English Horse (4 page)

Lisa thought that was a little melodramatic, even if Stevie was half joking. But she stuck out her hand. “So we keep this to ourselves,” she said in a businesslike tone. “Tessa never needs to know what happened.”

“Or that we’re on probation,” Carole added, taking Lisa’s hand.

“Or that Veronica knows all about it.” Stevie wrapped
her hand around both her friends’, sealing the deal. “Mum’s the word.”

“There’s just one problem,” Carole pointed out as she pulled her hand free. “How are we going to explain to Tessa why we’re
not
going to drag her over to Pine Hollow first thing tomorrow?” The three girls had already agreed to stay away from the stable the next day to give Max some time to cool off. Red had promised to look after their horses for them so that they wouldn’t even have to go near the place.

“I forgot about that,” Lisa admitted. “Well, we’ll have to think of something. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other things to see.”

Carole nodded, though she didn’t look entirely convinced. “We’ll have to keep her out of Veronica’s way,” she pointed out. “Otherwise Veronica might blab and give us away.”

“How hard could that be?” Stevie shrugged. “It’s not as if anyone actually
wants
to spend time with Veronica diAngelo.”

“Attention, please.” A
tinny voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Announcing the arrival of Flight One-oh-one from London, England.”

“That’s her flight!” Stevie cried excitedly. She jumped up from her seat and rushed toward the barrier separating the waiting room from customs. “Come on!”

It took some time for the passengers to disembark and
make their way through customs. But finally The Saddle Club spotted a familiar tall, slender figure heading toward them.

“There she is!” Carole squealed. “Tessa! Over here!”

All three girls waved wildly, and a second later Tessa started waving back. A wide grin lit up her face, and she rushed toward them, dragging a large suitcase behind her.

“Lisa! Carole! Stevie!” she cried, her eyes sparkling. “I can’t believe I’m finally here! The flight was positively dreadful!”

“Really?” Lisa asked as the girls exchanged hugs. “That’s too bad.”

“Never mind,” Tessa replied in her crisp British accent. “I’m exaggerating. It wasn’t so bad. Well, except for the food. That was truly horrendous.” She grinned at them happily.

Lisa grinned back. With all the talk her mother had been doing lately about English ladies, she was glad to see that Tessa was just the way she remembered. “I can’t believe you’re finally here,” she said.

Stevie nodded. “I hope you got some rest on that flight. Because we’ve got tons of fun stuff lined up for you to do while you’re here. You probably won’t even have time to sleep.”

“Brilliant!” Tessa replied cheerfully. “I suppose we’ll be starting bright and early tomorrow morning at Pine Hollow, right?”

Lisa gulped. “Um …”

“Actually,” Carole stepped in quickly, “we were thinking we’d get some of the other sights out of the way tomorrow. Not much will be happening at the stable, and we’ll want to spend the whole day there on Saturday for Horse Wise.”

“Right!” Lisa agreed quickly. “That’s our Pony Club, by the way.”

Tessa looked slightly puzzled. “I know,” she said. “Your Horse Wise team came to perform in England, remember? I was there!” She grinned again. “Speaking of which, is that girl Veronica still a member? I can’t wait to see her again—but only if I can help you pull more pranks on her. That business with the buried jewels was positively hysterical!”

Lisa gulped again. “Um, sure,” she said. “Come on—my dad’s waiting in the car. We’d better go.” She led the way toward the exit, feeling worried. Maybe keeping Tessa and Veronica apart wasn’t going to be as easy as they’d thought.

“I
CAN
’
T BELIEVE IT
!” Tessa exclaimed the next day through a mouthful of ice cream. “You’re right, Stevie! Black cherry sauce on pistachio is positively heavenly!”

Carole and Lisa made disgusted faces as Tessa helped herself to another spoonful of Stevie’s sundae. It was Friday afternoon, and all four girls were sitting in a booth at TD’s, an ice cream shop near Pine Hollow. Normally Carole, Stevie, and Lisa liked to go there for Saddle Club meetings after a day of riding. Today, however, none of them had so much as set foot on Pine Hollow’s grounds.

