November Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Trigger

Time Setting: 2018*

Genre: Fantasy-Thriller

Minimum Word Goal: 120,000

Timespan: June–October

Location: Kynaston, Pennsylvania†

Main Characters: Spencer Macek

Background Information:

Born the only son of his parents due to birthing difficulties damaging his mother's reproductive organs so badly she couldn't conceive again, Spencer was born into money on both sides of the family. His father is part of the powerful Macek family that runs a food processing empire in Kynaston, and his mother is the daughter of one of the state's most renowned prosecution lawyers.

His life was idyllic and carefree until the age of five, when he was kidnapped and his nanny murdered without a ransom note left behind or anything to suggest where or why he'd been taken. Ten years passed without his parents having any clue where he was and having lost all hope of finding him alive when his paternal aunt and uncle found him wandering a beach in Southern California.

As soon as possible his parents flew to California where a DNA test confirmed the unbelievable truth: Spencer Macek had been found.

By this time his father had inherited Macek Culinary Holdings Inc. from his father — who'd inherited it after his brother and three nephews were all killed in a tragic series of events — leaving Spencer as heir to a food processing fortune.

As is only natural, his parents wanted to know what had happened to him in the ten years he was gone, but he has no conscious memory of that time, thus his parents have sent him to the foremost psychologists in the world in an effort to unlock the subconscious memories to find out, but even though it's getting close to ten years he's been back with them they still have not gotten anywhere.

To be in the clear, the Army and Federal Espionage Agency have given evidence to the family that they did not kidnap Spencer for any secret testing, and even many business rivals of MCH and people who dislike the Macek family have either volunteered proof that they didn't take Spencer or been investigated and found innocent.

His parents noticed differences about Spencer as soon as he came home, and it wasn't just the fact that he was fifteen as opposed to five. What is still the most noticeable — and feared — difference is his temper as the formerly easygoing child now has a volatile temper and the ability to go from calm to raging at the drop of a hat, and at times without any sort of reason.

Unable to predict what will set him off, and hard-pressed to calm him down once he gets going, his parents have suffered the loss of some expensive things to his rages, along with having to pay money to others — notably the elite boarding school they sent him to for his final years of high school — to repair damages caused by his rages.

Much to his parents' relief they have found a man who seems capable of keeping Spencer calm even when he wants to lose his temper and being able to calm him down when he does end up losing it, and this man is now in their employ to keep Spencer as calm as possible.

A somewhat more private difference his parents have noticed about him is his tendency to isolate himself, and to do so for incredibly long times, but they are certain that his introversion, his repressed memories, and his rages are by-products of the suffering he endured during the ten years they were apart.

When he graduated he was expected to go to university for business degrees and such that would help him when it came time for him to succeed his father as President and CEO of MCH. They were shocked when he instead took a triple-major in Law, Forensics, and Criminal Psychology with a minor in Forensic Medicine.

Even his parents were shocked at the choices — much less the course load — and asked him about it, to which he replied that he hoped he might be able to use his education in his chosen fields to unlock those memories that the psychologists were failing to unlock.

Since his graduation, however, he's yet to make any more headway than the psychologists he's been sent to and has somewhat settled into the role of the rich, eligible playboy whom girls across the globe wish they could marry.

Settled in 1795, Kynaston was originally slated to be a utopia for the rich and elite, which it succeeded in being, somewhat, until 1842, when the founding Mayor of Kynaston — the man for whom the town was named — died of old age.

His son inherited the position of Mayor and implemented some more brutal policies that drew the ire of a recent arrival to the flourishing town who incited the poorer people of Kynaston who were effectively employed as slaves into rebelling against the new mayor.

As a result of it all the second mayor of Kynaston was murdered and the recent arrival named his successor — a position he held until dying of old age in 1889. Since his death mayoral elections have been held and crime has been one of the foremost issues in Kynaston.

In fact, Aside from Mayor Reed Newton — whose tenure lasted from 1945–1964 before he pursued State and Federal politics and died of old age in 1996 — his successor Martin Page — voted out in 1986 and still alive and well in Kynaston — and present Mayor Vance Hull — who's held the post for five years — every single mayor of Kynaston has died in office.

Mayors Cedric Kynaston Sr. and Lazarus Ledford — the first and third mayors — died of old age; Mayor Flannery Hambeldon died in an outbreak of sickness in 1918 — the year Kynaston became a city; Mayor Sparrow Courtenay was killed in a shootout with police after escaping from prison, where he was being held for failing to adhere to state liquor laws in 1934; and all the others have been murdered by criminal gangs angry with their goals for reducing crime or their shows of support for rival gangs, although every mayor since Martin Page's successor Carmine Nardovino has been found dead for no discernible reason with no one taking the blame, leaving all of their cases cold, including the shocking assassination of Mayor Deanna Godfrey — Kynaston's only female mayor to this point — ten years ago.

To say that crime proliferates in Kynaston is an understatement of the highest degree; Federal statistics estimate that some 90 robberies happen in Kynaston on a daily basis, and its overall violent crime rate is twice that of the next city on the list.

Police Chief G. Patrick Abbey has all he can do to keep the citizens of Kynaston alive and unmolested, all the while struggling to cope with the disappearance of his only daughter, Poppy, without a trace nearly a decade ago.

All of this is not succeeding in making Kynaston look like the sort of place anyone would want to visit, which is troubling Mayor Hull, as he wants to see out-of-towners come to Kynaston for its celebration of 100 years as a city — festivities that are set to begin once school is out in June.

Pronunciations:

Kynaston: kihnahstun

Macek: maysehk

*consistent with real-world years except in politics, architecture, furniture, and automotive appearances.

†not an actual place.

Disconcerting: Day 15

Word Total: 90,009

Year to Date: 780,069

Summary of Events:

Caetline answered the phone because it was ringing and the caller, Jada's former teacher, informed her that Jada had been thrown from a horse once before and not gotten back on right away, thus her fear issues ran deeper than anyone at PCÉE had realised. Macaulay and his father's head trainer went to pick up the horse at the unusual hour of sunset; they kept the horse at his place for the night because he noticed Mr. Douglass-Milligan following them only to realise the next morning that the mare Macaulay had ridden two days before was not the animal in the pasture . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"He told me this is the horse you got last night," Da replied. "He suspects the horse was drugged so that it wouldn't arouse anyone's suspicions."

