The Trouble With Horses: A Pride & Prejudice Novella Variation

The Trouble With Horses

Elizabeth Ann West

Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction based on the wonderful story created by Jane Austen title
Pride & Prejudice.

To contact Elizabeth, please email
[email protected]

Titles Also by Elizabeth Ann West

A Winter's Wrong

Dear Reader:

I am an Austen fan fiction addict myself. After years of enjoying new trials and tribulations, high flying adventure, and heart breaking moments that at times made me tear up from other wonderful JAFF writers, I have penned my own. This novella is a labor of love for the community and I am a proud member of BeyondAusten.com (registration is required).

I would like to thank my business partner and incredible anchor, April Floyd. Without her, you'd never have this in your hands. Also, to our Piggie family at thecheapebook.com, every single one of you are a daily inspiration! Finally, to my family, from my loving and supportive husband to my inquisitive children, and my parents and parents-in-law who always believe in me, THANK YOU!. I have no words for the heights I climb fueled on your love and understanding.

Please feel free to drop me a note at
[email protected]
, or reach out to me on twitter @eawwrites. In the meantime, I will keep working on more original adventures for our favorite hero and heroine.

Always Smiling,

Elizabeth Ann West

CHAPTER 1

A riderless black stallion interrupted Elizabeth Bennet's quiet reflection in a most rude manner. Atop her favorite prospect, Oakham Mount, she watched the horse burst through the woods on the south side and begin jaunting up the hill. Frowning, Elizabeth made a most uncharacteristic move — she jumped into the path of the beast.

"WHOA! WHOA!" The midnight inked horse was startled by the sudden presence of a human in its path. Years of training won out and the animal stopped before the diminutive woman. Elizabeth's head barely rose above the great horse's muzzle, but she held up her hand for the animal to nuzzle.

Stroking his nose, Elizabeth reached with her left hand to grab the loose reins. The stallion stomped his front feet impatiently and Elizabeth continued her calming ministrations.

"I take it you too escaped from an unpleasant task? No?" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at the horse, thinking about her own escape from Longbourn, her family's ancestral manor just below and to the east. Tonight was the local assembly and with four unmarried daughters, her mother was in full-fledged nerves over the girls' preparations. Elizabeth was expected to be napping but used a distraction in the parlor to slip out the back door usually reserved for servant use.

The horse snorted heavily into Elizabeth's hand and she gave him one last pat. "No matter how necessary the escape, we must not completely dismiss our duties, hm? You, sir, should have a rider upon you and yet, no rider do I see."

The horse shook his head just as Elizabeth began to walk him towards her own home. With a strong pull, the horse tried to guide Elizabeth down the hill in the opposite direction. Elizabeth laughed at the seemingly stubborn nature of the animal, and continued her one-sided conversation.

"We shall go back down this hill, into those woods, and find your master. And don't be sullen about it, I'll be sure to put in a good word for you."

It was slow going through the thickest parts of the trail as Elizabeth half led, half followed the animal's intentions with the hope he was leading her to his rider. After a quarter-hour, she began to question the wisdom of searching the woods on her own as they were now a good distance from the main trail, and wondered if she shouldn't turn back and lead the horse to her own home and let her father continue the search. Just as she mentally scolded herself and resolved to turn back, an odd sound came from the copse of trees to her left.

She clicked her tongue to entice the horse to follow her towards the noise, carefully stepping over a rather thick log. The horse began to fight against Elizabeth's attempts to steer him towards the sound and she had to reassess the situation. She was fairly certain the sound she heard was a human moan, but if the horse refused to cooperate she knew she was far out of her league to demand compliance. Another moan inspired her to act.

"Seeing as you can't be counted on to accompany me, you will stay here." Elizabeth wrapped the reins around a low-lying branch, leaving enough slack for the horse to reach his head to the ground. Within moments, he began sniffing the forest floor. Looking around her, Elizabeth searched for a tool she hoped she wouldn't need, but found a suitable candidate not far from the large tree where she tied the horse. Gingerly, she rolled the thick stick over with her foot, then picked it up once she saw the underside lacked any infestation.

