Ride by Moonlight by Michelle Bates

Author:Michelle Bates [Michelle, Bates]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409555094
Publisher: Usborne Publishing

9

AN UNEXPECTED GUEST

It was several hours before Nick arrived back at the yard – several hours that Charlie spent anxiously waiting in his room. The long summer day had drawn to a close and his friends had gone home. The dusk cast an eerie light over the stables. It should have been a happy end to a successful day for Sandy Lane. Tom had won the Open Jumping as expected, and the others had brought back a collection of rosettes from the gymkhana. But no one was really able to enjoy it.

Charlie jumped to his feet the moment the Land Rover arrived back and rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, but when Nick appeared at the door of the cottage, Charlie could tell by his expression that he hadn’t found Napoleon. Helplessly Charlie stood, shuffling his feet about, not knowing what to say.

“Any calls?” Nick asked on entering the kitchen.

“Not a thing,” Sarah answered. “I’ve rung the police every hour, on the hour. They’re sick of the sound of me.”

“And I’ve looked about everywhere I can imagine,” Nick added. “So all we can do now is wait for news. I’m going to have a shower.” He squeezed behind the kitchen chairs and made his way to the stairs.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he said, looking back at Charlie’s pinched face. “It’s just that I’m worried.”

“I know, and I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” Charlie answered. Nick’s kind words were making him feel even worse and he felt a lump rising in his throat. “I didn’t know what else to do, you see–”

“Not now, Charlie,” Nick said, gently. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Charlie nodded and sat down. “Is there anything I can do to help, Sarah?” he offered.

“Well you could lay the table for supper,” Sarah said. “Even if there has been a calamity, we still have to eat, and maybe it’ll take our mind off things.”

Charlie nodded and got up from the table to reach for the cutlery. In a daze, he counted out the knives and forks against the background hum of the television. Slowly, he made his way over to the window sill to get the table mats. It was dark outside and he couldn’t see anything very clearly in the yard, but something stopped him. Was that a noise? He paused, mats in hand. No, his mind was just playing tricks on him. He was jumping at everything.

But there it was again, and louder now. This time Charlie was sure there was something outside.

He pressed his face against the window, staring out into the gloom of the night, and then he had the fright of his life. For there, on the other side of the window, a familiar face peered in at him. Charlie’s heart skipped a beat. It was Napoleon! Napoleon was standing in Nick and Sarah’s garden. Charlie gulped. If he was quiet, he might be able to creep around the back and catch him.

“What is it, Charlie?” Sarah said, looking up from the pan she was stirring.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.