Silence lingered for a time after what Jane told the girls. It gave the girls time to start thinking about what it was Jane had really meant. Because it was something neither girl had ever heard before. Jane broke the silence as she said, "Girls. I think we need some fresh air. Charlotte, have you ever rode a horse before? There are some excellent trails on my property, which allow a rider to ride at a leisurely pace. And if we're lucky we might see some of the animals that live on my property."

Jane saw the expression on the girl's face, before Charlotte said, "Um, Aunt Jane. I once rode a pony at a fair when I was younger. All it did was walk around in a circle."

Jane saw the apprehensive look on Charlotte's face, then said, "Charlotte, all of the horses I buy are very gentle. They have to be gentle because like you, many of the girls who come to me have never ridden." Jane then took in the girl's faces, and realized her's must look the same. "And girls, if I look like the two of you, then I must look like a raccoon also, so we need to freshen our faces. Charlotte, Marie will go with you and show you the proper clothing, and footwear, a young lady wears when riding. If you have trouble getting dressed, Francis can assist you, as she's ridden with me and knows how to dress properly. And make sure you fix your faces properly, or our riding will be delayed as you're sent back to your rooms to fix your mistakes."

Both girls replied with, "Yes, Aunt Jane," before following Marie out of the study.

Jane sat for a few minutes longer, thinking back through the decisions she'd made that caused this all to happen. "How could I not see how close those two have become without doing what I did? How could I not see how far Francis has come to be concerned about someone other than herself, except by doing what I had to do?" She finished talking to herself, closed her eyes, looked towards the ceiling and told herself, "I must be more careful or this might happen again. And it can't happen while Toby is here." Jane sighed, opened her eyes, lowered her head, got up from her chair and walked out of the study and headed to her bedroom to get dressed for riding and to reapply her own makeup. It had been a stressful morning.

Marie went with Charlotte into her bedroom, walking into Charlotte's closet after opening the door. She then pointed out the pants, top, and boots Charlotte would be wearing to ride in, then took her to the dresser and showed her the undergarments Charlotte should wear so her legs and bottom didn't get chapped while riding. Before leaving Charlotte's bedroom, Marie told her to clean her face after undressing and before getting dressed in their riding clothes. And to redo her makeup after she put the top on, in order not to smear her makeup. Once Marie was sure Charlotte knew what to wear for riding, she went back downstairs to see about Jane.

Marie walked to the end of a hall forbidden to the girls, and entered Jane's bedroom without knocking. As she entered, she found Jane sitting on her bed, her head in her hands. Marie sat down on the bed beside Jane, put her arm around her and pulled Jane to her. "Don't beat yourself up over what happened, you know it had to be done, mon amie. You also had to know how far Francis had progressed in caring for others. Do you know why this time hurt more than the other times?" Jane looked up at Marie when she'd asked her question. When Jane didn't answer her, Marie said, "Because Charles shouldn't be here. Because he's caught up in an injustice, just like Kennth. And you're angry that Ruth had no choice but to send him here or he would be facing additional charges in Federal Court. And, because he is where we want all of our girls to eventually be before leaving us. We can't help her academically because she is beyond our abilities. But we can help him learn how to accept his feminie side and experience how girls feel most of the time when they leave their homes. Charlotte has already had one experience, but we both know there are many more that don't involve putting people to sleep."

Jane chuckled when Marie mentioned the boy Charlotte decked when he tried to hit her. "Yes, our Charlotte can certainly take care of herself," Jane told Marie. Then Jane said, "I vowed never to do this again, Marie. After Kennth, I swore I'd never let another boy be sent to us who shouldn't be here." Jane sighed, then continued with, "But if he hadn't been sent to us he'd be facing more charges in Federal Court. Charges that would be based on a lie." Then Jane hissed, "Damnitall."