"So there were two horses," Macaulay said. "I was right! Those confounded police wouldn't listen to me but I was right! The Rescuers weren't lying!"

"Obviously," Da said dryly.

"Why're you still upset?" Macaulay asked.

"I thought you were taking it to their place last night," Da replied.

"Mr. Douglass-Milligan followed us out of the driveway, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to keep it here overnight and drop it off in the morning," Macaulay replied. "Recalling the horse I was shown."

Da nodded.

"Do veterinarians have tranquiliser guns?" Macaulay asked.

"I don't care if they do," Da replied.

"It needs medical help," Macaulay said. "I mean, even if it's a side benefit that we get it to the Rescuers' farm, it needs medical help and there's no way we're going to stop it by hand."

"That is true," Da agreed.

"And besides," Macaulay said. "If we call the police we can show them the horse and prove that they got it wrong and get Mr. Douglass-Milligan into the trouble he deserves to be in."

"You're missing the fact Macaulay," Da said.

"What fact?" Macaulay asked.

"This is a stallion," Da replied. "He is surrounded by mares and completely uncontrollable. Carlton told me he put him here because you'd said the horse was a mare. Now we can't move him and we can't really move the mares other than to do our best to keep the ones in heat in the farther pastures from him. And, not having nor seeking a tranquiliser gun, we can't drug him, nor do I believe it best for him to be kept on a constant regimen of drugs."

"Well if we get him tranquilised and out to the Rescuers' farm so that he can recuperate what does it matter?" Macaulay asked.

"I've done a bit of research on the Rescuers myself," Da said. "They don't know what to do with a stallion. He'd kill them, especially in this state. They're much more capable of handling dogs, cats, and horses who've merely been starved to bones. He can't go there."

"Oh," Macaulay said flatly.

"So guess what you're up to when you're not at the hospital or classes," Da said.

"Why can't Carlton do it?" Macaulay asked.

"My staff are paid to train my horses," Da replied. "All of my staff are more than occupied with the training of my horses. You paid for this horse, you know how to train a horse, you know what to do with a stallion, he's your job."

Macaulay stared at the frantic stallion with horror. What had initially looked so easy and clean had completely backfired in his face. Not only was the horse stuck here lest the Rescuers kill themselves trying to help him, but he had to try and turn this petrified mess of horseflesh into something moderately controllable.

Next Post: October 31.

Disconcerting: Day 14

Word Count: 84,018

Summary of Events:

Macaulay decided to give money to the Aberdeenshire Rescuers and within days was called by them to purchase the horse on their behalf because Mr. Douglass-Milligan wouldn't let them buy her themselves. Jada's parents came to PCÉE to try and threaten legal action against Arrière-Oncle Guy, who proved his lack of liability. Macaulay went to Mr. Douglass-Milligan's to look at the horse on the behalf of the Aberdeenshire Rescuers and found a genuinely unharmed horse whom he put through her paces . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Macaulay took the lead from Mr. Douglass-Milligan and centred himself in the courtyard before asking the mare to move out. She moved nicely at both a walk and a trot, and responded to subtle cues. Macaulay even got her to canter, which sent Mr. Douglass-Milligan into one of the unused stalls to watch warily.

After putting her through her paces both ways Macaulay could tell that the mare was out of shape because she looked rather weary and even somewhat sweaty after what would've seemed like hardly any work to a regularly exercised horse.

"She's a bit out of shape," Macaulay commented. "How does she ride?"

"I don't know," Mr. Douglass-Milligan replied. "Like I said, horses were Lorna's passion, I did nothing with them. I've only finally gotten up the courage to part with her."

Considering that claim, Macaulay thought Mr. Douglass-Milligan was disturbingly unemotional — as in, he wasn't choking up or looking like he might shed a couple tears — but Macaulay went over to the makeshift tack room of a stall and found two jumping saddles and one saddle that was more of a general pleasure-type.

The pleasure saddle looked the cleanest, so Macaulay put it on. The mare didn't fuss at all about being tacked up and took the basic snaffle bit well. Macaulay found a pair of spurs that he managed to fix to his shoes before double-checking that everything was secured to the mare properly and swinging up into the saddle.

He took a moment to adjust the stirrups before riding the mare around the courtyard at walk, trot, and canter in both directions as well as testing her ability to turn tightly, stop, reverse, and side-pass.

In truth, she was an immensely ridable horse and Macaulay was quite surprised. Even if there was no jump to test her abilities over on that front — which should be alright as Irish Warmbloods were often used as jumping horses — Macaulay would consider her a good buy; in fact, he would even contend that a child who knew the basics of riding should be able to have success with her.

Macaulay dismounted, checked the mare's legs and hooves for soundness, as well as her teeth and other places before nodding.

"She's a fine horse," Macaulay said. "Well trained."

"Yes, Lorna loved her very much," Mr. Douglas-Milligan said.

Macaulay untacked the mare — making sure also to remove the spurs — before walking the mare around in two clockwise circles and two anticlockwise circles and putting her back in her stall.

"I'll take her," Macaulay said.

"Oh, of course," Mr. Douglass-Milligan said. "Come up to the house and I'll write up a bill of sale."

Disconcerting: Day 13

Word Count: 78,029

Summary of Events:

Caetline participated in her first competition at the next level up from where she'd been and — to her own surprise — actually succeeded in winning the competition in the seventh round of the jump-off. Macaulay contemplated giving money to help buy the horse — abused or not — but wasn't convinced his donation would cause the change he hoped being as he intended to remain anonymous. Caetline watched Jada participate in the team portion of the competition, going last in the second round because of her clear ride in the first, another clear round meaning PCÉE could get into a three-team jump-off for the win . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Again Pride showed energy, soaring of the jumps with ease — in part thanks to the fact that he was almost seventeen hands high — and moved around the course with confidence.

