The Old Willis Place

thistles.
    "Georgie," I cried. "Georgie!"
    Instead of answering, he ran toward the shelter of the trees.
    "Come back!" I shouted. "Don't run off!"
    "Traitor!" he screamed over his shoulder. "Liar!"
    With Lissa at my heels, I chased Georgie across the field and into the woods. He ducked and dodged under vines and around trees, flashing in and out of sunlight, his war paint blending into the woods like camouflage.
    At last, I caught him and pinned him against a tree, holding him fast. "Will you please listen to me?" I shouted. "It's okay to be friends with Lissa. She won't tell anyone about us. She's promised."
    "Your parents will never know you broke the rules," Lissa added.
    Georgie frowned at me, obviously puzzled. "Our parents? What do they—"
    With my back to Lissa, I pressed one finger to my lips, warning him. "It's okay. We can trust her. Honest."
    I felt Georgie's body relax a little. His breathing slowly returned to normal. But he was still clearly upset. "Let me go," he grumbled.
    I stepped back and dropped my hands to my sides. He and Lissa studied each other silently for several moments, as if neither was sure what to make of the other.
    Lissa spoke first, a little hesitantly. "I know you're mad at Diana and me," she said, "but can't we be friends, Georgie?"
    He scowled. "I don't need friends. And neither does Diana. We have each other."
    "Don't be rude." My fingers ached to pinch him, but I knew that would only make him madder.
    He gave me a nasty look and began stripping leaves from a spindly little bush. The feathers in his hair quivered. "If you want to be her friend," he muttered, "go right ahead. Get in trouble. See if I care. But you can't make me be friends with her."
    "He's had a bad temper," I told Lissa, "from the very day he was born." I'd heard Mother laugh about Georgie's rages, but I'd never found them particularly amusing. Now I was downright embarrassed. Foolish as it sounded, I'd actually hoped he'd like Lissa.
    "She's letting us keep Lassie till I finish reading it to you," I told Georgie, thinking he might be pleased.
    "I hate that book." He yanked more leaves from the bush. "Give it back to her."
    "Georgie—"
    He threw a shower of leaves at me. "She can have her ugly bear, too!"
    Georgie finally made Lissa mad. "Fine!" she yelled. "Give me my things right now! If you don't, I'll tell my father who stole them."
    "See, Diana? I warned you not to trust her!" Georgie cried in triumph. "She's a liar."
    Lissa backed away from us, her hand covering her mouth, as if she wanted to unsay what she'd just said. "I didn't mean it. I won't tell Dad. Honest." She began to cry. "Just give me my bear. Please."
    "Georgie," I said softly, "Lissa's mother gave her the bear before she died. It's very special to her."
    "Big crybaby. I said she can have it, didn't I?" He turned and ran into the woods. "Wait right there. I'll get her stuff."
    Lissa and I sat on a fallen tree and listened to Georgie crash off through the underbrush. A breeze sprang up and tugged more leaves from the trees. They pattered down around us like raindrops.
    "I'm sorry." Lissa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I was trying so hard to be nice. I thought he'd be nice, too, but when he wasn't, I got mad."
    "It's all right." But I wasn't sure it really was. What if something made Lissa mad again? Would she tell her father after all?
    But how could I send her away? Lissa was my friend now. It was so nice to sit beside her with the leaves drifting down around us. There had to be a way to make things right between her and my brother.
    After a few minutes, Georgie returned, more quietly than he'd left. Nero stalked beside him, his head and tail high, as if he'd chosen sides.
    "Oh," Lissa said, "it's Aladdin, the black cat MacDuff chased up the tree. Is he yours?"
    "Yes," Georgie said. "And his name is Nero. Not Aladdin." With a scowl, he thrust the bear at Lissa. "Here. Now go away and leave us alone. Diana and I don't need you hanging around all the time."
    Lissa cradled the bear in her arms. "He's dirty," she said. "You got him dirty."
    Georgie shoved the book at her. "Take boring old Lassie, too." He turned to me. "Let's go, Diana."
    "I'm walking Lissa home," I said. "You can come with us if you want."
    He stared at me in disbelief. "You really are a traitor," he said coldly. "Something terrible is going to happen. Can't you feel it coming? And it will be your fault, Diana. Yours and hers."
    "Don't be silly." Even as I tried to