English Rider (6 page)

“What do you mean?” Carole asked.

“I mean I think something is going on with Tessa,” Stevie said. “Or Veronica. Or maybe both.”

“That clears things up,” Lisa said dryly. She switched the phone to her other ear. “But I was thinking about it, and I was wondering if we’re just missing what’s staring us in the face here.”

“What’s that?” Carole asked.

Lisa bit her lip. She could hardly bring herself to say the words out loud. “Maybe,” she said, “just maybe, Tessa and Veronica actually … like each other.”

Carole gasped. “No way,” she said quickly. “Tessa is a member of The Saddle Club. And Veronica is, well …”

“Pure evil?” Stevie suggested helpfully.

Carole laughed wryly. “Well, I was going to say Veronica is Veronica,” she said. “But either way you look at it, it just doesn’t make sense.”

“I guess not,” Lisa said. But she didn’t feel very confident about her own words. “Still, maybe it’s nothing that extreme. We know Tessa was upset because she thought she was going to be responsible for us losing our riding privileges.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” Stevie protested. “It would be Veronica’s fault if that happened, not hers.”

“Wait,” Carole said. “I think I see what you’re saying, Lisa. No matter what we’d say, Tessa would still feel guilty if Max kicked us out for fighting back when Veronica was being mean to her.”

Lisa had to pause to run Carole’s complicated sentence through her head. Then she nodded into the phone. “Right,” she said. “Maybe this is just Tessa’s way of calming the troubled waters. Or whatever.”

“Maybe,” Carole said eagerly. “That would make sense. Should we just come right out and ask her about it?”

Lisa hesitated. She couldn’t help remembering how Tessa had acted at the mall. She hadn’t seemed like someone
who was reluctantly going along with something to keep the peace. In fact, she had seemed downright thrilled to rush off with Veronica. “I don’t know,” she said at last. “Maybe we should wait a few days and see what happens.”

“Are you sure?” Stevie sounded worried. “Don’t forget, last time we tried to keep a secret from Tessa—”

“I know.” Lisa cut her off. When the girls had tried to hide their probation from Tessa, it had made them all miserable. “But this is different. We’re not really hiding anything from her.” She shrugged, though she knew her friends couldn’t see her. “If anything, she’s the one hiding something from us.”

There was a long moment of silence as they all thought that over.

Suddenly Carole spoke up. “Oops,” she said worriedly. “I hear Dad calling me. I just remembered I was supposed to set the table. I’d better go.”

“Me too,” Stevie said. “I just saw my brother Michael walk by with his aquarium of pet frogs. That can’t be good news.”

Lisa grinned briefly at that in spite of her worries about Tessa. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll keep you posted. We’re all meeting before lessons tomorrow, right?”

“Right,” Carole replied.

“Definitely,” Stevie said at the same time. “And don’t forget—Max said it was okay for Phil to come to lessons and watch the carriage demonstration.” Thanks to The
Saddle Club’s idea, Mrs. Pennington had agreed to bring over one of her fancy horse-drawn vehicles the next day and give another demonstration for the intermediate riding class. Stevie had decided to find out if her boyfriend could attend, since she knew he was always interested in any new horse-related topic.

“And we’re all going to TD’s for ice cream afterward, right?” Lisa said.

“Yep,” Stevie confirmed. “It should be fun. And it will give Phil and Tessa a chance to get to know each other better. They only met that one time last week.”

After that the three girls said good-bye and hung up. Lisa returned the phone to its spot on the table, then wandered downstairs.

“Are you finished with the phone, Lisa?” Mrs. Atwood called from the kitchen. “I need to make a few calls.”

“I’m finished, Mom.” Lisa was relieved. As long as her mother was on the phone, she couldn’t put Lisa to work on more projects for the point-to-point.

Lisa wasn’t sure she could concentrate on equipment lists or menus or sponsor addresses right then. She was too worried about Tessa. The incident at the mall had disturbed her more than she’d been willing to admit to the others. It wasn’t just that Tessa had gone with Veronica. That was bad enough. But why had she seemed so excited about it? Could her earlier, horrible theory be right? Could Tessa actually
like
spending time with the snobby
girl? Could she—Could she possibly like Veronica
better
than she liked The Saddle Club?

