A/N: This story is somewhere around 10 years old now. It was originally written in honor of the lovely founder of Jixemitri. It's my as-close-to-the-real-thing-as-I-could-get book. While it never actually says so in the story, I set this back a few decades, at the time most of the cream paperbacks were published. I decided to take a break from writing for Camp NaNoWriMo (I'm over 20K words already!) and post this.

To quote from my original author's note - "The Mystery of the Mardi Gras Mask is full of the things I always loved about the original Trixie Belden series. Food, friendship, and fun! It contains some of the cliches frequently found in the books. Di's wearing purple. Mart's speaking in big words. Brian is sensible, and Jim even gives Trixie a fond glance. About the only thing I avoided was a mention of Dan chopping wood! I wanted these things in this story because I wanted this to be something that felt like an old friend you're revisiting after a long absence. So you'll even find a 'gleeps' in this one, though I truly loathed that word as a kid!

Many of the things in Mardi Gras Mask are either totally real, or borrowed liberally from something that does exist. There is indeed a River Road with old plantations. It runs between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and is a beautiful drive to take. The cookbook River Road Recipes is also genuine. It's the best selling community cookbook of all time and can be ordered from Amazon, if you're interested. There is, to the best of my knowledge, no de Villemont family or Rosehill Plantation. Five Oaks, too, is fictional, but the Allen family name is not. The Allens lived on River Road for many generations."

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter One: "We're going to New Orleans!"

"Hurry up, Trixie," fourteen-year-old Honey Wheeler commanded, with a rare display of impatience with her best friend. "I'm sure all the other Bob-Whites are up at the house by now!"

"Gleeps, Honey!" Trixie Belden replied, puffing along behind her. "You know whatever your Mom's big announcement is, she won't make it until we're there, or at least until you're there, anyway!"

Honey shrugged one shoulder. "Probably. But maybe they'll drag it out of her anyway. Jim can be awfully persuasive when he wants to be."

"True. But he'd never do that to you. He's too nice. Unlike my goony brothers."

Honey couldn't help but grin. "Trixie, you always say things like that, even though you know your brothers are all wonderful."

"Hmphh! Brian is okay. But then there's Drive Me Crazy Mart and Try My Patience Bobby."

"Uh, oh, what have they done now?" Honey asked.

"Well, just this morning, Mart got me up at six-thirty! On a Saturday! All because he wanted waffles for breakfast and he couldn't remember where Moms keeps the waffle iron! And then there's Bobby. You remember how he made me coordinate all his clothes for him, shirts and pants and socks together, so he wouldn't get confused? Well, he pulled them all out of his drawers again because he couldn't find his lucky rock! Ugh!"

While Honey sympathized with her friend, she also felt a small pang of jealousy. As much work as six-year-old Bobby Belden could be, Honey sometimes wished she had a younger brother or sister to care for, too. Still, at least she wasn't a lonely only child any more! Just the year before, the Wheelers had removed Honey from a dreadful boarding school, purchased the Manor House and surrounding preserve, and given her the real home she had craved. The luxurious estate was just up the hill from Crabapple Farm, the Beldens' more modest homestead, and soon after moving in, Honey met Trixie and found herself, for the first time ever, with a true best friend. Shortly after, the Wheelers adopted runaway Jim Frayne, and Honey had never been happier, finally having a brother of her own. When Honey and Jim, along Trixie and her two older brothers Brian and Mart, then decided to form a semi-secret club, the Bob-Whites of the Glen, Honey was sure every dream she had ever had had come true. It wasn't much later that the Bob-Whites added two more members, Diana Lynch, another nearby neighbor, and Dan Mangan, nephew of Bill Regan, the Wheeler's hard working groom. The purpose of the club, to have fun and help others, was very dear to Honey's heart, as was the club itself and its members as well. Not a day went by that she didn't pause to reflect on how lucky she was!

Now the two girls hurried up the trail toward Honey's home, weaving around small patches of melting snow. After spending most of the morning helping Trixie's mother prepare food baskets to be dropped at the town shelter, they had been released from duty just in time to be summoned by Honey's parents for "important news."

