The Madeleine Richards Box Set (The Madeleine Richards Series Book 4)

by Juliette Duncan

  "It does sound interesting," Hank said. "I'll keep a watch out for them."

  "So, are we right to go shopping now?" Maddy asked.

  "Yes, off you go. But make sure you stay together, and don't do anything silly," Sarah said. "I know what you two can be like sometimes. We don't want any more dramas!" she said.

  "No problem, Mom. We'll be good," Maddy said. "You can trust us." She walked over and gave her mom a kiss before she and Hannah left to go 'shopping'.

  Chapter 7

  "I wonder how long Jake's going to stay?" Hannah asked Maddy after they’d been hiding in the bushes opposite their villa for more than ten minutes. They’d got there just in time to see Jake and Lyndsay return after their lunch, but Jake was still inside.

  "Maybe he’s talking with Lyndsay’s mom and dad," Maddy said. "I guess we just have to sit it out for a while if we’re going to follow him."

  "It feels really strange spying on someone," Hannah said.

  "Yes. I know what you mean. But we’re doing it for Lyndsay, not for ourselves, so I think that makes it okay, don’t you?"

  "I guess so. Look! There he is. Get your head down!" Hannah whispered to Maddy as she saw him leave Lyndsay’s villa. Lyndsay had walked along the entrance pathway with him, but hadn’t gone any further. She was just standing there, looking at him disappearing around the corner.

  "She looks a bit sad. Not like somebody who's had a nice lunch with her boyfriend," Maddy said. "We need to get going in case we lose him. Let’s go round this way so Lyndsay won’t see us."

  The girls tip-toed around the back of the garden, and then began to walk briskly along the path until they caught sight of him.

  "We’ll need to keep our distance, and if he turns around, we’d better just keep on walking so it doesn’t look suspicious," Maddy said to Hannah.

  "Okay. I hope he doesn’t turn around though!" Hannah said. "I don’t really want him to see us."

  "Me either," Maddy said.

  The girls kept a good distance between themselves and Jake, and managed to follow him easily until he reached the main road.

  "It looks like he's planning on crossing," Hannah whispered.

  "Lucky there are lots of people around! If we stay at this end, we should be able to cross at the same time without him seeing us."

  "Okay. Let's go. Problem is, we don't know which way he'll go when he gets across."

  "Let's hang back a little further. Hopefully he'll go left or straight ahead. If he goes right, we're done."

  Luckily for the girls, Jake did continue walking straight ahead, and entered the busy shopping mall they were planning on going to anyway. With so many people around, it was difficult to keep him in view, but at least if they were spotted now, it wouldn't be a problem.

  "He's going into that cafe," Maddy said to Hannah.

  The girls stopped so they couldn’t be seen, and pretended to be window shopping.

  "What do you think we should we do?" Hannah asked Maddy.

  "Maybe we should just walk past slowly, and try to see him without making it look obvious. If we're talking, and I look at you, I should be able to get a glance inside at the same time."

  "Okay. But one guess who he's with," Hannah replied.

  "Yes, you're probably right. Hopefully I'll get a good look and then we'll know for sure. Are you ready, Han?" Maddy asked. "We'd better get moving otherwise we might look funny standing here so long."

  "Yeah," she replied. "I'm a bit nervous, though. Are you okay?"

  "Yes. I just want to get it over with. I'm more angry than nervous."

  They started to walk slowly past the cafe, talking to each other as planned. Maddy's eyes darted from table to table, seeking out Jake. Some tables were hidden by palm trees, and those towards the back were difficult to see as there were no external windows. The red hibiscus flowers on his sea green shirt gave him away.

  Maddy walked slower to get a better view of his companion. It wasn't the girl. She peered harder. He was with a slightly older, dark skinned man, and it looked like they were having a serious discussion. In fact, in the few seconds she saw them, Maddy got the impression they were arguing.

  The girls continued walking until they were well past the cafe. When they felt safe to stop, they found an empty seat with a clear view of the entrance and sat down. Maddy told Hannah what she'd seen.

  "I wonder who the man was?" Hannah asked. "It's definitely not who we expected."

