CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Ben had never been so humiliated and enraged in his whole life. He was seething with anger. Felicity had been the one person that he could trust for the past seven years, and now that trust had been broken. He was moving too fast down the road, away from Felicity. A bolt of pain burned through his thigh sharply, and all the way down to his shin. He stopped for a minute and pulled out a flask with his tonic in it. He didn't care how drowsy it would make him feel if it took away his physical pain as well as the pain of a broken heart. What was he going to do? Why he even asked Mr. Merriman's permission for his daughter's hand in marriage. Mr. Merriman would now hate him for changing his mind. He wouldn't be able to finish his apprenticeship there. It would be too uncomfortable. He should have never gotten involved with the boss's daughter.

"Good day Mr. Davidson, look at me!" A familiar singsong voice said brightly. Ben whirled around to see Polly sitting sidesaddle on Penny. Ben groaned. The last thing he had wanted to see was Penny, a reminder of his disaster with Felicity.

"Polly," he said gruffly. "Does Felicity know that you have her horse?"

"Well no not exactly," Polly replied and gave Penny a pat. "But I can ride her, I really can. I found her tied to the hitching post and I just had to try. Lissie was wrong."

"That was very bad of you Polly," Ben said rather harshly. "You are too little for a horse as fast as Penny. Not get off, and tell Felicity you are sorry for taking her horse without asking."

"But you haven't given me a chance," Polly cried. "I can ride Penny watch me!" Polly jiggled the reins and took off at a hearty canter on Penny.

"Polly stop!" Ben called after her. He was at the end of his rope of tolerance with the Merriman daughters for one day. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with Polly. Why did she have to choose now to be in a difficult mood? He almost turned and went on his way but his conscience stopped him. Polly really shouldn't be riding around on Penny. Penny was too fast a horse for just a six-year-old. It wasn't Polly's fault that both her sisters were manipulative and cruel.

"Polly!" He called once again and began to limp back towards the Merriman house.

"Lissie!" Polly called. She rode Penny to the doorway of the stables. "Lissie," she called again.

Felicity was curled in a ball on the floor of the loft. She was still sobbing, though her whole body ached with the upset. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with Polly. At the moment, she was wishing that she didn't have sisters at all! She heard Polly call her again.

"Not now Polly! Leave me alone!" She yelled.

"But Lissie I have a surprise to show you," Polly called back.

"Leave me alone!" Felicity yelled.

"Look Lissie. You were wrong. I can ride Penny. I can ride Penny just fine!"

At the sound of Penny, Felicity sprang up. She was going to wring Polly and Nan's necks out together!

"Polly get back here!" She called. She picked up her skirts and dashed down the stairs. Polly had rode off and was in the pasture, going faster and faster on Penny. Felicity stood in the doorway of stables. "Polly Merriman you come back here right now and get off of that horse!" She bellowed. "Tis dangerous!"

Polly ignored her sister.

"I can do it!" She yelled back and began to ride as fast as the wind.

Ben hobbled up to the stables.

"She's going much too fast Felicity," he said. They both began hollering "Polly come back! Stop this now! If you fall and get hurt don't come crying to me!"

Polly kept riding faster and faster. It then occurred to Felicity that she was heading towards the fence.

"She's going to jump the fence!" Felicity screeched. "Oh no!"

"Polly! Don't jump! You won't make it!" Ben bellowed. "Polly no!"

But wild horses couldn't stop Polly from jumping the fence.

"I can't look," Felicity groaned, but she did look and to her horror Penny jumped the fence. She had only done the most minimal jumping possible with Polly, and it was at half of the speed that Polly was going now. Penny went airborne, and Polly went flying into the air. Polly landed on her back, her neck crashing against the fence in a horrifying ear splitting crack that busted through the quiet, Sunday afternoon, air. To top it off Felicity let out horrified shriek that echoed through the air and in the minds of her and Ben forever.

Polly Merriman lay as limp and lifeless as a rag doll. Her body mangled in the fence at the far end of the pasture.

Felicity tore out like a madwoman, running towards her sister, Ben following close behind.

"Don't move her," Ben instructed. "You best let a doctor do it."

"This is all my fault," Felicity cried as she sunk down on her knees next to her sister.

"No it's not," Ben said briskly. "You run fetch a doctor! You have two good legs. I'll stay with her."

Felicity sprang up, their eyes met and locked. She didn't care what Ben Davidson now thought of her, she was just glad that he was there.