competitions in the latter half of this year ...'

A murmur of excitement rippled through the girls.
'and I think it necessary you be ready to display the
manners and grooming expected of an equestrienne. I
will never forget my first experience of international
competition ...'

A few of the girls yawned. Rebecca's eyes began to
slowly shut. Strudworth, however, saw nothing but
herself as a young woman with her future stretched
ahead of her like so many gleaming hurdles.

'It was one of those autumn days that the south of
England does so well. I was alone by the bay window,
admiring the downs and nibbling on a cucumber
sandwich – my goodness, they sliced them so
exquisitely thin ...' Strudworth's face clouded over.
'Where was I?'

'By a bay filly?' offered somebody.

'A bay
window,
' corrected Strudworth, 'when the
door opened and who should stride in but Her Royal
Highness, Princess Anne.'

There was a heavy thud as Rebecca, who had fallen
asleep, toppled from her saddle and hit the ground.
Strudworth carried on, undaunted. '"I liked your
seat", HRH commented to me. "Thank you, your
Royal Highness", I replied, "I couldn't but appreciate
your efforts over the hedge." She laughed. She had
a braying raucous laugh. "You mean when I was
dumped on my bottom!" We both slapped our thighs
and a firm friendship was made.'

'And the point of this story is?'

Lucinda made sure Strudworth saw her check her
watch. Strudworth's face set firmly. 'The point is, you
are to pack an overnight bag before you go to sleep
tonight. There will be no time tomorrow. You will
spend the night at Charmsworth, returning the next
day.'

'What about our horses?' asked Charlotte.

'I don't think they need deportment lessons,'
cracked Emma. 'Although in your case it might be a
better use of money.'

Leila listened to the wave of laughter. She felt sorry
for Charlotte having to wear The Evil Three. But she
felt more sorry for herself. Forty-eight hours being
stuck with nothing but horses!

'Your horses will be looked after. Now off to stables
and then dinner.'

'It's out of my hands. I'd rather be staying here. I know
this hasn't been much fun for you.' Charlotte was
giving Leila a quick brush before dinner.

'You're right there.'

'But look. It's only a couple of days and then it's out
of the way.'

The stall door pushed open and Hannah stood
there, puzzled.

'Were you talking to Leila again?'

'I do it all the time.'

'But it sounded like there was another voice?'

Charlotte covered.

'Sometimes I talk in a different voice.'

Hannah stared at her curiously.

'I must try that too. What about those evil cows
making fun of you?'

'They don't bother me. All you need is one good
friend to make the world a happy place.'

Leila felt suddenly guilty about giving the kid such
a hard time. It hadn't been her fault they'd had no time
together.

'I think exactly the same. Thanks, Charlotte.'

Leila bristled. Hannah thought Charlotte was talking
about her! A horrific thought struck her – maybe
she was?

Hannah continued.

'We better get going or we'll be late for dinner.'

'I guess so.' Charlotte kissed Leila on the muzzle.
'I'll try and see you later.'

But as it turned out there was no time to see Leila
later. Strudworth made them all go straight to their
rooms, pack their overnight bags and climb into bed.
Charlotte was angry. What did deportment have to
do with riding a horse? Okay, so you were representing
your country but surely all that counted was
getting over hurdles, not which knife you used to
butter your bread.

'Do you miss home, Charlotte?'

Hannah was obviously not yet asleep either.
Charlotte was annoyed that Hannah was so demanding
of her. She couldn't get five minutes to herself
even after lights out. But she tried to be polite.

'Of course. You?'

'I don't really have a place that's home. My father's a
diplomat and we have to move all the time. The
longest I've been anywhere was three years. But we
left when I was four so I don't remember much about
Dubai.'

'Where's Dubai?'

'It's in the Middle East. Near Arabia.'

Charlotte knew that a lot of horses traced their
ancestry to Arabia but that and the fact that there was
a lot of desert was all she knew about it.

'Is it exciting having a dad who is a diplomat?'

'Not especially. Although you get a driver and
a nice car, which can be fun, and you don't have to
pay parking fines and things like that. But you have
to be careful too. If people have a grudge against a
country, sometimes they take it out by blowing up
their embassy.'

'Is that where diplomats live?'

'Sometimes you live at the embassy but mainly
that's where Dad works. Mum has a job there too but
she's not a diplomat. She organises functions and
things. They're always having cocktail parties.'

'Must be fun.'

Charlotte had no idea what a cocktail party was but
she had seen pretty dresses in a magazine called
'cocktail dresses'.

'Not all the time. In the Philippines our embassy
was next to the French Embassy and somebody blew
up a car parked by its gates. It shattered all the windows
in our embassy.'

Charlotte had thought the flooded ravine in Snake
Hills had been scary until she heard this.

'How horrible. Were you terrified?'

'I wasn't there. Luckily I was at school.'

'Was anybody hurt?'

'One of the guards at the French Embassy had to
go to hospital.'

Charlotte was glad her father was a stockman, not
a diplomat. Even more glad when Hannah revealed
that some of the schools she'd been to had to have
armed guards to protect the students.

'It's nice to be living in Melbourne,' she said.

'How long have you been in Melbourne?'

'Just a year. And Dad could get transferred at any
time.'

Charlotte suddenly felt sad for Hannah. And guilty
she had resented Hannah interrupting her thoughts.

'It must be hard to make friends.'

'It is. That's why I'm so grateful that you've been my
friend. Usually I spend all my time with my horses but
when we leave, they stay behind. I probably talk too
much, sorry. It's just nice to have someone to talk to
for a change. Good night, Charlotte.'

'Night, Hannah.'

It made Charlotte realise how lucky she was to
have a real home. Snake Hills was in every part of her.
She could close her eyes and smell the hot earth and
the sweat of the cattle. Even more important, she had
her father who loved her. And she had Leila. They
would always be there for one another. Life without
Leila would be too horrible to contemplate.

On the one and only occasion Charlotte had attended
the Goondowi races she had been amused at the taped
fanfare of bugles that played every time the runners
entered the mounting enclosure. Now she heard that
same fanfare played through the crackling P.A. of
Thornton Downs. It was five a.m. and, true to her
word, Strudworth was making sure they were all out
of bed. Staggering around like zombies, Charlotte and
Hannah showered quickly, dressed and made their
way to the coach, hardly managing a word. Strudworth
was already at the coach, dressed and alert. As
each girl climbed aboard, Strudworth handed them a
cheese sandwich, apple and orange that was to keep
them going for the long trip. Chadwick watched
carefully over her shoulder to make sure nobody
received extra rations. Charlotte was upset there was
no chance to say goodbye to Leila. She was going to
miss her, even though it was only for a night.

In her stall, Leila listened sadly to the rumbling motor
of the coach. As it engaged gears and slowly pulled
away it might as well have been her heart scrunching
under the tyres. She was going to really miss
Charlotte. She hoped Charlotte would cope with The
Evil Three on her own. Charlotte and a charm school
didn't seem like the most natural of fits and, without
Leila riding shotgun, giving her a few tricks of the
trade she had picked up in Hollywood, the kid could
be vulnerable. On the positive side she supposed that
no riders meant an easy time back at the ranch, but
she wasn't under any illusion about the feed. It would
be strictly hay and chaff, which wasn't much worse
than what Charlotte had been bringing in from the
dining room anyway. Leila yawned. How to occupy
herself? She saw the grey mare looking at her, also
bored.