Is She for Real? (10 page)

“Yeah,” Lissa said, feeling slightly guilty for betraying her brother's confidence. Not so guilty, though, that she didn't continue. “He said she's been acting really weird. Which is funny coming from him. He's basically the weirdest person I know!” Lily and Olivia laughed, and Lissa went on.

“He said she's been acting really jealous, like she thinks he's going to start going out with someone else, even when he's with his guy friends. Like even when he goes fishing off the pier, she gets really mad at him. How bizarre is that?”

Olivia sighed. “That's so silly. He totally likes her, and she's so pretty and smart and funny. She has no reason to think he's not into her anymore.”

“I agree,” Lissa said. “But he says she's totally serious about thinking he likes someone else. That and him going fishing off the pier make her get all crazy with him.”

“Maybe she thinks he'll fall in and get eaten by the fish,” Olivia said, and they all cackled with laughter at the thought. Then there was a long silence.

“Kidding aside … are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?” Lily asked mysteriously.

“It depends,” Olivia said. “What are you thinking?”

“I know it's a mad crazy theory, but have you noticed that the way she's changing totally matches Lady Warwick?” Lily said.

Lissa and Olivia began howling with laughter, which Lily did not appreciate. She waited patiently for her friends to stop laughing.

“Okay, Miss Ghost Story, do tell us your mad crazy theory,” Lissa said, which sent them all into peals of laughter again. This time Lily joined in. But then she got herself together and spoke while Lissa and Olivia were still gasping for breath.

“You really wanna know? Okay, doubters,” Lily said in a serious tone. “First, she
looks
like Lady Warwick. Her hair is darker and less curly, and it's parted in the middle now.”

Lissa and Olivia stopped laughing. That was true.

“Second, she's
acting
just like Lady Warwick did with Lord Warwick, all convinced he's having an affair, and all mad that he's going fishing with his friends.”

“I'm so sick of all this talk about fishing!” Olivia interrupted her. “What does the fishing have to do with it?”

“Haven't you read the story framed by the stairs here?” Lily asked her. “Lady Warwick didn't like Lord Warwick going on long fishing voyages. She worried when he was out at sea.”

“Sometimes I wish Nate
would
go out to sea for a while,” Lissa said, trying to get everyone laughing again and off this creepy topic, but the others were silent.

Lily continued. “And the story says she was beautiful and intense. Well, we know Bethany's beautiful. And when we met her, she seemed totally normal. But now I think the best word to describe her is definitely
in … tense
,” she said slowly, drawing out the word.

And then, as if on cue, they heard it.

The wind rattling the window.
Scratch, scratch, scratch. Tap, tap, tap.

“It's her! It's Lady Warwick!” Lily cried, and all three girls screamed in terror.

Mr. Carlson came running in, looking half-alarmed and half-annoyed.

“What's going on?” he asked, a little out of breath from his sprint.

“We heard tapping at the window,” Lissa said, still feeling the fear move through her whole body. “I'm sure it was Nate trying to scare us,” she added quickly. She hadn't used that “tattling” tone on her brother in a while and felt sort of immature for doing so now. Still, it was the only thing that could explain what they'd heard.

“You think so, huh?” her dad said. “I'm pretty sure he's in bed reading. Well, let's get him in here and find out.” He turned and left the room.

“It had to have been him,” Lissa told her friends,
who had calmed down a little but were still out of breath from screaming so loud and hard. Soon Mr. Carlson returned with a sleepy Nate, who was shuffling behind him and looking very grumpy.

“I was half-asleep,” he snapped groggily. “Thanks a lot for blaming me for being total scaredy-cats,” he added.

“Nate, I'm sorry we got you up, but we had to be sure it wasn't you,” Mr. Carlson said.

“Why don't you all go wander around in the graveyard together and search for Lady Warwick's ghost, since you seem so convinced it was her,” Nate said with true disdain. “And since you're such scaredies, you can hold hands out there in a row to protect yourself from the big spooky ghost.”

“That's enough, Nate. It wasn't too long ago you got spooked by little noises in the night too. You can go back to bed now,” Mr. Carlson said.

Bethany wasn't sleeping well that night either. She kept dreaming she was lost in the woods by herself. Then she'd wake up and hope the dream wouldn't continue. But it always did.

A loud tapping sound woke her up, and sure enough, she was standing up in some sort of field in her pajamas.

Another sleepwalking incident.