Pride was such an excellent horse that Caetline felt like Jada looked a lot better on him than she ever had on Coraline. The thing was Pride was trained for higher levels and young enough not to be quite as potentially bored with it as Coraline — and, of course, there was the fact that Pride seemed to feed off the competition environment.

Caetline watched as he managed one of the complex combination jumps with expertise, his hooves hardly remaining on the ground for more than a second between jumps. He was an incredibly athletic horse and his athleticism shone through as he moved over the course.

Completing the first two thirds of the course, Jada reached the long strait and started off. Pride, seeming to recognise that it was a long strait, immediately picked up his pace; Caetline could hear the rhythmic shift from three beats to four.

At first she thought Jada was going to ride it out at the faster speed, as Jada didn't deepen her seat and draw back on the reins to curb Pride's enthusiasm.

"Oh no," Mrs. Quincey said. "Don't do that."

Caetline watched as Jada reached forward with one hand and grabbed the rein closer to the bit, bringing Pride's nose around. It was an effective way to slow a horse down, but it was one that would eat up precious seconds in this instance and possibly cause Jada to get time faults.

Pride, upset at the idea of being pulled away from the course, tossed his hindquarters up in the subtlest and gentlest of bucks — although Caetline knew from experience even a little buck like that didn't feel as little in the saddle — Jada screamed and pulled even harder on the rein, practically touching Pride's nose to her knee.

He didn't like this either and popped his forequarters up, which Caetline saw jostled Jada, who screamed again, and made her come loose a bit. Dropping down from his half-rear, Pride did another little buck and Jada came loose, dropping to the ground with a shriek.

The crowd, naturally, gasped, but Pride showed calmness immediately after unseating Jada and turned to examine her like a curious colt seeing something for the first time. Again Jada shrieked and took a swing at him, hitting his nose.

Pride pulled up into a full rear and Jada stared at him, a bloodcurdling scream emanating from her throat. Several people including M. Fabron and Miss Phillips hurried out onto the course to help Jada and catch Pride.

Caetline was surprised Mrs. Quincey didn't move. She was even more surprised when Mrs. Quincey whistled.

Everyone was startled when Pride immediately cantered through the course without disturbing a jump and came over to the gate where Mrs. Quincey took hold of his reins.

Disconcerting: Day 12

Word Count: 72,008

Summary of Events:

Macaulay was bombarded by calls and texts from friends while showering and discovered that Mr. Douglass-Milligan had — allegedly, for all Macaulay knew — found a buyer for the horse; not that he was sure why his friends needed to tell him about it. Caetline and most of her class ended up being taught by M. Alberts because Jada got overly upset and Mrs. Quincey took her aside to talk about it. Macaulay was at the hospital for work again, his friends still bombarding him with messages about the latest fundraising efforts by the Aberdeenshire Rescuers . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

The vibration of his silenced mobile in his coat pocket startled Macaulay. He took advantage of the fact that they were walking down a hallway — with Dr. MacArthur ahead of him — to see what it was.

As he should've expected, it was a message from the same friends who'd been blowing up his mobile every time something new happened relating to Mr. Douglass-Milligan — and this in spite of the fact that he'd repeatedly told them he didn't care. It was just a link, probably to their GoFundMe page.

Macaulay shook his head. With the amount of haranguing he'd received from them, particularly featuring links to the GoFundMe page, and especially since the revelation of a prospective buyer — however true that might be — he almost wondered if his friends were expecting him to just drop down the last of the money needed to buy the horse so that the Rescuers could get it instead of the true-or-false buyer from the Continent.

That thought prompted Macaulay to feel a greater measure of irritation toward his friends than he'd previously felt. All they really wanted him for was his money? It wasn't like any of them lived in the poorhouse, why couldn't they shell out some money? He doubted they'd given anything yet, considering that the last he'd seen it wasn't even £550, surely his friends wouldn't be so cheap as to give less than £100 or so each.

Besides, they were far more into horses than he was, so why were they expecting him to respond? Maybe once he was done at the hospital today he'd have to take some time to message them — actually, it might be better to e-mail them instead — and ask them what the meaning was behind all this barraging because it made him really feel like they were even less his friends than he thought they'd been not all that terribly long ago.

Sure he was the richest one out of them all, but he wasn't interested in this, he hadn't been from the start, and he didn't see what they didn't get about that. They seemed almost worse than Ellie about the issue.

Thinking of Ellie, Macaulay wondered if she would've put them up to it, but he doubted it, honestly. Ellie was annoying, but she wasn't underhanded. She just seemed to fuss about him overmuch, and it didn't make any sense to him why she had to fuss about him so much; he wasn't her child, Stirling and Penelope were.

Macaulay sighed. It wasn't really worth thinking about all of this now, he had work that needed to be done, he could worry about whether his friends were trying to get him to front all the money to buy this horse himself or not and what part — if any — Ellie had to play in it when he got home.

Pronunciations:

Alberts: ahlbehr

Disconcerting: Day 11

Word Count: 60,062

Summary of Events:

Macaulay woke up earlier than usual and spent some time talking with his Grandmum about his personal life. Caetline and her friends went out for a ride and, somewhat inevitably, got onto the topic of Jada, with Lucie continuing to be passionately upset about the matter . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"We're being bullied by mediocrity," Lucie said. "Jada means to maintain a level of mediocrity even if she has to bully us all to bits in order to achieve it successfully. How many more reasons do I need to give why we need to resist her?"

"We agree with you Lucie," Eva said. "We don't think that Jada should be allowed to get away with all this bullying."

"Then why am I the only one who seems to be intent to fight?" Lucie asked. "Everyone else is more than willing to let Jada get away with this. Why am I alone in this fight?"

"Because we don't know how worthwhile the hill is for dying on," Caetline replied.

Lucie exhaled with tones of disgust and asked Avalon to trot, pulling her away from the group.

