Sophie and Shine (4 page)

We’re in the minibus on our way back from the carriage driving. Lydia says I’ll make myself feel sick, writing on the move, but I don’t want to forget anything about the trip because it was brilliant!

It took about half an hour to get to the farmhouse (Johnny drove us, and Lydia came too). When we got there, we met Fred and his wife, Marjorie, who are total carriage-driving fanatics. They took us round the barns, and showed us all their different coaches and traps and things. Some were really shiny and perfect and some were all in bits (Fred’s hobby is restoring them). When he pointed out the trap we’d be riding in – a two-wheeler that only fitted one person
and the driver, we got even more excited. Marjorie explained that we couldn’t drive it ourselves because it’s not a skill you can just learn in half an hour, but if we were lucky she might give us a little go of the steering. So we practised with these reins that were attached to the wall in the barn. It’s really different to normal riding because you put both reins in your left hand and just use your right as a guide.

We were all laughing because, well, for a start we were driving a wall, and also, when we got it wrong Marjorie was making up pretend things that would happen if we really did steer like that, saying, “Your horse would be in the ditch right now,” or “You’d have hit a tree by the side of the road!”

Then we walked over to the stables and everyone went really crazy over the horses and ponies. There was a pair of greys a bit like Jody’s mare, Bonny, which pull carriages as a
team, and a pair of black horses that Fred called Hackneys – a breed that’s really good at trotting. Then we met the pony who we were going to be driving – a gorgeous cobby gelding called Bayleaf – and everyone went even more crazy over him.

There are loads of different straps and things on a driving harness and Marjorie said it all has to go on in the right order or it’s unlucky. There’s a saddle, just like in normal riding, but it looks really different, like this:

Also, the pony wears blinkers to stop him from looking behind at the carriage and you have to be really careful to make sure the blinkers fit properly. If they don’t they could rub on the
pony’s eyes or gape so that he can see behind him after all and get scared by the trap.

When Bayleaf was all ready, Fred held him while Marjorie attached the trap, and then we all had a turn of sitting up in the carriage with her. It was so brilliant trotting up and down the lane, and Marjorie let me have a little go at the steering too! It’s weird because you can’t use your legs and seat (obviously!) but only your hands and voice (they do use a whip sometimes but I couldn’t manage that as well!). It’s amazing to think that in the old days most transport was actually horse-drawn, so you would have ridden in a carriage or a trap everyday. Mum would have had to let me get my own pony then. It would have been just as normal as having a car!

I couldn’t get the hang of the steering at first and Bayleaf went a bit slow and wobbly, but I soon got him going again. It was such a great
feeling rattling along the lane with the sound of his hooves clip-clopping and the wheels clattering. Then Marjorie took over the steering and she got Bayleaf going so fast the carriage was really bouncing along. It was way better than the best fairground ride and I just couldn’t stop grinning.

When we’d all had a go in the trap, we had a drink and some of Marjorie’s home-made apple cake – yum! Then Fred took us to see one special coach he was restoring, which was in a barn on its own. It was really grand and a few of us could sit in it at once. I pretended to be in a film where they wear all the old-style costumes, like in Victorian times, and then the other girls joined in, and Lydia acted the part of our governess and really made us laugh by inspecting our fingernails and everything.

Oh, hang on, I do feel a bit sick actually – I’d better stop writing for now!

We’ve just been swimming again and everyone’s milling around getting showered and dressed. I’m just waiting for Millie and Beth to leave the room so I can sneak out unnoticed. I’ve got a fab plan to catch
you-know
-who in the act of taking something else and I’m going to put it into action.

I thought of it when we got back to the yard this afternoon. We had some time with our ponies, mucking out the stables and barn and topping up their water and everything. I was just telling Shine how I needed a plan to catch the thief when something happened to give me the answer.

I was about to take my barrow to the muck heap when Lydia came along. She nudged the 
bolt over on the bottom of Shine’s door with her foot. “Don’t forget the kick bolt, Sophie,” she said, smiling. “Some of the ponies have a habit of sneaking out! In fact, one morning there was so much hay missing we had to set up a watch in the office overnight to find the culprits.”

I laughed and asked who they were.

“Cracker and Mischief,” she said. “As I’d guessed. They’re out in the field now, of course, but over the winter we really have to watch them. Cracker was getting very tubby and we just couldn’t understand why!”

Then Lydia walked off and I started sweeping again, but when I looked up at Shine she was really staring at me, like she was trying to tell me something. I leaned on my broom and stared back at her. “What is it,
Shine?” I asked, and she just kept looking at me. Then I realized – Lydia has given me the perfect idea.

I’m going to set up a watch of my own, like she did, but not from the office, obviously. Shine’s stable will make the perfect hiding place and plus, she can keep me company – we’ll be a detective team! It won’t be all night either, as Jody checks on us at about quarter past 9 and the activities don’t finish till just after 8. I know that if Courtney sneaks back out here it would have to be between those times because she’d be missed before or after. Shanice’s brush was definitely there when we went in for dinner, after all, and wasn’t there in the morning so that’s the only time it could have been stolen.

I wanted to run and tell Beth and Millie about my plan, but then I remembered how Millie reacted before so I’ve decided to do it alone, and only tell them after I’ve got the proof.
I’ve also been thinking about what’s been taken so far and trying to work out what Courtney might go for next (if she comes out at all, that is). At first, I couldn’t see the point of her taking those things. I just didn’t see why she would. I mean, if she actually used the ribbons, we’d all notice, and how would she explain suddenly having a new silk to her mum? She doesn’t have her own pony so why would she need a body brush?

Then I realized – they’re all things the girls were really proud of and that everyone said were nice. It’s like she’s taking things that get their owners lots of attention. Plus, they’ve all been taken from the tack room. Courtney obviously doesn’t want to risk stealing from the
bedrooms, where she might easily be caught. So, I have a hunch she’ll go for Aneela’s stripy lead rope next, because everyone’s been saying how nice it is and asking where she got it.

I hate sneaking around like this, but I really need to get proof before I go to Jody. Okay, I’m going out now. I’m taking my digital camera with me to catch Courtney in the act. Millie’s busy in the kitchen and I think Beth’s with her, or she might be on the phone in the hall downstairs. Anyway, I’ll have to go now before they come back or it’ll be too late.