English Horse (8 page)

“Derby?” Tessa said. “What a cute name! It makes him sound very English.”

“He
is
English,” Carole told her. “Max bought all three of the new horses from a dealer he knows in Newmarket.”

“Really? Some of the best trainers and breeders in England live there,” Tessa said. “You really must try him, Lisa! Then you can help me properly represent Great Britain in this point-to-point.” She winked. “In a way, I suppose all the horses here are
English
horses—that is, you ride them English-style instead of Western—but you’ll be the only one riding a
truly
English horse. I’m rather jealous!”

Lisa laughed. “Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no?” she quipped. She took a deep breath. “All right, I’ll talk to Max about giving Derby a try.”

“Brilliant!” Tessa cried. She started whistling “God Save the Queen” as the four girls stood and made their way to their horses for the ride back.

Once they were in the saddle, they continued to chat about Derby and the other new horses for a few minutes. Then, gradually, all four girls fell silent, just enjoying the ride and the beautiful summer day.

Stevie was the first to notice the sounds. “Hey, what’s
that?” she said, cocking her head to one side to listen better. “It sounds like hammering.”

The others listened, too. “It’s definitely hammering,” Lisa said slowly. Suddenly her eyes lit up. “Oh, I know. I think we’re riding on the Penningtons’ land right now. That must be the construction crew working on their stable.”

“Of course,” Carole said immediately, and Stevie and Tessa nodded.

“Mrs. Pennington’s talk at the meeting yesterday was so interesting, wasn’t it?” Tessa commented. “She really knows a lot about driving. And her Cleveland Bays are gorgeous! I’d love to talk with her some more sometime, wouldn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Stevie lied. She planned to stay as far away from both Penningtons as possible for the time being. Maybe someday Mrs. Pennington and her grandson would forget about that water balloon incident. But until they did …

“So!” Carole said, a little too brightly. “What do you say we do a little practicing for the point-to-point when we get back? The horses aren’t very tired, and I’m sure you could give us some tips, Tessa.”

“Sure, I’ll do what I can,” Tessa said agreeably.

As the English girl started chatting about steeplechasing, Stevie let out a small, hidden sigh. She was beginning to wonder why she and Carole and Lisa had ever wanted to keep their probation a secret from their friend.
The secret was starting to become more of a problem than the problem itself.

“O
H
, C
AROLE, THERE
you are,” Meg Durham called, hurrying into the tack room. “Can you give me a hand for a second? Max asked me to clean out that little nick on Diablo’s fetlock, and he won’t stand still even in the cross-ties.”

Carole glanced up. The Saddle Club had just finished their practice, and Carole was helping Tessa reattach the noseband on Topside’s bridle after its cleaning. It was a new one, and the leather was a little stiff. “No problem, Meg,” she said as the noseband snapped into place. “I’ll be right there.” She started to stand up.

But Meg was frowning. “Oh, um, never mind,” she said quickly, giving Tessa a strange look. “I didn’t realize you were busy. I can, um, get Red to help me.”

Carole shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said, although Meg had already left the room.

“She seemed in an odd mood,” Tessa commented, standing to hang the bridle back on its hook.

Carole just shrugged again, not very interested in Meg’s mood. Meg was usually nice, but she was also friendly with Veronica, and that meant that nothing she did surprised Carole very much. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go see if Stevie and Lisa are finished mucking out those stalls.”

They left the tack room and wandered down the aisle, looking for their friends. They didn’t find them with Belle or Prancer, so they continued along the stable aisle, checking each stall. As they walked past the stall that housed Barq, a popular Pine Hollow school horse, Betsy Cavanaugh popped her head out over the half door.

“Oh!” she said, seeming startled to see them. She stared fixedly at Tessa, her mouth hanging slightly open.

“Hi, Betsy,” Carole said. “Have you seen Stevie or Lisa lately?”

Betsy didn’t answer. She was still gazing at Tessa.

“Betsy?” Carole repeated.

“Um, what?” Betsy said. “Oh, by the way, did you hear the news? Barq is probably just about ready to retire.”