"I guess it's a question we all have to ask ourselves," Amélie said. "Do we want to contribute to Jada getting it through her head that it's not all about her now so that people later don't have to endure this frustration, or do we accept how it is and leave later people to fight with her about the issue and show her that reality isn't what she wants to believe it to be? I don't know what my answer is yet."

The three of them rode in silence, watching Lucie ride ahead of them.

"To be honest," Caetline said. "I know my answer, and it's that I want to help Jada realise that it's not all about her now, but I don't know that verbal confrontation is the way that we're going to be successful at it. Based on what I've seen with Jada even in these last couple weeks I don't think verbal confrontation is going to get through to her, and definitely not long-term. She deals with verbal confrontation a lot, she knows that we're not all that pleased with her."

"Yeah," Eva agreed.

"It's kind of easy to get frustrated with her," Caetline said.

"Oh yeah," Eva agreed.

"But I think we need to fight more against our frustration than against her," Caetline said. "We need to be more patient with her than she is with us. We need to show her with kindness and sincerity that we're not against her just to be against her, but we think that it would be better for her, safer for her, to ride a horse that isn't bay. No one's really talked to her calmly and respectfully, we've all been quick to get frustrated with her."

"Understandably so too," Amélie said. "She hasn't given us a real concrete reason why bays are better than other horses other than that she thinks they are, and she can hold a hard line."

"You know," Eva said. "I think I agree with your answer. I don't want other people to necessarily have to deal with the unreasonable behaviour Jada is exhibiting, but I don't think it should necessarily be force versus force. Calmness and kindness are better."

Disconcerting: Day 10

Word Count: 60,013

Summary of Events:

Caetline and her sister Emeline were holding horses while they got their hooves trimmed and shoes put on and Caetline inadvertently fetched and held Pride while unsupervised, which she wasn't allowed to do for her safety, being as he was a stallion. Macaulay went to the local police station to complain about their handling of the allegations against Mr. Douglass-Milligan, complaints he took directly to the chief of police. After being warned by Arrière-Oncle Guy not to get into the habit of fetching stallions by herself yet — not that he was too upset, seeing as she'd not been trying to show off — the two ended up discussing further about Pride and Jada . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Not, of course, that I hope anything will happen, or want anything to happen, that might cause them to turn on me and claim I would be liable," Arrière-Oncle Guy said. "But should anything occur I cannot be held responsible because I do not even own one percent of Pride, not to mention I have thoroughly explained in writing that I do not support the arrangement, and thus will not force its continuation if one or both parties seek to dissolve it. It is a private arrangement between M. Johnstone and the Greenwall family, an arrangement that will not be forced upon anyone who might possibly purchase Pride from M. Johnstone at any time in the future."

Caetline nodded.

"I know you have an affection for the stallion," Arrière-Oncle Guy said. "And I understand that you have not been pleased to see him ridden by such an inexperienced rider as Mlle. Greenwall, but, as it stands, that's the arrangement."

"Lucie was quite upset with it," Caetline said. "She wasn't pleased that she had to be changed off of her horse because Jada has to have a bay and the bay she ends up — regardless the means — being given is a stallion. She also didn't like that Jada, as an inexperienced rider, was riding a stallion when riders like her and I have never been afforded such a privilege."

"As it is a private arrangement between Mlle. Greenwall and her cousin, I can do nothing about it aside from what has been done, which has been done for safety," Arrière-Oncle Guy said. "I do not want to endanger either Mlle. Greenwall or any of the other students who share her class, thus I have asked Jacqueline to make the changes. If any students, such as Mlle. Pedin-Hunt, have issue with the arrangement they must take it up with Mlle. Greenwall and M. Johnstone."

"I know," Caetline said. "I guess, I was just concerned. Should we as students really bother Jada about it? I mean, I'm not the happiest about it, but, I don't really see it as a hill I want to die on, or need to, for that matter."

Arrière-Oncle Guy nodded. "So long as the students who complain make it clear that the opinions they are sharing are their own, and that they have not been enlisted into any sort of campaign by myself or PCÉE, I will et them complain as they believe they need to. If they, like you, see no need to complain, then do not."

"Lucie can get so impassioned, though," Caetline said.

"I know," Arrière-Oncle Guy replied. "I will tell Jacqueline and Jacqueline can inform Mlle. Pedin-Hunt that she must make sure to not suggest that she has been enlisted by us to complain, but that her complaints are her own personal opinion on the matter, and that she must take care not to be malicious toward Mlle. Greenwall, for we do not endorse nor condone bullying taking place on our grounds."

Pronunciations:

Pedin: pehdah'

PCÉE: P C E E

Disconcerting: Day 9

Word Count: 54,033

Summary of Events:

Macaulay and his friends hung out and ended up discussing the allegations against Mr. Douglass-Milligan with his friends believing that the activist group was lying. Caetline watched Jada's first lesson riding Pride before having a discussion with her friend Lucie who was not impressed that Jada was allowed to ride a stallion, among other issues. Macaulay and his father discussed the allegations in his father's office . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"I think Mr. Douglass-Milligan's lying," Macaulay finally said. "He lied about the affair before, why wouldn't he lie about the abuse now?"

"Compelling thought," Da replied.

"This group has a lot more to lose if they're lying," Macaulay continued. "Besides, if they were lying they wouldn't have started up the fundraising — even if it has tipped their hand to an extent and may lead to them getting a perfectly healthy horse — they would've admitted it and thrown it in, or they would've attacked more viciously, they've merely held their line."

"True," Da agreed.

"They're determined to prove what they believe," Macaulay said. "They don't believe that the horse he's selling is the only horse he owns. They haven't said it outright — in fact, I feel like they've been eerily silent on the matter — but I'm pretty sure they're convinced as I am that either Mr. Douglass-Milligan owns two horses or he borrowed a neighbour's grey to show the police and the veterinarians."

Da nodded.

"And with that," Macaulay added. "When allegations are presented — of any kind — wouldn't the police want the people who made the allegations to show them the location where they say they saw what they allege?"

"Usually," Da replied.

"The police just went there with a couple of veterinarians," Macaulay said. "No one from the group was there, just some people who didn't really know all that much beyond what the video told them that could easily have been manipulated and lied to by Mr. Douglass-Milligan."

