Really big.
Elizabeth ordinarily was not particularly frightened by a proximity to horses. They were everywhere, and she would hardly be able to live a normal life if she could not be comfortable every time a rider cantered past her on the road. But she was supposed to get on top of this horse, on that saddle that had already been tied there.
Then she’d fall off.
Elizabeth’s hands shook as she tried to approach the animal.
Mr. Brown watched her, chewing tobacco. He spat out a stream of the tobacco juice onto the ground and said, “Miss Bennet, you do not approach a horse that way. Come over here.”
Elizabeth gratefully backed away from the horse.
“Now, Miss Elizabeth, I’d dare to say you feel a bit ashamed because you don’t ride horses. Isn’t that true?”
She nodded.
“Completely usual, you know. Most people have a bit of fear when they start riding horses — unless they began as a very young child. Have two boys of my own. At that age, they aren’t quite bright enough to be scared — look at Daisy. She’s huge. And you are supposed to climb on top of her. That’s pretty far down to the ground.”
Elizabeth gulped and nodded.
“You’re a clever girl, so of course you are scared of the horse. You don’t know horses, and you can’t predict how they’ll act, but you know she’s big. So forget about mounting the horse. We might not even do that today.”
“But—”
“No hurry — always in a hurry. All you fine quality folks always are in such a hurry. But an animal like a horse doesn’t know about how you need to have something happen quickly. So you should be a bit calmer and slower when getting to know a horse. Come here, and let’s just become acquainted.”
For the next hour Mr. Brown helped Elizabeth meet Daisy. She first fed her an apple and a carrot. Then she led the horse back and forth by her halter for fifteen minutes. After, Mr. Brown spent a half hour teaching Elizabeth how to properly brush out the horse’s long coat.
By this time she’d relaxed, and the original fear of approaching the horse was almost completely gone. They were becoming friends.
Mr. Brown glanced up at the sky. “Enough time still for you to mount the horse.”
“But…” Suddenly Elizabeth was scared again.
“Miss Elizabeth, what are you scared of?”
“The horse.”
He laughed. “Be more specific.”
“The fall then.”
“So you are frightened that you will fall from the horse, and be horribly injured?”
“Well, yes.”
“A wholly reasonable fear, I’d say.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Are you not supposed to convince me of the opposite?”
“By no means, bad falls can happen. It would be a happier world if more gentlemen kept that in mind. But do you think that you will fall if you mount the horse with me here today?”
“I might.”
“Horses know what you believe. So answer me honestly: How likely do you consider a fall, right now today, to be?”
Elizabeth nervously chuckled. “It cannot be that likely that I shall immediately, or else there would be even more fatal falls talked about.”
“Usually when someone does fall,” Mr. Brown replied nodding, “they were being a fool about how they rode —you,Miss Bennet, do not strike me as a fool.”
