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“I’m pretty sure I didn’t say that,” answered Léof carefully. Actually, he knew he had not said it. He had hoped it would not come back to this. The ride had been going so well, too; Javan’s cheeks weren’t the only ones slightly flushed from exhilaration.
“But can we?” asked Javan, seemingly not too put off.
“I don’t really think that’s a good idea,” Léof answered.
“Nobody would know,” Javan repeated.
“I’m not concerned with ‘getting away with it,’ Javan,” said Léof. “Jumping the horses is not a good idea, regardless of who knows. No jumping today.” Javan’s face was settling into a pout, and Léof didn’t want to hear any more whining, so he cut Javan off and changed the subject. “Look, part of the reason I brought you out here today was to watch you ride. There’s a nice flat grassy area over there – come on.” He nudged Æthel forward as he continued. “I just want you to ride around a bit – circles, figure eights, whatever you want, at some different paces. I’ll let you know if there’s something in particular I want you to do.”
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