"Thus suggesting a bias against the group," Da said.

"Exactly," Macaulay agreed. "The police don't want to believe the group. Why? Is it because the group aren't as major as others of their ilk? Is it because the group hasn't ever brought forward allegations before? Is it because Mr. Douglass-Milligan is paying them off?"

"Bribery would be a further, and doubly serious crime," Da said.

"Why isn't anyone raising those sorts of questions?" Macaulay asked. "Publicly. Why are the police being allowed to get away with not doing their due diligence?"

"Why don't you say something?" Da asked.

"If I get involved I'll never hear the end of it from Ellie," Macaulay replied. "She'll have empirical proof — in her mind at the very least — that I'm lying about my change in interests."

Da nodded. "True. You do make some compelling points also, points that really highlight the overall strangeness of this case, really. No one knows where it came from, nor where it's going to, forget what to do with it now."

Disconcerting: Day 8

Word Count: 48,019

Summary of Events:

Caetline's dad and his cousin were back for a break, Caetline watched as her dad's cousin adeptly rode one of the school horses that possessed a more challenging personality. Macaulay was working at the hospital again and ended up being rather busy. Caetline and her friend Eva spent a few moments sitting in the shade after catching the morning's horses . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Are you alright?" Eva asked. "You look like you're a little off."

"Jada's got a bay," Caetline replied.

"And you're jealous because you don't have a horse of your own?" Eva asked.

"No," Caetline replied. "Her parents didn't pay any money. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're actually going to be getting paid for the arrangement."

"Really?" Eva asked. "What do you mean?"

"She's riding Pride," Caetline replied.

"He's a stallion!" Eva exclaimed.

Caetline nodded, saying nothing.

"How did she arrange that?" Eva asked.

"Lucas-Oliver decided it would get him out of having to hire an exercise rider for Pride if he let her ride him," Caetline replied.

"How did they even connect?" Eva asked.

"Mr. Greenwall and Mrs. Johnstone are brother and sister," Caetline replied.

"Oh," Eva said. "So they ended up seeing him because he's home and talked to him about it and he decided to kill two birds with one stone."

"Yes," Caetline replied.

"And you think it's going to harm your chances to buy Pride," Eva said.

"It's going to destroy them," Caetline replied. "If it's a success, anyways."

"So you're hoping it fails?" Eva asked.

"I guess," Caetline replied. "I don't know."

"Does that mean everyone who's on a mare will be changed to riding a gelding?" Eva asked.

"That's my guess," Caetline replied.

"And M. Lécuyer is okay with this?" Eva asked.

"It's not his horse," Caetline replied. "He's planning on talking to a lawyer to make sure that he can prove his lack of liability if anything goes wrong, thus any attempt to sue him would fall flat."

"I've never been allowed to ride a stallion," Eva said. "Nor have you. It seems kind of unfair that Jada should be allowed to when she's the newest to the class."

"I know," Caetline replied dismally. "I've never even ridden a horse worth more than ten thousand dollars. She's riding a quarter of a million dollar horse."

"And he's gorgeous too," Eva said.

"I know," Caetline replied. "Why else do you think I want to buy him?"

Eva sighed. "That's really disappointing."

Caetline merely nodded. What else was there to be said? The horse she wanted the most was being ridden by the girl she found the most difficult to be around. The girl who was the most inexperienced. The girl who was least deserving of such a privilege. The girl who was the most entitled.

"I really don't think they'll work well together," Eva said.

"They were fine yesterday," Caetline replied.

"She rode him yesterday?" Eva asked.

"Yes," Caetline replied. "Lucas warmed Pride up first, so Arrière-Oncle Guy isn't convinced it will necessarily remain as sunny as it looked yesterday, but they rode yesterday and things went well."

"And there's not really any way we could try and ruin the partnership without making things dangerous," Eva said.

"No," Caetline agreed. "There isn't, and even if there were I don't know that I'd want to do it for Pride's sake."

Disconcerting: Day 7

Word Count: 42,032

Summary of Events:

Caetline and her friend Eva discussed the Greenwall family's visit to the school to look at horses and speculated as to why Jada's parents had seemed unwilling to commit to buying their daughter a horse. Macaulay was doing some preparatory work for school in his bedroom . . . 

Excerpt of the Day:

His mobile sounded. Macaulay finished the sentence he'd been writing and checked to see who it was from.

It was a link to a GoFundMe page. Macaulay went to the page and saw that it was run by the Aberdeenshire Rescuers and they were looking for £30,000 to buy the horse from the video, which they showed a grainy still from.

From what Macaulay could tell the campaign had been begun about six hours before. To this point it'd raised £100.

Macaulay turned to his desktop and searched just Mr. Douglass-Milligan's surname.

A headline from six hours ago announced why the GoFundMe page was up: Douglass-Milligan Announces Plans to Sell Horse.

Clicking on the headline, Macaulay waited for the page to load and then read. Mr. Douglass-Milligan, in light of the allegations, had decided to sell the horse to turn the spotlight away and get rid of the controversy, according to a statement he'd made exclusively to this particular news outlet.

He was, he said, too old for this controversy — Macaulay found that interesting, seeing as he was pretty sure Mr. Douglass-Milligan was younger than Da — and he wanted to wash his hands of this whole ordeal. He just wanted to be left alone to his private life without attacks by vengeful people for no sensible reason.

Thus, he was selling the horse for £30,000, which was just £5,000 more than he bought the horse for four years before. A link at the bottom of the article directed Macaulay to the website where Mr. Douglass-Milligan had listed the horse.

The horse's name was given as North Sea Mist, and it was listed as a registered Irish Warmblood that was ten years of age. The height was given as fifteen three, and it was identified as a mare.

Accompanying photos showed an elegant mare with a reasonably light grey coat, not so light as to be white yet, but definitely on the lighter side of the grey horse he'd seen when he'd researched Mrs. Douglass-Milligan the other day.

