English Rider Read Online Free

thought Veronica was going to drug Tessa’s tea and send her back to England.”
    “I don’t know,” Stevie mused. “That sounds like an awful lot of work, and you know how Veronica hates to work. I think she’d be more likely to order her chauffeur to drop Tessa off in the middle of the woods, miles from civilization. With no shoes.”
    Lisa laughed, but despite all the jokes she was starting to feel a twinge of real concern. It was getting late, and it wasn’t like Tessa to keep them waiting so long without even a phone call. “Maybe we should call Veronica’s house,” she suggested. “You know, just to check …”
    Just then they heard a car outside, and Stevie jumped to her feet. “That must be her,” she said. She grinned wickedly. “Unless it’s Veronica with the ransom note.”
    The three girls hurried into the front hall just in time to see Tessa letting herself in. “Oh, hello,” she greeted them brightly. “What are you lot up to?”
    “Waiting for you,” Stevie replied bluntly. “We were beginning to think that Veronica must have fed you to her dogs. Or maybe tossed you into the dungeon.”
    Tessa laughed. “Nothing like that,” she assured Stevie with a playful wink. “Quite the contrary, actually. Veronica couldn’t have been lovelier. I had a marvelous time at her home.”
    Carole noticed something shiny glinting on the collar of Tessa’s shirt. “What’s that?” She leaned forward for a better look. “I don’t remember you wearing a pin earlier.”
    Tessa glanced down and smiled. “I was just about to tell you,” she said. “On our way here, Veronica and I stopped off at that lovely tack shop at the mall and bought matching stock pins. That’s why I was a bit late getting home.”
    Carole, Stevie, and Lisa were still peering at the slender gold pin when Mrs. Atwood came bustling into the room. Tessa greeted her and repeated her explanation. “I hope I haven’t held up your supper,” she finished politely. “I lost all track of the time.”
    “Oh, no, not at all,” Mrs. Atwood assured her. She examined the stock pin. “My, but this is beautiful,” shesaid. “Veronica diAngelo has such wonderful taste, doesn’t she?”
    “Her taste in people certainly is improving,” Carole muttered to Stevie and Lisa. “Or she’s getting better at pretending.”
    The telephone rang. “Oh dear. That will be Agnes calling about the catering …” With that, Mrs. Atwood rushed off toward the kitchen.
    Lisa turned to Tessa as the four girls wandered into the living room. “Um, listen, Tessa,” she said hesitantly. Tessa seemed so happy and cheerful that she hated to say anything negative. Still, she knew she had to do it. “I realize you don’t know Veronica very well.”
    “I feel I know her quite a bit better after this afternoon,” Tessa said with a smile. “Though not as well as you all know her, naturally.”
    “Naturally,” Stevie agreed, flopping down onto the couch. “So I think what Lisa’s trying to say is, you’ve got to be careful. Veronica is a rotten sneak.”
    Tessa raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I know Veronica can be … well, difficult at times,” she said. “And she’s certainly been unpleasant to me in the past. But she really seems to be making a sincere effort to be nice now.”
    “But that’s just the point,” Stevie insisted. She leaned forward and stared at Tessa earnestly. “She’s
never
nice. I mean, she’s only nice if she wants something. Or if she’s trying to pull something over on someone. Or—”
    “All right, Stevie.” Tessa sounded a tiny bit annoyed. “I hear what you’re saying. But what I’m saying is that I don’t want to cause trouble for no apparent reason. If Veronica wants to be friendly to me, I’m perfectly willing to be friendly to her. After all, it’s not as if she’s trying to turn me against you or anything like that. She didn’t so much as mention any of you all afternoon.”
    Carole was more