Charlotte and the Starlet 2 (7 page)

After the make-up class, Charlotte's time at
Charmsworth passed tolerably though it wasn't
exactly fun. There were the seemingly endless lessons
on dining etiquette, the worst of which was peeling an
orange, the arduous hours of being made to sit
straight and the excruciating ballet class, which was
supposed to offer a girl poise and grace. Many of the
other JOES, including Hannah, had learned ballet for
years. For them it was nothing. For Charlotte, having
rarely been out of saddle, trying to hold a graceful
pose was akin to trying to catch lightning, but even
though she struggled, there was nothing too bad
about it. Not without The Evil Three there to crack
cruel comments at her expense. It had been the makeup
class and the subsequent demise of The Evil Three
that had kept Charlotte going. No matter how bad
it got peeling fruit, folding napkins or trying to hold
an arabesque, she could replay that class over in her
mind and in no time there would be a smile on
her face.

The memory faded as the coach came to a halt in
the driveway of Thornton Downs. All she could think
of was Leila. The coach had stopped off at a service
station on the way and Charlotte had stocked up on
chocolate bars and potato chips for her friend.

As soon as Charlotte had grabbed her pack from
the luggage compartment, she charged for the stables.
She was easily the first in.

'Leila? Leila?'

She ran down the aisle to Leila's stall. Her heart was
pounding with excitement.

'You'll never guess how I got back at The Evil
Three ...'

She pushed open the stall door but there was
no sign of Leila. She must be out in the paddock
somewhere. Charlotte ran back outside, passing
Hannah and a few other JOES who were just arriving.

'Got to find Leila,' she shouted.

Charlotte ran to what was now known as
A paddock. When the horses were let out from the
stables, this is where they were taken. But the
paddock was empty. A sense of unease began to crawl
over Charlotte like spiders. The sound of Chadwick's
golf-buggy made her turn. Chadwick stopped to get
out and move a sprinkler.

'Excuse me,' she said.

Chadwick looked up.

'My horse, Leila. Do you know where she is? She's
not in her stall.'

'She the brown filly?'

'She's bay.'

'Whatever that means. No, I don't know where she
is. I sold her.'

It was like somebody had tied heavy boulders to
Charlotte's feet and dropped her into the river. She felt
herself plummeting. She felt woozy and couldn't
breathe. Everything went black.

'Charlotte, are you okay?'

Charlotte blinked and the blurry image in front of
her focused and became a concerned Hannah offering
her a drink from her water bottle. It took Charlotte a
moment to recall why she was sitting on the ground.
She had fainted. She took the water, feeling stronger
by the second.

'Where is Chadwick?'

'He ran off to find Mrs Stapleton.'

Mrs Stapleton was the first-aid officer.

Hannah continued. 'What happened?'

'He sold Leila. I have to speak to Strudworth.'

'But Strudworth isn't here. She's gone to be with her
sick sister.'

Charlotte groaned and made it to her feet.

'Then maybe Bevans can help.'

'He's gone too.'

Hannah explained what Fiona, the hand, had told
her. Charlotte looked up to see Chadwick hustling
back with Mrs Stapleton, a chubby woman with curls.

'Are you all right, Charlotte?'

'Are you?' replied Charlotte. It looked like Mrs
Stapleton's hands were bleeding.

Mrs Stapleton blushed, 'Oh, my hands? That's just
tomato. Mr Chadwick has me helping out in the
kitchen.'

She shot Chadwick a harsh look. He shifted uncomfortably
and announced that as Charlotte seemed
fine he'd be off.

'Just a second,' Charlotte wasn't letting him go that
easily. 'I want to know what's happened to Leila.'

Chadwick hauled up his narrow shoulders.

'That's none of your business.'

'She's my horse.'

'She is not your horse. Never was. She belonged to
Thornton Downs and now she belongs to somebody
else. You can find some other mount.'

Mrs Stapleton wiped her hands on her apron and
checked Charlotte's temperature with her hand.

'I don't want "some other mount". I want Leila.
She's my friend. Tell me who you sold her to.'

'It's none of your business, young lady. Now I have
work to do.'

Chadwick strode off. It was lucky there was
nothing about to throw at him. Charlotte was an
accurate shot. Mrs Stapleton rubbed Charlotte's
shoulders.

