“Careful, man!” Jack roared and held out a hand, but too late to help.
The horse skidded on the ground, slipped, and fell, turning the coach onto its side. Mary yelled and grabbed at Jack, who held her, as the coach tipped right over and landed on the hard, dusty ground in a clatter of scraped wood and splintered wheels.
“Mary!” Jack rolled away from the coach as it rocked back and forth, with the horse kicking in the traces, and the driver nowhere to be seen. Three spokes of the front nearside wheel were smashed, with the splintered wood protruding dangerously as the wheel spun. “Mary! Are you all right?”
“Right as rain,” Mary lay on her back, with Jack’s right arm around her. She pushed herself upright, lifted the bag that contained her sketch pad and began to dust herself down. “See
