honeymoon in England!”
“And you can’t tell Rosalind either.” This was Skye, with Jeffrey nodding in agreement.
“Who’s Rosalind?”
“Our older sister in New Jersey. If she finds out about Aunt Claire’s ankle, she’ll try to get up here, and her vacation will be over.”
“Her long-due vacation from us,” added Jane. “That’s what Daddy called it. We can be a lot of trouble, especially Batty.”
“I’m not,” protested Batty. “Anyway, Jeffrey can make stuffed green peppers.”
For some reason, that got through to Aunt Claire. She stopped singing and said, “I like stuffed green peppers.”
“Plus Skye is good at cleaning,” said Jeffrey.
Jane added, “And I’m also going to nurse you, Aunt Claire. Soothe your spirits and bathe your forehead.”
They all looked at Aunt Claire to see how interested she was in forehead bathing, but the singing had tired her out, and she was asleep. Alec covered her with a blanket, then led everyone to the other side of the room, where they could talk without waking her up again.
“Okay, I might be crazy, but we’ll try this for now,”he said. “Here are my conditions. For the rest of today, your aunt can’t be left alone, so one of you older three always has to be here. She has to keep her ankle elevated, and it should be iced every few hours. When she’s a little less goofy, she has to get used to the crutches—you can help her with that. In the meantime, I’m going to be over here a lot, and if anything goes wrong, we’re going to call in reinforcements.”
Skye opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off.
“That’s nonnegotiable. If all goes well today, we’ll talk about it again tomorrow with your aunt, who should be coherent by then. Until then, any help you need or want—anything at all—you must come to me, promise?”
“We promise,” said Skye.
Alec nodded, satisfied, and turned to go.
“Actually, there is something,” said Skye, nudging Jeffrey, who nudged her back threateningly, shaking his head no, but she pressed on regardless. “When Jeffrey took Hoover to your house, he saw your piano. That is, Jeffrey saw it, and he also played it.”
Jeffrey flushed. “I couldn’t help it. It’s such a good piano.”
“Oh, yes, Claire told me you’re a musician,” said Alec. “Piano, clarinet, and what else?”
“A little cello, and I’ve just started on the clarinet, really.”
“Don’t let Jeffrey’s modesty fool you,” said Jane. “He’s a genius.”
“I like geniuses.” Alec smiled. “Use the piano whenever you want, Jeffrey. I mean that. Come this afternoon, if you’d like.”
“Thank you, I will.” Jeffrey shook his hand fervently. “Thank you very much.”
This time Alec did leave, and Skye sagged with relief. Gaining Alec’s trust made her trust herself more. Maybe they really could manage all this on their own.
“ ‘Sol, a needle pulling thread,’ ” sang Aunt Claire in her sleep.
Or maybe not, thought Skye. Her work had just begun, and she was already worn out and wondered longingly if she dare take a nap. Of course not—what kind of a message would that send to the others? She needed to do something practical and soothing.
“All right, troops,” she said. “Let’s have lunch.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Another Accident
B Y THE NEXT MORNING , Aunt Claire had stopped singing and was able to hobble for short distances on her crutches. Even better, she didn’t want to leave Point Mouette either.
“But if any of you want to go home, I should be able to drive soon, since it’s my left ankle, not my right,” she told the children. “Staying here will be harder on you four than it will be on me. My ankle and I will be lolling around while you do all the work.”
“We’ve split it up,” said Skye. “Even Batty’s helping.”
“I can sweep now.” Batty got the broom from the kitchen and waved it around to prove her proficiency.
“We really want to stay,” said Jane. “Don’t