Mandie Collection, The: 4 Read Online Free PDF Page A

up with my journal, and I’d hate to write in it that I was there and didn’t go inside.”
    When they had all finished eating, Mandie asked the waiter for some food to take to her kitten. She had locked Snowball in their bathroom and brought the key with her.
    Snowball was curled up asleep in the middle of the huge marble bathtub when Mandie opened the door. Seeing his mistress, he stood up, stretched, and yawned.
    “Here,” Mandie said to him, holding out the saucer of food she had brought. “Here’s your dinner, Snowball.”
    Sniffing the aroma of food, Snowball jumped out of the bathtub and rushed to his mistress. Mandie placed the saucer and a cup of water in a corner for him. He quickly devoured it all.
    Putting the key back in the bathroom door lock, Mandie went in to the bedroom and got ready for bed. “This was a lot easier than trying to tie Snowball under the table or somewhere while we ate,” she told Celia.
    “As long as the maid doesn’t have a duplicate key....” Celia answered, getting into her nightgown and robe. “She might accidentally let him out.”
    “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that,” Mandie said. “Well, I’ll just takehim with us tomorrow. He’s pretty good about walking with his leash and harness on now.”
    “I’ll help you with him,” Celia promised.
    It was warm in the room, and the girls pulled back some of the heavy draperies looking for a window they could open. To their surprise they found a French door behind one of the curtains.
    Mandie pressed her face against the glass and peered out. “Well, we have a door,” she said. “Hey, Celia, look, there are steps outside that go down.”
    Celia looked over Mandie’s shoulder. “They must lead to the street.”
    “It looks that way,” Mandie said.
    Celia continued peering through the glass. “There’s a balcony out there, too.”
    Mandie tried to turn the doorknob. “It’s locked,” she said, noticing a large key in the lock. “Should we unlock it and open the door a bit for some air?”
    “Oh, no, no,” Celia protested. “Please don’t, Mandie. It’s so dark. Someone could be outside.”
    Mandie laughed. “All right. When it’s daylight I’ll open it and look outside.” She turned toward the window they had uncovered. “If you’ll help me, I think we can push this window up so we can get some air.”
    The window was huge, and it took the strength of both girls to raise it. A cool breeze immediately floated into their room.
    “Mmmm!” Mandie breathed in. “It was worth all the trouble, wasn’t it?”
    Celia looked outside. There was nothing there but another wall of the hotel. “I suppose so... as long as someone can’t get in.” She walked over to the French door. “But we’ve got to cover this door. Somebody might look in while we’re asleep.” She pulled the curtains shut.
    The girls hopped into the big bed, and Snowball pounced on their feet. With the window open, they could hear a lot of noise from the outside. Someone was singing opera in loud, high notes, and someone else was playing an accordion. The buzz of conversation on the street below sounded like a hundred people talking in loud tones all at once.
    “This sure is different from home, where everything is quiet and you can hear the jarflies at night, isn’t it?” Mandie said. She wiggled around in an effort to dislodge Snowball, who had curled up on herfeet. “Snowball, I didn’t need you to heat up my feet.” She reached down to push him to one side.
    Snowball meowed and gradually inched his way back toward her feet.
    The girls were tired from the long journey from France, but they were wide awake with the excitement of being in Rome. They talked into the wee hours of the morning.
    When the maid came in at dawn and pulled back the draperies, Mandie and Celia had trouble getting their eyes all the way open.
    Mandie rubbed her eyelids as she sat up. “Feels like dirt in my eyes.”
    “ Buon giorno, signorina ,” the maid said