Lisa looked at her watch. “We’ve still got more than an hour before we have to be home for dinner. What do you want to do?” she asked.

“Well, let’s see,” Tessa said, setting down her spoon.
“So far today I’ve seen your house—of course—Stevie’s house, and Carole’s house.” She pointed to each girl in turn as she said their names. “I’ve seen your schools. I’ve visited the country club where the point-to-point races are going to be held on the Saturday of your Independence Day weekend and the park where we’re going to watch the town parade and fireworks the day after that. I’ve visited the mall and this shopping center, along with the Willow Creek post office and town hall. I’ve met all of your families, many of your neighbors, and even your headmistress, Stevie.” The girls had run into Miss Fenton at the post office. “So it seems I’m just missing a couple of important items before I’ll feel I’ve really seen everything.” Tessa picked up her spoon again and reached for another bite of Stevie’s sundae. “One of them is Phil, of course.” Stevie had already told Tessa all about her boyfriend, Phil Marsten, who lived in a town about ten miles from Willow Creek. However, Phil was away on vacation with his family and wouldn’t be back until the following week. “But aside from him, I’m simply dying to make the acquaintance of Starlight, Belle, and Prancer. Oh, and it will be lovely to see Max again, as well.” Tessa popped the spoon into her mouth.

Lisa sighed. She and her friends had had a great time showing Tessa around. However, she had to admit that it had been hard to avoid the topic of Pine Hollow. “I don’t think we have time for that right now,” she said. “Um, I mean, not if you want to see everything.”

“That’s right,” Carole put in. “You’ll need plenty of time to really do it justice. After all, you want to meet all the horses, right? We’ll have time for all that tomorrow.”

Tessa looked surprised. “I can’t believe my ears,” she said. “Maybe I don’t know you as well as I thought I did, Carole. You actually want to put off going to the stable until tomorrow?”

Carole shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “Well, I just thought it would be better to wait, since Horse Wise and our jump class are both tomorrow,” she explained lamely. “We’ll probably be there all day.”

Tessa still looked confused, but she didn’t argue. “Well, all right,” she said. “Then why don’t we head home and start our slumber party a bit early?”

“Cool,” Stevie agreed immediately. She quickly shoveled down the last few bites of her ice cream. The others had already finished. “We’ll show you what a good old American sleepover is all about.”

Carole giggled. “I can sum it up in one word,” she said. “Gossip!”

“Gossip about horses, I presume?” Tessa asked with a smile.

“Mostly,” Lisa admitted.

“Good.” Tessa stood up. “I can’t wait to get started!”

“T
ESSA, DEAR, CAN
I pour you some more tea?” Mrs. Atwood asked.

“You’re too kind, Mrs. Atwood,” Tessa replied politely, sliding her teacup forward across the kitchen table.

The four girls and Lisa’s mother were seated around the Atwoods’ large butcher-block table, where they had been since arriving from TD’s more than half an hour before. For most of that time, Tessa had been sipping tea and patiently answering Mrs. Atwood’s endless stream of questions about life in England.

Lisa snuck a glance at her watch. She supposed she couldn’t blame her mother for wanting to talk to their guest. The night before, Mrs. Atwood hadn’t returned from her committee meeting until both Tessa and Lisa were fast asleep. And that morning she had been on her way out when the girls had come down for breakfast. Still, Lisa thought, did her mother have to insist on talking about such boring stuff? Really, who cared about the rose gardens on Tessa’s family estate or the latest doings of the royal family?

“Thank you so much,” Tessa said as Mrs. Atwood refilled her cup.

“You’re welcome, dear,” Mrs. Atwood replied. She smiled and shook her head. “I just can’t get over your lovely accent, Tessa. It’s so—so
cultured
.”