Marie patted Jane's knee then told her, "Go, get yourself ready to ride. Go show Charlotte your babies. Show them a good time in the fresh air, you three need it." Jane nodded her head before kissing Marie on the cheek, and thanking her for her counsel. Marie left Jane to get herself ready to ride, and fix her face, while she went to check on the girls. She could do with some quiet time of her own.

Jane took a bit longer getting dressed, and remaking her face, than the girls because she had more on her mind than the girls. When she finally emerged from her bedroom, dressed for riding and her makeup immaculately applied, she found the girls sitting on the bench waiting for her. She had both stand and walked around both girls to inspect them with a critical eye. She then used the same critical eye to check their makeup, holding each girl's chin and turning their heads left and right. "I see Marie had given you both pointers with your clothing. I hope you both thanked her and will remember what she taught you. And you're both doing better applying your makeup." Critical Jane had returned, but not tyrannical Jane. She would return Monday, with a vengeance. With a smile on her face, Jane told the girls, "Let's go out so you can meet my babies, Charlotte. I know they'd like to meet both of you."

They followed Jane down the hall past where the bench sat, and out a back door. As they walked to the stable, Jane explained to Charlotte how to act around her horses, or any horse for that matter. And that she'd teach her how to saddle the horse she chose to ride, and what had to be done after they brought the horses back to the stable. When they reached the stable, and went inside, three of the four horses whinnied as they saw Jane and Francis. One of the horses, a Pinto, was standing in the back of its stall, an uneasy look about it. Francis walked over to a basket holding apples, took one and walked over to the horse she'd ridden before. As Charlotte watched, Francis held the apple in her flat hand and offered it to 'her' horse, with the horse readily accepting her offer. Jane did the same, only with the other two horses. When Jane turned her attention to Charlotte, she saw her standing at the stall of the Pinto, looking at the horse. "Why is this one afraid, Aunt Jane?"

Jane walked over to stand by Charlotte before telling her, "She's had a bad experience with her last owner. The fool thought he knew everything about horses and how to train them. Unfortunately, a whip seldom gets a horse to do what you want."

Without saying a word, Charlotte walked over to the basket and took two apples, putting one in the pocket of her riding pants. She then walked back over to the Pinto's stall, and extending her arm, held one of the apples in the flat of her hand. And waited. Jane backed away, sat down on a bale of straw, and watched.

The muscles in Charlotte's extended arm were starting to scream, but she was determined not to drop her arm, as she held the apple out to the Pinto. She saw the Pinto thinking of coming to her, as it had moved its front left leg in her direction, but pulled it back instead. Even with the muscles in her arm screaming at her, she resolved to help this frightened animal. Looking the horse in the eye, Charlotte told it, "Come on, sweetheart, I won't hurt you. I'd never think of hurting you. You are a beautiful horse, and need someone to care for you. I do know how you're feeling, being scared, I was scared before coming to this place. I didn't know how I was going to be treated, or what I would have to do. But three people have helped me get over my fears, and I'd like to help you get over yours." As Charlotte softly spoke to the horse, she saw it take its first tentative step in her direction, and continued softly encouraging it to come to her. She remained statue still, as the Pinto sniffed the apple in her hand before taking it. She continued talking to the horse softly as she gently rubbed the horse's muzzle. Even though she knew nothing about horses, other than they were big, she knew enough about responses to know when the Pinto pushed its muzzle into her ministrations of its muzzle, it liked what she was doing. It walked forward until its chest was up against the stall gate, allowing it to extend its head out into the stable. Charlotte then extended her rubbing to follow down as far as she could to the horse's left flank. While rubbing the Pinto's left flank, the horse gently moved its head and started rubbing the left side of Charlotte's face. She slowly brought her arms up and used both hands to gently rub both sides of the horse's face, before pulling out the second apple and offering it to the Pinto.

