CHAPTER 9
LUCREZIA AND FABIO
The girls continued eating in silence for some time. While chewing on ham and eggs, which Lidia was not used to having in the morning, she was thinking she still did not know why lady Ada invited herself to an early visit.
"Have you sailed much in your life?" she asked lady Ada.
"Yes, I used to sail with my father. He had a wonderful yacht, I was only fifteen then. My mom has never been much into sailing so I really missed sailing ‘til I met Reginald. His yacht is not as nice as Dad's but I still enjoy it".
Lady Ada's voice kept changing when she spoke of Reginald and sailing. She did not sound standoffish anymore. Her eyebrows flew up, eyes sparkled and you could almost read the excitement she was feeling while she had a chance to go to the volume of water.
"Reginald's yacht can take us to the open waters but I thought you can get scared. The Isle of Kitezh is not that far. It is completely deserted although we once saw some people standing on a cliff… I still don't know where they disappeared. We could not find anybody when we landed. .. So tomorrow morning at ten then, sounds good?"
Lidia just nodded. Her curiosity was growing.
"Lady, Ada, please tell me more… Have you ever been in a storm?" she asked, actually thinking about sex. She meant to ask Ada how it feels when you have sex but words died on the tip of her tongue.
"Yes and I loved it, but you will get very scared. Last time we took off on a foggy morning and at first the volume of water was still but that may be a sign of bad weather approaching. You never sail in foggy weather. And, by the way, call me Ada. There are no formalities among neighbors."
Long after the Ham and eggs were eaten, the sparkling water vanished from their glasses and Mr. Hess cleared his throat several times, reminding it was time to leave the table, lady Ada kept telling Lidia story after story about excitements of sailing. Lidia did not feel they were strangers any more. She felt they had known each other for years, yet she felt something peculiar in Ada's enthusiasm. Finally they left the table and went outside.
A horse… not a horse - a statue-shaped Palomino, a color of windy sunset, was at a halt tied to the fence.
"Here is my boy! Isn't he magnificent?" Lady Ada turned to Lidia.
"You rode this horse here?"
"Yeah, it's close. I live right across the field and I ride very often." Lady Ada was obviously in love with her stallion.
"Do you ride, Lidia?" It was the first time lady Ada stated Lidia's name. Lidia did not ride.
"You don't have a horse?" Ada seemed amused.
Lidia gave shy smirk. Neither has she ever ridden a horse, nor has she even thought of trying.
"C'mon, you should have horses here! I saw your father ride."
"My father? When?"
"Several years ago. He had a big black Holsteiner."
"What is a Holsteiner?"
"It's a horse breed…. Let's check your stables."
Lidia did not know they had stables, but they sure did. The girls walked around the house and approached a wide brick barn with a red roof. Lady Ada slowly walked past the stalls. They were all empty except for the last one where a lean gray mare was calmly chewing on some hay.
"That would work." Lady Ada was pleased. She walked the mare outside and showed Lidia how to get on it. The horse was standing still and showed no sign of tension. She was the right height for Lidia. Ada walked the horse round the yard with Lidia sitting in a saddle. Then she untied her stallion and waved to Mr. Hess who just went outside.
"Lidia and I are going for a ride, Mr. Hess. What's the name of this mare, is it Lucrezia?
"Yes, lady Ada. She is our mysterious horse. You never know where you end up. Will Miss Lidia ride her?"
"I think she can handle it."
"Good luck." Hess sounded skeptical and surprised; he obviously forgot what he was going outside for. He gave the girls an odd look, turned around and walked back inside the house.