“What?” Carole furrowed her brow, confused. “Barq ready to retire? What are you talking about?” She glanced at Barq, who had come to the front of his stall to see what was going on. Carole knew that the spirited Arabian gelding was only about nine years old, fairly young for a riding horse.

Betsy didn’t answer. Instead she ducked back inside the stall, shoving Barq away from the door.

“What was that all about?” Tessa asked.

Carole shook her head. She had no idea. Like Meg, Betsy was friendly with Veronica. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to know,” she said, making a mental note to check with Red to make sure Barq was okay.

The two girls continued down the aisle. They finally found Stevie and Lisa mucking out Derby’s stall.

“Getting acquainted with your new pal?” Carole asked Lisa.

Lisa smiled. “Don’t tell Prancer I said so, but I think this might work out after all. Derby seems like a real sweetheart.”

“And Max said she can try him out tomorrow,” Stevie added, looking up from sweeping the area in front of the stall.

Carole grabbed a pitchfork that was leaning against the wall. She glanced up at the tall chestnut, who was calmly watching the girls work. “Don’t worry, boy,” she told him with a smile. “We’ll have your stall all fresh and tidy in no time.”

Tessa stepped forward to pat Derby on the neck. “I say, he really is quite the looker, isn’t he?”

A loud snort came from the aisle. “Yeah, I bet,” muttered a voice.

Carole turned and saw Joe Novick, a boy from Horse Wise. “Oh, hi, Joe,” she said. She noticed that the normally good-looking boy had an ugly scowl on his face. He was staring from Tessa to Derby and back again. “What’s wrong?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” he muttered. “We all will.” With that, he turned and hurried off down the aisle before the astonished girls could say another word.

“What’s gotten into him?” Lisa wondered, leaning on the shovel she’d been using and staring after Joe.

“I don’t know,” Carole said slowly. “But whatever it is, it seems to be contagious.” She quickly told Lisa and Stevie about Meg’s weird behavior in the tack room and Betsy’s even stranger remarks about Barq.

Tessa’s forehead wrinkled in consternation. “You know, if I were a paranoid person, I would start to worry,” she said. “All those kids seemed to be giving me the evil eye.”

“Hmmm,” Stevie said. She stepped into the middle of the aisle and glanced around. “I’m getting a funny feeling about this. I think it’s about time we got to the bottom of it.”

One of the younger riders, a seven-year-old boy named Liam, was walking toward them as he headed for his pony’s stall. Stevie strode over and grabbed his arm. “Hey, Liam,” she said in a friendly tone. “Come here a second. We want to ask you something.”

Liam glanced up at her, then shot a suspicious look at Tessa. “What do you want?” he asked Stevie, his lower lip jutting forward slightly in a defiant pout.

Tessa stepped forward. “Hello, Liam,” she said. “Remember me? I was at your Horse Wise meeting yesterday.”

Liam shrugged and stared down at the ground, looking uncomfortable. He didn’t say anything.

Carole frowned. Liam was normally a friendly, polite
boy. What was going on here? “What’s wrong with everyone today?” she blurted in exasperation. “Liam, why are you being so rude to Tessa?”

Liam looked up and glared at Carole stubbornly. “I don’t want her to take Nickel away,” he muttered.

For a second Carole wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “What?” she said. “What are you talking about, Liam? Why would you think—”

“Veronica,” Stevie interrupted grimly. She bent down until she was eye level with the little boy. “Did Veronica diAngelo tell you Tessa wanted to take your pony away?”

“No.” Liam shrugged. “It was some of the other kids. Jackie and Corey were talking. They said she”—he indicated Tessa with a nod of his head—“came here from England to buy all the good horses and ponies at Pine Hollow. She wants to send them back to England for the queen to ride.”

Carole was speechless. So Stevie was right! No matter who had told Liam the rumor, there was no doubt about who had started it. If Veronica had one true talent, it was spreading malicious gossip.

Luckily Lisa’s voice hadn’t deserted her. She bent down beside Stevie and gazed earnestly at the little boy. “Listen, Liam,” she said gently. “Jackie and Corey are wrong. Tessa’s here visiting me and my friends. She’s not going to take any of our horses back to England with her.”