Glancing one last time at the horse over her shoulder, Elizabeth took a deep breath and braved the thicket of shrubs and thorns between her and what she prayed was the missing rider. Pushing through about four feet, and hearing the moans more clearly now, she nearly tumbled down a small embankment to a stream bed when the brush ended rather abruptly. Catching her balance with her walking stick, she spied below her a man dressed in the finest clothing but most unnaturally twisted. To the casual observer, he might appear dead if not for the occasionally labored movement of his limbs and anguished face. Blinking her eyes, Elizabeth heard the sounds of his discomfort through a distinctive chorus of hisses. Tiny snakes slithered on the ground around him and one, large snake lay very near to his right arm.

"Heavens!" Elizabeth didn't think twice before she took a step and slid down the embankment with the forest tromping skills of her wayward youth. Mud caked to her skirts and ruined her walking shoes.

"Move, move! Shoo!" Elizabeth deftly used the stick to push some of the smaller snakes out of the way, animals far too young to cause her harm. The larger snake, upon sensing a new threat, coiled beside the man preparing to strike.

Staring at the snake she immediately recognized as a viper, adrenaline ran through her body and made standing still very difficult.
Her arms and legs twitched from her own fear and she swallowed on preparation for an attack. Although not usually fatal, she knew too many bites from the snake could kill the man lying helpless in the dirt before her.

The snake hissed with each breath swelling its body and then deflating. Elizabeth began making more noise and flicking dirt at the snake.

"Go on! Go on! Get out of here!" She reached down and picked up a small rock, chucking it at the viper. It bounced off the man's arm making him move his limb once more and the snake bit his hand in response. This time he cried out and Elizabeth flinched. Seeing the snake bite made her do something she hadn't for over a decade. In a flash, she shouted and reached her arm forward, grasped the snake near its tail and pulled as hard as she could, flinging it in an arc away from both her and the man
.

She watched as the creature soared through the air and landed with a thud over on the other bank. The snake was still for a moment, then began slithering away from the water. She released
a breath of relief and thought it unlikely the snake would swim across the shallow stream right away back to its nest.

Her heart racing, Elizabeth kneeled down by the man unsure of what to do. She didn't recognize him, though his fine linen shirt and breeches, not to mention the magnificent horse still tied to a tree above her, made her conclude he was a wealthy gentleman.

"Sir! SIR! You must wake up now, sir!" Elizabeth yelled at the poor man, eliciting only a brief eye flutter or two from her patient. Exasperated, she let out another cry of frustration and began pacing the soft ground around her. She couldn't leave him here, practically lying atop a viper nest. Surely the babies and mother snake would be back soon. But how was she to move a full-grown, unconscious man?

Looking back at her trusty stick, she tested her weight against it in an attempt to break it. The stick bowed slightly, but didn't break. Frustrated with her futile plan, she stomped her foot on the soft bank, aggravated as she reasoned even if she could collect enough sticks to make a litter, it would be dark before she'd finish constructing one and there was no way she could carry the man, nor drag him, up the bank and out of the forest. Laughter bubbled up inside as her conundrum grew more and more frustrating.

After a few minutes of fruitless thoughts, Elizabeth decided to try again to rouse the man, only to meet the same results. His right hand was swelling most alarmingly and she immediately felt guilty. Without being able to rouse him, nor see the full extent of his injuries, she'd hate to cause worse injury to him as she did when fighting off the snake. It appeared that his coat protected him from most of the snake's attempts to bite, but the one on his hand made her realize she was running out of time to prevent permanent injury.

Finally, an idea dawned on her as she was viewing his toned legs for signs of broken bones. The horse! But oh! She hated to ride and never truly mastered the skill like her older sister Jane. Looking at the poor man below her, she steeled her inner emotions of fear to choose courageous behavior. If she was willing to fight off snakes for him, how on earth would she tell her father she was too afraid to mount a horse to raise the alarm for help?

Resolved to her action, Elizabeth knelt beside the man to speak to him in a clear voice. "Sir? I'm Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You've fallen and I'm going to go get help. Sir?" She tried one last time to wake him, but still to no avail. She even reached down and touched his cheek, something she had never done to any man let alone a complete stranger, and was cheered to feel that it was still warm.

Elizabeth took one last look around to make sure the immediate threats were truly gone and prayed they would remain so until she could return. After scrambling up the bank, she found the horse exactly where she had left him, only he looked twice as big as she remembered now that she was to ride him.

Taking a deep breath, she untied the horse and looked him in the eyes.

"Listen, I saved your master but he's still in danger. We're going to rescue him together? Agreed?" she asked sternly, though who she was convincing more, herself or the horse, she couldn't say.