  "No. But you know what this means? If we want to see him with that girl again, we're going to have to keep following him."

  "No! It doesn't feel right," Hannah said. "I think we should just tell Lyndsay what we saw, and be done with it."

  "Maybe you're right, Han. Wait! Isn't that her going into the cafe?" Maddy looked harder to get a better view of the girl she'd just noticed.

  "Hard to tell from here, but it could be. Same hair."

  "Let's wait a few minutes, and then walk past again," Maddy said. "Hopefully we'll catch him out this time."

  "Okay. But no more following?"

  "No more following," Maddy agreed.

  A minute is a long time when you're waiting for something, and Maddy was itching to get another look at the girl, but Hannah made her wait.

  "Give her time to at least sit down!" she said.

  "Okay Han. You win. We'll wait." But she kept peering at the cafe entrance, and Hannah had to keep telling her not to look so obvious.

  "What if they come out?" she asked Maddy. "We need to look like we're just sitting here talking, not looking for him."

  Finally it was time to go. They adopted their positions, and started to walk slowly back towards the cafe.

  "At least this time I know which table to look at," Maddy said to Hannah just before they reached it.

  "Okay, it's her," Maddy whispered. "It's definitely her. She's sitting at the table with Jake and the other man. I can't see her face too well, but she's got long blond hair, just like the girl we saw the other night. And she's got her hand on Jake's arm. We've got him, Han! We've got him!"

  "Yay!" Hannah said once they'd cleared the cafe on the other side. "How are we going to break the news to Lyndsay?"

  "Carefully! Very carefully!" Maddy replied.

  Chapter 8

  The girls had no opportunity to talk to Lyndsay when they got back from their 'shopping expedition'. Sarah was keen to know what shops they'd been to, and if they'd bought anything, and was disappointed, but not surprised, when they said they'd just 'window shopped'.

  "Maybe we can all go shopping one afternoon," she said. "I'd like to get a few things before we leave."

  "You and Hank could just go on your own," Maddy replied. "We'll be okay to stay here. Or we can come, it doesn't matter," she quickly said when she saw the look on her mother's face.

  "We'll see," she said. "Anyway, we'd better get down to the beach if we want to fit in a walk before the Luau. Are you girls ready to go?"

  "Yep. Just give us a minute to get changed," Maddy replied. "Can we go for a swim down there?"

  "I don't see why not. It's a lovely day. We might all go in. What do you think, darling?" she asked Hank, who had just woken up from his afternoon snooze.

  "Sounds good to me," Hank said sleepily. "Might wake me up!"

  They wandered down to the beach shortly after, and none of them, not even Sarah, could resist the temptation of the sparkling blue ocean. The waves were gentle, but were just big enough to catch a decent ride. Hank showed Maddy and Hannah how to body surf, and Sarah just enjoyed bobbing up and down in the water.

  She watched Hank with the girls, and thought how lucky she was to have him. He was so patient, but firm when he needed to be. And so wise and clever. And good looking! Can't forget that! Thank you God. And thank you for this beautiful place. I feel so grateful for everything. I don't really deserve to be this spoiled.

  So lost in her thoughts, a wave caught her by surprise. She was knocked off her feet and came up spluttering moments later.<
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  "Are you okay Mom?" Maddy called out, swimming frantically towards her.

  "Yes, sweetie, I'm fine." she replied, as she pushed her hair back off her face. "I was day dreaming and didn't see it. Got my hair wet, though. I hadn't planned on that."

  Just like Lyndsay, Maddy thought.

  Lyndsay! The poor girl. I'd almost forgotten about her! She's going to be broken hearted when she finds about Jake. At least she has one more night before we'll be able to tell her.

  "Maddy! Are you coming back out?" She looked up and saw Hannah and Hank further out in the water. It looked like Hannah was getting ready to catch another wave.

  "No, I think I'll go in," she shouted back. "Have a good ride!"

  "I think I'll come in with you, Maddy," Sarah said.

  Maddy reached out and held her mother's hand. They made their way out of the water together, and walked along the soft, warm sand until they reached the sun lounges where they'd left their belongings.

  "Mom. Can I ask you something?" Maddy said after they'd settled themselves onto a sun lounge each.