She then did something that caused Jane to stand, and almost shouted for her to stop, as she opened the gate to the stall and took a step towards the big horse. She wrapped her arms around the big horse's neck and hugged it, feeling the horse put its head on her back. They stayed like that for some minutes before Jane heard Charlotte ask the horse, "Would you like to go riding with me? I've never been on a real horse before so I'm kind of scared being up on one of you." She pulled back so she could look the horse in the eye then asked, "How about it, will you let me ride you?" She got her answer as the horse again gently started rubbing the left side of her face with its large head. Charlotte smiled then said, "I take that is a yes?" She again wrapped her arms around the big animals' neck, hugging it as it laid its head again on her back. Jane just shook her head as she watched Charlotte interact with the Pinto. In the two months she'd had the horse, it had never reacted to anyone the way she watched it react to Charlotte. Perhaps it knew it had found a human who knew exactly how it was feeling, Jane mused to herself. And knew exactly how the human was feeling.

Jane walked over to one wall where bridles were hung, and took one down. She turned to Charlotte and siad, "Charlotte, see if Pinto will follow you out of the stall. We need to put a bridle on her if you're to ride her." With her hand on the big horse's neck, Charlotte coaxed Pinto out of its stall and to where Jane was standing holding the bridle. But the minute Pinto saw the bridle she backed up until she was again in her stall and standing against the back wall. Puzzled, Charlotte slowly walked into the stall and up to the horse, speaking softly as she moved. "It's okay, Pinto. Aunt Jane isn't going to hurt you. You can trust her like you trust me, since I won't let anything hurt you." Jane slowly followed behind Charlotte but when she raised the bridle, Pinto quickly moved off to a corner of the stall.

Jane thought back to what she'd been told about Pinto, and an idea struck her, as she left the stall and came back empty handed. Charlotte was standing next to Pinto, trying to calm her, as Jane slowly approached with her hands clearly visible. Pinto let Jane get close enough that Jane was able to stroke its muzzle, and in doing so noticed something that angered her. She gently put her hand on the right side of Pinto's muzzle and moved the big horse's head so she could look at the other side of its mouth. "Stupid fool," she hissed, and rubbed Pinto's muzzle again before leaving the stall.

This time as she slowly entered the stall, she was carrying a hackamore, a bridle without a bit. This time when she held it up, Pinto didn't move, but let Jane put the hackamore on her. "Charlotte look here," Jane told Charlotte, as she pointed to the corner of Pinto's mouth. "See this long scar, there's a matching one on the other side of her mouth. That fool I bought her from not only abused her with a whip, but with a bridle as well. That's why she shied away when she saw the bridle. This hackamore won't hurt her mouth but will allow you to control her just the same." Jane backed away so she was standing in front of Pinto and had Charlotte try to lead Pinto out of the stall by the reins attached to the hackamore. Pulling gently, and speaking softly to Pinto, Charlotte urged Pinto to come with her. Since the big horse wasn't being hurt by the hackamore, she followed Charlotte and she was led out of the stall.

As Charlotte was leading Pinto out of her stall, Jane told her, "Take her to your right, Charlotte, outside through that end of the stables." As Jane followed the two, she picked up a rubber curry comb off the shelf near where the bridles were hung. Catching up with the two, she told Charlotte to stop Pinto when they were just outside the stable. Jane stood in front of Pinto and showed her the curry comb, looking for any reaction from the horse. When she saw none, she told Charlotte, "I'm going to show you how to use a curry comb. I prefer to use rubber ones since they are gentler than the metal ones." Jane talked as she started using the comb on Pinto, explaining, "You want to move in circular motions, be firm but gentle at the same time. This will work off any loose hair or dirt that's accumulated on the horse's skin. Here, you try it now," and Jane handed the curry comb to Charlotte.

Jane was about to tell Charlotte not to start on Pinto's muzzle, but as she watched Charlotte curried the horse's muzzle, she realized Pinto actually liked it. As Jane watched she realized Charlotte seemed to have an instinct for currying a horse. After Pinto's muzzle, Charlotte then started at the top of Pinto's head and worked down the side of her head to beneath her jaw. She then started on Pinto's back and worked her way to Pinto's belly. This she did the entire length of Pinto on both sides of the horse. And Pinto did move a muscle. In fact, as Jane stood watching, she swore the horse had gone to sleep, since its eyes were closed.

