Free New Horizons by Lois Gladys Leppard

explained as she pushed open the gate and went inside the yard. Since the house was locked, they could only look at the outside.
    â€œAnd this is the house that is supposed to be haunted?” Mandie asked.
    â€œYes.” Mary Lou laughed. “That’s what some people believe, but I don’t think there is such a thing as a ghost.”
    Mandie glanced at Celia, who was frowning as she stared at the huge old house. “Maybe we could solve the mystery of the ghost, Celia!” She laughed.
    â€œIt’s probably just some tale someone made up to scare people,” Celia said.
    â€œThat’s what my parents and I think, also,” Mary Lou agreed.
    â€œI suppose we could talk to Mrs. Thomason and see if she has a room for us,” Mandie decided. “And of course it would probably take some doing to get my mother to agree for me to move in here. And I would certainly have to do it without letting my grandmother know before it was done.”
    â€œAll right, it’s agreeable with me, Mandie,” Celia said. “We can try.”
    As the girls returned to the Dunnigans’ house, Mandie said, “At least we have the carriage to take us back and forth to school. I guess Grandmother was right to insist on it after all.” She laughed.
    The next week Mrs. Dunnigan had Mrs. Thomason come to her house and meet the girls and discuss her plans for the house. Mrs. Thomason was an older woman, and Mandie liked her immediately.
    â€œNow, I wouldn’t want you young ladies moving in one day and out the next if someone got to talking about ghosts in the house,” Mrs. Thomason warned them.
    â€œI don’t think we could do that anyway. Once we give up our room at the dormitory we’ll probably have to stay in your house for the rest of the year,” Mandie explained.
    â€œWell, I insist you both write your parents to make sure they are in agreement with this plan,” Mrs. Thomason said. “I have a few ladies already living in the house, but I definitely have more rooms vacant.”
    After returning to the college that afternoon, Mandie and Celia both sat down and wrote letters to their parents, trying toexplain the situation at the college with the girls, and giving them references Mrs. Thomason supplied.
    â€œI’m not very hopeful that my mother will agree to this,” Celia said with a sigh as she folded the letter.
    â€œI’m hoping Uncle John will come to my aid with my mother,” Mandie said. “As long as my grandmother doesn’t find out about it, I may be able to convince him.”
    â€œIt’s nice that your uncle John married your mother after your father died, and she is not all alone like my mother,” Celia said.
    â€œI know,” Mandie replied. “But your father’s sister, Rebecca, moved into your house to be with your mother, so she is not exactly alone.”
    â€œNo, not exactly. And I do love my aunt Rebecca so much,” Celia said.
    Mandie suddenly remembered the letter her mother had sent her from the young man in Europe. Mandie had put it in her bureau unopened. Now she was itching to get an opportunity to do so without Celia around. She would have to figure out how she could do that. Maybe while Celia was taking a bath? Great idea; that’s when she would open it.
    ----
    That night Mandie urged Celia to take her bath first, that she didn’t mind waiting. When Celia finally went into the bathroom and Mandie could hear the water running, she hurried over to the bureau and retrieved the letter.
    Quickly breaking the seal and removing the letter from theenvelope, Mandie unfolded the linen paper and read:
    My dearest Amanda,
    I have missed you since you went back home. I have no eyes for any other young lady. My heart is deflated. I long for the day when I will again be in the presence of my dear Amanda. Please come back to Ireland. And please do me the honor of replying to my letter. I await your