Zara Stoneley - Country Affairs

ZARA STONELEY

A division of HarperCollins Publishers

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Harper Impulse an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by Harper Impulse 2015

Copyright © Zara Stoneley 2015

Cover images © Shutterstock.com

Cover layout design © HarperColl‌insPublishers Ltd 2015

Cover design by Rebecca Glibbery

Zara Stoneley asserts the moral right

to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are

the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to

actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is

entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International

and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

By payment of the required fees, you have been granted

the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access

and read the text of this e-book on screen.

No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,

downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or

stored in or introduced into any information storage and

retrieval system, in any form or by any means,

whether electronic or mechanical, now known or

hereinafter invented, without the express

written permission of HarperCollins.

Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.

Ebook Edition © April 2015 ISBN: 9780008122812

Version 2019-03-27

'A great treat for readers who love their books jam-packed with sexy men and horses.'

Bestselling author Fiona Walker

‘Fans of Fiona Walker will love this book.’

ThatThingSheReads

'A delightful romp stuffed with fun, frolics and romance.'

BestChickLit

'Stable Mates is up there with Riders and Rivals.'

Comet Babes Books

'Move over Mr Grey, the Tippermere boys are in town! Highly recommended.'

Brook Cottage Books

'A seductive fascinating novel. Mucking out the horses just got sexy!'

Chicks That Read

To Paul

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Stable Mates

Dedication

Tippermere

The Residents of Tippermere

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Acknowledgements

Also by Zara Stoneley …

Zara Stoneley

About HarperImpulse

About the Publisher

Welcome to tranquil Tippermere, set deep in the Cheshire countryside. Home to Lords and Ladies, horsemen and farmers.

Set on the highest hill, keeping a close eye on the village and its inhabitants, lies Tipping House Estate. In pride of place is the grand Elizabethan style mansion, sweeping down in front of her are immaculate gardens, well-kept parkland and rolling acres that spread as far as the eye can see.

Follow the stream down to the flat below, and nestling between copses and lakes, you find Folly Lake Manor and the sprawling grounds of the bustling Equestrian Centre. The country lane in front wends its way between high hedges to the village green, the church and two village pubs. Then fans out into tributaries, follow them further and you find a small eventing yard, a scattering of country cottages and rambling working farms.

Take the road north eastwards, travel on a few short miles and soon the elegant village of Kitterly Heath unfolds before you - a village whose origins were recorded in the Domesday Book. At one end of the ancient high street a solid 14th Century church stands sentry, with an imposing school at the other, and all around sprawl the mansions old and new that house the rich and famous…

Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Brinkley – disorganised but loveable daughter of Billy. In line to inherit the Tipping House Estate and become the next Lady Stanthorpe.

Rory Steel – devilishly daring and sexy three day eventer, owner of a small eventing yard in Tippermere. Lottie’s boyfriend.

Tilly – head of the terrier trio that accompany Rory everywhere.

Todd Mitchell – Lottie’s ex. Australian surfer who abandoned her on the beach in Barcelona.

William ‘Billy’ Brinkley - Lottie’s father. Former superstar show jumper, based at Folly Lake Equestrian Centre.

Victoria ‘Tiggy’ Stafford – wife of Billy. As friendly, shaggy and eternally optimistic as a spaniel.

Lady Elizabeth Stanthorpe – owner of Tipping House estate, lover of strong G&T’s. Meddler and mischief maker. Lottie’s gran, Dominic’s mother.

Bertie & Holmes – Elizabeth’s black Labradors.

Philippa ‘Pip’ Keelan – headline hunting journalist. Trim, sophisticated and slightly scary. Staunch supporter and ally of Lady Elizabeth.

Mick O’Neal – expert farrier, Irish charmer, dangerously attractive. Living with Pip.

Dominic Stanthorpe - dressage rider extraordinaire. Uncle to Lottie, son of Elizabeth, slightly bemused and frustrated by both. Husband to Amanda.

Amanda Stanthorpe – elegant and understated, delicate and demure. Owner of Folly Lake Manor and Equestrian Centre.

Tom Strachan - sexy ex-underwear model and single dad to Tab.

Tabatha ‘Tab’ Strachan – teenage daughter of Tom. Horse mad, smitten by Rory, but suitably unimpressed by most other things.

David Simcock - England goalkeeper, resident of the neighbouring Kitterly Heath.

Sam – partner of David. Lover of dogs, diamonds and designer delights.

Adrenalin rushes were one thing, but this was a step too far Todd Mitchell decided, as his mount, Merlin, charged between the ornate gates, his tail high with excitement.

Hanging on for dear life, he inadvertently dug his heels in hard, and with a squeal of delight half a ton of horseflesh took it as a red light to go faster, speeding at what had to be a life-threatening pace towards the stone fountain that somebody had inconveniently placed down the home straight of Folly Lake Manor some twenty years previously.

Coming to Tippermere to talk to Lottie was admirable, Todd told himself, as he hauled ineffectually on the reins. However, riding heroically to her rescue might not be such a good idea, particularly as his one and only experience in a saddle had involved a donkey and a beach.