Chapter 27Vredech found the pace trying. He had always been a better rider than Nertha, and the sight of her moving not merely ahead of him but getting steadily further away, revived sensations that he had not experienced since his youth.
‘Come on, nag, move,’ he growled furiously to his mount, urging it forward, but to no avail. He caught up with Nertha only when she stopped, and by then he was red-faced and breathless.
‘You should try letting the horse do the running,’ she said, laughing.
‘It wasn’t fair, it was uphill,’ he said fatuously, spluttering into laughter himself as he realized what he had said.
Nertha swung down from her horse. ‘We’ll walk them awhile — let them cool down. I doubt your horse has had any exercise since you bought it.’
Vredech affected a dignified silence.