Bethany looked at her own hand and saw that she herself was using the ring to make the tapping sound on some sort of metal plaque that was affixed to a large rock in the middle of a small field.

The plaque read
LORD ELIJAH WARWICK AND LADY ALICE WARWICK, FOUNDERS OF OLD WARWICK SETTLEMENT, LIVED HERE
1659–1662.

Now she knew where she was. She remembered Mr. Parmalee saying that Lord and Lady Warwick's original home was just a few blocks from the graveyard. It was the site of Lord Warwick's home that he had burned to the ground after burying Lady Warwick alive. She hadn't walked too far. It was just a few blocks past Nate and Lissa's house, but she hadn't been there before. What was she doing there now?

Bethany walked home, crept inside silently without waking her parents, and got back in bed. She took off the ring and put it on her night table. Then she slept a dreamless sleep.

In the morning Lissa, Lily, and Olivia were all mortified by their screaming the night before. They could barely look at Nate as they sheepishly ate their waffles.

Lissa's parents didn't say anything about it. But Nate spoke right up.

“In the interest of full disclosure, I have something to tell you all,” he said. Sometimes he sounded like a real politician, Lissa thought. Everyone looked at him.

“It obviously wasn't me last night, but it
was
me that first time, when Bethany was here,” he said. He seemed proud of himself for his honesty.

“You mean Bethany's first sleepover?” Lissa asked.

“Yes.” Nate looked like he couldn't figure out whether to grin proudly or duck his head sheepishly. He was doing a bit of both.

“I was out there with a branch,” he confessed. “And once I heard how loud you were all screaming, I stopped.”

“Okay, Nate.” Mr. Carlson sighed. “Your honesty lessens your punishment. Of course, you are still punished. Your morning is going to consist of weeding the garden with your parents.”

Nate headed outside with his parents, and Lissa turned to her friends. “I feel really badly for talking about
Bethany last night,” she said quietly. Remembering their first sleepover had reminded Lissa of how close they had all grown since then.

“Me too,” said Olivia. And Lily nodded in agreement.

“I'm not sure what's going on with her, but we wouldn't be good friends if we didn't try to help her. I was thinking … maybe we can have a do-over sleepover tonight, if she's feeling better. But before that, we can do Sandy Lady this afternoon. Really kick the summer off right!”

“Awesome idea!” Lily said.

“I'm in, of course!” Olivia added.

Feeling better, Lissa texted Bethany to ask how she was feeling and to find out if she could do Sandy Lady later that day, and then come over for a do-over sleepover.

Bethany woke to the sound of Lissa's text coming in. She read it and smiled.

Getting out of bed, she pulled on her favorite green summer tank top, which was the exact color of beach glass, and her favorite jeans shorts. Seeing her ring sitting on her nightstand, she picked it up and put it on her
finger.
It's time to tell Mom and Dad that Nate is my boyfriend
, she thought happily.

Then she went downstairs with a slight spring in her step. She poured herself a big bowl of granola and sat with her parents and Aunt Mimi as they finished their coffee.

“It's nice to see you eating bigger portions,” her mom said. “You've been eating like a bird lately.”

“I think I'm all better,” Bethany said, pouring milk to cover the granola. There was a bowl of blueberries on the table, and she added a big scoop of those, too.

“Good thing,” her dad said. “Just in time for the first real day of the summer. The Carlsons have invited us to go antiquing with them today. Will you be hanging out with Nate and Lissa today?”

Bethany smiled around her spoon. “Yes, Lissa just texted me about coming over. Oh, and Lissa, Lily, and Olivia are going to initiate me into their Sandy Lady Club.”

“Do tell,” her mom said.

“They bury each other in sand,” Bethany explained. “They dig a big hole and take turns completely burying each other. Except their heads, of course. They do it at the beginning of every summer, to mark the start of the season.”

“Sounds fun,” her mom said. “You'll need a good shower afterward.”

“I know,” Bethany said happily. “Lissa, Olivia, and Lily have been doing it every summer since fifth grade, and this year they're including me.”

“You know, I'm so proud of you for making the best of this move,” her dad said. “We thought it would be so hard to move in the middle of the school year, but you've made such good friends.”

Her mom grinned. “And even a
special
friend,” she added slyly. “Did he give you that ring you've been wearing?”

So much for me thinking Mom wouldn't notice it
, Bethany thought. But as she looked at her mom's smiling face, she realized her mom didn't seem to mind.