Charlotte and the Starlet 2 Read Free Page A

heading their way. Emma, Lucinda and
Rebecca had done their utmost to make Charlotte's
first stay at Thornton Downs miserable. She noticed
they all had new hairstyles. And new designer clothes
to go with them. Emma's face broke into a bright and
entirely fake smile.
    'Hi, Charlie. Hope you brought that gorgeous dress
of yours again. Our nightmares haven't been the same
without it.'
    Charlotte wasn't fazed.
    'If you're running short on nightmares you could
just imagine life on a desert island with only Rebecca
and Lucinda for company.'
    Charlotte strode off, leaving the three with their
mouths agape.
    Impressed, Leila whispered, 'Nice one, Charlotte.
You're learning fast.'

    They entered the stables to find other girls settling in
their horses. Bevans, the stable foreman, a laconic
character in his fifties with bushy eyebrows, a
weathered face and a beak of a nose, was busy fixing
new hooks for the girls to hang their tack on.
    'How are you, Miss Charlotte?'
    'Bit tired, Bevans, but otherwise okay. Did you
enjoy the break?'
    'No break for me. There's a lot to get ready for you
girls.'
    A man's voice cut in hard.
    'Bevans, we don't pay you to gasbag. The sprinklers
in C paddock need rotating.'
    The man who spoke was new to Thornton
Downs. He would have been quite tall standing
straight but with stooped, thin shoulders he was
only slightly taller than Bevans. He wore a dark blue
blazer with a striped tie and regular shoes, not boots
like Bevans.
    'Which one is C paddock again, Mr Chadwick?'
    'The one after B paddock, of course.'
    When he spoke, Chadwick's prominent Adam's
apple bobbed and his black horn-rimmed spectacles
did calisthenics.
    'Yes, but I'm not sure which one B paddock is either.'
    Chadwick made a sound through his button nose
that showed he was annoyed. 'B paddock is the one
with the big gum tree in the middle.'
    'Ah, that would be One Tree.'
    'And C paddock is the one to the west of it.'
    Charlotte couldn't help herself.
    'You mean Cowhide Corner?'
    Chadwick turned and glared at her. Through his
spectacles his eyes seemed enormous. They swivelled
and rolled. His voice went up a few tones.
    'I mean C paddock!'
    'But why not call it Cowhide Corner?' asked
Charlotte innocently.
    Chadwick almost shouted.
    'Because that is not systematic! This place needs a
system and by hook or by crook I'm going to make
sure it gets one.'
    With that he stormed outside.
    'Who is he?' asked Charlotte. Leila was thinking
the same thing.
    Bevans sighed the sigh of a man who had been
putting up with the trial that was Chadwick for the
last month.
    'That is Mr Chadwick, Miss Strudworth's nephew.'
    'Is he working here?'
    Bevans' eyes twinkled.
    'That might depend on your definition of work. He
certainly spends a lot of time organising others.
Excuse me, Charlotte, I'd best head off to C paddock.'
He winked and left.
    'Odds on Chadwick's an accountant,' whispered
Leila. 'I remember when the accountants took over
the film studios back in Hollywood. Worst thing that
ever happened. The Winnebagos got smaller, the onset
hours longer. Even the ice-cream sundaes were
suddenly low-fat.'
    'How did you get rid of them?'
    Leila shrugged, 'Eventually they screw up. You just
have to wait till they fail miserably and then they
promote themselves off to some other job.'
    Charlie settled Leila into her stall. Leila made her
attach a mirror to the wall.
    'Nothing worse than chatting up some hot stallion
then finding you've got hay stuck between your teeth.'
    'You want me to brush you down?'
    'Na. You better get going to the buffet or all the best
food will be gone.'
    'Okay. I'll see you later.'
    'Four sausages. And ice-cream,' Leila called out
after her. Leila sashayed cockily and addressed, in
horse, the grey mare who occupied the stall beside
her. 'Saw your pal Warrior during vacation.'
    The grey mare cocked an eyebrow. 'And?'
    They had begun as sworn enemies, the grey mare
not approving of Leila's human traits, but eventually
the ice had thawed a little.