LOOKS LIKE WAR
“Did I hear right?” Veronica demanded. “Is that obnoxious royal pain actually coming here for a visit?”
“If you’re referring to Tessa,” Lisa replied coolly, “then the answer is yes. And I’m sure she’s just dying to see you, too.”
“Like I care what she thinks,” Veronica snapped huffily. She whirled around and stormed back to Danny’s stall.
“Uh-oh,” Carole whispered. “It looks like you were right, Lisa. Veronica is holding a major grudge against Tessa. I guess she’s mad that Tessa didn’t recognize her superior breeding and introduce her to the queen.”
Stevie rubbed her hands together. “Uh-huh,” she agreed. “This could be trouble. We’ll have to figure out the best way to handle it so that—”
“Stop right there, Stevie,” Lisa interrupted. “In case you’ve already forgotten, we can’t ‘handle’ anything right now. At least not the way you’re thinking.”
Carole nodded emphatically. “Lisa’s right,” she said. “Max is really mad this time. And the worst part is, Veronica knows it. If we do anything to her …”
RL 5, 009–012
ENGLISH HORSE
A Bantam Skylark Book / July 1998
Skylark Books is a registered trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and elsewhere.
“The Saddle Club” is a registered trademark of Bonnie Bryant Hiller.
The Saddle Club design/logo, which consists of a riding crop and a riding hat, is a trademark of Bantam Books.
“USPC” and “Pony Club” are registered trademarks of The United States Pony Clubs, Inc., at The Kentucky Horse Park, 4071 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511-8462.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by Bonnie Bryant Hiller.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-82580-3
Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, inc. its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.
v3.1
I would like to express my special thanks
to Catherine Hapka for her help
in the writing of this book.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
About the Author
“SHE’LL BE SORRY,” Stevie Lake muttered, tossing the water balloon she was holding from hand to hand.
Stevie’s two best friends, Carole Hanson and Lisa Atwood, exchanged glances in the dusty, mottled sunlight pouring through the high windows of the hayloft at Pine Hollow Stables. They didn’t have to ask whom Stevie was talking about. They knew. The “she” in question was Veronica diAngelo, a fellow rider at Pine Hollow and a middle-school classmate of Stevie’s.
“I’m still not sure this is a good idea.” Lisa gingerly shifted her own water balloon from one hand to the other and peeked over the side of the loft at the empty stable aisle below. “What if Max finds out? You know how he hates horseplay in the stable.”
Carole giggled. “From us humans, at least. For some reason he doesn’t seem to mind it as much from the horses.”
Lisa laughed, too. But she was still worried. Veronica diAngelo was an incurable snob who thought her family’s wealth made her better than everyone else, and Lisa didn’t like her any more than Stevie did. But she was afraid that Stevie’s water balloon scheme might get them in trouble with Max Regnery, the owner of Pine Hollow and the girls’ riding instructor.
Stevie shrugged. “Don’t worry about Max,” she said breezily. “I overheard him on the phone while I was filling the balloons, and it sounded like he was busy lining up some new boarders or something. He’ll probably be stuck in the office for hours filling out paperwork and boring stuff like that.” She glanced down at the bucket beside her. Normally the bright blue plastic flat-back bucket could be found hanging in the stall of Stevie’s horse, Belle, filled with fresh drinking water. However, at the moment it was filled with water balloons. “And that should give us plenty of time to teach Veronica why she shouldn’t mess with me,” she added with grim satisfaction.
Carole rolled her eyes. “Come on, Stevie.” She wiped a trickle of sweat off her forehead. It was only June, but the afternoons in Willow Creek, Virginia, were already hot and muggy. “If anyone but Veronica had played that prank on you, you would’ve loved it.”
Lisa winced as Stevie glared at Carole. She knew that Carole was right. But she also knew that Stevie’s famous sense of humor sometimes deserted her when it came to Veronica.
Stevie and Veronica both attended a private school called Fenton Hall, which was located across town from Carole and Lisa’s public school. On the last day of classes a week earlier, Fenton Hall had held its annual awards ceremony. This year the presenter had been Ms. Haines, a retiring English teacher who was rumored to be half senile. Veronica had arranged for the elderly teacher to present Stevie with a very special award—for best dressed boy. Ms. Haines had proudly called Stevie up onto the stage of the packed auditorium to accept her “trophy,” which consisted of a hideous plaid necktie displayed in an elaborate gold frame.
“I still can’t believe Veronica convinced Ms. Haines that that stupid award was for real,” Stevie muttered under her breath.
Lisa noticed that Stevie was squeezing her water balloon rather tightly. In fact, the balloon was in danger of bursting and soaking them all. Lisa moved a few inches away. “Um,” she said tentatively, “are you sure this water balloon thing is really the best way to get back at Veronica?”
