Victorie plus N

Chapter 19: They

It's the next morning after Ann revealed that my Grandfather hasn't lived in Beckenridge Manor for over 70 years. Yep, 70 years, I'm kind of thinking I heard her wrong. I mean 70 years, come on. I obviously heard her wrong, but either way, I'm just going to avoid her and Teddy for I don't know how long.

I decided not to go to the dining hall for breakfast (for obvious reasons) and instead dined inside my room. Now I'm walking outside around the garden, which I finally now have a detailed map inside my head of, thanks to Leo and his wife. There are the "guest gardens", the 1st crossroad, the meadow (for outdoor parties), the big gazebo, the greenhouse square, the hedge maze, and the other number of twisting paths and patches of flowers lining the garden. I've just walked out of the maze which I unsuccessfully conquered, and was only able to get out of because the head gardener, Jim, helped me.

"Thanks a lot, Jim," I say to him.

"Oh, it was nothing Miss, have a good day," he replies.

"You too," I wave.

We part in opposite directions, and I stroll down to one of the gazebos hidden at the end of the 2nd longest path. It's my favorite gazebo because it's hard to find unless you want to go down this path only 2 1/2 feet wide, and I can be alone and "be one with nature". It's helpful in times like these. But I barely reach the heavily ivy-covered stone arch that leads to the gazebo a few more minutes down when someone runs up to me. Specifically, Teddy.

"Have you seen Ann anywhere!?" he cries, huffing and puffing like he ran two marathons in under three hours.

"No, of course not, why would I want to see her," I glare at him.

"You haven't?!" he yells, totally ignoring my pointed tone," Oh no, this is not good!" he shakes his head.

Yeah, this is not good. He's talking to me like nothing ever happened, and he's still here talking to me.

"Whatever," I roll my eyes at him, "She's probably hiding somewhere. Crying and trying to find a way to sincerely apologize to me."

"No! I looked all over the house five times- I can't find her! I checked her room, the pool, the library, the art gallery, and now the garden! She wasn't at breakfast, the servants don't know where she is, she didn't answer her phone-"

"Yeah, well, maybe she 'lost' it again," I cut in. I now whole-heartedly believe she meant to not invite me to her sleepover on purpose. And that all her apologies were fake, too.

"No! I mean she's gone, gone. She disappeared! She got kid-" he forms and 'o' with his mouth like he just realized something.

I hope he finally realized that he shouldn't be talking to me, especially with the serious death glares I'm giving him.

He stays like that for a few seconds until I finally ask, "What?!"

"N- nothing!" he stutters, starting to back away.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," I say.

"It's nothing!" he cries, "Uh...bye!"

He runs off, but I follow him.

Now I'm curious, what did he mean kid? It sounded like he was about to say kidnapped. But how could Ann get kidnapped? That's impossible! The servants would stop anything like that from happening! So what was Teddy talking about?

"What do you mean kidnapped?!" I yell after him.

"I didn't say kidnapped!" he yelled back.

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

He stops at the patio door, and I finally catch up to him as he fiddles with the doorknob which conveniently seems jammed.

"What do you mean kidnapped?" I ask, catching my breath.

He glares at me as he finally gets the door to open.

His cat saunters out, its tail held high. I really don't like that cat.

He rushes inside, then pulls me in with him, towing me along (just like Ann did) all the way up to the library to the section with the old family journals and stuff.

"Good, I locked the cat outside," he finally stops, letting go of my arm, and panting.

"You locked the cat outside....?" I ask, kind of weirded out. I mean, it's sunny outside, but why lock the animal outside? Who does that?

"Yes, because it's a spy," he whispers, glancing around like he's afraid he'll be heard.

"Come again?" I raise my eyebrows.

"The cat's a spy," he repeats.

"Yeah, I heard that part, I was just wondering, about that part," I say.

"Yes! My cat's a spy! You heard me right!" he whisper-yells, "He has an audio chip for them to listen to conversations, and they heard what Ann said last night and now they went along and kidnapped her!"

"They kidnapped Ann," I emphasize, laughing, "This is one lame prank, Teddy!"

"It's not a prank!" he says exasperated, throwing up his hands, "I'm telling you, Ann got kidnapped, and they're behind this! They probably hid her in a curve!"

That's when I totally crack up. "They hid her inside a curve?!" I laugh, "Like, a road curve?!"

This is hilarious! I would never think Teddy could make up something this funny, he's really making it up for lying to me. Kind of.

"NO! I'm serious! Stop laughing! They're real, and they kidnapped her because she told you the information she promised them she wouldn't share!"

"Okay," I grin, trying to hold back my laugh, "So who's this 'they' anyway? Is it a group of naughty kittens?" I laugh.

"NO!"

Then he gives me a dead-serious, solemn look, and says in a low voice,

"They put her in a curve, the manipulators."