Not as easy as it looks

Doris invented or revived , I’m not sure which, a little writing game. The idea is to take a book and turn to page 123. Write down the first and last sentences on that page and join them up with some prose of your own. It is not as easy as it looks and I tried two books before I was satisfied; I am a lazy writer! Okay, page 123 of ‘The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru as doctored by me. I’m very sorry Mr. Kunzru to have massacred a page of your book...

He first noticed her taking a tricky ditch as a guest or the Peshawar Vale Hounds. He was immediately smitten by her ability to handle her mount under such difficult conditions. She was obviously a no nonsense woman, one who would make an ideal wife. She’d be the type of woman able to run the ship at home while he was off on duty in the far flung reaches of the Indian Empire. One needed a reliable wife to keep the servants from helping themselves to the precious stocks of gin. The problem was how to hook her and reel her in. He fancied his chances but didn’t like the idea of risking a refusal. He had to plan carefully and as luck would have it a dinner organised by the Viceroy during the following month opened up the ideal opportunity and moment… He had chosen for his ground the swing chair in the rear veranda of the Abbottabad club, which gave a commanding view over a suitably romantic mountain vista and afforded at least two lines of retreat in the shape of the garden and the billiard room.

If you'd like to take up the challenge let me know I'd love to see the results.