The Mystery of the Whispering Witch

while, okay? I—I’m enjoying myself so much here. You have no idea how nice it is to hear a sound overhead and realize it’s only Bobby or Reddy or Brian or Mart. I don’t have to wonder if it’s someone—or something— else.” She had paused. “Besides, I’m sure I can trust both you and Honey, but—”
    It was then that kindhearted Honey, seeing Fay’s discomfort, had offered to show her Manor House and its grounds.
    “I should have let her tell me all about it last night,” Trixie muttered to herself. “As it is, I’m simply dying of curiosity.”
    “You usually are,” Mart remarked, taking a bowl of apples from the refrigerator and setting it carefully in the center of the table. “And speaking of curiosity, perhaps you, Trixie, can provide your elders and betters with some relief from one minor, but persistent, twinge of guilt experienced by two male members of your clan.”
    “Oh, Mart!” Trixie exclaimed. “Why can’t you ever speak plain English?” She watched him as he reached toward the apple bowl. His hand hovered over it.
    She knew him only too well. He had finished his breakfast; now he was ready for a snack!
    Brian chuckled and laid down his fork. “Mart means that he and I have been feeling guilty because we walked out on you last night, Trix— before all the excitement began, that is. We were just wondering if you’d finished your homework.” Trixie had a sudden sneaky thought. “Take two apples from three apples, and what do you have?” she asked innocently.
    Mart looked puzzled. Then he reached for three apples and lined them up on the table in front of him. “That’s easy,” he said. He put two apples into Trixie’s hands. “Take two apples from three apples, and what do you have?”
    Trixie looked at the apple on the table. She sighed. “One apple.”
    Brian laughed. “Think again, Trix. How many do you have?”
    A slow grin spread across Trixie’s face. “I have two apples. No, Mart has two apples. He’s earned them.” She placed them into her almost-twin’s hands.
    Mart frowned. “I have no conception of what that was all about. The question remains, bird-brain, did you finish your homework?”
    Trixie laughed, her worries about her new friend temporarily forgotten. “I have now,” she answered, her blue eyes twinkling.
    A few moments later, she was on her way. to find her mother, when she overheard Mart say, “Bathing suits? Did Trixie say they packed bathing suits? In November? What on earth could they have been thinking of?”
    “Probably witches and curses and ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night,” Brian misquoted softly. “You know, Mart, I don’t like the sound of any of this. No, I don’t like the sound of it at all.”
    At once, all of Trixie’s fears came rushing back. So sensible Brian, too, was worried about the strange happenings at Lisgard House.
    “And I don’t like the sound of it, either,” Trixie muttered softly to herself, suddenly sure there was worse to come.

Is Fay Possessed? ● 8

    TRIXIE FELT GUILTY when at last she found her mother. Helen Belden was in the guest room, making sure that everything would be comfortable for Trixie’s new friend.
    “I thought she’d be more at ease if I put her in here,” Mrs. Belden explained as she caught sight of Trixie in the doorway.
    Trixie felt her cheeks grow hot. “I meant to tidy up in here, Moms,” she said. “I guess I forgot about it. I can do it now, though, if you’d like.” Mrs. Belden smiled at her daughter. “You’re too late, dear. It’s just about all done. But really, Trixie, I can’t think why you didn’t let Fay use this room last night. It must have been very uncomfortable with three of you trying to fit into two beds.”
    “We managed,” Trixie answered, remembering how she and Honey had let Fay have one bed to herself, while they shared the other.
    She hesitated. “Moms, what do you know about Mrs. Franklin—Fay’s mother?”
    Mrs. Belden brushed a strand of fair hair away from her pretty face. “Well, I’ve met her a couple of times in Lytell’s store,” she answered. “I thought she was a very pleasant person. I invited her here for coffee on a couple of occasions, but each time, something came up and she couldn’t come. I do think she’s had a difficult time of it, though. It can’t be easy trying to raise a child on one’s own these days.”
    “And Fay?” Trixie asked, thinking of her brothers’