Fumbling with the bolt on the gate and swearing in earnest as I round the corner at speed, I skid across the concrete of the yard and almost collide with the errant Keith’s toffee-coloured back end, which has thankfully come to an abrupt stop not far from the tack room.

Panting with relief, I lean against his warm rump for a moment to catch my breath, my hand already reaching up to reassure Tui, then step out into view and almost fall right over in shock. Because standing there, holding Keith’s reins and looking at me with both endearment and bemusement on his face, is Kit.

‘Lost something?’ he asks.

‘Wh—’ I begin.

Tui is scrambling to get down so she can give Kit a hug, and seeing her flail, my body immediately moves into action, but my mind is spinning more than a gymnast’s ribbon. Kit told Bonnie that he wouldn’t be back for a visit until Easter at the earliest, so what is he doing here now? And why didn’t anyone warn me, so I could at least have put on some make-up? I am horribly aware of the smears of dirt on my cream jodhpurs, the Mickey Mouse on my T-shirt, and the unflattering grey hairband pushing my unwashed locks off my face.

Kit, by contrast, looks good enough to eat off toast. He is wearing snugly fitting black trousers and a moss-coloured shirt that sets off his pale mint eyes. I want to tell him how good it is to see him, and how glad I am that he is here, but I can’t seem to dredge up any words at all.

‘Kit!’ Tui is now on the ground and has thrown herself heavily into his arms – so heavily that he staggers back a few paces, laughing as he rights himself. Beavis, who had been dozing in one of the open stables, hurtles across to join them, his little body writhing with pleasure as he leaps up and licks Kit on the chin.

‘Now this is what I call a welcome,’ he jokes, glancing at me. Still unable to move or speak, I stare back, wondering how I have got through the past six weeks without him. I have missed Kit every single moment, and now that he’s here, I want to fling myself against him just as Tui has done, and beg him never to leave again. But I don’t. I can’t.

‘I’ll just …’ I say hesitantly, forcing myself to move. ‘Just see to Keith. I’ll, er, be back in a minute.’

Once in Keith’s box, I shut and bolt the half-door behind me and lean against the wall, giving in to a smile so broad that I can feel it pulling my skin taut across my jaw.

This is a good thing. I am happy to see him. So, why am I hiding in here like a fairy-tale ogre?