breath.
“What’s happening?” Charlie whispered.
“I’ve found the trailer and I just saw someone heading into a caravan!” Alice whispered back.
“Someone? You mean Mrs Valentine, right?” Charlie asked, lying along Pirate’s neck, craning to see.
“Well, I only saw their leg, so I can’t be a hundred per cent sure,” Alice replied hesitantly. “I’ll have to get a bit closer.”
Alice tiptoed around the hedge and up the rubble drive. She crept past the empty trailer and the Range Rover, her heart thumping as therubble crunched beneath each step. She looked up and saw someone appear for a second at the window of the caravan. Alice ducked behind the trailer as the woman inside peered out then drew the curtain. As the lights inside the caravan flickered on, Alice frowned, confused suddenly – something didn’t add up.
She was hiding behind the same trailer that had dropped off the pony which Mrs Valentine had bought, the trailer they’d followed from the other side of the marsh. But the person she’d seen in the window of the caravan was not Mrs Valentine. This woman’s hair was definitely not long and blonde.
“But we saw the trailer come in here,” Alice said quietly to herself, “the same trailer that dropped off the dun pony. It has to be the right one, so where is Mrs Valentine?”
Alice crept forward. She needed to try to get another peek inside the caravan – she needed to work out what was going on. As she edged pastthe Range Rover, something inside caught her eye. There, lying on the passenger seat were a pair of large, dark sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a long blonde wig.
Alice felt her heart skip a beat. Suddenly, the last thing she wanted to do was go up and confront the woman in the caravan. What she really wanted to do was turn tail and run, but instead she reached for her phone with shaking fingers. She opened up the camera and quickly took a couple of shots of the hat and wig, knowing that’s what Mia would do, before flying back up the lane.
“What happened?” Charlie whispered as Alice raced towards her. “Did you speak to Mrs Valentine?”
Alice hastily climbed the fence. She grabbed her reins then swung lightly back into the saddle.
“That’s not Mrs Valentine!” she whispered, puffing.
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked, lookingsurprised. “That was the same trailer we know dropped off the dun pony – it has to be her!”
Alice shook her head, almost too excited and nervous at her discovery to talk.
“No, I mean, I think it is Mrs Valentine, at least, the person who’s been pretending to be Mrs Valentine,” Alice said, almost getting more muddled as she tried to make sense of it, “but that’s just a disguise! She’s been wearing a wig, glasses and a hat all along, since the first time I met her last year! Anyway, look, we can’t hang around here – we have to go!”
The girls quickly turned their ponies then disappeared back into the long marsh grasses.
“So who is she?” Charlie asked impatiently, once they were safely hidden from the lane.
“Well, under the wig she’s got short, black hair,” Alice revealed, letting Scout’s reins go loose. “I can’t be a hundred per cent definite before I check the photo in the newspaper, but I’m pretty sure I know who it is.”
“I don’t believe it!” Charlie said, slapping her mud-splattered hat as she worked it out.
Alice nodded.
“Mrs Hawk!”
Chapter Thirteen
A FTER walking Scout and Pirate back across the seemingly endless marsh, they finally reached the fencing at the other side. Charlie had called ahead to update Rosie and Mia, who were still waiting on the path by the gate. They’d taken Dancer’s and Wish’s saddles off and let their ponies graze the other side of the fence from the nervy dun pony. When Alice and Charlie finally rode into sight, Mia held the gate open for them, being careful not to let the dun pony out. They felt terrible leaving him behind, but they
“What’s happening?” Charlie whispered.
“I’ve found the trailer and I just saw someone heading into a caravan!” Alice whispered back.
“Someone? You mean Mrs Valentine, right?” Charlie asked, lying along Pirate’s neck, craning to see.
“Well, I only saw their leg, so I can’t be a hundred per cent sure,” Alice replied hesitantly. “I’ll have to get a bit closer.”
Alice tiptoed around the hedge and up the rubble drive. She crept past the empty trailer and the Range Rover, her heart thumping as therubble crunched beneath each step. She looked up and saw someone appear for a second at the window of the caravan. Alice ducked behind the trailer as the woman inside peered out then drew the curtain. As the lights inside the caravan flickered on, Alice frowned, confused suddenly – something didn’t add up.
She was hiding behind the same trailer that had dropped off the pony which Mrs Valentine had bought, the trailer they’d followed from the other side of the marsh. But the person she’d seen in the window of the caravan was not Mrs Valentine. This woman’s hair was definitely not long and blonde.
“But we saw the trailer come in here,” Alice said quietly to herself, “the same trailer that dropped off the dun pony. It has to be the right one, so where is Mrs Valentine?”
Alice crept forward. She needed to try to get another peek inside the caravan – she needed to work out what was going on. As she edged pastthe Range Rover, something inside caught her eye. There, lying on the passenger seat were a pair of large, dark sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a long blonde wig.
Alice felt her heart skip a beat. Suddenly, the last thing she wanted to do was go up and confront the woman in the caravan. What she really wanted to do was turn tail and run, but instead she reached for her phone with shaking fingers. She opened up the camera and quickly took a couple of shots of the hat and wig, knowing that’s what Mia would do, before flying back up the lane.
“What happened?” Charlie whispered as Alice raced towards her. “Did you speak to Mrs Valentine?”
Alice hastily climbed the fence. She grabbed her reins then swung lightly back into the saddle.
“That’s not Mrs Valentine!” she whispered, puffing.
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked, lookingsurprised. “That was the same trailer we know dropped off the dun pony – it has to be her!”
Alice shook her head, almost too excited and nervous at her discovery to talk.
“No, I mean, I think it is Mrs Valentine, at least, the person who’s been pretending to be Mrs Valentine,” Alice said, almost getting more muddled as she tried to make sense of it, “but that’s just a disguise! She’s been wearing a wig, glasses and a hat all along, since the first time I met her last year! Anyway, look, we can’t hang around here – we have to go!”
The girls quickly turned their ponies then disappeared back into the long marsh grasses.
“So who is she?” Charlie asked impatiently, once they were safely hidden from the lane.
“Well, under the wig she’s got short, black hair,” Alice revealed, letting Scout’s reins go loose. “I can’t be a hundred per cent definite before I check the photo in the newspaper, but I’m pretty sure I know who it is.”
“I don’t believe it!” Charlie said, slapping her mud-splattered hat as she worked it out.
Alice nodded.
“Mrs Hawk!”
Chapter Thirteen
A FTER walking Scout and Pirate back across the seemingly endless marsh, they finally reached the fencing at the other side. Charlie had called ahead to update Rosie and Mia, who were still waiting on the path by the gate. They’d taken Dancer’s and Wish’s saddles off and let their ponies graze the other side of the fence from the nervy dun pony. When Alice and Charlie finally rode into sight, Mia held the gate open for them, being careful not to let the dun pony out. They felt terrible leaving him behind, but they
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