Даниэла Стил - Royal

Her aunt Victoria called her that night from the South of France. She was due at Balmoral any day.

“Well, you’re certainly giving us some dignity, dear girl. I’m so proud of you, I could burst. George called me at midnight the night you won the race in Kentucky. He stayed up to watch you. Actually, half of England did. I won a thousand pounds on a wager, so thank you for that. I’ll take you to lunch with my winnings when you come to London.”

“Aunt Alexandra just asked me to ride for her in the Ascot Gold Cup next year.”

“Fantastic!” Victoria said enthusiastically.

She hesitated for an instant then, and decided to tell her. “I saw Anthony the other night, at a party down here.” She knew it was a delicate subject.

“How is he?” Annie tried to sound neutral about it, but she wasn’t. It still hurt terribly, and Victoria could hear it. But she didn’t want to keep it secret that she’d seen him, in case Annie heard it from someone else.

“Actually, he’s a mess. He looks terrible. He looks like he’s been drunk since you left for Kentucky. I saw him before that. I think he got sacked from his job, but I’m not sure of it. He didn’t tell me, someone else did. You know how London is, a hotbed of gossip. He didn’t mention you, but I suspect he misses you terribly. He’s a fool if he doesn’t. But he’s probably too proud to admit it.”

“I called him a few times, but he didn’t pick up or call me back. It’s just as well. There’s nothing much to say now. I did exactly what he forbade me to.”

“ ‘Sorry I was an idiot’ is always refreshing, but they never say that, do they? They paint themselves into a corner, and then go up in smoke. He had some dreadful woman with him. He looked like he was ready to kill her. Maybe he will, and go to prison. Suitable punishment for leaving you. He should at least apologize for that.”

“It was a point of pride for both of us,” Annie said in a subdued voice. They had been apart for three months by then instead of getting engaged. And she was booked for two major races next year, which he would never tolerate.

“It always is with men, darling girl. It always is. Well, I’ll see you at the races, as they say. I’m glad Alexandra asked you to ride for us. You might as well instead of winning for the Americans. Give us some of that magic dust.” Annie was happy talking to her, and she liked hearing about Anthony, even if he was unhappy and hated her for putting her dreams ahead of everything else, for a while anyway. She doubted that she’d do it forever, but for a while. She could pick and choose which races she’d do now, which was a nice position to be in. She hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly. No one had. And she least of all. Anthony had predicted it.

She lay in bed and thought about him after she and Victoria hung up. She wondered if he was as unhappy as Victoria thought he was, or if he also felt he had done the right thing. He probably wouldn’t admit it to anybody, and she’d never know. She doubted that he’d ever speak to her again, or not for a long time. Their paths would cross inevitably at some point. They had gone out for almost three years, but that meant nothing in the end, and certainly not now. Whatever they had shared was dead and buried. He wanted nothing to do with her. He hadn’t even congratulated her for her victory in Kentucky. He was history in her life now.

She went back to Newmarket at the end of August, and began training with Starlight for the Gold Cup race at Ascot, which was still nine months away. She had gotten confirmation that she could ride in the Kentucky Derby in May, and planned to spend March and April in Virginia, training with Aswan for the Derby.

—

She spent the next six months working hard for Anthony’s father, training new horses and working with Starlight. She worked diligently with Starlight for Ascot and was pleased to find that the horse was both high-strung and receptive and easy to work with. Within a month, Annie felt in harmony with him, and was able to direct him with the slightest touch, and when she gave him his head, he flew over the terrain and was steady and sure-footed. His size and strength were in his favor, and even though he lacked age and experience, she could sense that he would be a great racehorse one day. What she needed to do was move him ahead quickly to a level of training he hadn’t achieved yet when they started.

“How’s he doing?” Lord Hatton asked her when he came out to the field where she was working with him, and watched him for a while. She had a remarkable, almost psychic sense of the horses she worked with, and he was impressed by the results she had gotten. Starlight was unpredictable and sometimes uneven in his progress, but she was able to get from him what no one else had yet, and she could see that the giant animal trusted her completely. He was a different horse than when she’d started working with him.

She spent Christmas at Sandringham with the royal family and New Year’s with Jonathan and the boys in Kent.

Jonathan accompanied her to Virginia in March and stayed with her while she trained with Aswan. It had been an arduous year, nothing but work, and her skills were stronger than ever.

Jonathan was there when she came in second at the Kentucky Derby. It was an extraordinary win and made headlines worldwide. She returned to a hero’s welcome in London, and celebrated her birthday with the family at Windsor Castle two weeks after she returned. She had just turned twenty-six.

It had been exactly a year since her breakup with Anthony. She was surprised when he sent her a note congratulating her for her heroic win at the Derby, and wishing her a happy birthday. She hadn’t heard from him in a year. She thanked him, and was completely focused on training for Ascot. She was staying at Windsor Castle until the race in June. Their paths hadn’t crossed in a year.

The day before the race, she let Starlight rest, so he’d be fresh and anxious to perform on the day of the big event. He was nervous and excited when they got him into his stall at the racetrack, and she took him out to exercise him briefly. They had brought two grooms and one of the trainers with them. That night, Annie went out to check on him and spoke to him soothingly.

The morning of the race, she could see he was aching to run. It was what he wanted to do with her now.

The royal party arrived in horse-drawn landaus and paraded along the track in front of the crowd.

The entire family entered the royal box. Everyone had come. The queen and Prince Edward were there, Victoria, and Alexandra’s three boys had come from school. Jonathan and the Markhams were there, he’d brought the twins, and Penny, the woman Jonathan had been dating for some time now. Lord Hatton was seated next to the queen, and when Annie checked the box with binoculars, she gave a start when she saw Anthony standing just outside the box. She assumed he had come for his father, but she felt odd seeing him and wondered if their paths would cross after the race. She hoped not, and was sorry she’d seen him now. She watched him take a seat between Victoria and William, who was nearly hopping up and down he was so excited. She smiled when she watched him. They had brought him home from Eton. He had just turned sixteen, and the other boys nineteen and twenty. It was a major event, and one of the most important races in England. She never thought she’d see the day when she’d be racing in it. She was the first female jockey, and the only woman racing that day. There were very few who were ready for the transition, but the queen was setting the example in England after the Kentucky Derby. Annie had been one of two women at the Blue Grass Stakes and the Kentucky Derby. And in future, she knew that eventually there would be others, but not many yet.