“Mom!” Lisa rolled her eyes, her cheeks turning pink. She only hoped that Tessa wasn’t as embarrassed as she was. Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa glimpsed Stevie stifling a snicker.

Mrs. Atwood didn’t seem to notice Lisa’s consternation.
“So, Tessa,” she said brightly. “I’m sure the girls have told you about our little fund-raising event, haven’t they? I’m so glad you’ll be here for it.”

“Oh, yes, the point-to-point?” Tessa said. “It sounds like jolly good fun. I love steeplechasing.”

At last
, Lisa thought with relief. Her mother had actually come up with an interesting topic for a change. If only she would stick with it!

Lisa decided not to take any chances. “Steeplechasing must be popular in England, isn’t it, Tessa? That’s where they run the Grand National and everything.”

“It is rather popular,” Tessa agreed. “Much more so than here in the States, from what I understand.” She paused and took a sip of her tea. “But that’s only natural. After all, the sport started in Great Britain.”

“I’ve read about that,” Carole said, leaning forward and looking interested for the first time since they’d arrived. “The first steeplechase took place when a couple of hunters returning home decided to race cross-country from one church steeple to another somewhere in England.”

Tessa nodded. “That’s right—almost. Actually, the two gentlemen were Irish. That first informal race took place in County Cork, I believe. These days, all over Great Britain, most steeplechases are a bit more formal—they’re normally held at large tracks rather than out in the countryside. But the general idea hasn’t changed—to get your horse from one place to another faster than your competitors without letting any obstacles stand in your way.”

Mrs. Atwood looked impressed. “My, you certainly do know a lot about steeplechasing, Tessa,” she commented.

Tessa shrugged. “My parents are fans of the sport,” she said with a smile. “I suppose I’ve picked up a bit around the supper table.”

“Have you ever been to the Grand National?” Carole asked.

“Just once,” Tessa said. “It’s run in Liverpool, which is a bit of a way from where I live. But my family watches every year on the telly.”

“That’s wonderful, dear,” Mrs. Atwood said. “You know, I just had a marvelous idea. What would you say to being a fence judge for the junior hurdle race at our little point-to-point? It only seems right, since you know so much.”

Lisa jumped in before Tessa could answer. “Mom!” she exclaimed. “That’s a terrible idea! Tessa wants to
ride
in the junior hurdle—not stand around watching everyone else.”

Mrs. Atwood looked taken aback, but she recovered quickly. “Oh, of course,” she said. “How silly of me. Of course you’ll have much more fun riding.”

“Well, I was quite looking forward to it,” Tessa admitted. “But thank you so much for thinking of me, Mrs. Atwood. I’m flattered that you thought I’d make a good judge.”

The girl’s polite comment brought the smile back to Mrs. Atwood’s face. “How nice,” she cooed. “Well, it’s all
right—we have nearly enough judges already. Even young Miles Pennington has agreed to help out. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Lisa felt her face reddening at the mention of the teenage boy’s name. She couldn’t help picturing him as she had first seen him the day before—dripping wet. She carefully avoided meeting her friends’ eyes. “That’s great, Mom,” she said. “So anyway, maybe it’s time for us to—”

“Miles is such a lovely young man,” Mrs. Atwood interrupted, still addressing Tessa. She didn’t even seem to have heard her daughter. “He’s one of the Pennsylvania Penningtons, you know.” At Tessa’s blank look, she laughed. “Oh, of course. I’m sure you wouldn’t know about such things way over in England. But they’re a wonderful old family. Miles’s great-great-grandfather originally made his money in railroads, and …”

Mrs. Atwood chattered on and on about all the socially important people expected to attend the point-to-point. Lisa cast a desperate look at Stevie and Carole. She had the funniest feeling they were thinking the same thing: How could Mrs. Atwood turn an interesting topic like a full day of cross-country horse racing into such a boring conversation?

And how were they ever going to escape so that they could start the fun part of their sleepover?