The Old Willis Place Read Online Free PDF Page B

to attend to. It might be a mouse hiding under a leaf, a squirrel twitching its tail on a tree trunk, a blue jay calling from a bramble bush. Away he went, ever alert, ever curious.
    "Aladdin, Aladdin," Lissa called. "Come back. Kitty, kitty, kitty..."
    For a moment I thought she was going to follow Nero and find me, but instead, she stood where she was and watched the spot in the woods where Nero had vanished, her face sad. I guessed she hoped he'd come back.
    When that didn't happen, she sighed and returned to the steps. She picked up her notebook and her pen and began to write.
    Before long, Mr. Morrison came to the door with Mac-Duff. "Do me a favor, Liss. Take MacDuff for a walk. He needs some exercise."
    Lissa laid her diary on the step and set off across the yard. MacDuff bounded ahead, sniffing and searching the way dogs do.
    "Where's she going?"
    I spun around to face Georgie. "Don't ever sneak up on me like that again! You scared me half to death!"
    "Sorry." Georgie's little smirk told me he wasn't one bit sorry.
    "Let's follow her," I suggested, "and find out."
    As usual, Georgie and I stayed in the deep shadows near the edge of the woods. Lissa and MacDuff walked in the sunlight. The dog ran in circles around the girl, sniffing the weeds, the bushes, the trees. Hundreds of grasshoppers leapt out of his way, but he didn't seem to be interested in them.
    Trailing behind her dog, Lissa walked slowly toward Miss Lilian's house—just where she'd been told not to go. She must be a rule breaker, I thought. I glanced at Georgie. Maybe I'd break a few rules myself.
    At the front steps, Lissa stopped and stared up at the double doors, secured with a rusty chain and padlock.
    Georgie gripped my arm. "She's too close," he whispered. "What if she—"
    "We have to stop her." I took a step toward the house, but Georgie tightened his hold on me.
    "No. You can't let her see you!"
    "But she might be in danger—"
    "We can't do anything," Georgie insisted. "Besides, Lissa's not the one she wants."
    Reluctantly I stepped back into the shade, unseen, unheard. Lissa was new to Oak Hill Manor. She knew nothing of the danger lurking behind those locked doors and boarded windows.
    Instead of climbing the rotting steps, Lissa stood on the grass, her face wistful, and gazed at the house. She was still too close, much closer than I dared go. Could she hear anything stirring behind the walls?
    "Oh, MacDuff," Lissa said. "Think how grand it must have been once. Can't you see guests arriving for parties, all dressed in fine clothes? They'd pull up right here in horse-drawn carriages. Inside the house, there'd be sparkling crystal chandeliers, dozens of candles, platters of delicious food, a band playing a waltz. Ladies and gentlemen would have danced all night long, twirling round and round till dawn."
    Lissa held out her arms and spun, as if dancing to music only she could hear. MacDuff cocked his head and watched.
    Georgie snickered, and I grabbed his arm as if I meant to pinch him. "Hush, she'll hear you," I whispered.
    After a few seconds, Lissa dropped her arms and curtsied as if she were thanking an invisible partner for the dance. Then, with MacDuff bounding ahead, she walked around the house. Georgie and I followed, as silent as an extra pair of shadows.
    At the rear, she climbed the shallow steps leading to the wide brick terrace that ran the length of the house. She sat on a stone bench supported by two crouching lions, their faces streaked with dark stains like tears. It used to be my special seat, my throne. I hadn't even allowed Georgie to sit there.
    "She's on your bench," Georgie whispered. "Don't you care?"
    I shook my head. Seeing Lissa in my favorite place made me feel closer to her, as if she were truly my friend and I was sharing something important with her.
    Georgie sighed and went to work on his mosquito bites. I slapped his hand. "Don't scratch. You'll make them worse."
    He pulled away. "I'll scratch if I want to. What