Nora Fenton is a determined young woman in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1905. She lives at her family’s Emberwild Horse Farm, but after the passing of her father, she discovers some of the SECRETS OF EMBERWILD.
Everyone here is hiding something. Nora wants to train her chestnut colt Arrow for harness races, and she keeps pretending she’ll get around to courting when she has no intention of committing to a man who would then own her property. New in Mississippi, Silas Cavallero is hired on to help train Arrow. But he’s here because his father died in a barn accident in the town fifteen years ago. His family’s handsome stallion vanished, said to have run off. Silas now has nothing to go home to, so he might as well start finding the truth. Cautiously.
Nora’s Uncle Amos turns up and announces that the farm has been left to him – but of course, he’ll take care of Nora and her mother. That care might well include a dowry for Nora in the very near future. As Nora’s mother continually lectures her about wearing dresses and taking up ladylike pursuits, Nora starts to worry.
The settings include the exciting Mississippi Fair and Neshoba County Fair, a wonderful look at the social scene in 1905. Many of the scenes involve horses, so it’s also good for the history of trotting races, with Dan Patch and his record mentioned.
The characters change as the months continue, strange accidents occur, and the aforementioned secrets are gradually revealed. The surprise for me was that Nora enters into a bargain with Amos, despite knowing he is capable of being twisty, and without any witness. Why would she think he would keep the bargain? The suspense rises and Silas doesn’t feel he is getting any nearer the truth. Or else he knew the truth all along. He and Nora find an accord – but the ranch hand can’t approach her. The romance is gentle, in keeping with the day.
I find Stephenia H. McGee’s story THE SECRETS OF EMBERWILD interesting, entertaining, and full of horses--just right.
A gifted trainer in a time women are not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They're easier to handle, they're more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father's passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in the training job that is rightfully hers.
Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father's death--even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth risking ruining everything for the feisty woman he's come to admire.
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