One thing he noticed that was different, however, was that Mrs. Douglass-Milligan's horse had possessed no leg markings, but this mare had socks on her forelegs, as well as a narrow stripe down her forehead.

It was a beautiful horse with good confirmation and the like. Macaulay couldn't compare the lovely looking mare to the horse in the video, considering the graininess of the video, otherwise he would, but the fact that when he'd looked up Mrs. Douglass-Milligan the other day and the horse she'd been indicated and photographed as riding possessed no leg markings and had a German name — or, at least, Macaulay presumed, seeing as he knew luft as a German word element in words such as Luftwaffe and Lufthansa — Macaulay wasn't sure they were the same horse.

Disconcerting: Day 6

Word Count: 36,065

Summary of Events:

Jada's parents came to discuss the issue in person and Caetline, for interest's sake, tagged along, watching as Jada's parents looked at all the bay horses, including Pride, despite his being privately owned and seemed to be unwilling to make Jada ride a horse that wasn't bay . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Surely you have bought horses especially for other students," Mrs. Greenwall said.

"Non, Madame, I have not," Arrière-Oncle Guy said. "Every horse I own, unless ill or injured, is ridden by no less than two different people in a week who are judged to be suitable for that horse."

"You mean someone else rides Coraline?" Jada asked, sounding horrified.

"Oui," Arrière-Oncle Guy replied. "Coraline has been ridden by two other young riders the whole time you have had her as your horse. I strive to make sure each horse has at least two people who ride it on a weekly basis. This is true of every single horse I have shown you that I have not indicated as a privately owned horse."

"But, if you don't mind my asking Mr. Lécuyer," Mr. Greenwall said. "Why aren't the horses you showed us suitable for Jada? I mean, I know there were the ones she didn't like, but, why were the other ones unsuitable for her?"

"Jada is an early Advanced rider," Arrière-Oncle Guy replied. "And she is a rider who likes a responsive horse, a horse that will not challenge her authority. The horses I've shown you are horses that can be responsive for a rider who is stronger, a rider who is better capable of picking up on their idiosyncrasies. I have horses that are willing to respond no matter how assertive and authoritative their rider is, the sorts of horses Jada needs, I just don't happen to have any in bay is all."

"So why can't you buy one in bay?" Mrs. Greenwall asked.

"Because a horse's colour is not considered the attribute of greatest importance by most riders, from my young grandchildren all the way up to my daughter, even to the man who's nearly sixty and rides three times a week, colour is not significant, it is the temperament and build of the horse that are more important," Arrière-Oncle Guy replied.

Jada looked upset, and Caetline was pretty sure it was because of the fact that Coraline had been ridden by others without her realising more than anything.

Mrs. Greenwall didn't look impressed either, but Mr. Greenwall looked like he was considering things.

"So who are the suitable horses?" Mr. Greenwall asked.

"I don't want them!" Jada cried. "None of them are bay!"

"Jada, please," Mr. Greenwall said.

"They're all ugly horses!" Jada shouted. "I don't want to ride a horse unless it's a bay horse and you're not going to make me!"

"This is unreasonable Jada," Mr. Greenwall said.

"You're unreasonable!" Jada screamed.

"Would that bay horse Jada first pointed out be suitable for her?" Mr. Greenwall asked, looking desperate.

"It is a privately owned horse, no matter its suitability," Arrière-Oncle Guy replied cooly. "If she refuses to ride the perfectly suitable horses I have for her then you have the alternative of purchasing her a horse."

Pronunciations:

Non: noh

Arrière-Oncle: ahrrheeehr-ohnkl

Oui: we

Lécuyer: lehkooyay

Disconcerting: Day 5

Word Count: 30,007

Summary of Events: 

Caetline spent some time visiting with Queen's Pride before helping her great-aunt find her great-uncle and tell him there was a message for him; Caetline learned the message was from Jada's mother, who was adamant that the riding school purchase a bay horse for Jada. Macaulay, back home, was sent on errands by his stepmom that included getting himself a haircut because she thought his hair was too long . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

The radio being played in the salon went to a news break shortly after she started and Macaulay listened casually.

"Now on the animal abuse allegations against Allan Douglass-Milligan," the newscaster said. "We have received an update from Stonehaven Police."

The audio changed. "In accordance with the complaint against Mr. Douglass-Milligan officers have gone out to his estate and seen the horse in question," Macaulay guessed the speaker was now a police officer. "They were accompanied by two veterinarians and will be posting photos of the horse, who was found in immaculate health and judged to have not ever suffered any ill treatment by the veterinarians. It is the opinion of the Stonehaven Police that the video posted online is a hoax."

Macaulay nearly launched up from his seat in a fury. A hoax? How could they have pulled off a hoax like that? It sure seemed genuine to him. There was no way it could've been a hoax.

Sure the footage had been grainy, that was what one got for shooting their footage on a mobile instead of an actual camera, but the inflection of their voices, their startling when the first whip crack had sounded, the panicked flurry of the hooves, the sounds of the striking, all of them, they'd been so genuine. How could those women have possibly faked it?

"Is that what you want?" the hairdresser interrupted Macaulay's thoughts.

"Shorter down here," Macaulay replied, indicating.

She affixed a shorter comb to the razor and started cutting.

Macaulay wanted to shake his head in appall. He had no clue how the police could possibly believe it a hoax. He didn't even know why the activists would've lied. What would they gain by lying?

Nothing. Any activist group had little to gain by lying. If they wanted to be viewed as credible they needed to tell the truth, this group would be ruined if they were lying. They had to be telling the truth. Mr. Douglass-Milligan had to be lying.

But how? Did Mr. Douglass-Milligan have two horses? Da had said he only had one, and even that had surprised Macaulay. What would Mr. Douglass-Milligan do with two horses? What would Mr. Douglass-Milligan do with one horse?

Unless they'd made a mistake. Maybe the activists had thought that they'd been at Mr. Douglass-Milligan's estate but had been elsewhere. The police hadn't mentioned the activists being present at the inspection of the horse — which strongly suggested that the police were biased against the group — so how could the police or the activist know they'd been at the right place?

