The Mystery of the Emeralds

help her,” Di said optimistically. “Try not to let it worry you, Trix.” They rode the rest of the way back to Williamsburg in silence, and Trixie wasn’t sure whether it was because they were all so tired or whether the others were also thinking about Lizzie.
    When they drove up to the cottage, they saw Neil and Mr. Lynch standing on the porch, and Trixie knew immediately, from the happy look on the boy’s face, that the interview had gone well.
    “Glad you got back when you did,” Mr. Lynch called to them. “Neil and I have worked out a plan, and he’s going back to Rosewood right away.”
    “Oh, Daddy!” Di cried, running up the porch steps and giving her father a hug. “Everything is working out just perfectly! The horses need Neil, and I guess Neil needs the horses!”
    Before Neil left, Trixie told him how they had watered and fed the animals.
    “But we only gave them a little,” Honey said, “because we didn’t know when they’d been fed last, and we didn’t want them to overeat.”
    “Don’t you worry,” Neil said. “I’ll take care of them from now on. You wait and see!”
    “I think that young man has real possibilities,” Mr. Lynch observed as he watched Neil running down the road, “and you’ll be interested to know there are more plans for him than he knows.”
    “What do you mean, Mr. Lynch?” Trixie asked him eagerly.
    He told the Bob-Whites that he had received a phone call from Dr. Brandon.
    “He heard about Mr. Carver’s decision to have the operation and about my buying Rosewood,” Mr. Lynch began. “He asked if I would help in making some of the arrangements for the trip to the hospital in New York. In the course of the discussion, Dr. Brandon said he was concerned about Mr. Carver’s being alone after he returned to Green Trees, and so I-”
    “You thought of Neill” Trixie cried. “Didn’t you, Mr. Lynch?”
    “You’re always one step ahead of me.” Mr. Lynch smiled. “Yes, I thought we’d give Neil these next few weeks to prove himself at Rosewood, and if he shows that he’s reliable, we’ll offer him the chance to stay with Mr. Carver and help him through his long convalescence.”
    “You don’t think Mr. Carver might like someone in the house to do the cooking and housework, do you?” Trixie ventured the question a little hesitantly.
    “What are you getting at?” Mr. Lynch asked, smiling over the top of his glasses. “I suspect there’s someone else you’re thinking of helping. Am I right?”
    “Daddy, I’m beginning to believe you’re a mind reader,” Di said. “Yes, it’s Lizzie James she’s thinking of. Isn’t it, Trixie?”
    “Lizzie James? Who is that?” Mr. Lynch asked.
    Trixie told him about the old lady and her admiration for Mr. Carver and her courage in the face of Jenkins’s threats. Mr. Lynch listened with interest and, when Trixie had finished, said that if Mr. Carver felt Lizzie might be helpful, he would stop by and see her the next day.
    “Wonderful!” Trixie cried. “Now, let’s hope she can cook!”

    Everyone slept late the next morning, including Trixie. No one had fully realized how the events of the last few days had tired them. Rain had fallen during the night, clearing the hot, muggy atmosphere. The weather was perfect, and, since Mrs. Lynch had insisted that she didn’t need their help in arranging for the party, they had the whole day to relax by the swimming pool. It was a completely lazy day—a rare experience for the Bob-Whites.
    Around three o’clock, when Trixie suggested it was time they get ready for the party, Mart looked at her with an amused question in his eyes.
    “Trix!” he exclaimed. “You’ve got two hours before were due at Mr. Carver’s. I’ve never known you to take more than five minutes to get dressed. What’s up?”
    “Well, there’s Honey and Di, you know,” Trixie answered, coloring slightly at her brother’s having caught her thinking about her appearance. “They always take longer than I do.”
    “Oh, you femmes!” Mart teased, pretending to powder his nose. “Go ahead. We’ll be waiting to admire the results of your cosmetology, never fear!”
    When the girls finally were ready, the boys, even Mart, admitted they looked “real neat,” which, of course, was the highest compliment they could have paid them. Trixie had on a sleeveless white piqué dress that enhanced her suntan. Di was in pale lavender, a color she loved because she knew it made her eyes