“It’s all right, Mom,” Lisa said, feeling a little guilty. She grabbed the pitcher from the counter and poured herself some orange juice. “It’s no big deal, really. Nobody ever needs to know.”
“Well …” Mrs. Atwood still looked uncertain.
“Really, Mrs. Atwood,” Tessa said graciously. “You couldn’t possibly have known. It will be all right.”
“… AND TESSA TRIED to explain that, but Mom just bulldozed ahead and showed her anyway. Can you believe it?” Lisa said.
She was in the student locker room at Pine Hollow with Tessa, Stevie, and Carole. She and Tessa had just finished telling the others about what had happened at the breakfast table.
Carole smiled. “It sounds like your mom was just being her usual self,” she said, tossing her sneakers into her cubbyhole and reaching for her riding boots. “But I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm by it.”
“Of course not,” Tessa agreed. “And there’s no harm done.” She grinned and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I didn’t want to say it in front of your mum, Lisa, but I didn’t see much of anything on that map, anyhow. As soon as she opened it up, I crossed my eyes so that I wouldn’t be able to. Like this, see?” She crossed her eyes and made a silly face.
Her friends burst out laughing. “Do you do that when you have tea with the queen?” Stevie joked.
Before Tessa could respond, Veronica entered. She gave them all a sour look. “Is this what you do at your little club meetings?” she asked snippily. “Sit around and make faces at each other?”
Stevie gritted her teeth. She was really getting tired of having to roll over and take Veronica’s obnoxious comments all the time. She wouldn’t have been able to stand it at all if her riding privileges hadn’t been on the line. “Come on, guys,” she said to her friends. “Let’s get out of here. We should get to work.” The four friends had planned to do some more practicing for the point-to-point.
Veronica snorted. “Oh, but why bother?” She smirked nastily at Tessa. “I thought you and Topside had the junior hurdle all sewn up. Or did you finally realize that we Americans know how to ride, too?”
“That’s enough!” Tessa cried.
Carole knew they couldn’t let Tessa get into a shouting match with Veronica and opened her mouth to say something, but Lisa was clearly thinking the same thing. “Tessa,” Lisa began, placing a soothing hand on her arm.
But Tessa shook it off. She was still glaring at Veronica with her fists clenched at her sides. “I’ve had just about enough of your little comments!” she said. “I’ve tried to be polite, but—”
“Tessa!” Stevie broke in desperately. “Come on. Don’t stoop to her level.”
“That’s right,” Carole agreed. “We don’t have time. We’re supposed to be practicing now, remember?”
Their comments obviously surprised Tessa enough to silence her. She turned and gave them a perplexed look. “But she’s done nothing but insult me since I got here,” she protested. “I can’t let her get away with that, can I?”
“Oh, please,” Veronica said. She gave a loud yawn. “I’m bored by this conversation. Now I understand why everyone says British people are dull.” She stalked out of the room.
Tessa scowled and started after her, but her friends held her back.
“Forget about her,” Carole advised, feeling guilty. What kind of friends were they being to Tessa, anyway? First they decided to keep an important secret from her—that decision had made sense at the time, though Carole couldn’t imagine why—and now they were letting Veronica stomp all over her. She knew that Tessa would understand if they told her why they couldn’t get back at Veronica. Maybe it was time to spill their secret. Still, she didn’t want to say anything until she talked it over with Stevie and Lisa privately. The whole Saddle Club had to be in agreement.
“Come on,” Lisa said, heading for the door. “Let’s go get our tack.”
Tessa sighed and nodded. “All right,” she said glumly. “Lead the way.”
LISA WAS HAPPY to see that Tessa’s mood had improved by the end of their practice. Lisa was feeling pretty good, too. She was riding Derby for the first time, and the big gelding was just as wonderful as she had hoped. He had smooth, even paces and seemed eager to please his rider. She still missed Prancer, of course, but she was sure that she and Derby would be able to do well in the point-to-point race. And even more important, Prancer’s leg wouldn’t be put at risk.