"Maybe Mother and Daddy found a place to hold our food drive," Honey speculated. "I know Mother mentioned she thought some lady from her hair salon owns a warehouse north of here."

The girls, along with the rest of the Bob-Whites, were working hard to organize a day where anyone could donate canned goods and other non-perishable items to be given out to local families. The winter had been especially cold and long, and while spring seemed to finally be making an appearance, the Bob-Whites knew there were many people who needed help.

Trixie waved one gloved hand dismissively. "Pooh. If that was all, I'm sure Miss Trask would have told us on the phone. This is something more. Something that requires immediate attention, and something so big your mom felt the news should be delivered in person. Something like that must be, well, just enormous, and momentous, and- "

Honey glanced at her friend, a decided sparkle in her eye. "And maybe even... mysterious?"

"Exactly!" Trixie exclaimed, before she realized she was being teased. She wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue, sending both girls into a fit of giggles. It was no secret that Trixie loved anything connected to a mystery. In fact, someday she planned, along with Honey, to officially open the doors of the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency. In the meantime, the girls had quite an impressive history of solving puzzles and crimes that had often left the professionals stumped, all while operating at the "amateur" level. They worked well together; Trixie's stubborn impulsiveness and daring leaps into the unknown were well-tempered by Honey's more quiet and thoughtful approach to a situation. Still, when Trixie's curiosity and imagination took flight, Honey wasn't always able to resist the urge to poke gentle fun at her friend. In truth, she was just as eager as Trixie to find out what her mother had to say, though she wasn't as certain it would be quite as stupendous as Trixie seemed to think.

When they arrived at the Manor House, they stopped only long enough to remove their snow gear, then rushed down the wide foyer to the den, where, they had been informed, the others were waiting. They found all eyes upon them as they burst through the door and stumbled to a stop.

"At last our dilatory siblings have the impudicity to join the more punctilious members of our renowned circle."

Trixie glared at her brother. "Isn't it funny how I don't even have to identify your voice to know you're speaking. Now do you suppose it's the vocabulary or the smirk that's so easy to peg?"

Mart Belden opened his mouth to fire off a retort, but whatever he had intended to say was lost as Honey quickly jumped in. "Oh, don't be mad at us, Mart! We finished ten food baskets for your Mom. Now she won't have to work on them all afternoon!"

Mart had the grace to look chagrined. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Trixie's momentary anger faded. While she and Mart, her "almost twin" only eleven months her senior, fought with the typical rivalry associated with brothers and sisters close in age, they were also enough alike to understand one another's feelings. Trixie knew Mart's caustic comment was nothing more than his anxious anticipation to discover why Mrs. Wheeler had assembled them all together.

"Well, now that we've taken care of our usual meeting opener, shall we get down to business?" seventeen-year-old Brian Belden suggested dryly, very accustomed to observing the bickering.

Trixie flushed guiltily, suddenly thankful Honey had interceded before another one of the infamous Mart-Trixie wars had fully broken out. Resolving yet again to quit losing her temper, especially where Mart was concerned, she perched on the arm of the sofa and looked expectantly toward Honey's mother.

Mrs. Wheeler smiled warmly at the Bob-Whites. Unperturbed by her daughter's lateness or the small scene with her friends, she had merely waited until they were all seated and ready to listen. "Well, rather than drag this out any further, I'll come right to the point. How would you all like to spend Spring Break in New Orleans?"

The room erupted with many excited voices. Honey leaned closer to her mother. "New Orleans? Really?"

Mrs. Wheeler held her hand up and waited for the Bob-Whites to settle down again. "A very dear friend of mine from college, Angelique de Villemont, has invited you all to spend the week with her. She has an old house just outside of town with plenty of room."

Trixie looked down, biting her lip. "It sounds wonderful," she said, unable to keep a forlorn note from her voice. "But I don't know if Moms and Dad would let us go. We're always traveling at your expense."