“Are you kidding?” Stevie frowned. “This is just the beginning. Sort of like a warning shot. I mean, you must admit, she started it this time. I may have played a few tiny pranks on Veronica in the past, but that didn’t give her the right to humiliate me in front of my entire school.” Stevie loosened her grip on the water balloon and flopped down on her stomach, sending stray wisps of hay and dust flying. “This time she’s going to pay. Big time.”
Carole and Lisa looked at each other again. Both of them knew that there was no point in trying to reason with their friend when she used that tone of voice. Stevie was definitely the most headstrong of the three girls, as well as the most wacky and mischievous. Those qualities made her very interesting to be around. And whenever her strong personality got her into hot water, Carole and Lisa were always there to help her out. That was one of the reasons they had formed The Saddle Club. The group had only two rules: Members had to be horse-crazy, and they had to be willing to help each other whenever help was needed. Sometimes the second rule meant offering assistance with riding or homework or family problems. Other times it meant pitching in to wreak horrible revenge on Veronica—at least that was how Stevie felt about it.
Stevie wriggled forward a few more inches until her shoulders cleared the edge of the loft. From that vantage point, she
could see into the stalls of several of the stable’s horses, including Veronica’s sleek Thoroughbred gelding, Danny. More important, she had a good view of the aisle in front of the stalls.
“We should each be able to get off at least two or three rounds before she realizes what’s happening,” she mused. She reached over and grabbed another water balloon. “Maybe more if we work really fast.”
Carole slid forward next to Stevie and peered over the edge. “We’re lucky Max switched the stall assignments around when the new horses arrived last month: Danny isn’t stabled near Rusty or Geronimo anymore,” she remarked. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do this. We all know how spooky Rusty can sometimes be about water, and Geronimo is too hyper to tolerate anything falling into his stall.”
“Hmmm,” Stevie replied. “By the way, did you notice how we’re only using red, white, and blue water balloons? I did that as a silent protest against the way Veronica has been bragging about giving the opening remarks at the country club on July Fourth weekend.”
Lisa hid a smile. She had the funniest feeling that Stevie was changing the subject because the idea of her water balloons upsetting the horses hadn’t even occurred to her. Naturally, though, Carole had seen the potential problem right away. That was typical of both Lisa’s friends. Stevie tended to get so caught up in her schemes and pranks that she sometimes forgot about everything else. Carole could be even more scatterbrained than Stevie, but never when it came to horses. For her, horses always came first, second, and third, making her easily the horse-craziest of the three horse-crazy girls.
“Speaking of the Fourth of July,” Lisa said, “whoever thought that anything good would come out of my parents’ finally being accepted into the Willow Creek Country Club?”
“I know,” Stevie said. “I still can’t believe it was your mother’s idea to hold a day of point-to-point races that weekend.”
Lisa grimaced. “Actually, I think it was inspired by Mrs. diAngelo. They’re cochairs of the fund-raising committee, and my mom has been a lot more excited about horses since she started chatting with Mrs. diAngelo about Veronica and Pine Hollow and Danny.” She shrugged. “But you have to admit, whoever’s idea it was, it should be a lot of fun. I’ve never even seen a point-to-point before, let alone ridden in one.”
“Neither have I,” Stevie admitted. She sat up to say more, still balancing a water balloon in each hand. “What’s the difference between a point-to-point and a steeplechase again?” She had been just as thrilled as her friends to hear about the upcoming equestrian event, which would take place on the Saturday before Independence Day. Mrs. Atwood had been steadily planning for more than a month, but lately Stevie had been so busy formulating her revenge against Veronica that she hadn’t paid much attention to the details. She knew a little bit about steeplechasing, which was a form of horse racing that included jumps. But she wasn’t clear on the difference between that and what was happening at the country club in a couple of weeks.
“They’re really pretty similar,” said Carole, who loved sharing her knowledge about horses. “Both involve races over a course that includes jumps. A point-to-point usually takes place cross-country instead of at a racetrack, but otherwise I think it’s pretty much just the amateur version of the professional sport.”
“I’ve seen a couple of steeplechase races on TV,” Lisa said, “like that famous one in England.… What’s it called again?”
“The Grand National?” Stevie offered. Lisa nodded, and Stevie smiled. “I’ve seen that one on TV, too. It’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?”
Lisa shifted her water balloon back to her other hand. “It’s definitely exciting,” she agreed. “But maybe a little scary, too. All those horses and jockeys racing full speed over those big jumps …”
“I know what you mean,” Carole said. “That’s why I’m glad Max is involved with the country club event. He’ll make sure everybody follows the rules and keeps things as safe as possible.”
Stevie giggled. “I still can’t picture Max sitting through a committee meeting with all those country club members.”
The others laughed, too. It was hard to imagine their down-to-earth, no-nonsense riding instructor sipping tea and making small talk with Mrs. Atwood, Mrs. diAngelo, and the other ladies of the club. But they were all glad that the fund-raising committee had invited Max to be one of their expert advisers.
At that moment, somewhere below the three girls, a horse let out a loud snort. Lisa glanced down and saw a handsome chestnut gelding tossing his head restlessly. “It looks like Derby is a little restless,” she commented. “I guess he’s still getting used to his new home.”
