“So would I, but we can’t rule out the possibility. I want to talk to her again.
“In fact, let’s make a quick stop for some soup, then head over to Glover’s Corners,” Nancy suggested as she pulled up in front of her house.
The snow was falling very heavily and starting to accumulate by the time they set off for Glover’s Corners. Switching on the weather report, the girls heard that more snow was expected. Nancy drove very slowly and carefully. The snow was now almost a blanket of white against the front windshield, and she almost missed the gate to the Corners.
“I’m going to try to get a look at Mrs. Adams’s room,” Nancy said, creeping up the long, winding drive at a snail’s pace.
“Where do I come in?” asked George.
“I need you to distract Mrs. Adams so I can search. If we’re lucky, Matt’s still with my father, taking that lie detector test.”
“And how do I distract her?” George was staring at the ledges of snow being pushed off by the windshield wipers.
Nancy shrugged. “We’ll just have to play it by ear, I guess.”
Pulling to a stop in front of the house, she and George trudged through the snow to the front door. Nancy rang the bell and then heard it echoing somewhere deep in the old house.
“Listen,” said George.
Nancy cocked her head to the side. She could hear Matt’s voice, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere quite close. His tone sounded angry, although she couldn’t distinguish his words.
Putting a finger to her lips, Nancy gestured to George to follow her. The snow cushioned the sound of their boots as they backed away from the door and moved toward the left wing of the house, where Matt’s voice was coming from. Walking almost to the screened-in porch at the end of the wing, Nancy could make out Matt standing on the porch. Despite the cold, he was wearing only a button-down shirt and jeans, and he was talking on a cordless phone.
“Nancy! George! What are you doing here?”
The two girls jumped in surprise and saw Bess leaning out a living room window.
Nancy gasped, knowing that Matt must have heard, too.
When she looked back to the porch, she saw that Matt had stopped talking into the cordless phone—and was now staring at her with cold, unwelcoming eyes.
Chapter
Ten
NANCY GAVE MATT a tentative smile and waved at him. Instantly an answering smile spread across his face, making her wonder if she’d just been imagining his angry scowl.
“It’s freezing out there,” Bess called to Nancy and George as they made their way back to the front door. “Hurry up and come in!”
As the girls brushed the snow off themselves and stepped inside, Bess asked again, “What are you guys doing here?”
“I guess we could ask you the same question,” said George.
Bess spoke in an excited rush as she explained. “I ran into Matt downtown at the bakery. He was buying a cake for Mrs. Adams. It’s some kind of tradition they have or something. Anyway, he suggested I come back and share it. I thought it would be rude to say no.”
“So you were just being polite, eh?” said George, rolling her eyes. “I don’t suppose that the opportunity to spend time with the super-gorgeous Matt Glover had anything to do with your decision?”
“Absolutely not,” said Bess indignantly. Then she blushed. “Well, maybe a little. I mean, I know he’s not going to fall in love with me or anything, but I just think he’s so romantic!
“Now it looks like we’re getting snowed in,” Bess went on. From the flushed look on her face, Nancy could tell that being snowed in with Matt Glover would be Bess’s idea of paradise.
Nancy couldn’t help smiling at Bess. It was great that she was so happy. Nancy just hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed.
“I hope we’re not ruining your romantic afternoon,” Nancy said apologetically. “We really came to see Mrs. Adams.”
“I’m glad you’re here.” Bess looked around. “Matt must still be on the phone. I guess we can just go to the kitchen,”
As they walked down the hall, Bess turned to George and Nancy and said, “Oh, by the way, it so happens that Matt passed the lie-detector test with flying colors. I think you owe him an apology, both of you.”
Nancy was surprised. “Did Matt tell you himself that he passed?” she asked. If so, there was a chance he was lying.
“Nope. Your father did. I saw him just as he was leaving his office, before I ran into Matt.”
“Lie-detector tests aren’t infallible,” Nancy said, “but passing is definitely a good sign for Matt.” If Matt was an impostor, she would have expected the lie-detector results to be inconclusive at best.