Lisa’s head had been throbbing with these thoughts since she’d gotten home from the mall. Putting a hand to her forehead, she decided she had to distract herself somehow. She was on her way into the living room to see what was on TV when the front door flew open and Tessa hurried in, smiling and breathless. “Oh, hi, Lisa!” she said, waving a bulging shopping bag. “I finally made it home!”

“Hi,” Lisa said dully.

Tessa didn’t seem to notice Lisa’s gloomy tone. “Whew, I have
got
to sit down right now,” she declared with a laugh. “My feet are killing me!”

Lisa didn’t answer. She just followed Tessa into the living room, amazed at her cheerful mood. If Lisa had just spent several hours shopping with Veronica diAngelo, she’d have been ready to strangle someone by now. So would Stevie and Carole—Phil, too, for that matter, along with just about every other out-of-town member of The Saddle Club. But not Tessa. She looked as happy as ever.

Tessa flopped down on the living room couch, still clutching her shopping bag. “I’m exhausted!” she declared happily. “We must have walked ten kilometers today going up and down that mall.”

“I can imagine,” Lisa said dryly. “Shopping with Veronica
must be a tiring experience. Buying things is probably her greatest talent. I’m surprised you only came back with one bag.”

Her sarcasm was lost on Tessa, who sat up and smiled. “That reminds me,” she said. “I got you something.” She reached into her shopping bag and pulled out a small rose-colored box.

Lisa was surprised. She took the box and stared at it blankly. “What is it?” she asked.

Tessa giggled. “Open it, silly,” she urged. “That’s the best way to find out, isn’t it?”

Lisa lifted the lid of the box. Inside, nestled on a bed of cotton, was a slender silver pin. She gasped. “A stock pin!”

Tessa nodded. “I could tell you weren’t mad about those gold ones Veronica and I got yesterday,” she said frankly. “But when I saw this one, I thought it might be more your style.”

“It is.” Lisa picked up the pin to take a better look. Suddenly her irritation melted away, and she felt guilty about her earlier doubts. What had she and her friends been thinking? Just because Tessa was polite enough to put up with Veronica, that didn’t mean they should start concocting all sorts of ridiculous theories about it. “It’s just my style. Thanks, Tessa. I love it!”

At that moment Mrs. Atwood hurried into the room. “Oh, hello, Tessa,” she said. “I thought I heard you come in. Did you have a nice time with Veronica?”

“Oh, yes,” Tessa said. “She’s such an interesting person. She has a marvelously witty way of looking at the world.”

“Her mother is just the same way,” Mrs. Atwood assured Tessa, sitting down beside her on the couch. “She’s done a wonderful job of raising Veronica to know her own mind. Such a smart and well-spoken young girl!”

“Absolutely,” Tessa agreed. “Just now in the limo, Veronica told me the most interesting story about her last trip to Paris.…”

Lisa gritted her teeth as her mother and Tessa continued to praise the diAngelos. She studied the gorgeous silver stock pin in her hand. It had been such a thoughtful, personal gift, and she knew Stevie and Carole would agree. Only a good friend could have chosen it—a friend like Tessa.

So why did it sometimes seem that none of them really knew Tessa at ail?

S
TEVIE CHECKED HER
watch for the fifth time in thirty seconds. It was almost time for riding lessons to start, and the four members of The Saddle Club were already seated on the fence of the outdoor ring. Because of the carriage-driving demonstration, Max had told everyone not to bother tacking up their horses, so most of the class was already outside, talking or just enjoying the bright summer day.

Tessa laughed. “Really, Stevie,” she teased. “If you don’t stop looking at that wristwatch every other second, you’ll wear it out!”

Carole noticed what Stevie was doing, too. “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “I’m sure Phil will be here soon.”

Stevie grinned sheepishly. She knew her friends were probably right. Phil would get there when he got there, and unless she missed her guess, he would make sure to be there in plenty of time for the demonstration. But she couldn’t help glancing at her watch again a few seconds later.

