The 100-Year-Old Secret (14 page)

“It's like a little cottage in a fairy tale!” she exclaimed, admiring the cozy room with its fire-place, soft-looking furniture, and flowered curtains. Xander was busy gathering up clothes that had spilled out of his backpack. He seemed to be avoiding her eyes.

“I'm so glad you like it, dear,” said a woman in a flower-print dress. She had short, curly gray hair, and she looked tired. “My name is Mrs. Roberts. My husband and I own this B and B.”

Xander looked around with interest. “Is this place really ancient?” He thought it was cool that so many of the houses in England were so much older than the ones in their neighborhood back in Florida.

“It was built in the early seventeen hundreds,” Mrs. Roberts told him. “We're so fond of the house's long history. It was used as quarters for visitors' servants when the family still lived in the Chimington Arms, before they moved to the manor.”

“Oh, the Chimington Arms. Is that the hotel down the road?” their mother asked.

“Yes.” Mrs. Roberts set flowered plates around the table. “And the B and B next to us
used to be the stable. It took our friends the Hendersons a long time to get the horse smell out of it, but it's a lovely place now. Still, I like ours the best. It's cozy, don't you think?”

“It certainly is,” their father said. “And it's nice of you to make us supper. B and B stands for ‘bed and breakfast,' not ‘bed and breakfast and supper.' We weren't expecting such a delicious meal this late in the day.”

“Oh, it's just some sandwiches.” Mrs. Roberts carried the empty tray out of the room, and Xena noticed that she was gripping it so tightly her knuckles were white. It can't be that heavy, Xena thought. She looks worried.

“When Mrs. Roberts comes back, let's ask her if she knows what that noise was,” Xander whispered to Xena. She nodded and gave him a thumbs-up sign.

As they ate, the members of the Holmes family looked over the brochures that were heaped all around.

“Tour the Picturesque Downs on Horseback,” Xena read aloud. “What are downs?”

“They're round hills covered with grass,” Xander answered. Xena sighed. Sometimes it was hard having a younger brother who was such a know-it-all.

Their father picked up another pamphlet. “Anyone interested in Wild Herb Walks?”

“No,” Xena and Xander answered together.

Xena found a pad of paper and drew lines down it in three columns, headed
MUST DO, MAYBE
, and
NO WAY
.

“Here's information about the sale, Mom,” Xander said. He handed her a photocopied sheet of paper.

“Thanks, hon,” she said. “I can't wait to see all those wonderful antiques in that old house! Xena, put that in the must-do column, okay?”

“Why are they selling antiques in a house?” Xander asked. “Don't they sell them in a store?”

“The family's moving,” his mother explained. “They're selling a lot of their old things. The house is for sale too.”

Mrs. Roberts came back in. “Let me show you around quickly before you go to bed,” she said, smoothing her apron nervously. Xander opened his mouth as though to ask her about the howl, but Xena shot him a look that made him close it again. “Don't interrupt her,” she whispered. Xena was good at picking up on unspoken thoughts. She sensed Mrs. Roberts was upset about something, and she was hoping that if they just listened, they'd find out what it was.

“This is the breakfast room,” Mrs. Roberts told them. It had yellow curtains and a rag rug and a round table with enough spaces for eight around it. “Please feel free to make yourselves snacks whenever you like. Just leave the dirty crockery in the sink. Over here”—she gestured to her right—“is the sitting room. I think you Americans call it the living room?” Their mom nodded as they all got up and followed Mrs. Roberts into the warm-looking room with a fire-place and a braided rug. “There's a telly,” she went on, “but we don't get many stations, I'm afraid.”

“What about a computer?” Xena asked.

“I'm afraid we just have an old one for keeping the accounts.”

“No Internet?” Xena was disappointed when Mrs. Roberts shook her head. How was she supposed to keep in touch with her friends?

“Cheer up,” her father said. “We'll keep you so busy exploring ancient ruins and taking hikes that you won't even miss them.”

“Who's that?” Xander was looking at one of the old-fashioned photos on the mantelpiece. Mrs. Roberts didn't answer. Curious, Xena glanced at her. Was it her imagination, or had the woman turned pale?

“It's—she was my great-great-grandmother,” Mrs. Roberts finally said.

Xander continued examining the picture. “She looks sad.”

There was another awkward silence, and then Mrs. Roberts rubbed her eyes. “I'm off to bed,” she said. “Sleep well, and I'll see you in the morning.”

“Boy, she goes to bed early,” Xander said after she had left.

“What's the name of this town again, Mom?” Xena asked, looking at a map in a guidebook.

“Blackslope,” Mrs. Holmes replied, and added as she left the room with their father, “Don't stay up too late.”

Xena turned back to the map but Xander nudged her. “Blackslope!” he said, his voice high with excitement. “Sherlock's been here!”