Greenglass House Read Online Free Page B

angrily with a telescope case held as if it were a sword, she with an embroidered bag clutched to her chest like a shield, and both with their wet shoes dripping slush onto the rag rug. Mr. Vinge stood in the corner, holding his mug defensively in front of his chest. Georgie Moselle sat on the hearth with her elbows on her knees and her eyebrows drawn up high on her forehead. It seemed they couldn’t possibly go up any higher, but when Clem Candler trailed inside after Milo, they did.
Yes,
Milo thought grouchily,
another one.
Get used to it. If I have to, you have to.
    Mr. Pine was trying unsuccessfully to get in between the two shrieking newcomers, and Milo’s mother was pacing at the bar between the dining room and the kitchen with the phone to her ear. Clem Candler hung up her coat and arranged her shoes next to Mr. Vinge’s without taking her eyes off the yelling duo in the next room. She took off her cap and shook out a headful of short red hair. “Pretty lively crowd,” she muttered.
    Meanwhile, Mr. Pine had had enough. Milo saw it coming, and braced himself. His father could yell when he wanted to. “ALL RIGHT!” Mr. Pine bellowed. His voice ricocheted off every surface in the room. Somewhere in the dining room a glass fell from its shelf and shattered on the hardwood floor. “That’s enough from both of you!”
    Mr. Down and Mrs. Up fell grudgingly silent.
    â€œThat’s better. Behave yourselves like adults or I may just discover we’re all booked up,” Mr. Pine continued, fixing them, one by one, with a severe glare. “Do I make myself clear?” He waited for a reluctant nod from each, then gestured toward the wooden stand in the foyer where the guest register lay open. “You first, madam. Your name?”
    â€œMrs. Eglantine Hereward.”
    â€œAnd yours, sir?”
    â€œDr. Wilbur Gowervine.”
    â€œAnd you, miss?”
    â€œClemence Candler.”
    â€œAnd how long is everyone planning to stay?” The three new guests hesitated. Just like the first two, none of them seemed to have made up his or her mind. Mr. Pine sighed. “No matter. Milo, you want to do the honors?”
    â€œâ€™Kay.” Milo kicked off his boots, picked up Eglantine Hereward’s suitcase and garment bag again, and led the way up the stairs. Clem followed silently but cheerily in her stocking feet. Mrs. Hereward gave a grandiose sniff and trailed after them. Wilbur Gowervine made a big production of collecting his gear, then he followed as well, the long telescope case bouncing off the banister with each step.
    Milo paused on the second landing under the pale green window and he and Clem waited for the other two to catch up. “This is the first floor of guest rooms,” he said when Mrs. Hereward and Dr. Gowervine reached them. “You can pick whichever you like, except Three E. That one’s occupied. It’s the one with the door closed.”
    The three guests looked at one another. Clem waved a hand and gave the other two a dazzling smile. “You go ahead.”
    Mrs. Hereward gave her a curt little nod and stalked down the hallway. While she was examining the open room at the far end, Dr. Gowervine carried his belongings into the nearest open room and dumped them on the floor. “I’ll take this one,” he called.
    While the tall old lady made a big production of deciding between the two remaining rooms, Clem leaned over and spoke quietly. “Say, Milo, I don’t suppose there are upstairs rooms that are available, are there?”
    â€œWell . . . sure, lots. Why?”
    He supposed it wasn’t really any of his business, but Clem didn’t seem bothered. “I need my exercise,” she explained. “I get a little stir-crazy if I don’t get it, and what with the snow, I can’t imagine I’m going to be putting in any runs outside anytime soon. Would it be a pain in the neck for your