In the Brazilian's Debt(50)

                Lizzie was thrown for a moment. ‘I don’t know what you’re                     talking about.’

                ‘Haven’t you read the notice in the tack room? Oh, no,’ Danny                     groaned, clutching her head. ‘Chico must have put it up before he came to the                     party, and then you two disappeared.’

                Lizzie let go a sharp breath. Danny was right. She didn’t want                     to let her colleagues down. ‘Sorry—I wasn’t trying to give you the brush-off.                     I’m just so shocked.’

                ‘Of course you are,’ Danny agreed, giving her a hug, ‘but                     rushing back to Scotland won’t solve anything. It’s too late for you to do                     anything, according to Annie,’ she added with compassion. ‘And this isn’t a fun                     match like the game we played against Chico’s team. This is a serious game with                     talent scouts coming to watch how we handle the ponies.’

                Which would be a unique opportunity for Lizzie, not just to                     impress but to spread the word about the Rottingdean she still hoped to save.                     ‘If I catch a flight in the morning, I could be in Scotland the day after.’

                ‘But you’d miss the match and the chance to impress the top                     scouts and horse breeders,’ Danny pointed out sensibly.

                Scotland had to come first, or there would be nothing to show                     anyone.

                ‘This has nothing to do with Chico, does it?’ Danny asked as                     she hesitated.

                ‘No,’ Lizzie said too quickly.

                ‘I’m not trying to say this call from Scotland is a convenient                     excuse for you to leave, but it is an out.’ Danny’s mouth slanted as she waited                     for Lizzie to respond.

                Only a friend could say that, Lizzie reflected as she examined                     her motives.

                ‘This has nothing to do with Chico,’ she said finally, ‘and                     everything to do with my grandmother and an estate that has been in the Fane                     family for generations. My parents almost lost it, and my grandmother held it                     together, and I can’t let her down now. It’s up to me to step up.’

                Danny still looked as if she thought Lizzie was wrong to race                     back to a grandmother she couldn’t save and an estate that was lost, but Lizzie                     knew she had to try.