--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the things Clovis had been most…" description: "\"“One of the things Clovis had been most afraid of was being forced to ride. He had seen the horses in the stables, and they looked large and twitchy. I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg" --- # One of the things Clovis had been most afraid of was being… ![“One of the things Clovis had been most afraid of was being forced to ride. He had seen the horses in the stables, and they looked large and twitchy. If Sir Aubrey put him in the saddle, Clovis meant to confess straightaway and take the money Finn had given him to run away to his foster mother. But…” quote by Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg) > ““One of the things Clovis had been most afraid of was being forced to ride. He had seen the horses in the stables, and they looked large and twitchy. If Sir Aubrey put him in the saddle, Clovis meant to confess straightaway and take the money Finn had given him to run away to his foster mother. But the week after he arrived at Westwood, Sir Aubrey asked Clovis to come into the library because he had some bad news for him. “Now I want you to be brave about this, my boy. I want you to take this like a man and a Taverner.” Clovis’s heart began to thump. Could someone have died--Maia perhaps, or his foster mother--and if so, how did Sir Aubrey know? Or was it just that he had been found out?” “I won’t hide from you the fact that the Basher--your aunt Joan, I mean--disagrees with me. She was all ready to teach you. She had picked out a fine mettlesome filly to start you on; nothing sluggish or second rate. A real Thoroughbred. You’d be going over jumps in a couple of weeks. But I’m afraid I cannot allow it.” “Can’t allow what, sir?” asked Clovis. “Can’t allow you to ride. Can’t allow you to go on a horse. You can imagine what it cost me to come to this decision; the Taverner children have always been up in the saddle from when they were two years old. But after Dudley’s terrible accident…” Tears came into Sir Aubrey’s eyes. He turned away. “If there was anyone else to inherit Westwood, I would let you take your chance, but with Bernard and Dudley both gone…” He pressed Clovis’s shoulder. “You’re taking this very well, my boy. Very well indeed. You’re taking it like a man. I confess I expected arguments, even tantrums.” “Well, it is a disappointment,” said Clovis, wondering whether to break down and cry, a thing all actors learn to do at the drop of a hat. But in the end he just gave a brave gulp instead. “I had, of course, been looking forward…” He looked out of the window to where the Basher, mounted on a bruising chestnut, was galloping across a field. “But I do understand. One must always think of Westwood.”” [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Clovis faces forced bravery, confronting fear of riding after family tragedy, revealing expectations and personal growth. **In simple terms:** Clovis must confront fear of riding despite family tragedy. Key Takeaway Accept challenges even when painful. Themes courage family duty grief growth Mood anxious determined hopeful Type narrative emotional character development When to use this quote - riding lessons - family loss - personal decision - coming-of-age - overcoming fear Key Concepts fear of responsibility expectations inheritance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance duty with personal fear? - What does “taking it like a man” really mean? A Different Perspective His fear may mask deeper trauma, and forced bravery can cause resentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Foster Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foster-mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [“You’re taking this very well, my boy. Very well indeed. You’re taking it like a man. I confess I expected arguments, even tantrums.” “Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/you-re-taking-this-very-well-my-boy-very-well-indeed-you-re-taking-it/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [You allow a horse to make mistakes, the horse will learn from mistakes no different than the human. But you can't get him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-allow-a-horse-to-make-mistakes-the-horse-will-learn-from-mistakes/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [“Then Furo’s canoe came through the reeds and Maia hugged Clovis and said good-bye. If everything went according to plan, he would be on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/then-furo-s-canoe-came-through-the-reeds-and-maia-hugged-clovis-and/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [Judge Ephriam: Bryan, does she watch your kids? Brian Simmons: Oh, she's actually really good, she's a big diciplinarian though, but uh... they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madea/judge-ephriam-bryan-does-she-watch-your-kids-brian-simmons-oh-she-s/) [Madea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madea/) > [“A flash of something—hope, excitement, disbelief— flickered over the boy’s face, shattering the remaining pieces of her heart. She’d known it would be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-stockham/a-flash-of-something-hope-excitement-disbelief-flickered-over-the-boy/) [Kay Stockham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-stockham/) > [Poverty sits by the cradle of all our great men, and rocks them up to manhood; and this meager foster-mother remains their faithful companion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/poverty-sits-by-the-cradle-of-all-our-great-men-and-rocks-them-up-to/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [“I know a woman here in Toronto who is very dear to my heart. She was my foster mother. I call her Auntieji and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-know-a-woman-here-in-toronto-who-is-very-dear-to-my-heart-she-was/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“He worried about Michelle. Jack knew she wasn’t the type to run off. She’d never leave Aunt Haddie. She loved her foster mother dearly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-greyson/he-worried-about-michelle-jack-knew-she-wasn-t-the-type-to-run-off/) Christopher Greyson > [I wake up every day to the same old foster mother I ain't got no pictures of my mother She was a crack fiend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-mama/i-wake-up-every-day-to-the-same-old-foster-mother-i-ain-t-got-no/) [Lil Mama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-mama/) > [From my foster parents, the Deans, I received the love that was ultimately to strengthen me, even when I had forgotten its source. