The Evil Child (Baby-sitter's Nightmares Book 3) by M. C. Sumner

Author:M. C. Sumner [Sumner, M. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Alloy Entertainment
Published: 2016-11-20T22:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

The ride was longer than Toni had expected. The path they followed twisted through hundreds of acres of forests and swamps. Toni no longer had any idea of what direction they were going. It came as quite a surprise to her when they suddenly came out through an opening in the trees and found themselves only a stone’s throw from the stable.

William quickly dismounted. “We’re going to miss lunch,” he said.

Toni frowned. “Won’t Mrs. Pettigrew hold it for us?”

He shrugged. “Lunch is always exactly at noon, and it’s past that already. If she’s in the right mood, we might get something.”

As Toni led Silver into the stable, her mind was whirling, struggling desperately to figure out what the Pettigrews’ motives were. It was obvious that Malcolm Pettigrew was pretending to like William for some reason. Was Mrs. Pettigrew deliberately being mean to William so that William would trust Mr. Pettigrew more? Maybe they were after something, or maybe they were mad about something the family had done. Toni wished she knew more about what had happened to William’s parents, and why his sister had left. She would have to find a way to learn more about what had gone on in the house without upsetting William or making Mrs. Pettigrew suspicious.

By the time they got the horses settled and groomed, it was almost two o’clock. The trail ride under the shady trees had been fairly comfortable, but the walk back to the house from the stable made Toni feel as if she might faint. The sun was huge and blazing, and the air was thick as soup. Even though they were miles from the ocean, Toni thought she could smell the sea in the steamy air.

“There’s probably a storm coming,” William said. “Usually during the summer we get a little rain and thunder every day. When it gets real hot like this, we get big storms.”

Toni tried not to look at the pool as they went past. A swim would be great on such a hot day, but the memory of Remmi lying at the bottom made her feel sick. Besides, she didn’t have a bathing suit—and it was clear that she couldn’t borrow one from William’s sister.

They went in through the back door and headed straight for the smaller dining room. Sandwiches were waiting for them on the table, with glasses of lemonade at the side. The ice had long since melted in the drinks.

“Mrs. Pettigrew must have set these out for us at noon,” William said. “Like I said, she’s picky about that kind of thing.”

“You don’t suppose she’s looking for us?” Toni asked. “I wouldn’t want her to be worried.”

“She’s probably cleaning something,” William said, “or working on dinner. I don’t think she’ll be worried about us.”

Toni was still nervous about the housekeeper not knowing where they were. As soon as she wolfed down half a sandwich, she left William to finish the meal by himself, and went in search of Mrs. Pettigrew.

As William had predicted, she found the older woman polishing silver in the huge main dining room.

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