Bess frowned. “ ‘A good sign’? That’s all? You’re such a skeptic, Nan. When are you going to admit that Matt Glover really is back?”
“When all the evidence is in,” Nancy said, pushing through the door to the kitchen.
Mrs. Adams was sitting at the long oak table. Nancy was surprised to see that her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. She was staring out the kitchen window and didn’t even seem to notice that the three girls had come in.
“Anything wrong, Mrs. Adams?” George asked gently.
The housekeeper jumped half out of her seat, then relaxed when she saw Nancy, George, and Bess. “Oh, I am jumpy lately, aren’t I?” she said, smiling wanly. “I—I suppose it’s all this excitement, what with Matt coming home so suddenly.”
Nancy wondered if Mrs. Adams had heard that Matt had passed the lie-detector test. If so, she didn’t seem very happy about it. In fact, she seemed more depressed than Nancy had seen her since Mr. Glover’s funeral.
“Isn’t it great news about the lie-detector test?” Nancy said, taking a seat beside the housekeeper at the table. Bess and George sat down opposite.
“Yes, yes,” Mrs. Adams said halfheartedly. “Wonderful news.” She heaved a deep sigh, then rose with effort and went to cut slices from a chocolate cake that sat on the silver server where the pie had been the night before.
“Would you girls like a slice of this lovely cake?” she asked. Her voice sounded even more distraught to Nancy, and there were tears in her eyes now. “Matt was good enough to bring it home from the bakery.”
“No, thanks,” Nancy said. “Maybe later.”
“Speak for yourself, Nan,” George put in. “I’d love a piece.”
“Me, too,” Bess chimed in. In response to her cousin’s questioning look, she said, “The first piece I had wasn’t very big.”
Nancy and George chuckled, but Nancy noticed that Mrs. Adams didn’t even crack a smile as she expertly cut slices for George and Bess, slid them onto two plates, and passed them over. The housekeeper’s hands were trembling.
Nancy was about to ask Mrs. Adams what was wrong but stopped herself when she heard Matt’s voice, just outside the kitchen.
“Hey, everyone,” he was calling. “The radio says this is a blizzard!”
Matt entered the kitchen like a comet and turned a big smile on Nancy and George. “I’m so glad you’re both here,” he said, his voice bubbling with enthusiasm. “I was thinking we could go for a sleigh ride.”
“But there aren’t horses at Glover’s Corners anymore,” George pointed out between bites of chocolate cake. The estate stables had once held two or three horses, but after Matt’s disappearance Mr. Glover had sold them off, Nancy remembered.
“There’s a stable a short walk from here, though,” Matt said. “Thurston’s. They rent sleighs along with the horses. I just called to check it out. Come on, now. You have to come— it’s all set up.”
“In a blizzard?” Bess inquired nervously.
“It’s supposed to let up before long,” answered Matt. “And we have plenty of spare scarves and gloves and stuff to bundle up with.”
Bess still looked dubious, but she said, “Well, okay.”
“Let’s do it!” said George.
“It’ll be fun,” Nancy agreed. She was
glad for a chance to see more of Matt. When they came back, maybe she’d be able to check out Mrs. Adams’s room and find out if what was bothering her had anything to do with Matt.
“Great. I better get to the stable before we’re completely snowed in.” Before he left the kitchen, Matt looked over at Mrs. Adams. “Have a piece of cake, Addie,” he said warmly. “I got it especially for you.”
Mrs. Adams began to cry as soon as Matt left the room. Nancy put one arm around her shoulders. “What is it, Mrs. Adams?” she asked.
The housekeeper reached for a paper napkin and rubbed at her eyes. “It’s really nothing, dear, nothing for you to worry about. I have the most terrible headache—it just won’t go away.”
“Can I get you some aspirin?” George offered.
Mrs. Adams shook her head. “No, thank you, dear. I think I’ll just lie down for a while.”
“I’ll help you to your room,” Nancy said.
“I don’t know what’s the matter with me,” Mrs. Adams said as Nancy led her up the stairs. “I should be so happy, under the circumstances. . . .” Her voice trailed off.