  "Sure sweetie. What is it?"

  "Hannah and I found out something today. Something really bad, and I'm not sure what we should do about it." Maddy said. She'd suddenly realized that her mom would know whether they should tell Lyndsay about Jake or not, and that it would be stupid not to ask her.

  "While we were shopping we saw Jake, that's Lyndsay's boyfriend, with another girl. They passed us last night as well when we were walking back from dinner. We don't think Lyndsay knows he's two timing her, and we thought we should tell her. What do you think?"

  "Oh that poor girl!" Sarah said. "How sad! Are you sure it was Jake you saw?"

  "Yes. It was definitely him. No doubt about it," Maddy replied.

  "Well. Should you tell Lyndsay or not? Let me think. If you do, she probably won't believe you, and it might mean that she won't want to be friends anymore. On the other hand, if you don't tell her, he's taking advantage of her, but she isn't aware of it, as far as we know. How long is she here for, do you know?"

  "Just another week. They've already been here a week."

  "Mmm. I'm thinking it might be best not to say anything. If she finds out herself, that's different, but as she's only here for another week, it's probably best just to let it go. Are you okay with that?"

  "I think so. We were so angry when we saw him. All we could think of was telling her, but as you say, she's only here for another week, and I guess what she doesn't know won't hurt her, hopefully. I still feel sorry for her, though. He's a real rat bag."

  "Maddy! You shouldn’t call people names, even if they deserve them! There might be something that you don't know, so best not to think too badly about him. There must be a reason, otherwise, why would he bother?"

  "Yes, it's all a bit strange. The girl we saw him with looked quite a bit older. Anyway, we'll let it go, and try not to let it slip out by mistake. Thanks Mom."

  "A pleasure, sweetie. Not sure I was that much help, but it's always good to talk things through."

  They sat together in a comfortable silence for a minute or two, and enjoyed the balmy afternoon breeze.

  "Looks like Hank and Hannah are on their way back," Sarah said. "I guess we'll need to get ready for the Luau shortly."

  "I'm looking forward to tonight. Sounds like it'll be fun!" Maddy said.

  "Yes, it should be. Everyone who's been says it's good. Hey there you two! I thought you were never coming back!"

  "The waves were great, Mrs Wilson! I had so much fun!" Hannah said as she grabbed her towel from the sun lounge and started to dry her hair.

  "I had to drag her out, believe me!" Hank said.

  "Well, we don't have waves in Riversleigh. I have to swim when I can!" she said.

  "I don't think there'll be waves in Smithtown, either," Maddy said, pouting her bottom lip.

  "No, unfortunately not." Hank finished wrapping a towel around his waist and then ruffled Maddy's hair fondly. "We need to make the most of being here before we head back, that's for sure."

  "No you don't!" Sarah said as Hank began to stretch out on the lounge beside her. "We need to get ready for tonight. Let's get going, we don't want to miss the bus."

  Chapter 9

  The courtesy bus to the Luau was meant to leave the resort at five pm. It was a mad rush to get ready in time, and they had to run to get there before the bus due to leave.

  As it turned out, they needn't have hurried, as everybody was still standing around waiting for it to turn up when they arrived.

  They stood on the edge of the group in the shade of a banyan tree, and caught their breath.

  Hannah noticed that Lyndsay was in the group, with what looked like her parents.

  "At least it doesn't look like Jake's there with her," Maddy said.

  "What a relief! I don't think I could face him. I know I'd say something I shouldn't!" Hannah said.

  "We should go over and say hello." Maddy turned to her mom and pointed Lyndsay out to her. "Can we go over and talk to her?" she asked.

  "Sure, sweetie. We might come with you. It looks like she might be with her parents."

  Hank and Sarah followed Maddy and Hannah as they weaved their way through the throng of people until they finally reached Lyndsay and her parents.

  "Hey Lyndsay," Maddy said. "We didn't know you were coming tonight." She introduced Lyndsay to her mom and Hank.

  "Hi there, Lyndsay. Nice to meet you," Sarah said. "Are these your parents?" she asked, nodding towards a well dressed couple who were standing behind her.

