twenty-seventh?” Stevie asked.
“That’s not true—we leave for our honeymoon tonight,” Max said.
“But the cruise isn’t until the twenty-eighth,” Carole countered.
“The cruise? Oh, the cruise!” Max exclaimed. “Are you by any chance referring to the
Ocean Pearl
?”
The three girls nodded.
“
We’re
not taking that cruise—my mother is,” Max said. “She hasn’t had a proper vacation in years, soDeborah and I decided to give
her
a present. We’re sending her on a Caribbean cruise.”
Mrs. Reg nodded. “That’s the truth, girls.”
“Although how you would know about the cruise is beyond me,” Max continued, grinning wickedly.
Stevie smiled wanly. “Let’s just say I happened to find out about it.”
“Right. And you happened to be snooping around my desk. And you happened to read, in detail, the cruise brochures on my desk.”
“That’s the way it happened,” Stevie said. She elbowed Lisa, who was sitting beside her, and muttered, “Help me out here.”
“So, Max,” Lisa said promptly, “ah … let’s see … oh, yeah, where are you and Deborah going on your honeymoon if you’re not going on the cruise?”
“We’re flying to London,” Deborah answered. “My father is the chief of
The Washington Times
bureau in London, and so we’ll get to see my parents as well as take a vacation. Of course, Max has to be back in time for camp, so we’ll be gone only a week.”
“Back for camp? Then that means you’ll also be back in time for your Bath!” Carole cheered.
Deborah looked a little worried. “I expect Max will actually bathe before then.”
Lisa glared at Carole. “You didn’t have to give it away,” she said.
“But since you have,” Stevie continued, “we might as well tell Max that we’ve planned a wedding party for him.”
“What does that have to do with bathing?” Max asked.
“Well, you see, we couldn’t call it a bridal shower—or even a b-r-i-d-l-e shower, so then we thought, how about a
bath
instead of a
shower
, since it’s for a groom instead of a bride,” Lisa said.
To The Saddle Club’s delight, everybody seemed to love the idea. Stevie was able to refrain—barely—from telling the theme.
Max promised not to miss the Bath. “In fact, it’s all I’m going to think about my entire honeymoon,” he said solemnly.
Deborah elbowed him hard.
“Max,” said Mrs. Reg, “that’s one vow you’d better not keep.”
During the conversation, Red and Denise had slipped away into another room to look at the Regnerys’ hunting prints. Their absence reminded Lisa that they had never asked Max an important question. A little timidly, she inquired, keeping hervoice low, “Did you actually believe some of the stuff Veronica was saying about Red?”
To her relief, Max replied without hesitation. “Of course not. Red is the best stable hand I’ve ever had. And Denise is a great help, too. When I asked her to come teach at Pine Hollow, she wasn’t sure she would. She was considering going back to Indiana for the summer. Then she started dating Red and decided to stay. So I’m thankful to him for that, too.”
“But when did Red find the time to take equine studies classes?” Lisa asked.
“All spring, in the mornings, while you were in school, and now in the evenings after you go home. He also has to leave during the day occasionally for special meetings.”
“We never knew that,” Stevie said.
“Probably because you never asked, which”—Max paused to clear his throat—“you might have done before jumping to conclusions. That’s why Red’s not instructing at camp: He has his final examinations for the summer school session during the second week, and he has to prepare. But Denise and Red will be in charge while we’re in London, and if Veronica doesn’t like it, she can leave.”
“But we thought the diAngelos were threatening you—telling you to fire Red,” Carole said.
Max laughed out loud. “Boy, you must
“That’s not true—we leave for our honeymoon tonight,” Max said.
“But the cruise isn’t until the twenty-eighth,” Carole countered.
“The cruise? Oh, the cruise!” Max exclaimed. “Are you by any chance referring to the
Ocean Pearl
?”
The three girls nodded.
“
We’re
not taking that cruise—my mother is,” Max said. “She hasn’t had a proper vacation in years, soDeborah and I decided to give
her
a present. We’re sending her on a Caribbean cruise.”
Mrs. Reg nodded. “That’s the truth, girls.”
“Although how you would know about the cruise is beyond me,” Max continued, grinning wickedly.
Stevie smiled wanly. “Let’s just say I happened to find out about it.”
“Right. And you happened to be snooping around my desk. And you happened to read, in detail, the cruise brochures on my desk.”
“That’s the way it happened,” Stevie said. She elbowed Lisa, who was sitting beside her, and muttered, “Help me out here.”
“So, Max,” Lisa said promptly, “ah … let’s see … oh, yeah, where are you and Deborah going on your honeymoon if you’re not going on the cruise?”
“We’re flying to London,” Deborah answered. “My father is the chief of
The Washington Times
bureau in London, and so we’ll get to see my parents as well as take a vacation. Of course, Max has to be back in time for camp, so we’ll be gone only a week.”
“Back for camp? Then that means you’ll also be back in time for your Bath!” Carole cheered.
Deborah looked a little worried. “I expect Max will actually bathe before then.”
Lisa glared at Carole. “You didn’t have to give it away,” she said.
“But since you have,” Stevie continued, “we might as well tell Max that we’ve planned a wedding party for him.”
“What does that have to do with bathing?” Max asked.
“Well, you see, we couldn’t call it a bridal shower—or even a b-r-i-d-l-e shower, so then we thought, how about a
bath
instead of a
shower
, since it’s for a groom instead of a bride,” Lisa said.
To The Saddle Club’s delight, everybody seemed to love the idea. Stevie was able to refrain—barely—from telling the theme.
Max promised not to miss the Bath. “In fact, it’s all I’m going to think about my entire honeymoon,” he said solemnly.
Deborah elbowed him hard.
“Max,” said Mrs. Reg, “that’s one vow you’d better not keep.”
During the conversation, Red and Denise had slipped away into another room to look at the Regnerys’ hunting prints. Their absence reminded Lisa that they had never asked Max an important question. A little timidly, she inquired, keeping hervoice low, “Did you actually believe some of the stuff Veronica was saying about Red?”
To her relief, Max replied without hesitation. “Of course not. Red is the best stable hand I’ve ever had. And Denise is a great help, too. When I asked her to come teach at Pine Hollow, she wasn’t sure she would. She was considering going back to Indiana for the summer. Then she started dating Red and decided to stay. So I’m thankful to him for that, too.”
“But when did Red find the time to take equine studies classes?” Lisa asked.
“All spring, in the mornings, while you were in school, and now in the evenings after you go home. He also has to leave during the day occasionally for special meetings.”
“We never knew that,” Stevie said.
“Probably because you never asked, which”—Max paused to clear his throat—“you might have done before jumping to conclusions. That’s why Red’s not instructing at camp: He has his final examinations for the summer school session during the second week, and he has to prepare. But Denise and Red will be in charge while we’re in London, and if Veronica doesn’t like it, she can leave.”
“But we thought the diAngelos were threatening you—telling you to fire Red,” Carole said.
Max laughed out loud. “Boy, you must
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