surreptitiously as she drove west. He was unnaturally pale, the skin drawn tight over the bones of his face. His thick coffee-coloured hair had been clumsily shorn, making him appear even younger than his twenty-one years - until you looked into his eyes.
His once-open gaze was guarded, the hazel light dimmed by recent painful experience. To Pippa, Jamie looked washed-out and weak - like a plant that's been shut up in a cupboard and forgotten. But what could you expect after eighteen months in prison?
She had not exactly thrived herself since Jamie had been locked away. She had ticked off every day of his sentence on a calendar and now the day of his release had arrived she was surprised how nervous she felt. Things had changed since he'd been inside and she wasn't sure how he was going to react.
Jamie caught her looking at him. He managed a smile but it didn't reach his eyes.
`Not going too fast for you, am I?' she said.
Almost the first thing he'd remarked on as they'd driven away from Her Majesty's Prison Garstone was the speed of the car. `Slow down, Pippa,'
he'd gasped and she'd pointed out they were only doing thirty. Ìs that all?
It seems like twice that.'
`Just wait till you get back on a quick horse,' she'd said, laughing, but he'd not joined in and she'd let it go. She'd eased off the gas, too, and driven like a granny for the next few miles.
The road was winding. Puddles were still holding at the edges courtesy of the overnight rain. So far it had been a typically damp November day.
10
Now, Jamie said, `Bet you're glad you don't have to make this journey again.'
Was she ever. Racehorse trainers were used to crossing the country day and night to get to meetings. Pippa's base in North Yorkshire was a fair distance from the big Flat tracks of the south and she logged many miles every year without complaint. But the fortnightly trip down the motorway and the long slog east below the Wash to Garstone was as gloomy a journey as she'd ever made. It would have been different in other circumstances, of course. But the anticipation of seeing her brother, the anxiety she felt at the state she might find him in and the depression of the return always left her drained. She didn't want to live through that again, or travel on the road that reminded her of it. Not that she would dream of saying so to Jamie.
Ìt wasn't that bad. Handy for Newmarket.' It was what she always said.
He smiled at her properly this time. `Bloody liar.'
Newmarket was many miles from Garstone. Everywhere was miles from Garstone. Pippa often wondered how visitors without a car managed. They must spend hours on trains and a fortune on the local taxis. It wasn't just the men serving time who were being punished.
She slowed at the approaching junction and kept heading west, avoiding the turn which led north to the motorway.
He looked at her in surprise. `Where are we going?'
`Somewhere you can see the sky and fill your lungs with fresh air.' She waited a beat. `But first we're going to Wolverhampton.'
The joke fell flat.
`Pippa, you're not taking me racing, are you?' She said nothing, just concentrated on the road. Ìt's too soon. I can't face anyone yet.'
`But you said you were going to help me out at the yard. You haven't changed your mind, have you?'
`No.,
'Then you're coming racing. Lonsdale Heights runs in the third. The sooner you put a few faces to names the better.'
He made no further protest but she could tell from the set of his jaw that he wasn't happy.
11
Tough. Though she loved her brother and had bottomless sympathy for his recent ordeal, he couldn't be allowed to duck out of things any more. As a child he'd got away with murder. Their mother had always let her little boy off the hook. Pippa, on the other hand, had always had to pay the price.
She was the elder, she should know better, Jamie was only a kid'.
This indulgence hadn't done him any favours. Leeds Crown Court hadn't considered him a kid when he'd pleaded
His once-open gaze was guarded, the hazel light dimmed by recent painful experience. To Pippa, Jamie looked washed-out and weak - like a plant that's been shut up in a cupboard and forgotten. But what could you expect after eighteen months in prison?
She had not exactly thrived herself since Jamie had been locked away. She had ticked off every day of his sentence on a calendar and now the day of his release had arrived she was surprised how nervous she felt. Things had changed since he'd been inside and she wasn't sure how he was going to react.
Jamie caught her looking at him. He managed a smile but it didn't reach his eyes.
`Not going too fast for you, am I?' she said.
Almost the first thing he'd remarked on as they'd driven away from Her Majesty's Prison Garstone was the speed of the car. `Slow down, Pippa,'
he'd gasped and she'd pointed out they were only doing thirty. Ìs that all?
It seems like twice that.'
`Just wait till you get back on a quick horse,' she'd said, laughing, but he'd not joined in and she'd let it go. She'd eased off the gas, too, and driven like a granny for the next few miles.
The road was winding. Puddles were still holding at the edges courtesy of the overnight rain. So far it had been a typically damp November day.
10
Now, Jamie said, `Bet you're glad you don't have to make this journey again.'
Was she ever. Racehorse trainers were used to crossing the country day and night to get to meetings. Pippa's base in North Yorkshire was a fair distance from the big Flat tracks of the south and she logged many miles every year without complaint. But the fortnightly trip down the motorway and the long slog east below the Wash to Garstone was as gloomy a journey as she'd ever made. It would have been different in other circumstances, of course. But the anticipation of seeing her brother, the anxiety she felt at the state she might find him in and the depression of the return always left her drained. She didn't want to live through that again, or travel on the road that reminded her of it. Not that she would dream of saying so to Jamie.
Ìt wasn't that bad. Handy for Newmarket.' It was what she always said.
He smiled at her properly this time. `Bloody liar.'
Newmarket was many miles from Garstone. Everywhere was miles from Garstone. Pippa often wondered how visitors without a car managed. They must spend hours on trains and a fortune on the local taxis. It wasn't just the men serving time who were being punished.
She slowed at the approaching junction and kept heading west, avoiding the turn which led north to the motorway.
He looked at her in surprise. `Where are we going?'
`Somewhere you can see the sky and fill your lungs with fresh air.' She waited a beat. `But first we're going to Wolverhampton.'
The joke fell flat.
`Pippa, you're not taking me racing, are you?' She said nothing, just concentrated on the road. Ìt's too soon. I can't face anyone yet.'
`But you said you were going to help me out at the yard. You haven't changed your mind, have you?'
`No.,
'Then you're coming racing. Lonsdale Heights runs in the third. The sooner you put a few faces to names the better.'
He made no further protest but she could tell from the set of his jaw that he wasn't happy.
11
Tough. Though she loved her brother and had bottomless sympathy for his recent ordeal, he couldn't be allowed to duck out of things any more. As a child he'd got away with murder. Their mother had always let her little boy off the hook. Pippa, on the other hand, had always had to pay the price.
She was the elder, she should know better, Jamie was only a kid'.
This indulgence hadn't done him any favours. Leeds Crown Court hadn't considered him a kid when he'd pleaded
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