  "Yes. Would you like to meet them?"

  "That would be nice, especially since we're neighbors, I believe."

  Lyndsay introduced her parents to Sarah and Hank, and then left them to talk to each other, while she talked with Maddy and Hannah.

  "You look lovely, Lyndsay!" Maddy said. "I wish I had clothes like yours."

  "Do you really, Madeleine Richards? Since when have you liked wearing dresses?" Hannah said, turning to look directly at her friend.

  Maddy kicked her, hoping that Lyndsay wouldn't see. Hannah could be so thick sometimes, she thought.

  "Well, I haven't worn many dresses up until now, as you know, although I did quite like getting dressed up for the wedding. I think I could get used to it," she answered. She turned to Lyndsay and said, "Maybe you could help us choose some before we go home, Lyndsay? I'm not very good when it comes to choosing clothes."

  "I think I'd like that. We'll have to book it in though. I've got a fairly busy week."

  "Really?" Maddy asked. "How was your lunch, by the way?" Why did I ask that? I wasn't going to say anything about Jake! I'm so dumb sometimes.

  "It was nice, thanks. Jake knows all the good places to go. I guess it helps when you live here."

  "Has he lived here all his life?" Hannah asked.

  "Yes, he has." Lyndsay lifted her sun glasses onto the top of her head.

  "Here's the bus," Maddy said, thankful for the interruption to their conversation.

  It wasn't that far to the Luau, and Maddy was surprised to see how many people were there already when they arrived.

  They were each welcomed with a fresh lei and a cool tropical drink, and directed to the shore front to watch the entertainment that had already begun.

  The three girls stayed together, while Maddy was pleased to see that Lyndsay's parents were still standing with her mom and Hank, and they seemed to be getting on quite well.

  "Have you been to a Luau before, Lyndsay?" Hannah asked as they sat on the sand to watch the entertainment.

  "Yes. We go to one each year," she said, as she adjusted her hair which she was wearing up. Hannah thought she looked awfully grown up.

  "You're so lucky to come here every year!" Maddy exclaimed. "I wish we could stay longer."

  "Look!" Hannah shouted. "The girls are starting their dance!"

  "It's called the hula, Hannah! Don't you know anything?" Maddy joked with her.

>   The girls were enthralled with the bright colorful costumes of the dancers, and were mesmerized as they watched them swaying in time with the traditional music, so much so, that Maddy wanted to get up there and join them.

  "I think I'd like to learn to Hula," she whispered to Lyndsay.

  "There are classes at the resort," she replied.

  "I think I might go to one. Would you like to come with me?

  "Depends on when they are. Jake's taking me out again tomorrow."

  "Really? Well, we can find out when they are, and see if it in fits in."

  "Shh, you two! I want to hear the singing!" Hannah leant over and whispered to them.

  A group of traditional singers had joined the dancers. Maddy hummed along with them, lost in the music and the magical setting. She breathed in the saltry air, and watched the sky change color as the sun slowly set behind the performers.

  The magic of the moment was lost when the performance ended and the buffet began.

  The girls were spoilt for choice. Maddy had never seen such an array of different foods to choose from. The tables were decorated beautifully with tropical flowers and candles, intermingling with dishes that looked so yummy she thought she'd like to try them all.

  She filled her plate and sat at a table with Hannah and Lyndsay and began to eat. She noticed that Lyndsay didn't have much food in front of her.

  "Mmm. This is so yummy," she said. "I don't think I'll need to eat for a week!"

  "I'm pretty full, too," Hannah said. "You didn't eat much, Lyndsay. Don't you like the food?"

  "It's alright. I don't usually eat a lot anyway." She played with a piece of chicken on her plate, but none of it went in her mouth.

  "Are you okay, Lyndsay? You look a bit sad," Maddy said.

  Lyndsay shook her shoulders. "Jake was supposed to come tonight, but he called just before we left to say something had come up and he wasn't going to make it. I was looking forward to him coming with me."

  "That's a bit rude of him," Maddy said, glancing briefly at Hannah. "Did he say what had come up?"

  "No. He just said he'd see me tomorrow." She moved the piece of chicken around the plate with her fork.