‘No, that is because he is off on dates with his girlfriends,’ Song said to chortles from the rest of the family.
Cordelia and Sidney returned bearing plates of roast beef and potatoes with Yorkshire puddings, carrots, peas and pumpkin smothered in gravy. The woman sat down again at the head of the table.
‘At least we found out why Daniel infiltrated the Houses of Parliament too,’ Max said. ‘I wondered what Curtis had stumbled on in that room beneath the chamber, but Daniel stole a government seal so that they could get their arms into the United Kingdom on some special Prime Ministerial pass. It meant that the shipments didn’t have to be inspected.’
‘Speaking of Curtis, I have news,’ Cordelia said.
The children looked across at one another. Surely they weren’t off on another mission yet. They had to get back to school and then it was half-term holidays.
Everyone stopped eating and faced her way.
‘I’ve decided after all the excitement the children need a proper holiday at half-term,’ she said.
‘Yes,’ Max hissed. His sister grinned.
‘And seeing that from what I hear you only got a couple of days on the slopes I’ve decided we’re all heading to Zermatt and I’ve organised for Curtis and Autumn and Carlos to come along too – and Curtis’s parents.’
‘Brilliant, Granny.’ Kensy jumped up out of her seat and ran to hug the woman, clinging to her neck.
‘Steady on, darling.’ Cordelia wiped a splodge of gravy from her blouse.
The news was greeted with enthusiasm around the table.
‘And Rupert will be joining us as well, though I suspect he might be bringing some friends,’ she said mysteriously.
Kensy looked across at her brother. ‘Who?’ the girl asked, wrinkling her lip.
‘I’m going to leave that surprise to him.’ The woman winked.
Max smiled with all his teeth. ‘I can’t wait to see how Kensy deals with three love interests all at once,’ he whispered to Fitz who gave him a nudge.
‘Oh, there’s one last thing,’ Cordelia said.
‘Ma’am, you are certainly full of surprises this evening,’ Song said. ‘Are you perhaps going to tell us that you have become a convert to line dancing?’
There were guffaws of laughter from the table.
‘Never,’ she said. ‘But I do need to let you know that after the revelation of Romilly’s incredible mind-reading device, I’ve decided to give her an opportunity to be part of the Inventions Team. Don’t worry, she’ll still be teaching science, but she certainly deserves this chance.’
‘How does Tippie feel about that?’ Ed asked.
‘She’s fine. Very happy to have her,’ Cordelia said.
‘Really, Mother? You have seen them in the same room together?’ Ed said with a frown.
Kensy looked across the table at her brother. They both wondered the same thing, given what Mrs Vanden Boom had said to Kensy when she’d first shown her the mind-readers. But Mrs Vanden Boom’s love-hate relationship with Tippie MacGregor wasn’t the only thing the twins were worried about right now.
On the plane coming home, Max had pulled out the note from Magoo’s study and, taking a completely new tack, together they’d deciphered an entire phrase to add to the words they already had: future, imminent, threat, Song, birthright and Tippie. Though there were still plenty of gaps in the text that they hadn’t worked out. They’d now decided that every part of the puzzle was written using a different code – which meant trying masses of combinations until something made sense. It had taken almost the entire journey to reveal the most startling piece of the puzzle yet. And right now they had no idea what to do about it. While the rest of the note was disjointed, this part was crystal clear: Romilly must be stopped.
The QWERTY code is a very simple code using the alphabetical layout of a computer keyboard to substitute the regular chronology of the English alphabet.
Use the table on the facing page to help you decipher each chapter heading.
All of the Kensy and Max books so far have used different codes and ciphers for the chapter headings; the Caesar Cipher, the Pigpen Cipher, the Atbash Cipher, Morse Code, the A1Z26 Code, and now the QWERTY Code.
Jacqueline Harvey taught for many years in girls’ boarding schools. She is the author of the bestselling Alice-Miranda, Clementine Rose and Kensy and Max series, and was awarded Honour Book in the 2006 Australian CBC Awards for her picture book The Sound of the Sea. She now writes full-time and is working on more Alice-Miranda and Kensy and Max adventures, and some exciting new projects too.
jacquelineharvey.com.au
Jacqueline Harvey is a passionate educator who enjoys sharing her love of reading and writing with children and adults alike. She is an ambassador for Dymocks Children’s Charities and Room to Read. Find out more at dcc.gofundraise.com.au and roomtoread.org.
Books by Jacqueline Harvey
Kensy and Max: Breaking News
Kensy and Max: Disappearing Act
Kensy and Max: Undercover
Kensy and Max: Out of Sight
Kensy and Max: Freefall
Kensy and Max: Full Speed
Alice-Miranda at School
Alice-Miranda on Holiday
Alice-Miranda Takes the Lead
Alice-Miranda at Sea
Alice-Miranda in New York
Alice-Miranda Shows the Way
Alice-Miranda in Paris
Alice-Miranda Shines Bright
Alice-Miranda in Japan
Alice-Miranda at Camp
Alice-Miranda at the Palace
Alice-Miranda in the Alps
Alice-Miranda to the Rescue
Alice-Miranda in China
Alice-Miranda Holds the Key
Alice-Miranda in Hollywood
Alice-Miranda in Scotland
Alice-Miranda Keeps the Beat
Alice-Miranda in the Outback
Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor
Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster
Clementine Rose and the Perfect Present
Clementine Rose and the Farm Fiasco
Clementine Rose and the Seaside Escape
Clementine Rose and the Treasure Box
Clementine Rose and the Famous Friend
Clementine Rose and the Ballet Break-In
Clementine Rose and the Movie Magic
Clementine Rose and the Birthday Emergency
Clementine Rose and the Special Promise
Clementine Rose and the Paris Puzzle
Clementine Rose and the Wedding Wobbles
Clementine Rose and the Bake-Off Dilemma
Clementine Rose and the Best News Yet
PUFFIN BOOKS
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa | China
Penguin Random House Australia is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, in 2020
Copyright © Jacqueline Harvey 2020
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, published, performed in public or communicated to the public in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd or its authorised licensees.
Front cover illustration and internal maps by J.Yi
Cover images: cyber pattern © Titima Ongkantong/Shutterstock.com, telescope © AVIcon/Shutterstock.com, Matterhorn Mountain © itsmokko/Shutterstock.com
Cover design by Christabella Designs © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Internal design by Midland Typesetters, Australia
ISBN 9781760890032
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