Macaulay figured this was going to necessitate him going online and looking for any and all news articles he could find on the whole thing, or maybe even going directly to the webpage the women had cited in the video and seeing if there was any further information there that might prove whether it was a case of mistaken identity on the part of the location or not.

Disconcerting: Day 4

Word Count: 24,004

Summary of Events:

Caetline and Mrs. Quincey talked with Caetline's great-uncle Guy about Jada's refusal to try suitable horses because they weren't bay coloured and he told them to pick a horse they believed suitable for Jada; if she wanted a bay one she'd have to buy it herself. Macaulay and his friends, spending the weekend in Edinburgh, watched the news in their hotel room and were shown the footage — just released by the Aberdeen Rescuers — of the horse being beaten; seeing the abuse upset Macaulay . . .

Excerpt of the Day: 

"You sure don't look like it," Macaulay swore. "How can you sit around so casually?"

"We're not into horses," Owen replied.

"And I didn't think you were either," Connor said.

"It's injustice even if it's being done to a horse!" Macaulay exclaimed. "How can your sense of justice not be ignited? How can you not– how can you not be upset?"

"We can't do anything about it," Euan replied. "It's back home, and we're not going back home until Monday. And trust me, commenting on Facebook or Twitter is not doing something."

"I don't want you commenting on social media!" Macaulay cried. "I don't believe that's the solution to the problem!"

"Then what is?" Owen asked.

"We need to make sure this is taken seriously by the authorities when we get home," Macaulay replied. "Da needs to say something."

"Um, Macaulay, your Da's a doctor," Connor said.

"Not just a doctor!" Macaulay snapped.

"Well, yes, he's a member of the Peerage," Euan said. "But, Macaulay, that doesn't make him more worth listening to than anyone else."

"Da runs a breeding farm for horses!" Macaulay swore. "Yes they're bay horses, not grey ones, but he knows more than the average idiot does about horses. He's known for giving money to help horses. He's not just a doctor! He's not even just an Earl! He's a horseman!"

"Well, good for your Da," Connor said. "But if he wants to say something he'll say something and I doubt the police in Stonehaven are waiting for him to say something about it before they do something."

"What does all this saying something do?" Euan asked. "It tells people your opinion on a matter. Why does your opinion matter?"

"Because we can't let people get away with that!" Macaulay exclaimed. "We need to prove that the public doesn't stand for such things and condemn such abuses!"

"It won't make them go away," Owen said. "Abuse of humans has happened for ages and it's not going anywhere anytime soon."

"Abuse of horses has happened for ages," Euan said.

"So you're just going to claim defeat and say that we won't ever stop it at all so why should we try stopping one person from doing it?" Macaulay demanded.

"No," Euan replied. "We do believe that the abuse we know about we should stop."

Connor and Owen nodded in genuine agreement.

"The thing is," Euan said. "We're in Edinburgh right now. We can't do anything useful for the weekend. Let's just relax and enjoy the weekend and worry about helping out where we can, which isn't social media, when we get home."

"Besides," Connor said. "I'm impressed that you got so fired up about this. I mean, I know your Da has horses, but I didn't think you liked or cared about them. You said before you find people more interesting, at least medically."

"This is kind of taking us aback Macaulay," Owen said.

"As upset as we are, yeah, we're kind of gobsmacked that you're reacting like this," Euan agreed.

Macaulay nodded, feeling suddenly subdued.

Pronunciations:

Guy: g'ee

Disconcerting: Day 3

Word Count: 18,090

Summary of Events:

Jada came by the school to test out taller horses that Mrs. Quincey judged to have the most similar temperament to Coraline; Jada disliked all the horses Mrs. Quincey had picked because none of them were bay, so she test-rode the four bays in the most suitable height range but found them all dislikable for reasons that even Caetline — who was observing and helping out — had expected her to dislike them. Having gone through them, Jada still refused to test out the horses Mrs. Quincey had chosen . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"There's so many horses here!" Jada snapped. "Surely there's more than just these six I can ride! I'm a capable rider!"

"I won't deny you are," Mrs. Quincey replied. "But you are the student and I am the teacher, I am certified to have the knowledge of which horses suit which people the best, and on that knowledge I am certain that these are the six best horses for you, and don't you want the horses that are best for you?"

Jada looked at Mrs. Quincey sceptically. Caetline was actually surprised that Jada paused to consider Mrs. Quincey's argument. That wasn't really like her from what Caetline had observed in the time that she'd been in the same class as Jada.

"They can't be the best horses," Jada finally scoffed. "Bays are the best horses."

Mrs. Quincey sighed. "Jada, really. You need to pick a horse before your lesson next week, and these are your options. You've already eliminated all the bays."

"No she hasn't," Caetline said.

Mrs. Quincey startled and looked at Caetline.

"The browns are technically dark bays," Caetline said.

"I guess that's true isn't it?" Mrs. Quincey said.

"They aren't bays," Jada said. "They're brown."

"Technically many brown horses are very dark bay horses," Mrs. Quincey replied.

"I don't want to ride them," Jada said. "I want a bay horse like that," she pointed at the four bays lined up on the other side of the arena."

"Surely Sundae is the best horse for you, seeing as I've judged her the best and she is — even if very dark — bay," Mrs. Quincey said, walking over to the mare with the four stockings and a broad blaze down her forehead.

"She's brown," Jada said.

"Are you sure her mane and tail aren't black?" Mrs. Quincey asked.

"Yes," Jada replied.

"You can't tell from that distance," Mrs. Quincey said. "Come closer and look."

Jada stayed where she was for a few moments before finally walking over and looking at the mare who, because of her large and numerous white markings, had been described by Emeline as looking like a pile of ice cream covered in chocolate syrup, thus why she'd been given the moniker of Sundae.

"Are you sure it isn't black?" Mrs. Quincey asked.

Jada looked at Sundae's mane for awhile before finally shaking her head. "No, it's not black at all."

Mrs. Quincey sighed. "She's the closest horse to bay unless you choose Caramel, don't you want to try one of them?"

"No," Jada replied. "I want a bay horse."

