Moonlight Masquerade (Edilean 8)

Sophie went down to her stomach to look through the crack under the door. She didn’t think she’d be able to see much, but maybe there would be something useful.

All she could see were shoes. One of the two men who’d been there at first had on running shoes that looked the worse for wear. The second man had on scruffy old boots. The new man wore what looked to be very expensive loafers, and she noted that his feet were small.

She was still on her stomach when it suddenly sounded as though hail was coming down. She got to her feet, pulled the jacket close around her, and yet again waited to be discovered.

Instead, the three men began running across the room.

“What is it?” asked one of the first men.

Sophie put her ear back to the door and heard shuffling, as though some things were being moved around.

“Nuts!” the new man said. “Someone is throwing nuts down the chimney.”

“Who would do that?”

“Squirrels!” the new man said. “Or kids playing Halloween pranks. How did I get hooked up with idiots like you two? Turn off the lights and follow me outside. I’ll give them a thrill they won’t soon forget.”

“Reede!” Sophie whispered as she heard the men running, then the door slammed shut. Instantly, she left the closet. The house was pitch-dark, and she had to rely on memory to find the door. It took only a few more seconds to get outside, and she was glad that the rain had stopped.

As she ran toward the shed, she didn’t look back to see where the men were or if they saw her. When she reached the back of the little building, the mare looked up placidly, unperturbed. Better yet, undiscovered.

The first thing Sophie saw was the saddle on the fence. Great, she thought. Bareback.

Her childhood hadn’t included riding lessons with a saddle, much less trying to outride criminals while hanging on to a horse’s mane.

“Good girl,” she said softly as she walked toward the animal. “We’re going to go get Reede and get out of here. Please don’t do any of that rearing that you do with him. Pretty please?”

The mare was docile as Sophie climbed up the railing and managed to throw her leg over. But when she got on, she realized that the reins were hanging to the ground. As she slid off, the big jacket she’d thrown over her top got caught on the wood. She flung it off, picked up the reins, took a breath to get her courage up, then remounted the horse.

Her experience in riding was what she’d seen on TV, so she clicked and used her heels to urge the horse forward. Maddeningly slowly, it left the comfort of the stall to step into the cool night air.

There wasn’t much light but Sophie could tell where the men were by their cursing. They were to her left, so she went right, urging the horse around the far end of the house. For all she knew there were trees and shrubs blocking the away.

“I’m going to kill those things!” she heard one of the men shout. They were so focused on the roof that they didn’t hear or see the horse slowly walking through the mud.

But Reede did. By the time Sophie got to the far end of the house, Reede was crouched down on the edge of the roof and waiting for her.

“What took you so long?” he asked.

“They asked me to tea,” she shot back.

In the next minute he leaped. Her eyes widened as he jumped from the low edge of the roof and landed behind her on the horse. She managed to hold the animal steady until Reede was situated.

When she heard him grunt in pain, she turned to look at him. “Are you all right?”

“Fine, although I don’t think I’ll ever be able to father any children.”

“Maybe you’ll just have to work harder at it,” Sophie said.

Reede grunted a laugh, reached around her to take the reins, then urged the horse forward. They rode slowly and in silence for a while until they reached deep woods.

“I couldn’t get back,” Reede said, his voice serious, apologetic. “I never would have—”

“I heard them say that they’re planning to rob the McTern party,” Sophie said. Against her back, she felt Reede’s body tighten.

“Tell me everything they said.”

She did. As quickly as she could get the words out, she told Reede all that she’d heard.