Jean-Pierre rushed across it, still intent on evading her, then as Larisa followed him she saw that he had run right in front of a horse and rider.
The sudden appearance of the child frightened the horse – a big black stallion – and he reared up in the air.
His rider pulled him back almost to his haunches and with an almost superhuman effort Larisa, darting forward, managed to catch hold of Jean-Pierre and drag him to safety from right under the horse’s hoofs.
Breathless, both with the speed at which she had run and the fear that Jean-Pierre would be hurt, she held him close against her, her blue eyes wide with anxiety as the rider got his frightened horse under control.,
Then he turned towards Larisa and said furiously,
“What in God’s name do you mean by letting the child run out lik