Again Mrs. Quincey sighed, grabbing her head as she shook it.

"I'm going home." Jada said. "You'd better have a bay for me to ride when I come back for my lesson next week."

She whipped out her cellphone and — Caetline guessed — texted her brother before sauntering out of the arena and walking over to the parking lot to wait for her ride.

Mrs. Quincey looked at Caetline with exasperation. "Really? Bay matters that much?"

"Apparently," Caetline replied.

Disconcerting: Day 2

Word Count: 12,064

Summary of Events:

As part of his medical schooling, Macaulay joined his father at the hospital for practical work hours. Caetline went for a ride outside the school grounds on one of the school horses while thinking about how she would not be able to make enough money in the next year to possibly be able to buy the horse she wanted. Macaulay and his father, done at the hospital for the day, got in the car and headed for home . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Da turned up the radio as the news came on. Macaulay wasn't one for listening to the news much — not that Da was either — but they both figured it was at least worthwhile to hear a little bit of it once a day.

"In other news, animal rights group Aberdeenshire Rescues has made public stills from a video they allege to have shot on the property of Allan Douglass-Milligan showing an emaciated and abused horse and a man who matches Mr. Douglass-Milligan's description beating the animal," the newscaster said. "They allege that the horse is being starved and beaten and that it should be removed from the property. The stills are very graphic and have caused a stir, with many people offering trailers, blankets, and other supplies to help rescue the horse. To this point neither authorities nor Mr. Douglass-Milligan have made any comment on the matter."

"He can't seem to stay out of the spotlight, can he?" Da asked.

"I didn't know he had horses," Macaulay replied.

"His wife, the one who died here two years ago, she was an avid rider, competed across the Island, even on the Continent if I'm not mistaken," Da replied. "I thought he'd sold the horse after she died. Apparently he didn't. Well, if the allegations are true."

Macaulay nodded. "I'd hope they wouldn't lie."

"I would too," Da agreed. "It's not right to beat an animal, not in the sense of making it bleed. If you have to be a little rough or firm to get them to understand something or to acknowledge you're the top horse is one thing, but blood should never be shed in that effort."

"No," Macaulay agreed, shaking his head.

"It'd be interesting to see the stills," Da said. "I'd like to know why they didn't release the whole video, surely that would make their case stronger."

"I wonder how they got the footage," Macaulay said.

"Mr. Douglass-Milligan has staff, maybe one of them reported the beating," Da said.

"But why wouldn't they report it to the police?" Macaulay asked. "There are anti-animal abuse laws that could get Mr. Douglass-Milligan jailed if he is guilty."

"I guess that is true," Da agreed.

Macaulay followed Da's gaze out the window and across the other lane to the long, immaculate driveway that led down to Mr. Douglass-Milligan's estate, a much smaller estate than Greyham.

Trees obscured the yard site, preventing Macaulay from being able to see if there was a mews on the property where a horse might be kept in. Considering it was an estate that had been around a long time it probably had a mews, being as horses had been a major mode of transportation until the last century or so, but Macaulay had never thought of Mr. Douglass-Milligan as the horse-owning type, frankly.

Disconcerting: Day 1

Word Count: 6,052

Summary of Events:

Caetline arrived at the riding school for another day of helping out with the beginner class — as she was going to be starting to teach a second beginner class in the autumn. Macaulay and his friends watched the opening half of a friendly international football* match between Scotland and Poland, which finished in a 1–1 tie. Caetline participated in her lesson, watching her friends ride over the course as well as riding it herself; the last rider over the course was Jada, one of the most recent students to join the class despite her being the same age as Caetline and her friends . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

It would've been understandable if Jada had started riding later than Caetline and her friends, but, from what Caetline had learned, Jada — who had transferred from another riding school three or four years ago — had started riding at the same age as they had, so the fact that she didn't look as skilled as they did was surprising.

Everyone groaned as Jada took down a rail. Coraline was giving it her best, but something wasn't seeming all that right and Jada ended up knocking down more rails and bricks than she left up.

No one was surprised that this frustrated Jada, who roughhoused poor Coraline, jerking her around by her mouth and circling her in both directions.

"Jada," Mrs. Quincey said. "You know better than to haul on Coraline's mouth like that."

"She won't listen to me!" Jada snapped. "She ruined the whole course because she didn't want to listen."

"Come here please Jada," Mrs. Quincey said, that firm edge to her voice that everyone knew better than to dally after hearing.

It wasn't that Mrs. Quincey would erupt into a rage, but the next time there was the opportunity to do something fun whoever hadn't responded to Mrs. Quincey when she'd first used that tone would be forced to miss out as a punishment for not listening.

Jada, knowing that well, rode over to Mrs. Quincey, who surveyed Jada's legs both from up close and far away. She asked Jada to do a few things and Caetline watched intently, noting that there was, indeed, a time delay between when Jada started the cue and Coraline responded.

"Lucie, if you please," Mrs. Quincey said. "Can you come in and ride Coraline for me?"

Amélie took Avalon's reins from Lucie and Jada dismounted Coraline. Mrs. Quincey helped Lucie up onto the slightly taller horse and shortened the stirrups for her before asking her to run Coraline through the same paces Jada had.

For Lucie, Coraline responded instantly and seamlessly and Mrs. Quincey didn't have Lucie do half as much as she'd had Jada do.

"I thought so," Mrs. Quincey said.

Everyone waited for her to say more, but she let there be a long pause as she helped Lucie down from Coraline and thanked her for her help.

"You need a different horse Jada," Mrs. Quincey said. "Coraline is too short for you, thus you can't cue her properly. We'll have to look at some of the horses over fifteen hands for you next time to see how they work for you. You can finish the lesson on Coraline, but I'd encourage you to try and raise up your feet a little bit to get her to respond better for now."

Jada nodded, looking a little stunned. She got back onto Coraline without a word and everyone rode back to the smaller arena where they usually worked through a particular skill for their lesson.

Pronunciations:

Coraline: cohrahleen

Amélie: ahmehlee

*football is being used here for what North Americans call soccer.