When Charlotte had finished currying the other side of Pinto, she walked back to stand in front of the big horse. She handed the comb to Jane then using both hands, started stroking the sides of Pinto's face, while calling her name. "Pinto, sweetheart, did you go to sleep on me?" Pinto's eyes blinked open, and she whinnied before stepping forward and began rubbing the side of Charlotte's face with the side of her muzzle. As Pinto rubbed the side of Charlotte's face, she softly told the big horse, "Ah, you're welcome." Jane just stood there watching, amazed at the bond Charlotte had formed in a short time with a horse no one could do anything with in the two months Jane had her. It seemed to Jane, as she watched the interaction between Pinto and Charlotte, whether it was horse or human, when they meet and recognize a need, it doesn't take long for a mutual bond to form. And one had definitely formed between Pinto and Charlotte today. Then Jane thought to herself, 'Now, if that moron hasn't ruined her for a saddle.'

Jane went back into the tack room, and came back out with a saddle blanket. She started to walk in front of Pinto, stopped and told Charlotte, "Charlotte, take this saddle blanket and hold it out while standing in front of Pinto. We need to know if she's had a bad experience with something like it."

Charlotte took the offered blanket, and standing in front of Pinto, held it up for her to see. Pinto sniffed it, then stepped forward and again rubbed her muzzle against the side of Charlotte's face. "Well, Aunt Jane, guess Pinto is okay with this blanket. What now?"

Jane surveyed Pinto with a critical eye, looking for any minute indications she was nervous. Seeing none, she told Charlotte, "Walk around so you're standing by her left flank, and place the blanket on her back, with the long side hanging down on the top of her flanks. That's it. Now, walk her around by the reins, and let's see if it bothers her." Charlotte took the reins in her right hand, and started walking to Pinto's right. She didn't really pull the reins to get Pinto to follow her, Pinto actually started walking after Charlotte on her own; the reins were slack the whole time.

Jane had Charlotte bring Pinto back where they'd started, and watched as Charlotte softly spoke to the horse, telling her how good she was doing. Charlotte didn't see Jane go back into the tack room or return carrying a saddle. "Charlotte," Jane said, getting Charlotte's attention again, "here is the saddle you'll be using to ride Pinto. Take it and do the exact same thing you did with the saddle blanket. If that fool I bought her from has spoiled her for a saddle, she'll let us know right away." Jane first showed Charlotte how to hold the saddle for carrying, and taking the saddle from Jane, again stood in front of Pinto. Again, Jane appraised the horse, again looking for any minute indication Pinto was afraid of the saddle.

She was rather surprised when Charlotte asked Pinto, "Well, what do you think? Is this saddle okay with you?" She was even more surprised when Pinto whinnied then nodded its head up and down, almost as though it completely understood what Charlotte had asked.

Jane then pulled a step box over from the side of the stable, positioned it near Pinto's left side and said to Charlotte, "She's doing fine so far," Jane chuckled and continued with, "even acting like she understands everything you're saying. Okay. Again, go over to her left side and step up on the step box. Go slowly, let's let her get used to you moving around her carrying something. You're high enough so putting the saddle on her will be easier. The part standing proud of the saddle is called the pammel, it goes in front, towards her head. When you place the saddle on her back, for now, be gentle, we still don't know how she'll react with it on her back. As you put it on her back, make sure the right side stirrup and cinch strap don't get hung up under the saddle, which is why it's best if you place them over the saddle toward you as you put the saddle on. Once the saddle is on, you can then let them down from the other side." Jane watched as Charlotte did as Jane had instructed, first putting the right side stirrup then the cinch strap over the saddle as Jane had said, then gently setting the saddle on her back. 'So far so good,' Jane thought to herself. 'Now we'll see how she takes to the cinch strap.' "All right, Charlotte. Go around to the far side and, reaching under Pinto, hand me the cinch strap, then come back around so I can show you how to affix the cinch strap." As Charlotte walked back around to where Jane was standing, Jane had been explaining about tightening the cinch strap. "Remember, Charlotte, you want the cinch strap tight enough so the saddle is firmly on your horse's back, but not so tight that your horse has trouble breathing. You also have to understand, if you don't get it tight enough in the beginning, and as you ride, the cinch strap loosens, you and the saddle might find yourselves on the ground. In that case, the saddle will get dirty or banged up, you might be in worse shape."