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/from-my-foster-parents-the-deans-i-received-the-love-that-was/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Spiritualism is but a baby now, an unwelcome stranger, whom public opinion, like an unnatural foster mother, tries to crush out of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-blavatsky/spiritualism-is-but-a-baby-now-an-unwelcome-stranger-whom-public/) [H. P. Blavatsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-blavatsky/) > [The pageant was such a fluke. I mean, I was living in an orphanage, and my foster mother bet me $150 to go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ayanna/the-pageant-was-such-a-fluke-i-mean-i-was-living-in-an-orphanage-and/) Charlotte Ayanna > [“Bless those people, for they are a part of my faith’s firmness. Bless the stories my foster mother read to me, the stories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/bless-those-people-for-they-are-a-part-of-my-faith-s-firmness-bless/) [Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/) > [My foster mother wanted to create a family home. For me, she had made a place that I felt I could always go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennie-james/my-foster-mother-wanted-to-create-a-family-home-for-me-she-had-made-a/) [Lennie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennie-james/) > [ Mable 'Madea' Simmons: \[Madea his Nikki with a belt\] Why wasn't you at school today? Nikki: I went to the park. Mable 'Madea' Simmons:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madea/mable-madea-simmons-madea-his-nikki-with-a-belt-why-wasn-t-you-at/) [Madea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madea/) ## More by Eva Ibbotson > [“They had reached Euston station. Miss Minton waved her umbrella at a porter, and Maia’s trunk and her suitcase were lifted onto a trolley.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/they-had-reached-euston-station-miss-minton-waved-her-umbrella-at-a/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“Muriel sprinkled salt over her haddock mousse. ‘It is not easy to be specific, but both morally and hygienically there is . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/muriel-sprinkled-salt-over-her-haddock-mousse-it-is-not-easy-to-be/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“You’re taking this very well, my boy. Very well indeed. You’re taking it like a man. I confess I expected arguments, even tantrums.” “Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/you-re-taking-this-very-well-my-boy-very-well-indeed-you-re-taking-it/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [She stood looking carefully at the labeled portraits Ursala had put up: Little Crow, Chief of the Santees, Geronimo, last of the Apaches, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/she-stood-looking-carefully-at-the-labeled-portraits-ursala-had-put/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“For the first part of the journey Maia kept her eyes on the side of the road. Now that she was really leaving her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/for-the-first-part-of-the-journey-maia-kept-her-eyes-on-the-side-of/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“She realized that adventures, once they were over, were things that had to stay inside one--that no one else could quite understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/she-realized-that-adventures-once-they-were-over-were-things-that-had/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [What are you afraid of then? Not Being able to see, I think not seeing because your obsessed by something that blots out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/what-are-you-afraid-of-then-not-being-able-to-see-i-think-not-seeing/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [The sisters worked from dawn to dusk. One of them was an idiot; she started shaving her legs and marrying tax inspectors, so she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/the-sisters-worked-from-dawn-to-dusk-one-of-them-was-an-idiot-she/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“When we’re grown up I’ll come back for you, I promise. No one can stop us then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/when-we-re-grown-up-i-ll-come-back-for-you-i-promise-no-one-can-stop/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“But in the evening, when at last she had a moment alone, she slipped into the library and leaned her head against the mahogany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/but-in-the-evening-when-at-last-she-had-a-moment-alone-she-slipped/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [But she had to know words. She had to know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/but-she-had-to-know-words-she-had-to-know-everything/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [Please, God,' Ruth would pray, 'don't let me be competitive. Let me realize what a privilege it is to study. Let me remember that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/please-god-ruth-would-pray-don-t-let-me-be-competitive-let-me-realize/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“It was the Indian side of Finn that had taken over when he found her in the wood. That managed to carry her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/it-was-the-indian-side-of-finn-that-had-taken-over-when-he-found-her/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“Then, when he said her name, she opened her eyes. One hand went out to his sleeve. “Can we go now?” she whispered. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/then-when-he-said-her-name-she-opened-her-eyes-one-hand-went-out-to/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“The children turned and saw the spinach-green boat coming toward them. “Oh no! Not the Carters!” said Maia. She looked round desperately for somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/the-children-turned-and-saw-the-spinach-green-boat-coming-toward-them/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) [Explore all 144 Eva Ibbotson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) ## More Bad news quotes > [In the wake of such bad news, it was heartening to know that what 'Sense8' stood for meant so much to so many people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-smith/in-the-wake-of-such-bad-news-it-was-heartening-to-know-that-what/) [Brian J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-j-smith/) > [“I remember a man, a very lonely man, coming up to me at the end of a reading and looking into my face and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/i-remember-a-man-a-very-lonely-man-coming-up-to-me-at-the-end-of-a/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-business-world-bad-news-is-usually-good-news-for-somebody-else/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You never want to have to give your child bad news of any kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/you-never-want-to-have-to-give-your-child-bad-news-of-any-kind/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [If there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm utterly unsuited for bureaucracy. I don't know my passwords to anything. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-torres/if-there-s-one-thing-you-should-know-about-me-it-s-that-i-m-utterly/) [Julio Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-torres/) > [I seem to thrive by destroying the last thing I did, in a kind of cartoon Nietzsche way. Emerson says in "Experience" something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chiasson/i-seem-to-thrive-by-destroying-the-last-thing-i-did-in-a-kind-of/) [Dan Chiasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chiasson/) > [“The bad news is that, measured in terms of geologic time, if the Earth’s history is an accurate guide, glaciers will soon return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bernstein/the-bad-news-is-that-measured-in-terms-of-geologic-time-if-the-earth/) [Andrew Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bernstein/) > [I love an underdog. No, I don't necessarily mean the cartoon. I mean like David, as in Goliath, or the Bears, as in The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-lublin/i-love-an-underdog-no-i-don-t-necessarily-mean-the-cartoon-i-mean/) [Nancy Lublin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-lublin/) > [The good news is that economists are intelligent, engaging and often charming folks. The bad news is their work is often of little use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-good-news-is-that-economists-are-intelligent-engaging-and-often/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The good news may be that Nature is phasing out the white man, but the bad news is that's who She thinks we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-good-news-may-be-that-nature-is-phasing-out-the-white-man-but-the/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [For a long period of time, the media covered rap music and hip hop the same way they cover a lot of black people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/for-a-long-period-of-time-the-media-covered-rap-music-and-hip-hop-the/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [“Shifting from a superior/inferior paradigm to a strength-in-difference paradigm was kind of a good news/bad news situation. On the downside, I had to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debby-irving/shifting-from-a-superior-inferior-paradigm-to-a-strength-in/) [Debby Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debby-irving/) > [“The best way to mess with the head of your reader is to strategize the delivery of bad news.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-percy/the-best-way-to-mess-with-the-head-of-your-reader-is-to-strategize/) [Benjamin Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-percy/) > [“The real secret, though, is that nobody belongs, whether they are natives or not. After expulsion from paradise all humans are in exile. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-codrescu/the-real-secret-though-is-that-nobody-belongs-whether-they-are/) [Andrei Codrescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-codrescu/) Browse all 691 Bad news quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One of the things Clovis had been most afraid of was being forced to ride. He had seen the horses in the stables, and they looked large and twitchy. If Sir Aubrey put him in the saddle, Clovis meant to confess straightaway and take the money Finn had given him to run away to his foster mother. But the week after he arrived at Westwood, Sir Aubrey asked Clovis to come into the library because he had some bad news for him. “Now I want you to be brave about this, my boy. I want you to take this like a man and a Taverner.” Clovis’s heart began to thump. Could someone have died--Maia perhaps, or his foster mother--and if so, how did Sir Aubrey know? Or was it just that he had been found out?” “I won’t hide from you the fact that the Basher--your aunt Joan, I mean--disagrees with me. She was all ready to teach you. She had picked out a fine mettlesome filly to start you on; nothing sluggish or second rate. A real Thoroughbred. You’d be going over jumps in a couple of weeks. But I’m afraid I cannot allow it.” “Can’t allow what, sir?” asked Clovis. “Can’t allow you to ride. Can’t allow you to go on a horse. You can imagine what it cost me to come to this decision; the Taverner children have always been up in the saddle from when they were two years old. But after Dudley’s terrible accident…” Tears came into Sir Aubrey’s eyes. He turned away. “If there was anyone else to inherit Westwood, I would let you take your chance, but with Bernard and Dudley both gone…” He pressed Clovis’s shoulder. “You’re taking this very well, my boy. Very well indeed. You’re taking it like a man. I confess I expected arguments, even tantrums.” “Well, it is a disappointment,” said Clovis, wondering whether to break down and cry, a thing all actors learn to do at the drop of a hat. But in the end he just gave a brave gulp instead. “I had, of course, been looking forward…” He looked out of the window to where the Basher, mounted on a bruising chestnut, was galloping across a field. “But I do understand. One must always think of Westwood.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eva Ibbotson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-afraid-of-was-being-forced-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad news" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-afraid-of-was-being-forced-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/eva-ibbotson-2965_bad-news_one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-a_740492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the things Clovis had been most afraid of was being forced to ride. He had seen the horses in the…” — Eva Ibbotson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eva Ibbotson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One of the things Clovis had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-afraid-of-was-being-forced-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/one-of-the-things-clovis-had-been-most-afraid-of-was-being-forced-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```