'I'm sorry, dear. I'm sure Miss Strudworth will be
able to help when she gets back.'

But when would that be? And would it be too late
for Leila?

That first night Leila hadn't been able to sleep. She
went round and round the paddock looking for a way
out but it was barbed wire all the way. She thought of
jumping the fence. It was dangerous but she had
jumped higher. The trouble was, she had no idea where
she was. If she escaped, she was at the mercy of whoever
found her and they might be worse than Mark the
Shark. Besides, if Charlotte did try to track her down, it
would be better if she was here. Finally the sun came
up and not long after, Leila smelt the aroma of frying
bacon and eggs wafting her way. She was starving.
What she wouldn't do for a cooked breakfast! Perhaps
Mark the Shark was making her something? He clearly
knew she was a star.

A short time later he appeared, making his way
from the house whistling. Leila's eyes zoomed in on
the bacon and egg burger in his hand. Juices dripped
from the side. Yum, this was more like it. Leila could
come around to even liking this guy.

'Morning, baby,' he said.

Leila's eyes stayed on the bun. She felt like saying,
'Hello, handsome.' Sure, it was a lie but when food
was involved ...

But then Mark the Shark took a big bite from the
burger. And kept eating. This was torture!

'Come on, Leila, we got a lot of cash to earn.'

A few hours later, her back aching, Leila stood in the
hot sun and surveyed the scene before her with a
sinking heart. A row of children, as far as the eye could
see, stretched ahead of her. Little ones with hands
sticky from fairy floss, big fat ones who should have
been on a forced diet, screaming twins who sounded
like the jets doing a fly-by before the World Series. And
behind her, the barking voice of Mark the Shark.

'Step right up, kiddies, and get ready to ride Leila
the Hollywood superstar. Yes, friends, Leila, star of
such classics as
Dressage to Kill
and
Hedge Your Bets,
for just ten bucks. Or have a photo with Leila for
another ten.'

For more than five hours Leila had been forced to
endure this degradation. Her agent would have had
a fit. Mark the Shark was raking in the cash and all
he'd offered her was a few cubes of sugar.

With horror, Leila watched a father with four kids
approach the steps.

'Can I put all four on at once?' the father asked
O'Regan.

Leila shook her head furiously. O'Regan smiled at
the father.

'I'm a family man myself so I'll give you a break.
Four plus a photo for thirty.'

'Great.' The man reached for his cash.

FOUR! Leila opened her mouth to protest, then
realised she would be even worse off if the Shark
knew she could talk. As if to inflict the final indignity,
a swarm of flies scooted up Leila's nose. She sneezed,
shook her head and blew out, trying to get rid of
them.

'Yuck. Dirty horse,' bellowed one of the brats and
whacked her. The other three joined in. Leila swatted
the eldest one with her tail but they only redoubled
their attack. Finally the Shark told them to stop and
hoisted them on board. They were heavy and the
saddle had a hobnail or something poking out of it
and into her back. It hurt. Leila tried to let Mark the
Shark know by giving a buck. He responded by
whacking her on the nose.

'Enough of that. I can see why Hollywood got rid
of you.'

Rid of me! Hollywood had begged for her services.
Old tinsel-town might have a lot of flaws but it knew
how to treat a star. Leila exerted all her willpower to
stop giving Mark the Shark a spray right then and
there. O'Regan led her off, Leila struggling with the
writhing monsters on her back. She looked over at the
faded carousel, the flea-bitten Shetlands and the sad
clowns with make-up running in the heat. Suddenly
she felt like Laura Desmond or whoever that old babe
was in that movie classic
Sunset Boulevard.
Stuck with
freaks, forgotten. A tear snuck out of her eye. Please
Charlotte, she prayed, get me out of this.

'I have to do something.' Charlotte paced her bedroom,
trying to think clearly. It wasn't easy. Every time
she tried to come up with a course of action all she
could see was poor Leila. Hannah suggested they try
to find Miss Strudworth.

'The only person who would know where she's
staying is Chadwick, and he's the last person who
would help.'

'On all those TV crime shows my mum watches
they say you have twenty-four hours to find the missing
person before the trail goes cold.'

Charlotte shot her a look and Hannah realised she
had been insensitive.

'Sorry, I wasn't thinking.'

'No. You're right. We have to act fast. The good
thing is we have tonight and tomorrow off.'

