Summary

In Chapter 2, Viv remembers how she proposed to Hilary that she could exercise Mercury as part of their boarding arrangement since Hilary did not feel comfortable riding him. Hilary made it clear she could not pay Viv to ride Mercury but Viv said that having a horse to ride was payment enough. Hilary had not known that Donald was Viv’s husband. She complimented him on what a good job he had done with Diane. Viv explained how he had been distracted and distant at home since his father had died. Hilary indicated she was still grieving the death of her brother.

When Viv told Claudia about her arrangement with Hilary, Claudia was sarcastic. She told Viv they did not need horses like Mercury at their stables. Even though Viv argued Mercury could attract higher rate horses to their stables, Claudia...