Free The Riding School (Pony Tales) by C. P. Mandara Page A

her a few moments to look around. The hotel was surprisingly quiet, the only noise being traditional piped music from the internal stereo system and the rustle of papers from the office directly behind the desk. There was an almost overpowering smell of wood polish, which explained the glossy wood floors below her, which strangely didn't seem to have a single mark upon them. At least they valued cleanliness, Jenny thought. Exploring further, she found several sparkling silver trophies which were mounted in a glass display case located at the back of the hotel lobby and walls which appeared to be adorned with an impressive array of riding crops and some very unusual leather tack. Stepping forward to take a closer look, she was interrupted by the receptionist who had returned to her post at the desk.
    ' Oh, hello there,' said a very cultured voice, appearing surprised at having a guest waiting for her.
    This must be some hotel, thought Jenny, if it was a shock every time a guest walked in. Wrinkling her nose in distaste she handed over her reservation number.
    Running a manicured finger down the paperwork quickly, the receptionist lifted her head slowly and stared at Jenny directly. 'I'm sorry no-one was here to greet you but your check-in time appears to have been three hours ago.' There was a frown, some frantic fingernail tapping and a pause.
    Jenny rolled her eyes in disgust. What sort of hotel was this? 'Look,' she said, 'have you got a room for me or not?'
    The elegantly-coiffed receptionist seemed taken aback for a minute, as if she didn 't normally deal with complaints, but recovered her composure swiftly. 'Oh we have lots of room for you, Miss Redcliff. Let me just see if I can get a few things rescheduled and we'll get you checked in promptly. Please take a seat.' She didn't wait for a thank you, which was just as well, as none appeared forthcoming.
    Pouting and already bored with the day 's events so far, Jenny took a seat and sighed loudly. The receptionist was speaking into her telephone and made no notion of having heard her. Twiddling the Tiffany locket she wore in her fingertips, she wondered if she shouldn't ring one of her friends and have them rescue her. She had already decided the week was going to be intolerably dull, there would be nothing except horses for entertainment and as of yet, she hadn't seen a bar. What did people do here after the day's training? Eat and go to bed? There was something else she'd noticed too: the restaurant had no Michelin star. They probably served up soggy fish and chips and if you were lucky you might get a three day old gooey mass of bread and butter pudding for dessert. Jenny grimaced. She had just entered Hell for a week, she was sure of it.
    When the receptionist beckoned for her to come over not five minutes later, Jenny could barely conceal her jaded look.
    'The ladies are ready for you now, Miss Redcliff, just take the black door over by the potted palm and they'll meet you on the other side.' The receptionist handed Jenny some paperwork. 'You'll need to take this with you.'
    Sighing again and wondering why she couldn 't just have been given a room key, Jenny pointed to the chauffer and asked, 'Where should he put my luggage?' She had no idea what the man was called.
    ' Ah, no need to worry about that, we'll take care of it, Miss Redcliff,' came the very efficient answer and with a nod, the receptionist smiled and released the chauffeur from any additional duties. He wasted no time in leaving the premises, having already had more than enough of the younger Redcliff's whinging and whining for one day.
    ' I hope you have a lovely stay with us,' offered the receptionist, but Jenny had already flounced past her and had begun to pull open the heavy, black, oak-panelled door.
     
     
    The Tac k Room
     
    Jenny wasn't sure what she was expecting when she opened the door, but it certainly wasn't two old ladies chatting away at the end of a long, unlit and rather austere