The girls spent more than an hour in an unoccupied pasture practicing skills they would need for the competition. At the end of the session, they even held a mock race over some low obstacles, with a candy bar from the Pine Hollow vending machine standing in for a blue ribbon.
Lisa decided not to push Derby to win this time. It was more important to make sure the two of them could work well as a team first. She was happy to find that the big chestnut seemed eager to race, but she was even happier that he obeyed her signals to take it easy. He jumped each fence a few strides behind the others, who were battling for the win. Tessa and Topside were in the lead for most of the way, with Carole and Starlight a close second. But at the last fence, Belle surged forward with a new burst of energy, carrying Stevie to victory.
“Yahoo!” Stevie cried, pumping her fist in the air as she crossed the finish line they had marked in the grass. “We did it!” She circled back to rejoin her friends. “And that was just a warm-up. I can’t wait until I beat everyone in the real race.” She grinned. “Especially Phil.”
Lisa rolled her eyes, but then she smiled. She could tell that Stevie was just joking—this time. Stevie and her boyfriend were both very competitive people, which had caused problems between them in the past. But lately both Stevie and Phil had learned to take things a lot less seriously. They still loved to compete and win, but they didn’t let it come between them.
Tessa leaned forward to pat Topside. “Well, don’t get too cocky, Stevie,” she said cheerfully. “I’m sure Topside here was just holding back a bit—you know, conserving his energy for the real race. We may surprise you yet.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Stevie waved one hand airily. “That’s what they all say!”
All four girls laughed. Then they dismounted and started cooling down their horses, who were sweaty and tired after all the exercise.
“Speaking of Phil,” Tessa said as they walked around the corner of the stable building, “I can’t wait to meet him. When does he return from his holiday?”
“Tomorrow,” Stevie said. “And he definitely wants to meet you, too. I’ll call him tomorrow and see if we can figure out a plan for later this week.”
Tessa nodded and opened her mouth to answer, but just then Anna McWhirter came hurrying out the side door. She stopped short when she spotted The Saddle Club.
“Hi,” Lisa greeted her.
Tessa smiled. “Hello, Anna,” she said at the same time.
Anna scowled. “Hi,” she said shortly. Then she spun around and raced back the way she had come.
“Uh-oh,” Stevie said. “That was weird. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Tessa looked worried. “Do you think she still believes that silly rumor about me buying all your horses? I thought I convinced her it was nonsense.”
Carole shook her head. “Anna’s no fool,” she said. “She wouldn’t believe something like that.” But who knows what else Veronica might be telling people? she added silently.
“Let’s keep moving,” Lisa put in. “We’ve got to get these guys cooled down.”
BY THE TIME Carole, Stevie, and Lisa met up in the tack room a little later, they all knew something was going on.
“Adam Levine walked by while I was grooming Starlight,” Carole reported, glancing over her shoulder in case Tessa walked in. The British girl was still busy in Topside’s stall, and the others didn’t want her to hear them. “He made some kind of weird comment about how I should watch my back.”
Stevie nodded grimly. “Betsy Cavanaugh said something li
ke that to me, too,” she said. “When I asked her what she meant, she wouldn’t tell me. Her face got all red and she kept playing with her hair. Then she ran away.”
Lisa sighed. “It’s obvious that Veronica is spreading rumors again,” she said. “We’d better find out exactly what she—”
“Hi, Tessa!” Carole interrupted brightly. “Is Topside all bedded down and comfy?”
Tessa nodded. “He’s fine,” she said shortly, dropping Topside’s saddle onto an empty rack. “Listen, you guys, I think something is up. That little girl from Horse Wise—I think she’s called Jessica—passed me in the hall while I was refilling Topside’s water bucket. She took one look at me and burst into tears. Then she ran away.”
Carole gulped. This was bad. “Um, we think maybe there’s another rumor going around about you,” she said carefully. “Now, we can’t prove Veronica is behind it, but—”
“Of course she is,” Stevie snapped. Then she seemed to remember the situation. “Uh, I mean, I guess you’re right. You never know. Innocent until proven guilty—that’s the American way, right?”