The horse, of course, said nothing and stared back at her with dark, glassy eyes. Elizabeth forced a smile as she ignored her body beginning to tremble, suddenly feeling a chill run over
her skin. Walking to the horse's side and seeing the saddle was so high up, she wasn't sure even if she placed her foot in the stirrup she'd be able to pull herself up. The horse began to move impatiently as she worked out how to mount.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Elizabeth gently patted his neck. "I don't like this either, but there is no other way. Now be still."

Shrugging, Elizabeth led the horse over to the log and used it as a natural mounting box. She placed her left foot awkwardly in the stirrup and pulled on the horse's mane while pushing with all of her might with her right leg. To mount a horse this size there was no room for fear lest the horse begin to gallop away with her left foot tangled in the stirrup. In a moment she found herself much higher than normal and nearly tumbled directly over the horse as her right leg swung around.

Achieving her seat, which was precarious as she was settled astride in a dress, she squeezed with her thighs to hold on which immediately prompted the horse to begin walking. As they moved back towards the forest's main trail, Elizabeth grabbed small branches and pulled in hopes of marking the trees where the man rested in danger.

Reaching the trail prompted the horse to take a mind of his own and Elizabeth held on for dear life as he took a gallop back to civilization.

"Mr. Horse that is quite enough! Whoa!" She pulled back on the reins as firmly as she could without trying to annoy the animal into bucking her off. Leaning forward, she patted his neck as he slowed down, wishing she could have simply walked back. This animal had a spirit she could appreciate, but not a speed she could stomach.

As they reached the crest of Oakham Mount, Elizabeth was energized to see a group of men below on horses near the crossroads. She hoped one was her father, but before she could squint to get a better look, the horse took off like a shot down the hill and Elizabeth yelled out. All four men below turned as one to see a magnificent midnight beast of sixteen hands galloping down the hill and the rider screaming like a banshee the whole way down.

"Lizzie!" Mr. Bennet spurred his own horse, a
work nag named Nell, towards his daughter with as much speed as the old girl could muster.

"No! Look out!" Elizabeth's horse barreled through the grouping, jumped over the fence line and cantered into the field beyond. Shaking, Elizabeth was pressed as tightly as she could against the horse's neck, sobbing in fright. After the horse came to a stop, she collected herself and sat upright just as her father and company approached. Sniffling the last remnants of her fright away, Elizabeth jerked the reins to turn the animal around.

"That was uncalled for, sir, though I understand your desire for haste." Breathing quickly, Elizabeth's fright returned as her height from the ground came back to the forefront of her mind with the horse stopped. She turned to address her father. "A man has fallen in Winslow's Woods. He's been attacked by a viper."

Mr. Bennet was dumbstruck at the sight of his favorite daughter, the one who hated horses, riding a thoroughbred the size of a racer before him. "My god, daughter, you look a fright! We must get you home, then we'll search for this beast's owner."

The horse Elizabeth rode on grew agitated underneath her seat, stomping around as she struggled to maintain control. Whether the horse just hated to sit still or could actually understand English, Elizabeth assumed it was the former, not the latter. "No, father, he's too badly injured. I chased away the snakes, but he's still unconscious and he lies on a nest."

Throat clearing could be heard by the other older gentleman of the group and a younger version of the gentleman rode next to him. Elizabeth glared at Sir Lucas and his son, John. It wasn't that many years ago the younger Lucas' terror of the Bennet sisters with a snake or two prompted Elizabeth to learn her famed snake fighting skill. As all situations of great fear made her rise to the occasion, the adrenaline she felt coursing through her body before was making a steady return. "Please, will you fetch the cart from Longbourn and meet us at the edge of the trail?"

Elizabeth looked to her father and Mr. Watson, the steward of Longbourn, for support. A twinkle in her father's eye but a star in Mr. Watson's, Elizabeth had sufficiently convinced them.

"Do what she asks. A man's life may very well lie in the balance. But for heaven's sake, Elizabeth, take Nell here and let me ride that great horse back into the woods," her father commanded.

Elizabeth looked down at the ground in contemplation and then back up again, feeling dizzy. "I'm afraid I can't do that father. At present I feel quite comfortable where I am." And without even signaling, her horse once again flexed its own mind and began a brisk trot towards the woods, this time Elizabeth steered him through the gate area of the field instead of taking a jump. Looking over her shoulder to see her father and Watson following and the Lucases heading in the opposite direction, she placed her focus forward. Taking a deep breath, she addressed her horse once more with the sternest voice she could muster.