and grabbed a few boxes of tea. The ladies would have to make do with what they got.
Carole caught up with her friends in the fancy-foods aisle just in time to hear Lisa talking Stevie out of buying a can of smoked oysters for the party. They had found the petit fours and several other items there, finishing both their lists.
“Are you done?” Stevie asked when she saw Carole.
“Almost,” Carole replied. “What’s a scone?”
“Come on,” Lisa said, turning immediately and heading for the back of the store, where the bakery was. “This way. It’s a fancy kind of biscuit-type thing.”
Stevie and Carole followed obediently. “How do you know this stuff?” Stevie asked.
“My mother,” Lisa said. “She always serves stuff like this when she has people over. She’s had a few tea parties in her day herself, you know.”
Stevie stopped stock-still in the middle of the aisle and started laughing. The others stopped, too, and stared at her.
“What is it?” Carole asked.
Stevie managed to control herself. “It just struck me as funny all of a sudden,” she explained. “Mrs. Atwood probably knows exactly where all this stuff we need is. I bet she could have found it all in ten seconds flat. And we left her sitting outside in the car!”
T HE NEXT DAY after school found The Saddle Club back at Pine Hollow once again. If they had felt pressure the day before—they had made it to their riding lesson on time, but just barely—today was even worse. It was the day of the tea party.
“Sorry about the rush, handsome,” Carole told Nighthawk as she mucked out the polo pony’s stall in record time, leaving him cross tied just outside. “No time for a grooming now, I’m afraid. But I promise, right after the tea party we’ll come back and make sure you all get a chance to stretch your legs. Then we’ll give you the brushing of your life. And then it’s only one more day until you get to go home to your own barn. How will that be?” It sounded good to Carole, especially the part about the horses going home—although she hated to think of the beautiful creatures being under the care of that horrible Luke.
The horse tossed his head from side to side, rolling his eyes at her as she talked. Carole bit her lip. She knew the polo poniesmust be restless after being cooped up all day, but there was no time to exercise them right now. They would just have to wait a few more hours.
She finished the job and returned the bay to his stall. “See you soon,” she said, giving him a pat. “Be good.” As she rushed toward Tempest’s stall, she almost collided with Lisa, who came barreling around the corner from the tack room.
“Oh, there you are,” Lisa said breathlessly. “I was looking for you. We’ve got to get up to the house. It’s time to start getting the food ready. Aunt Eugenia is waiting for us.”
“But we haven’t even looked in at all the polo ponies yet,” Carole protested. “I just mucked out two of the stalls, but the others must be filthy. And poor Memphis—”
“They’ll have to wait,” Lisa said. “Don’t worry, I checked on all the polo ponies, and their stalls aren’t that bad. They can wait a little while. And Memphis is fine. Red said he turned her out in the paddock this afternoon.”
“All right,” Carole said reluctantly. She didn’t like it, but Lisa was right. They would have to let the horses wait while they dealt with the tea party. She sighed. “Since when did this horse-sitting thing turn into Stevie’s party-planning idea?” she muttered, following Lisa out of the stable.
“It’ll all be over soon,” Lisa promised her. “And look on the bright side. At least Stevie’s English teacher didn’t give her detention when she fell asleep in class today.”
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, all was chaos. As soon as Eugenia had looked over the girls’ purchases, she had become hysterical. “What is this?” she exclaimed, shoving several boxes of tea
Carole caught up with her friends in the fancy-foods aisle just in time to hear Lisa talking Stevie out of buying a can of smoked oysters for the party. They had found the petit fours and several other items there, finishing both their lists.
“Are you done?” Stevie asked when she saw Carole.
“Almost,” Carole replied. “What’s a scone?”
“Come on,” Lisa said, turning immediately and heading for the back of the store, where the bakery was. “This way. It’s a fancy kind of biscuit-type thing.”
Stevie and Carole followed obediently. “How do you know this stuff?” Stevie asked.
“My mother,” Lisa said. “She always serves stuff like this when she has people over. She’s had a few tea parties in her day herself, you know.”
Stevie stopped stock-still in the middle of the aisle and started laughing. The others stopped, too, and stared at her.
“What is it?” Carole asked.
Stevie managed to control herself. “It just struck me as funny all of a sudden,” she explained. “Mrs. Atwood probably knows exactly where all this stuff we need is. I bet she could have found it all in ten seconds flat. And we left her sitting outside in the car!”
T HE NEXT DAY after school found The Saddle Club back at Pine Hollow once again. If they had felt pressure the day before—they had made it to their riding lesson on time, but just barely—today was even worse. It was the day of the tea party.
“Sorry about the rush, handsome,” Carole told Nighthawk as she mucked out the polo pony’s stall in record time, leaving him cross tied just outside. “No time for a grooming now, I’m afraid. But I promise, right after the tea party we’ll come back and make sure you all get a chance to stretch your legs. Then we’ll give you the brushing of your life. And then it’s only one more day until you get to go home to your own barn. How will that be?” It sounded good to Carole, especially the part about the horses going home—although she hated to think of the beautiful creatures being under the care of that horrible Luke.
The horse tossed his head from side to side, rolling his eyes at her as she talked. Carole bit her lip. She knew the polo poniesmust be restless after being cooped up all day, but there was no time to exercise them right now. They would just have to wait a few more hours.
She finished the job and returned the bay to his stall. “See you soon,” she said, giving him a pat. “Be good.” As she rushed toward Tempest’s stall, she almost collided with Lisa, who came barreling around the corner from the tack room.
“Oh, there you are,” Lisa said breathlessly. “I was looking for you. We’ve got to get up to the house. It’s time to start getting the food ready. Aunt Eugenia is waiting for us.”
“But we haven’t even looked in at all the polo ponies yet,” Carole protested. “I just mucked out two of the stalls, but the others must be filthy. And poor Memphis—”
“They’ll have to wait,” Lisa said. “Don’t worry, I checked on all the polo ponies, and their stalls aren’t that bad. They can wait a little while. And Memphis is fine. Red said he turned her out in the paddock this afternoon.”
“All right,” Carole said reluctantly. She didn’t like it, but Lisa was right. They would have to let the horses wait while they dealt with the tea party. She sighed. “Since when did this horse-sitting thing turn into Stevie’s party-planning idea?” she muttered, following Lisa out of the stable.
“It’ll all be over soon,” Lisa promised her. “And look on the bright side. At least Stevie’s English teacher didn’t give her detention when she fell asleep in class today.”
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, all was chaos. As soon as Eugenia had looked over the girls’ purchases, she had become hysterical. “What is this?” she exclaimed, shoving several boxes of tea
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