Carole followed her gaze. “Isn’t he amazing?” she said, her voice filling with admiration as she watched the spirited, reddish gold horse. “He’s half Holsteiner and half Thoroughbred, so he’ll be a really good all-around horse for the more advanced riders here. I think Max is really pleased with him. The other new horses, too.”
Lisa rested her chin on her hand and watched the big gelding for a moment. Derby was one of three horses Max had bought recently from a dealer in England. “I wonder if anyone will be riding him in the point-to-point,” she said idly. Then she smiled. “Can you believe the point-to-point is only a couple of weeks away? I wouldn’t believe it myself if I hadn’t been helping Mom with the planning for ages already.”
Carole grinned. “It’s going to be incredible. Not even Veronica’s opening remarks will be able to spoil it.” Because her mother was the head of the fund-raising committee and a longtime member of the country club, Veronica had managed to get herself invited to give a speech at the beginning of the big day’s events. She hadn’t stopped bragging about it since it was settled.
“I have to hand it to your mother, Lisa. The point-to-point is probably the most exciting news to hit this place in ages,” Stevie said happily.
“The second most exciting news,” Lisa corrected. “The most exciting news is Tessa’s visit.”
Stevie nodded. “I stand—I mean, sit—corrected,” she said.
Lisa had first met Lady Theresa, known to her friends as Tessa, during a family trip to England. The two girls had hit it off immediately, and Lisa had discovered that Tessa was just as horse-crazy as she was. Later, when Lisa, Carole, and Stevie had traveled to England to participate in a Pony Club event, the foursome got along royally, and at the end of the visit they had made her an official out-of-town member of The Saddle Club. Now Tessa was finally coming to visit her American friends. She was arriving that night and staying with Lisa’s family for about two weeks.
“I just thought of something.” Stevie held up the balloons in her hand. “Maybe we should have waited one more day to make Veronica pay for her crimes against humanity. I bet Tessa would have loved to help out. Remember how much fun we all had in England when we tricked Veronica into thinking she’d found those long lost royal jewels?”
Lisa remembered. She also remembered how angry Veronica had been about their prank. “You know, I think we might want to keep Tessa and Veronica away from each other as much as possible,” she said. “Veronica was pretty mad at us about that whole incident, but I think she was even madder at Tessa. You know, because Tessa’s distantly related to the queen of England and Veronica thinks that’s terribly important.”
Carole nodded. “You’re probably right. Veronica has some weird ideas about how different people are supposed to act, and she can be—”
“Shhh!” Stevie hissed. “I hear footsteps. Prepare to attack!”
Lisa sighed, then hunched down beside Stevie, her water balloon at the ready. The footsteps were coming from the section of the aisle directly below the loft, so the girls couldn’t see who was coming. “Are you sure it’s Veronica?” she whispered.
Stevie nodded. “Hardly anyone else is around,” she whispered back. “Besides, I saw Veronica in the locker room before we came up here. She said she was going for a trail ride.” She leaned forward a few more inches. “
Get ready,” she whispered. “She’s almost here.”
Lisa caught one glimpse of a tweed jacket. That was all she had time to take in before Stevie exploded into action beside her.
“Fire!” Stevie howled, hurling her water balloons downward.
Lisa dropped her first balloon and reached for another, her hand bumping into Carole’s in the bucket. Stevie’s arms were a whirl of motion as she fired balloon after balloon into the aisle below. Angry and bewildered voices rose up toward the three girls.
Lisa dropped her second balloon, then paused with a frown. Voices? Wait a minute … Two more figures stepped into sight, dripping wet. Lisa gasped as the woman in the tweed jacket looked up, her deeply lined face looking startled.
They had attacked the wrong target!
“UH-OH,” STEVIE MURMURED as she, too, realized their mistake.
The three people standing in the aisle below were staring up at the girls in the loft with a variety of expressions on their faces. The aristocratic-looking elderly woman in the tweed jacket still looked startled. The handsome, dark-haired teenage boy beside her looked confused and annoyed. Max Regnery looked downright furious. But despite their different reactions, the three victims of the misdirected prank did have one thing in common: They were all sopping wet.
“Stephanie Lake!” Max bellowed, pointing a finger at Stevie, who was still leaning over the edge of the loft. “Get down here this instant.”
“ ‘Uh-oh’ is right,” Lisa whispered to Carole. “We’d better get down there, too.”
The three girls climbed down from the loft and faced the glowering Max. “Um, s-sorry about that,” Stevie stammered. “We thought you were someone else.”
Max didn’t answer her. He turned to face his two companions, “I don’t even know how to begin to apologize for this, Mrs. Pennington.” His voice, while carefully controlled, was shaking slightly with anger. “And to you, Miles, of course. I assure you both, this sort of thing doesn’t normally happen here at Pine Hollow.” He shot The Saddle Club a stern glance. “And I can assure you that I will be looking into it immediately.”
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