Flight of the Jabiru Read Free

certainly didn’t show it. By this time, Harrison had rolled onto his back and was holding his leg and grimacing in pain, but his father did not rush to his side. This riled Lara. She had the urge to go and shake him and tell him how lucky he was that his son had not been killed.
    Lara was undecided about what to do. She wanted to rush to Harrison’s side to see if he was all right, but she knew her father would be displeased if she interfered. He’d made that clear. Even so, she felt torn. She watched from a distance as Harrison was loaded onto a stretcher and then carried towards the boundary of the field, where Lord Hornsby was standing. She was also well aware that Lady Nicole Hornsby, Harrison’s mother, was not at the match. But Lord Hornsby had forbidden his wife to attend the match, saying Harrison needed toughening up, not mollycoddling.
    He appeared to check Harrison over superficially, before taking him by the arm and pulling him to his feet. He then conducted a brusque discussion with the medical staff before literally marching a limping Harrison in the direction of the stables.
    Lara was incredulous. Her emotions ranged between feeling furious and being heartbroken for poor Harrison. She decided she had to check on him and reassure him, as clearly he was not getting any sympathy from his father. As his teacher, she felt her concern was justified, and her own father would just have to understand.
    By the time Lara reached the stables she could hear Lord Hornsby’s booming voice, although she couldn’t see him.
    â€œYou did everything wrong today, Harrison,” Lord Hornsby ranted. “Has nothing I’ve ever taught you stuck in your head?”
    Following the sound of Lord Hornsby’s angry voice, Lara walked through the center of the stable, glancing into open stalls either side.
    â€œDo you know how many times I’ve fallen from a polo horse? Too many to count. When a true sportsman falls, he gets back on the horse immediately,” Lord Hornsby growled. “He does not lie on the ground, sniveling like a wimp!”
    Lara could hear Harrison sobbing and blowing his nose and her protective instincts were further aroused. Her search became as desperate as her need to defend him. Finally she came upon the end stall, where hay bales and bags of oats were stored. Harrison was sitting on a bale with his father looming over him, unleashing a verbal storm of criticism about how he came to be unseated by his opponent. Lara could see that one of Harrison’s trouser legs was ripped, and his knee was bleeding. He was holding his leg above the knee as it obviously hurt him very much. His injury, and the shock of landing heavily on the ground from the height of a horse, was too much, especially with his father yelling at him. The boy wanted and needed the comforting arms of his mother and some medical attention.
    Lord Hornsby had his back to Lara. “Stop that blubbering,” he boomed at his son.
    â€œYou are not a baby, so stop acting like one,” Lord Hornsby shouted angrily.
    Lara couldn’t believe that Harrison’s father would humiliate him by saying such a terrible thing. She could see that the boy was trying to pull himself together, trying to be grown up, but he couldn’t manage. His small shoulders lifted every time he struggled to catch his breath. He was also holding his side as well as his leg, obviously in pain. Lara was immediately worried that he’d cracked or broken ribs and she was angry with his father for not having him examined by a doctor. It took all her willpower not to rush to his side and take him in her arms. Unfortunately, her willpower did not extend to her tongue.
    â€œStop bullying your son,” she said angrily before she could stop herself. Pushing the gate wide open, she entered the stall, trembling and on the verge of really losing her temper. “Harrison is not a man! He’s a boy, with plenty of time to grow