Tessa looked ready to protest, but Lisa jumped in before she could say anything. “The best thing to do is probably just ignore it,” she suggested. “Come on, let’s finish up with this tack, and then we can head over to TD’s.”
“But—” Tessa began.
“So, did Derby have any problems with those fences, Lisa?” Carole said brightly, cutting her off. “He looked pretty good out there.”
“Oh, he was,” Lisa said. She shot a glance at Tessa’s confused face, feeling terrible. She knew Tessa was unhappy about what was going on, and she couldn’t blame her. Still, what could they do? Later, she would have to find a way to talk to Carole and Stevie alone. Maybe they would agree to tell Tessa about the probation. That would make things a lot easier for all of them. “He really seems to love jumping.”
Just then Polly stuck her head into the tack room. “Oh, excuse me,” she said with a frown, staring at Tessa. “I didn’t know anyone was in here.” She started to leave, then hesitated. “You know, I wasn’t going to say anything,” she said, “but some people around here should realize they’re not as great as they think they are.” She spun and left, almost bumping into Simon Atherton, who was just entering.
“Okay, that’s just about enough!” Tessa cried. “I want to know what’s going on around here! Suddenly I feel like some kind of leper!”
“Hey, Simon,” Lisa said, scrubbing angrily at a spot on Derby’s saddle. “Do you know why Polly’s so upset?”
Simon shrugged, looking nervous. He shot a glance at Tessa. “Um, why, n-no,” he stammered. “I have no idea.”
“Come on,” Carole urged. “What’s going on around here? You can tell us. Please, Simon?” Simon still hesitated, so Carole grabbed the candy bar that was sticking out of Stevie’s shirt pocket.
“Hey!” Stevie protested. “I won that fair and square!”
Carole ignored her. “Here,” she said, handing the candy bar to Simon. “Call it a bribe if you want. But we really need to know the truth.”
Simon hesitantly took the candy bar. He stared at it for a moment, then gulped. “Well, I really shouldn’t say anything …”
Tessa jumped up from her seat on an overturned bucket and hurried over to him. “Please, Simon,” she begged. “I need your help. Everyone seems to hate me around here, and I don’t know why.”
Simon looked surprised. “You don’t?” he said. “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? The things you’ve been saying about people have hurt their feelings.”
“What things?” Stevie asked suspiciously.
Simon shrugged. “You know,” he said. “All that stuff about her being better than us because she’s got a royal title.”
Lisa gasped. She and her friends hadn’t said a word about Tessa’s title to anyone at Pine Hollow. And she was quite sure that Tessa hadn’t mentioned it, either.
Simon wasn’t finished. “People seem to think she’s been making fun of everyone and everything here,” he said. He blushed. “For instance, Adam told me that Betsy told him that she heard Theresa thinks I ride like a sack of flour.”
“But I would never say something like that!” Tessa protested. “Really, Simon. I’m not that sort of person!”
He shrugged uncertainly. “Well, I must admit, Theresa, I thought you were nice. But some of the things I’ve heard …”
“What else?” Carole asked. “What did Tessa supposedly say about other people here?”
“Oh, I don’t like to gossip,” Simon protested.
Stevie took a step forward. “Tell us,” she said ominously, slapping a bridle hook against her palm.
Simon gulped. “Well, if you insist, Stephanie,” he said. “Um, I heard she was making jokes about Jessica Adler being a latchkey kid. And about Betsy’s new haircut. Oh, yes, and about Britt being so shy.”
Lisa couldn’t believe even Veronica could be so mean. She had figured out exactly what each person was sensitive about and made people think that Tessa was ridiculing it. “That’s horrible!” she blurted before she could stop herself.
Tessa’s face was turning red. “You have to tell me more, Simon,” she said evenly. “I want to know everything I’m supposed to have said. That’s the only way I’ll be able to apologize to everyone.”
