And I’d become used to long days of walking with the packhorses. But the next two days tried me nonetheless. The clouds brought several heavy bursts of rain and the wind was sharp. We travelled slowly to spare the horses as they were accomplishing the whole journey without changes. We broke the journey, of course but, when we stopped, my duty was to care for the horses, not to take a rest myself. ‘Take the gelding, boy,’ Bridges ordered me each evening as he led the beautiful stallion to the stables. I groomed Velvet, the gelding, to the best of my ability but Bridges always went over him as though I hadn’t done a proper job. He rarely spoke to me.Once or twice I cast an envious glance at Mr Lawrence as he escaped the cold and the rain, disappearing into an inn to warm through and rest while we fed, watered, and rubbed down his valuable horses. Only when they were comfortable could we take a bite to eat and a sup of ale ourselves. I slept in the stables overnight. ‘Stay away from that stallion!