Liam still looked suspicious. “Really?” he asked, shooting a glance at Tessa.

Tessa nodded emphatically. “Really, truly,” she said. “Cross my heart and hope to die. I’m not after your pony. I promise.”

Liam looked relieved. “That’s great!” he exclaimed. “I really like riding Nickel. And he wouldn’t like it much in England.” With that, he skipped off down the aisle.

Stevie shook her head and picked up her broom again. “Can you believe the nerve of that girl?” she muttered.

“Stevie …,” Carole said warningly. She didn’t want Stevie getting Tessa riled up about Veronica.

But when she glanced at the British girl, she saw that it was too late. Tessa’s eyes were practically shooting sparks. “I’ve had just about enough of this!” she exclaimed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lisa said quickly. “Um, it’s not worth it.”

“She’s right,” Stevie said. “Uh, Veronica’s a jerk to everyone. The best thing is just to ignore her.”

Carole was sure that last remark had pained Stevie a lot. “That’s the best thing,” she added. “Just ignore her and forget about it. That’s what we always do. Right, guys?”

“Right!” Stevie and Lisa chorused, sounding almost convincing.

Tessa shook her head sadly. “But how can I forget this?” she said. “Everyone at Pine Hollow thinks I’m the next best thing to a horse thief. No wonder everyone is giving me dirty looks! Don’t you think this requires a little creative retaliation?”

Carole avoided meeting her eye as she shook her head. “It’s not worth it,” she said. “Really. It only encourages her.”

Tessa was silent for a long moment. “Well, okay,” she said at last, biting her lip. “If you say so.” She sighed. “But I’ve at least got to talk to some of the people she told—you know, clear my good name. I’ll be back soon, okay? I’m going to see if Betsy and Joe and Meg are still around.”

The other girls didn’t try to stop her. When Tessa was out of earshot, Carole sighed loudly. “Wow,” she said, attacking the dirty straw in Derby’s stall with new energy. “What are we going to do now?”

“I think we headed her off this time,” Lisa said. “But you know there’s going to be a next time … and a next time …”

“I know,” Stevie said. “I think it’s about time we just—”

“Well, hello,” a snide voice interrupted her. “Where’s your little foreign friend?”

“Hello, Veronica,” Stevie replied icily. “What are you doing here? Is the mall closed?”

Veronica didn’t reply. She just leaned back against the wall outside Derby’s door, looking smug and self-satisfied. “I do hope
Lady
Theresa is enjoying her little visit to America,” she purred.

Carole glanced anxiously at Stevie. Veronica was obviously trying to goad them.

But she needn’t have worried. Stevie was smiling calmly. “You know, Veronica, you really should talk to Mr. French sometime.”

Veronica looked confused but wary. “Mr. French?” she repeated. “Why on earth would I want to talk to him?” Mr. French was one of Max’s adult riders.

“Well, he works for the State Department, so he might be able to give you some career advice,” Stevie explained. “Because with your personality, you’re definitely destined for a career as a diplomat.”

Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “Very funny, Stevie,” she said sarcastically.

“Uh-huh,” Stevie went on as if she hadn’t heard her. “If we—I mean you—are really lucky, maybe you’ll get sent someplace really great. Like Timbuktu.”

She burst out laughing at her own joke. Carole and Lisa did the same, feeling relieved. Their riding privileges were safe—for a little while longer, at least.

And all Veronica could do was stand there and glare at them.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
when Lisa arrived downstairs for breakfast, she found Tessa there ahead of her. The visitor was sitting at the kitchen table with Mrs. Atwood. Papers were spread out across the table, covering every bit of the surface except for the small space occupied by Tessa’s cereal bowl.

“Morning.” Lisa greeted her mother and Tessa with a yawn. “What are you guys doing?” She grabbed a clean glass out of the cabinet and sat down beside Tessa.

Mrs. Atwood smiled eagerly. “Oh, Tessa and I were just looking over the course plans for the point-to-point races,” she said. “The course designer we hired finished them yesterday, and since Tessa knows so much about these things, I thought—”