“Hello…” I held out my hand which she ignored. “I’m here about a job, Amanda Bishop.”
“I see…”
***
The drive passed mostly in silence. The interview, if it could have been called that, was more of a character assignation. It had been made abundantly clear that ‘someone like you’ would not ‘fit in’ at their establishment. The woman, She hadn’t told me her name, had been brief, verging on downright rude. It was only after I had been ushered out of the office and back blinking and shocked onto the yard that the head girl, Gill had taken pity on me and offered me a lift back to the station in the stables Land Rover. I had looked back as the stables vanished behind us, sat in stunned silence.
“Here we are…” Gill smiled. “Look, she’s a bit of a tyrant but you do get used to her.”
“Well, I won’t…” I glumly frowned, not sure what to do next.
“No… Ah, I’m sorry. Look, I have a friend at a yard in Clapham, South London. She’s always looking for hardworking staff. If you tell her I sent you I am sure she’ll find you a place.”
“Thank you, Gill. I really do appreciate it.”
“Look.” Gill coughed. “Do you have…” The long pause as she looked me up and down was telling. I could almost feel the waves of pity from this smartly dressed equestrian, “…Anything?” I shook my head meekly. “I thought not. Here.” She pushed a twenty-pound note into my hand, ignoring my protests. “Take it. You need something. Look good luck. There’ll be a train in about twenty minutes. Clapham is the other side of London, just ask someone will help you.”
“Thank you…” I closed the car door, watching as it drove away back to a life I would never know.
***
Having never been to London before, I was quickly lost trying to navigate the Underground. Trying to ask for help was so often ignored I ended up walking aimlessly until eventually, many hours later I found myself on a bus driving down Clapham High Street.
I stepped off the bus. As I stood by the road I was soaked by a van speeding past as it hit a deep puddle. I bit my lip, determined not to cry. I went into a newsagent asking for directions to the stables.
“Why would you want to go there?” The newsagent smiled and shook his head. “Well, it’s over the road, under the railway arches. Good luck…”
***
Crossing the road and I followed the railway line above which led down a back street to a scruffy garage and through a gate beyond to the Clapham Stables. I gasped, compared to where I had started the day the yard was ramshackle, partly built beneath two railway arches with additional rough stabling around the edge of a muddy paddock.
“Help you?” I turned around. There was a short, stocky woman standing beside me. Dressed in fraying black jodhpurs and muddy green wellies. Her hair was greying, tied in a rough ponytail which was flecked with wood chips and strands of hay, her polo shirt had a dark stain across the front. I stood open-mouthed, somewhat in shock. “Eh? Cat got your tongue?” She giggled. “Yes, it’s quite a place eh! But, it’s good enough for me.”
“Oh, I am sorry. Gill from Seacrest sent me. I need a job.”
“Okay. Well, I understand your reaction totally if you’ve been there today!” She smiled again, showing a gap in her teeth. “Gill told me to expect you. I’ll show you where you can bed down. I presume you’ll need accommodation with the job.”
“What? Oh yes, please… Hang on, don’t you want to know about me?”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll find out about you soon enough. Look around you. We are so far from perfection we’ll take who we can. You’re lucky we have a staff shortage and if my sister recommended you. What’s your name?”
***
We walked towards one of the railway arches, I noticed the woman, who had introduced herself as Anne, walked with a pronounced limp. Inside the arch, there were stables on each side and beyond a wall across the back of the arch with a door in it. She unlocked and opened the door which led onto a hallway and living room with three mismatched sofas and a kitchen which clearly had seen better days. Anne led me back to a room with bunk beds. “You can have the bottom one here. Do you have any…” She paused. “Well, clearly not. Do you even have dry clothes?” I shook my head. “Not up to me to ask, however, we have some clothes which have been left behind, I am sure we can find you something to get you started.” She bustled away and came back with a box, digging through she handed me jodhpurs, rubber riding boots, polo shirts and jumpers. They were all a bit moth-eaten and smelled of damp, but it was better than what I was standing in. ” I’m the head girl, by the way. The girls will be in for dinner soon, make yourself at home.”
I watched as Anne left. I looked around, the windowless room was tiny, packed with six bunk beds just inches apart. There was an ominous rumble when trains passed overhead, but where else could I go? I sat down on the bunk bed which sagged deeply beneath me.
Out of the frying pan…
2
New Blood
“Hello, what do we have here? New blood?” I looked up the door had opened, there was a girl standing looking at me. She was tall, naturally pretty and blond with flowing hair, she wore a ragtag collection of