Mrs. Wheeler nodded. "I know, dear, but I think we can talk your parents around. After all, I know my own children won't enjoy the trip much at all if you don't go along. And Angelique is actually looking forward to meeting you. I've told her about many of your exciting adventures."

Trixie sent Brian a hopeful look. He grinned affectionately at his sister. "It couldn't hurt to ask," he said.

"I'm going to go call my mother right now," Diana announced, hurrying from the room. "I think she'll agree. She usually does."

"Brian, will you ask Moms? Please?" Trixie begged. "If she says 'yes' to anyone, it'll be you."

"Why don't I call for you?" Mrs. Wheeler suggested gently. "Then I can answer any questions your mother may have."

Trixie beamed at her. "Would you? Oh, you're the best!"

Laughing, Mrs. Wheeler rose from her seat. "Thank you! Oh, and Dan, don't even think about saying 'no.' Regan and Mr. Maypenny can manage one week without you. You've worked very hard, and you've earned a vacation."

Dan Mangan flushed slightly and nodded his head. The newest member of the Bob-Whites, he'd been brought to Sleepyside by his Uncle Regan after falling into trouble with a New York City gang.

Orphaned and lonely, Dan had faced some problems at first adjusting to his new life. But those troubles hadn't lasted long, and now he was a quiet but valuable member of the small club. He lived in the middle of the vast Wheeler game preserve along with Mr. Maypenny, the gamekeeper, and spent much of his time helping with patrolling the woods, maintaining the feed stations, and keeping the many paths and trails cleared of debris.

Mrs. Wheeler is right, Trixie reflected silently. He had been working very hard. If any of the Bob-Whites deserved some fun time, it was Dan.

As if sensing her eyes on him, Dan glanced at Trixie and offered her a brief grin. Trixie smiled back. Oh, Moms just has to say 'yes,' she thought. For once maybe all of the Bob-Whites could go on a trip together!

Di bounded back into the room, her pretty face glowing. "It's all set for me!" she cried happily. "In fact, Mom was thrilled. She says now she and Daddy can take the twins to do little kid things without worrying about me getting bored!"

Diana's family, almost as wealthy as the Wheelers, lived in a grand home just a little bit further down the road from the Manor House. They had moved in not very long before, after Mr. Lynch made a surprising overnight fortune, taking his family from a cramped apartment in town to a spacious estate nestled among the trees. The Lynches were a large, energetic family with not one, but two sets of young twins. Di, as eldest, often helped baby-sit her younger siblings, and though she loved them dearly, she looked forward to time away from her rambunctious brothers and sisters.

"That just leaves us, then," Trixie said. "Cross your fingers."

Mrs. Wheeler laughed lightly. "I'll go call your mother right now, Trixie. And don't worry. I'm sure she'll agree. I won't let her off the phone until she does!"

As soon as Honey's mother left the room, Trixie shot to her feet. "Oh, do you think so? Do you think we'll really be spending Spring Break in New Orleans?"

"I think you could probably consider it a done deal," Jim said, his green eyes twinkling merrily. "Mother never takes 'no' for an answer."

"Gleeps!" Trixie exclaimed. "New Orleans! Imagine!"

"I am imagining," Mart informed her loftily. "Unbeatable cuisine. Gumbos and jambalayas. Crawfish Etouffee and crisp beignets! And, let us not disremember the dish that made that charming metropolis renowned the world over - red beans and rice!"

The other Bob-Whites burst into laughter. Mart's fondness for large words was surpassed only by his great love of food.

Less then ten minutes later, Mrs. Wheeler was back, her wide smile letting the Beldens know the answer before she even spoke.

"Yippee!" Trixie shouted, unable to control her excitement. "We're going to New Orleans!" Then a thought occurred to her, causing her shoulders to slump.

"What is it, Trix?" Honey asked, alarmed by her friend's sudden change in mood.

"Oh, whoa," Trixie moaned, dropping down on an ottoman. "How on earth am I supposed to make it through the next two weeks of school?"