English Horse by Bonnie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

them and frowning.
    “I’m
sooo
sorry, Tessa!” Veronica said loudly in a sugary voice. “I didn’t see your hand there. I do hope you’re okay?”
    Tessa managed a small smile. “I’m fine,” she said, clutching her injured hand to her chest. “It just smarts a bit, that’s all. No real harm done.”
    “Oh, good.” Veronica spun around and continued toward the stable building as Max turned to help the Penningtons with their horses.
    “Did you see that?” Stevie hissed. “She did that on purpose! She only apologized because Max was looking.”
    “Are you all right?” Lisa leaned over to get a look at Tessa’s hand.
    Tessa held it out gingerly for inspection. “I’ll survive,” she assured her friends. “Do you really think Veronica did that intentionally?” The corners of her mouth turned up in a mischievous grin. “If so, you know what that means. This is war!”
    Carole gave Lisa a worried glance. Stevie and her big mouth! If Tessa thought that Veronica had stepped on her on purpose—which of course she had—she would want to get back at her. That meant pulling pranks, and that meant The Saddle Club would be in big trouble. Maybe keeping their probation a secret from their visitor hadn’t been such a good idea after all. “Come on,” she said, hoping to distract Tessa from thoughts of revenge. She stood up. “Let’s go inside and get some ice. That should make your hand feel better.”
    “Good idea,” Lisa agreed, guessing what Carole was up to. “Stevie and I will join you in a second.” When Carole and Tessa had disappeared inside, Lisa whirled toward Stevie. “What’s the big idea?” she said. “The last thing we need right now is to start something between Tessa and Veronica. You know what Max will think about that!”
    Stevie shrugged apologetically. “I know, I know,” she muttered. “But Veronica is such a jerk! You know she didthat on purpose because she thought Tessa was trying to make her look bad earlier.”
    “I know,” Lisa said, “but we have to be careful.”
    “You’re right.” Stevie sighed with frustration. “But it’s just as I thought. This situation with Veronica means one thing: big trouble.”
    Lisa couldn’t help agreeing with that. “I know,” she said worriedly. “Veronica knows we’re on probation with Max. She knows we can’t retaliate no matter what she does.”
    Stevie nodded grimly. “Who knows what else she’ll come up with to torture us?”

“G OSH , I JUST LOVE your accent, Theresa!” Simon Atherton gushed.
    Stevie almost laughed out loud. She quickly took a big bite of her peanut butter and banana sandwich to stop herself. Simon, a member of Horse Wise, was one of the best-looking boys Stevie knew. He was also one of the nerdiest. He was just about the only person who called Stevie by her full name, Stephanie. And now he was doing the same thing to Tessa.
    Another Horse Wise member, Betsy Cavanaugh, spoke up. “I heard you’re going to be riding in the point-to-point, Tessa,” she said breathlessly. “Do you go steeplechasing all the time in England?”
    Tessa and her friends had come to The Saddle Club’sfavorite lunch spot, the shady hillside above the back paddock, to eat their lunches. At first it had just been the four of them, except for the mare and foal grazing on the lush summer grass below. But before long, various other members of Horse Wise had turned up to join them. Many of the young riders at Pine Hollow were curious about the British visitor, especially after hearing her smart answers in the meeting. By now there were almost a dozen people gathered on the hillside.
    The American members of The Saddle Club didn’t really mind. They would have plenty of time to spend alone with their friend, and they were glad that everyone except Veronica seemed to like Tessa just as much as they did. Besides, Tessa was a friendly and curious person, and she seemed to be having fun talking to her new acquaintances.
    Tessa set