Nancy wanted to find out what was upsetting Mrs. Adams, but she was afraid any questions would only upset her more. Nancy kept her arm firmly around the older woman’s shoulders until they reached her third-floor room.
It was large and comfortable—everything was neat as a pin. The windows had a gorgeous view of the back garden and the pond, even though it was distorted by the thick sheets of heavily falling snow.
Mrs. Adams sat on the edge of her bed and let her head fall into her hands. Moving over to her, Nancy noticed that there were three photographs on the bedside table. One was of Matt as a little boy, sitting on a pony. Another was of Clayton Glover, and the third was of Mrs. Adams and Matt sitting side by side on one of the benches that circled the pond.
She knew she shouldn’t let her emotions get in the way of the case, but she just couldn’t imagine that Mrs. Adams would do anything to deceive the Glover family, even after Mr. Glover’s death. Obviously, they had been the most important people in her life.
Gently, Nancy helped Mrs. Adams to lie back on the bed, then went back downstairs. She paused at the landing to phone home to let her father and Hannah know that they were all waiting out the storm at Glover’s Corners.
Nancy found Bess and George in the library. George was feeding pine cones to the fire, while Bess was lazily flipping through the pages of a magazine. Nancy picked up a magazine to look at, too.
“How’s Mrs. Adams?” Bess asked at last, putting her magazine down.
Nancy plopped down on the sofa beside her. “Resting. I’m sure she’ll feel better in a while.”
“She’s had a lot to deal with, what with Matt coming back and all,” Bess said sympathetically.
“If it really is Matt,” George added quietly. “I’m sorry, Bess,” she said in response to the dark look her cousin shot her, “but you’ve got to be prepared for that possibility.”
“I just know it’s Matt,” Bess insisted. “I would be able to tell if it weren’t.” She was about to say something else, but paused before going on excitedly, “Listen—the sleighs!”
They all rushed to a window. The storm had begun to let up, and Nancy could see that fresh snow lay deep and thick around Glover’s Corners and in the woods beyond. The sun was low on the horizon, and the sleighs and snow all had a pinkish glow to them.
“There’s Matt!” Bess exclaimed, pointing to a figure in an Eskimo-style parka driving the first sleigh.
“That must be someone from Thurston’s stables in the other sleigh,” said George.
Bringing up the rear was a four-wheel-drive Land Rover—the only kind of vehicle that could make it through the snow before the plows came.
“I wonder why he rented two of them?” Nancy asked. “One is big enough for the four of us.”
George was already heading for the front closet, where their jackets and boots were. “Who cares why? It’ll be so much fun. Let’s go!”
They struggled into the warmest clothes they could find in the cloakroom. Bess wound a long, fluffy, red muffler around her neck and picked up a pair of matching mittens. “Hey, Nan,” she said, pointing to a bright blue woolen hat hanging from a peg, “you should wear that. It’ll look fantastic with your hair.”
Nancy’s hat was still wet so she pulled on the cap, then the girls went outside. As they tromped through the snow to the sleighs, the man who had driven the second sleigh was climbing into the Land Rover. “We’ll be back in an hour,” Nancy heard him tell Matt. “Enjoy your ride.”
Matt’s face was glowing from the cold. “Hey, my hat looks good on you,” he complimented Nancy.
For a second Bess looked the tiniest bit jealous of the compliment, but at Matt’s next words her face lit up. “I thought Bess and I would take one sleigh and you two the other,” he said to Nancy and George. “You do know how to drive?” he asked Nancy. She nodded.
“We’ll follow the old trails through the woods and meet back here in an hour if we split up.”
“Terrific!” said Bess, hopping up next to Matt in the first sleigh.
As Nancy and George climbed into the second sleigh, George commented in an undertone, “Bess’s nervousness sure disappeared in a hurry.”
“I’ll say,” Nancy agreed, pulling the heavy lap robe over their knees. “Her crush on Matt is getting even bigger. I just wish she’d back off a little until we’re sure about him.”
Nancy watched as Matt and Bess led the way, starting out for the woods. Taking the reins, she urged their horse to follow.