As Charlotte watched, Jane lifted the left stirrup out of her way as she held the cinch strap in her left hand. She then ran, what she called the latigo, through the buckle at the end of the cinch strap with her right hand, then pulled it up and ran it down through a 'D' ring on the saddle. She brought it across itself in the front, then went back through the 'D' ring from behind and down through the opening created when she crossed the latigo over itself. Much like tying a tie. Jane undid everything and showed Charlotte the steps again, before taking it apart and having Charlotte make the tie. She had Charlotte untie the latigo and tie it again. When Charlotte had finished her third tie, Jane shook the saddle to make sure it was secure, complimenting Charlotte on a nice job of securing the cinch strap.

All through securing the saddle to Pinto, Pinto had stood patiently. Now as Charlotte lowered the left stirrup, Pinto brought her head around and gently nudged Charlotte, whinnying and nodding her head. "Aunt Jane, I think someone wants to go for a ride."

Chuckling, Jane told Charlotte, "It does appear that way. But first, walk her around a bit, then we can see if she's comfortable with the saddle on her back, and then we'll recheck the cinch strap again before we go on our ride." As Charlotte did before, she walked off to Pinto's right, with the horse not so much being led, but following after Charlotte; the reins again were slack. After three circuits, Jane had Charlotte stop Pinto where they'd put the saddle on her, and rechecked the cinch strap, having to untie the latigo and pull a bit of slack out of the cinch strap before retying the latigo.

"Take Pinto to the tank, over there," and Jane pointed to a water tank just off the stable, "and see if she'll take some water. If she doesn't take any, then she doesn't need it, so don't try and force her to drink. While you're doing that I'll get my horse and help Francis get her horse ready. Once you see if she'll take some water, bring her back and let her stand in the shade. There's no since having her get hot before we go riding."

After going back into the stable, Jane checked to see if Francis had any trouble saddling her horse, double checking she'd tied the latigo properly. Satisfied with Francis' work, she took her horse out of its stall and got it ready to ride. Leading their horses out of the stable, Jane told Francis to ride abreast of Charlotte, watching for any signs Pinto was about to bolt. When the two reached Charlotte, Jane then instructed her how to mount Pinto, which took Charlotte a couple of tries before she finally sat atop Pinto. As Jane watched Charlotte finally get into the saddle, she swore Pinto acted like a human saying, 'jezzz,' as Pinto first brought her head up then down, then moved it side to side. Jane handed the reins to Charlotte, showing her how to guide Pinto if she wanted to go left, right, or to stop. Francis, having already mounted her horse, watched as Jane mounted hers and led off down a path leading away from the stable. As instructed, Francis rode next to Charlotte, talking to her about nothing in particular, just to help keep Charlotte calm if she was nervous.

Jane had been right, there was some pretty views on her land, as Charlotte took in all of the greenery, flowers, birds, and smells. There was a freshness of the area, both to the eye and the nose. Jane led them to a small pond, tucked away behind a tall stand of trees and flowering bushes. When Francis and Charlotte had stopped their horses next to Jane, she asked Charlotte, "Is Pinto doing all right? Have you had any problems with her? And how are you doing, for your first time on a real horse?"

Six pairs of eyes turned to look at Charlotte, Pinto's being the third pair. She had turned her head as far as she could, and was looking at Charlotte after Jane asked her questions. Charlotte reached down and patted Pinto on the side of her neck, before telling Jane, "She's been a gem, Aunt Jane. She's been gentle with me for my first time on a horse. And it seems she's enjoying the ride. I have noticed one thing though, my butt is a bit sore right now. But otherwise, when can we ride again?"

