About this story
Let go his head, boy; restraint is making him more restless. You step into this one-chapter preview with Bobby Frog at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. The warning reached the crowd while your landing remained undecided. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
How it opens
You sat in a wicker carriage behind a young Shetland pony that objected to every shining buckle of its new harness.
Diana BrandonLet go his head, boy; restraint is making him more restless.
Better restless in my hands than running with thee behind him, miss.
The street boy had been hired to hold the pony until your father came from the house.
Diana BrandonI know my own pony and do not require a stranger to govern him for me.
Then wait for Sir Richard and let him choose which of us is wrong.