Before Simon could respond, a familiar voice interrupted. “Hello, everyone!” Veronica was standing in the doorway with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
Tessa rushed over to her before her friends could stop her. “Just the person I was hoping to see!” she cried. “How dare you tell all these lies about me!”
Veronica shrugged lazily. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She examined her perfectly manicured fingernails. “I have better things to do than talk about you, believe me.”
“Oh, really?” Tessa spat out. “Then how does everyone at Pine Hollow know about my title?”
“Hey, don’t blame me for your own bragging,” Veronica replied with another shrug.
Tessa was fuming. “And why does everyone think I’ve been making fun of them? It must have taken you hours to come up with all those lies!”
“Well, that just proves it wasn’t me,” Veronica said smoothly. “I’ve spent the last two hours with Miles Pennington, helping him take care of his grandmother’s Cleveland Bays.” She smiled dreamily. “He just insisted on my hanging around and keeping him company the whole time he was here.” She patted her smooth, dark hair. “I know he’s a little older than me, but I think we have a lot in common.”
Carole rolled her eyes. The last thing she felt like doing was listening to the details of Veronica’s latest crush—especially since Miles Pennington’s family wealth and prestige probably had a lot more to do with it than his looks or personality.
“We all know you did this because you don’t like me!”
Tessa exclaimed. “You made up those rumors, and you told everyone I thought I was better than them because of my family.”
“Why would I do that?” Veronica said calmly. “As far as I’m concerned, your royal connections are the only interesting thing about you. Why would I make fun of something like that? It’s just not like me.” She smiled an infuriating smile. “Ask anyone.”
Carole gasped. She knew that Veronica was lying. But her argument also made a frightening sort of sense. Everyone knew that Veronica was impressed by socially important things like royal titles. What if she could convince other people—Max, for instance—that that meant she was innocent?
As much as Carole wanted to throttle Veronica, she knew there was only one thing to do. “Never mind, Tessa,” she said wearily. “There’s no point in arguing. Just ignore her.”
“SO DID EVERYONE believe her?” Carole asked the next morning.
Stevie nodded. She and Carole were in the student locker room changing into their riding clothes. “I think so,” she said, digging around in her messy cubby in search of her le
ft glove. “But it’s a good thing Tessa is so naturally charming. I’m not sure anyone else could have pulled it off.”
The day before, Tessa had allowed her friends to convince her to forget about getting back at Veronica. But she hadn’t been able to forget about what Veronica had done. She had insisted on tracking down and speaking to every person who had heard the rumors. Carole had left Pine Hollow early for a dentist’s appointment, and then she and her father had gone to visit some friends of the family, so she hadn’t heard until now how it had turned out.
“I hope Tessa is feeling better about it all today,” Carole said, grabbing her boot off the bench beside her. “I’d hate it if this ruined her visit.”
“Me too,” Stevie agreed. She glanced at her watch. “She and Lisa should be here soon. Listen, before they get here, I was thinking about our vow not to tell her about the probation. Do you think—”
“There you two are!” Lisa’s anxious voice interrupted. She and Tessa came rushing into the room. “Listen, we have some terrible news. Tessa can’t ride in the junior hurdle race!”
Carole and Stevie gasped. “What?” they exclaimed in one voice.
Tessa gulped. “It’s not that bad,” she protested. “I keep telling you, Lisa, I don’t mind. Really.”
“What happened?” Stevie demanded.
Lisa sighed. “It’s my mother’s fault, as usual,” she said. “Well, at least partly. She had lunch with Mrs. diAngelo yesterday, and she blabbed about showing Tessa the map.”
“Oh no!” Carole cried. The Saddle Club knew Mrs. diAngelo. She was just an older version of Veronica—selfish and shallow.
“That wouldn’t even have been so bad,” Lisa went on grimly. “Believe it or not, Mrs. diAngelo was willing to let it go. But then Veronica convinced her it would be better for everyone if Tessa was a judge instead of riding in the race.” She shrugged. “By the time we heard about it last night after the evening committee meeting, it was all settled.”
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