Tomorrow, Sunday, was the one day the girls had no
lessons. Normally they just mucked around, having
fun with their horses, but that wasn't a choice available
to Charlotte right now. She was so frustrated at not
being able to think her way through this. She needed
somebody who would be objective and think through
the problem logically. Hannah was smart but she
deferred too much to Charlotte. She needed somebody
who would tell her if she was being an idiot ...

Snap. She had the very person.

'Hannah, can I borrow Lightning?'

It was dusk, the moon just beginning to glow.
Charlotte lay along the branch of a white gum tree,
still as wood. She had learned to do this growing up in
Snake Hills. Sometimes you needed to look out for a
stray cow, or to find the dingoes that were raiding the
pens. Lightning was tethered about a hundred metres
down the ridge in thick scrub, hidden. She checked
her watch. Nearly 6.30. Maybe they weren't coming?
And then what would she do?

That's when she heard the faint but unmistakable
sound of galloping hooves. She checked her supply of
pebbles. Nice round ones that would go straight and
hit the target. The sound of approaching horses
increased. They were maybe fifty metres away, four or
five horses and riders. Charlotte angled down and
looked back along the track as the first of the party
appeared. She was looking for a big black stallion but
this one was brown. The rider passed below Charlotte
without ever knowing she was above him. A chestnut
then another brown horse followed. And then another
brown horse. All the riders were intent on what lay
directly ahead, not above them. Charlotte's hopes
plunged. There was no sign of the black stallion. She
would have to look elsewhere for help.

Just as she was about to climb down, she heard the
drum of hooves. The black stallion came charging
around the bend, obviously in pursuit of those horses
that had already passed. His rider sat quietly urging
him on. Charlotte yelled but the sound was lost in
the horse's rhythmic gallop. No time for the pebbles
at the pace they were going.

Which left no alternative. As the rider passed
beneath her, Charlotte dropped.

Her arms wrapped around the rider, her momentum
toppling them both sideways.

Crunch.

They hit the dirt hard. The rider picked himself up,
confused and angry.

'You idiot, what do you think ...' Todd's voice
trailed off. 'Charlotte?'

Warrior had stopped just up ahead. Charlotte
struggled to her feet.

'Sorry. I yelled but you didn't hear me.'

He softened just a little.

'You could have broken my collarbone. And your
own.'

'But I didn't.'

Todd's face cracked into a smile.

'Okay. But you owe me.'

'I had to speak to you.'

'Ever heard of a telephone?'

'This couldn't wait until tomorrow.'

The trail was on a large tract of bush that separated
the boy JOES stationed at Milthorp from the girls at
Thornton Downs. No physical contact was allowed
between the boy and girl JOES apart from official
functions, but they were allowed to make daytime
phone calls to each other on Sundays. The girls had use
of the trail in the morning, the boys in the evening.
Charlotte had been pretty sure that Todd would be on it.

'You know they could boot us out of the JOES if
they found us?'

Todd glanced around as he spoke, to make sure
nobody was returning from his riding party. Charlotte
called for Lightning.

'Believe me, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't
desperate.'

Todd caught the urgency in her voice. Lightning
appeared up ahead from a grove of banksias.

'What's the matter? And where's Leila?'

'That,' said Charlotte fighting back tears, 'is what
I need your help with.'

A short time later Charlotte had told Todd the whole
story.

'If I can find Leila, perhaps I can offer to buy her
back. I'm sure Dad will help out. The other thing is,
I thought Mr Graham might know how to find Miss
Strudworth.' Mr Graham was the head of the JOES
and was usually stationed with the boys at Milthorp.
'Could you ask him?'

Todd sighed.

'I would if he were here. But he's away in Canberra
at the moment.'

Charlotte moaned.

'It's impossible.'

'Maybe not. What about Bevans?'

'I told you, Chadwick sacked him.'

'But he must live near here. Perhaps he saw who
bought Leila?'

Charlotte almost jumped with excitement.

'Fiona should know where he lives.'

'All right. You see if you can find out from Fiona
and ring me tomorrow. I'll come with you.'

'Thanks, Todd, I really appreciate it.'

Todd checked his watch.

'Better go.' He remounted swiftly. 'Tomorrow.'

Then he was off at the gallop. Charlotte felt so
much better. At least now she felt like she was doing
something.