Phil lived in a town about ten miles away and rode at a different stable, so he and Stevie only got to see each other once or twice a month. During the summer it was usually easier to get together, but Stevie still appreciated every visit. Besides, she really did want him to spend some time with Tessa before she had to go back to England.

Stevie was checking her watch yet again when she heard a car turn up the driveway. “There he is,” she said with relief, recognizing the Marstens’ car.

Moments later, Phil was perched on the fence between Stevie and Tessa. “I’m glad I made it in time,” he said breathlessly. “My sister Barbara promised to drop me off on her way to the mall, and she kept changing her mind about which earrings she was going to wear.” Barbara was Phil’s oldest sister.

“Never mind,” Tessa said cheerily. “You’re here now, and that’s what matters. By the way, Stevie was telling me the other night about the riding camp where you two met. Did she really single-handedly save all the horses at camp from a huge barn fire?”

Phil rolled his eyes and laughed. “Leave it to Stevie to
exaggerate, as usual,” he said teasingly. “Listen, this is what
really
happened.…”

Stevie smiled as Tessa and Phil continued to chat. She was glad they seemed to like each other as much as she liked both of them.

Then her attention was drawn by a flurry of activity in the ring. Red had just entered, pushing one of Pine Hollow’s wheelbarrows. Instead of being loaded with manure or hay bales or any other familiar stable items, it was full of bright orange rubber cones.

Carole was watching Red, too, a puzzled look on her face. “What’s he doing with those?” she asked. “They look like traffic cones.”

Several other students had noticed the cones, too. “Yo, Red,” Joe Novick called out. “What’s up with the cones? Are you practicing to get your driver’s license?”

Red smiled good-naturedly as several kids laughed. “You’ll have to wait and see,” he called back. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

As The Saddle Club and their classmates watched, Red dragged the wheelbarrow to the center of the ring. He dug under the stack of cones for a moment, finally coming up with a measuring tape. He grabbed one cone, dropped it on the dusty ground, then carefully measured out a distance of several yards starting from the edge of the cone.

“What in the world is he doing?” Lisa said.

Stevie shrugged, but she noticed that Carole didn’t
look quite as confused as the rest of them did. “Do you know something we don’t know?” Stevie asked her.

“I’m not sure,” Carole said. “This looks sort of familiar. I think I may have seen something like this at a horse show once.”

“Something like what?” Phil asked.

Carole shook her head. “Just wait,” she said. “If it’s what I think it is, you’ll find out soon.”

Stevie wasn’t about to let her friend get away with that. But before she could ask any more questions, she heard a loud snort from the stable entrance behind her. She turned and saw Hodge and Podge emerging with Miles at their heads. The Cleveland Bays were groomed to within an inch of their lives. They were outfitted in a perfectly polished silver-jointed leather harness and pulling the yellow-and-black phaeton.

“Wow,” Lisa said. “They look amazing.”

Everyone else seemed to agree. All the riding students watched as Miles led the horses into the ring, keeping them at one end so that he wouldn’t get in Red’s way.

A moment later Max and Mrs. Pennington came out of the stable and walked to the ring. Max was wearing his normal riding clothes. Mrs. Pennington, however, looked just as fancy as her horses did. She was wearing an old-fashioned long skirt and jacket, and an elaborate feathered hat was perched atop her iron-gray curls. Curvy-heeled buckled shoes and long, buttoned gloves completed the outfit.

“Attention, everyone,” Max said, walking to the center of the ring. “I think you all know Mrs. Pennington, who spoke at our last Horse Wise meeting. She has graciously agreed to give us another driving demonstration now that her equipment is here.”

Stevie was only half listening as Max went on to say a few more words about Mrs. Pennington and her accomplishments. She was busy watching Red. The stable hand had just finished distributing the cones, and now he pulled the wheelbarrow out of the ring. But Stevie could see that there was still one item left inside—a paper grocery bag. As she watched, Red picked up the bag, tucked it under his arm, and quietly reentered the ring. He walked to the nearest cone, then dipped his hand into the bag.