Jane nodded her head when Charlotte mentioned her butt, something new riders discover after a while. Both Jane and Francis chuckled, with Jane saying, "Your body isn't used to how you're sitting, Charlotte. You're astride something with a wide body, whereas your body is used to sitting in some type of chair. The muscles in your legs will likely be sore after our ride, so you'll need to soak in a warm bath when we get back to the house."

Two things hadn't gone unnoticed by Jane, how Pinto reacted when Jane questioned Charlotte, and that Pinto whinnied when she and Francis chuckled at hearing about Charlotte's butt. Jane got the feeling Pinto actually understood human speech. The three sat quietly on their horses, for some time, listening and watching the life on and around the pond. They saw a family of Mallards moving across the surface of the water on the far side of the pond. A bullfrog loudly called from the reeds off to their right. And the mournful call of a Loon seemed to fill the entire pond. Jane reined her horse to the left, then told the girls, "Come on, girls, let's continue on."

Charlotte had enjoyed looking at the pond, with its serenity and beauty, and had barely moved the reins to the left as Pinto turned left and started following Jane's horse. Feeling confident, Charlotte leaned down close to Pinto's left ear and told her, as she gently patted her neck, "You're doing fine, Pinto. Thank you." Pinto threw her head up and down, just as though she was saying 'you're welcome.' The path Jane led them on, traversed a good portion of one corner of her property. Allowing them to move from the lush green of that surrounding the pond, to grassy, to slightly hilly. The path returned them to the stable from a different direction than when they'd left, a little over an hour later.

Jane and Francis couldn't help themselves and laughed, as they watched Charlotte get down off Pinto, and immediately found it difficult to stand without learning about her sore legs and butt. She tried to walk around but found it difficult to walk correctly because her thigh muscles didn't want to cooperate. She even put her hands on her butt, as she walked, trying to ease the pain she was feeling. It didn't help when Pinto whinnied and just shook her head, causing Charlotte to walk her best until she was standing in front of her horse. "Oh, so you think it's funny my legs are sore and my butt hurts, do you?" Pinto whinnied again and threw her head up and down. Smarting from the pain she felt, but with a grin on her face, Charlotte told Pinto, "See if I give you any more apples, you big goof." This seemed to set Pinto off, as she continued whinnying for several minutes, just as though she was laughing.

More serious now, Jane instructed Charlotte to remove Pinto's saddle and blanket, then walk her around and see if she'd take some water. She then showed Charlotte how to tell if Pinto had cooled down, before showing her how to brush Pinto before putting her back in her stall. All three horses were then given fresh feed to eat at their leisure, as Jane and Francis walked back to the house, with Charlotte approximating someone walking beside them. Marie met them as the three entered the house, noticing how Charlotte was walking. She chuckled then told Charlotte, "Ah, mon cheri, you take a hot bath, and soak. When you're done I'll rub some cream on those parts now screaming at you. It will help with your outside, but you'll have to be patient with your inside and let it get better."

It was hard for Jane not to laugh out loud, as she watched Charlotte start to climb the stairs, saying with each step, "Gawd, that hurts! Oww, gawd that hurts!" Francis had followed Charlotte slowly up the stairs, and when she was out of sight, the two women did chuckle, with Marie asking Jane, "How did she do, cheri?"

Marie looked shocked when Jane told her, "She rode Pinto." Both women had tried for the two months Pinto had been with Jane, to get Pinto out of her stall, even interact with them. But she would have none of it, she stayed as Charlotte had first seen her, only coming up towards the gate of the stall to eat.

"How could she have ridden Pinto, it wouldn't even do anything for either of us?" Jane smiled, told Marie she needed a cup of tea, before they sat down at the kitchen table and Jane told Marie everything that had happened. Including her belief that Pinto actually understood human speech.