There seemed to be no sounds in the world but the jangling sleigh bells, the creak of leather, and the snorts of the horses as they went forward in the snow.
“This is great.” George sighed. “I’d forgotten how wonderful a sleigh ride can be.”
“It is beautiful,” Nancy agreed.
Soon they were deep in the woods, with its mixture of tall pines and sturdy oaks. The sun was very low now, and deep shadows had settled around the tree trunks, but the snow still shone with a beautiful, pearly glow. Nancy felt herself relaxing as she followed Matt and Bess’s sleigh, which was about twenty yards ahead of them.
Seeing Matt’s sleigh veer off onto a narrower path to the left, Nancy said, “I guess we should follow.” She began to maneuver their horse to turn left. “I don’t want to get lost out here.”
The path was just wide enough for the sleigh, and lined by trees on both sides. Their horse was moving at a good trot now, and the tree branches seemed to whiz by them. Nancy had to concentrate to see clearly through the thick shadows.
Suddenly she started. At first she just saw a blur, then she realized it was someone in a red hunting jacket stepping out from beneath the pines, right into the path of her sleigh!
Instinctively, she gripped the reins hard and pulled back, but she could see the sleigh was moving too fast to stop in time. “Hey! Get out of the way!” she yelled, but the figure in red hurtled onto the path directly in front of them and streaked by under the horse’s startled nose.
“Watch out!” George shouted.
The horse reared in panic, and Nancy gripped the reins harder. Then she felt them snap in two in her hands. She watched in horror as the leather strips slid from her grasp and dropped behind the wild horse, leaving her with two useless ends. A second later the horse bolted and took off into the woods.
The horse was still attached to the sleigh by the traces, but there was no way to control the animal. The sleigh teetered and then went careening after the horse, into the woods and down a slope. Tree branches whipped at Nancy’s face, and the forest went by in a blinding blur.
“We’re going to go over!” she heard George yell beside her.
The last thing Nancy saw was a huge oak rushing toward her. Then everything went black.
Chapter
Eleven
WHEN NANCY OPENED her eyes again, the first thing she saw was Mrs. Adams?
??s worried face floating above her.
Nancy’s head was pounding, but when she gingerly moved her legs, then her arms, she found that they worked. Turning her head, she looked around, squinting, and saw she was lying under a goose-down quilt in a bedroom at Glover’s Corners.
“What?” she began, but Mrs. Adams put a finger to her lips and said a doctor was on the way.
Nancy looked over Mrs. Adams’s shoulder at the snow-covered tree branches outside the bedroom window. She blinked, dimly remembering the runaway sleigh, the startled horse, and the oak tree. There was something else, too, but her mind felt so foggy she couldn’t concentrate on it.
Letting out a sigh, she shut her eyes again. That was when it came to her—the figure in red hurtling across the path in front of them. Someone had deliberately frightened the horse. But who?
Nancy felt a cool, soothing cloth being placed on her forehead. Opening her eyes again, she asked Mrs. Adams, “Is George all right?”
“George landed in a snowbank. She’s fine.”
Nancy tried to tell the housekeeper that someone had startled her horse on purpose, but Mrs. Adams told her not to talk until the doctor had examined her. Nancy stared at the ceiling, trying to get her thoughts together. Her head felt woozy. She could hear the muted voices of George, Bess, and Matt from somewhere beyond the bedroom door. The sound was lulling and comforting.
She must have drifted off, because when she opened her eyes again a kind-looking man was sitting by her bed. Mrs. Adams introduced him as Dr. Biddle. This time Nancy felt wide-awake and clearheaded. She greeted the doctor with: “I’m really fine—you shouldn’t have bothered to come out on my account.”
“Now, hush, young lady,” the doctor told her with a smile. He examined her eyes with a little penlight and asked her if she was feeling dizzy.
Nancy shook her head. “I just have a king-size headache.”
“It’s no wonder,” Dr. Biddle told her. “You must have the hardest head in River Heights, to have gotten the better of that tree you ran into. If you had a concussion it was a very minor one. I don’t think X rays will be needed.”