"Really Darcy, he's fine. I just had my vet look over him."

William Darcy, looked back at his friend after running his hand down his horse's leg, checking for any stiffness or soreness. "I know. I just wanted to double check him," he said as he stood up and gave the stallion a pat on the neck. "Old Apollo here deserves it."

"Yes, Darcy. Well, once you're finished would you mind coming to the airport with me? Caroline comes in this evening and I don't want to be late."

Will looked up again, about to tell Charles off but one look at his friend's face told him that Charles would need his support and Will prided himself in being a loyal friend. "Alright, so long as I can drive."

"Deal," Charles shot him a giant smile then turned around and headed down the barn aisle, in search of more sociable company.

Will sighed and leaned against the stall wall, surveying Apollo who was busy eating from his hay net. The dark bay stallion was by far Will's favorite horse. Bred and born at Will's main farm, Pemberly, in Kentucky, Apollo was out of the last crop of Pemberly's most famous sire, Roman Victory. The colt had shown much promise as a young two-year old and Will had decided to personally take over his training, like he did with most of Pemberly's best horses. The colt had lived up to the farm's expectations, winning the Breeder's Cup Juvenile and snatching the Eclipse Award for Best 2-Year Old Colt. At the start of his three-year old season, Apollo was considered a favorite for the Kentucky Derby until he broke his front cannon bone in his final prep race. The Derby was out of the question then, and Apollo received surgery and was quickly sent back to Pemberly to recover and possibly start a new career at stud. However, the colt recovered much more quickly than expected and Will entertained thoughts of him returning to the track sometime during his late four-year old season. That's why Apollo was one of the three horses Will had brought to Meryton. Apollo would need much conditioning and though he could do that at any of the much nicer tracks, Meryton Downs offered an escape from the press who would surely have a field day over Apollo's attempted comeback. Will hoped that no one would even recognize Apollo, allowing him to train the horse without interruption.

When that morning, another horse had almost collided with Apollo during his workout, Will had thought Apollo's career would be over before it even resumed. Maybe he had overreacted a little bit, accidents happened all the time, especially with young, high-strung horses, but the girl should have had more control. A horse like that needed a strong man riding him, not some high school kid.

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An hour later, Will found himself driving to the airport with Charles in order to pick up his sister, Caroline, who was flying in from New York City.

"We should have driven my car. What if she doesn't recognize the truck?" Charles complained as they reached the airport entrance.

"It has Pemberly's logo on both sides. Are you telling me she won't recognize that?" Will gave Charles a smug look.

Everyone knew that Caroline Bingley's ambition was to marry William Darcy and everyone knew that William Darcy would have had nothing to do with Caroline Bingley if it wasn't for her brother, Charles, his best friend. Will had spent the greater part of his time with Caroline during the past couple years trying to convince her that he was not attracted to her and that he would never marry her. The woman was conniving, high maintenance, and just plain intolerable. To make matters worse, she had a job in television and Will hated television. There was a reason Will had chosen to drive his Pemberly truck and not Charles's luxurious SUV. Caroline hated anything dirty and, well, trucks were not the most fashionable modes of transportation among the high society in New York. Will hated to admit it, but he enjoyed every chance he got in torturing Caroline. She would obviously be torn between riding in something so unfashionable and pleasing him.

As they pulled to a stop in front of the entrance, Will looked at Charles expectantly. "Well, are you going to get out and find her or not?"

"You don't want to?"

"I'm driving."

"We can park and go in together."

"She's your sister."

Charles reluctantly got out of the car, but he didn't even have to walk to the doors before both men heard a shrill voice.

"CHARLES! You're late!"

Will sighed; maybe Meryton Downs hadn't been such a great idea.