“If you accept my offer, your husband's name will be spared public shame, all
the debts he left you with at the time of his unfortunate death, will be paid.
Doug's son, your step son, will be guaranteed a first class education and when
he graduates from college, he will be entitled to all the prize money you bring
to my stable or a minimum of a million dollars, whichever is more..."
"I know my offer sounds bizarre to you now, think about it overnight. You can
give me your answer at breakfast tomorrow morning. Think of your husband's
honor, of your son's future. You wouldn't want him to go to a public school,
would you? Thirteen is a critical age and he could become rebellious and blame
you."
Hearing these words from Esther, Sabrina broke into tears. It was just too
much. First Doug, her husband, was killed in a stupid car accident. Then she
learned at the reading of the will that their fortune had vanished. For the last
two months she had tried to find, without success, the numbers of the secret
bank accounts that she knew Doug had somewhere. The little cash left had been
just enough to pay for the food. She had to let go of the servants, and now the
creditors where after her, threatening to bankrupt her and soil Doug's name in
the face of the world. Only when she was backed to a corner, like a trapped
animal, with no other alternative, did she come to Esther. She was her last
chance. She knew that if Esther offered to help, the price would be high but she
was not prepared for what she had just heard for the last half hour.
After a few minutes of silence, controlling her tears and sobbing, she managed to say: "But Esther, what you are proposing, amounts to slavery, pure and simple. How can I agree to. . . . "
"No, my dear Sabrina, you will not be a slave, you will be a horse, a human
horse…my horse."
Sabrina looked terrible in the morning. She had slept only a few hours. She was awake most of the night tossing Esther's proposition in all corners of her mind. Reluctantly she had made the decision to accept her proposition. Breakfast was served in the winter garden. Very few words were spoken, Esther wanted Sabrina to take the initiative. Sabrina had very little appetite, her tired eyes were downcast. She was afraid to look Esther directly in the eyes. After the maid removed the plates…hers was practically untouched…and only the coffee cups were left, she could not endure the suspense any longer:
''I accept." Her answer was barely audible.
"Very well, I will have my lawyers draw the contract, it will be ready this afternoon."
That was enough time for Sabrina to torture her mind. She had heard rumors about Esther's strange pastime but the idea was so outrageous that she had discarded the stories as a figment of the imagination of jealous people.
At three o'clock a procession of five limousines stopped at the main
entrance: Esther's five lawyers. They all gathered in the library and the
lawyers read the contract to her. As the lawyer was reading, the sound of a car
was heard at the entrance outside. Shortly after, the maid interrupted the
reading to announce that Mr. Benson had arrived. Esther's instruction to her,
were to tell him to get everything ready, they would be done shortly.
Half an hour later, the contract was signed. It was quite simple, all her creditors would be paid, her step son's future was assured and in return, she accepted to be a human horse in Esther's stable for the next five years. She was twenty four and would be twenty nine at the end of the contract. The lawyers, like automata, left the room in a file. Esther looked at Sabrina with a gleam in her ere, obviously satisfied with her new acquisition.
"Well, then you've done it. That wasn't so difficult, was it?"
Sabrina raised her eyes to meet Esther's, she saw her in an entirely new
light. Her gaze was predatory. She had not noticed earlier but now it struck
her. Esther was wearing a riding suit: white blouse with long sleeves, jodhpurs
and knee high riding boots. When Esther picked the riding crop from the mantle,
her habit was complete.
She could not find enough courage to sustain her gaze and, as she had been doing a lot since she first arrived at Esther's domain estate, she lowered her head and looked at the floor. Esther approached her and with the tip of the riding crop under the chin slowly raised her head. A tear pearled at the corner of her eye.
"Now, come on, cheer up! There's no reason to be sad, your problems are over,
everything has been taken care of for you. Give me a smile. . . . "
Reluctantly, Sabrina smiled. Esther put one arm around her shoulder, the one holding the crop, so that the crop stuck out and down in front of Sabrina. Slowly her feelings changed from sadness to fear, fear that Esther would hit her with that thing. Suddenly she realized that somehow she was accepting the absurd situation she was in. Her mind, by some crazy logic, had granted Esther the right to strike her with that crop.
Esther knew from experience what was going on in Sabrina's head, she owned
other pony girls before. She also knew that the next couple of weeks would be
very hard for Sabrina. The most difficult part would be the psychological
adaptation to her new status. Once that was done, her training would be a
breeze.
She took a small object from her pocket with her free hand and told Sabrina to open her mouth. When she did, Esther put the object in her mouth: a cube of sugar!
"Lets get out of here. A library is hardly a place for a horse and Mr. Benson is waiting for us." Saying that, Esther led her out of the room.