Before he could speak, Vale signaled the rider forward. Mr. Lawson placed his foot in the stirrup. Storm's tail lashed once. Then the man swung into the saddle, and the stallion bolted sideways toward the fence.
Emma dropped the empty wrapping cloth. The crack of breaking wood rang across the yard.
"Get clear of the rail!" James shouted.
Mr. Lawson had barely recovered his balance when Storm struck the fence again, driving a splintered board outward. The rider lost his remaining stirrup and pulled desperately on the reins. Storm reared, his forelegs cutting through the air.
James started forward, but Thomas Reed caught his sleeve. "Not yet, Your Grace. You'll put yourself beneath him."
Lawson threw himself clear, landing hard on one shoulder. Two men hurried to help him while Storm came down heavily, his hooves scattering sand. Captain Vale advanced with a raised arm.
"Stand, you miserable devil!"
Storm backed away, striking the broken rail with his hindquarters.
"Stop pulling his mouth!" Emma called.
Vale rounded on her. "Keep your place, girl!"
She scarcely heard him. Storm's ears had flattened, and his breathing came in short, frightened bursts. When Vale reached for the reins again, the stallion flinched before the man's hand touched him. Emma looked at the saddle, then at the way Storm held his back rigid beneath it.
She turned toward James. "Your Grace, please. Before anyone touches him again, I need you to look at something."
James followed her gaze. "What am I looking at?"
"I don't know yet. But he reacted when they tightened the girth, and he reacts whenever a rider settles into the saddle."
Vale gave a contemptuous snort. "He's learned to evade work. That's all."
"Then why does he stand quietly until the saddle is tightened?" Emma asked.
"Because he's clever enough to know what follows."
"Perhaps," she answered. "But perhaps he's trying to tell us something."
James glanced toward Lawson, who was sitting upright with a stableman's assistance. "Are you injured?"
"Bruised, Your Grace. Nothing broken, I believe."