Horse head with flowing mane design

You will want to know whether the chestnut has been shod, so yes, Harry did it this morning, and she stood for him like a lady at a dance. The wedding cart is polished and the brass on the harness is fine, though I had to retie the forelock ribbon three times because the wind off the moor keeps catching her mane and pulling it out in those long wild streams you always said looked like smoke off a bonfire.

I went down to the paddock after supper to see her one last time before the morning. She was standing with her head turned to the west, ears pricked to something I couldn't hear, and her mane lifted and curled the way it does when she's thinking of running. Father always said she had a sense for weather. She has never once got it wrong about a storm, and the sky tonight is clear as a bell, so I don't know what she's listening for.

Anyway, the Pryces have sent word that their boy will walk Ada up the lane instead of the carriage, which means the mare goes first, and I've decided she'll go round by the old mill road so the crowd sees her coming down the hill. Don't fuss. She knows the way better than either of us.

I wanted you to have this before the day gets busy. Come early and bring your good boots. I'll leave the gate on the latch, and if she's stood with her head turned to the lane when you arrive, you'll know she's waiting for you, not the bride.

Yours in haste, Maud