‘Do you know, I keep having to pinch myself to check that all this is real?’ Sarah admitted.
‘Snap!’ said Alice. ‘I wouldn’t change it now, though.’
‘Don’t you dare!’
They closed their eyes for a moment before there was a knock on the side of the conker. It was Theo.
‘I hope you don’t mind me disturbing you,’ he began, ‘only I’d like to introduce you to my grandson.’
‘Good evening, ladies!’ said a cheeky, familiar face that popped up in front of the swing.
‘No way!’
‘Seb? You can’t be!’
‘And why not?’ asked Seb indignantly.
‘You’re not a Finwip! Are you?’ demanded Alice.
‘No. I’m not, but Mum and Grandad are. I told you my mum had the same symptoms as you but you obviously didn’t believe me.’
‘Anna is your mum?’ asked Sarah in disbelief.
‘Yep. She’s not as brainy as you though, Alice. She can’t help me with maths homework.’
‘I can, if you like,’ Alice offered. Seb nodded vigorously.
‘I think you three have some catching up to do!’ laughed Theo. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
The girls jumped down from the swing and they all made their way to a bench near the fire. Seb fetched drinks for them.
‘Well, here we are!’ he grinned.
‘I still don’t get it,’ protested Alice. ‘Why haven’t we seen you in the village before?’
‘Mum became very protective when Grandad went missing. He was taken just as he arrived at the great oak, you see. She wouldn’t let me near the village or the castle, she said she wasn’t prepared to lose anyone else. Not that I’d be any use to the Rowbottom empire!’
‘Well, I’ve never seen your mum outside school,’ said Sarah, having thought about it.
‘She’s always working late. She has a cake-making business.’
‘WOW! Really?’ gasped Alice. ‘I didn’t know that!’
‘Yes, they make cakes for special occasions. Ice sculptures too. In fact, you might have seen the one they made for the Rowbottoms’ Christmas do.’
Alice’s jaw dropped. Sarah nearly fell off the bench laughing.
‘We certainly did!’ she confirmed. It was so life-like!’
‘Spitting image, I thought, when I saw it,’ said Seb with a grin. ‘Mum said she couldn’t resist.’
Alice had to laugh.
Sarah noticed how happy she seemed this evening. Perhaps she had finally found her niche and realised how lucky she was.
Grandad came over to join them, looking over his shoulder before he sat down.
‘I don’t want your grandma eavesdropping,’ he whispered. ‘Anyway, you three, did you know that Brian Rowbottom has also bought Clifton Windmill?’
‘No,’ replied Alice. ‘Why would he do that? There’s nothing in it.’
‘Exactly! It’s just a derelict landmark. So tell me, why would anyone want it? I’ve been keeping an eye on it and there’s been some activity there lately, with unmarked lorries unloading hundreds of crates.’
‘Oh, enough already!’ snapped Alice, putting her hands over her ears. ‘I don’t want to know.’
Sebastian leaned forward. ‘That makes sense,’ he said in a low voice. ‘My mum’s company has been commissioned to make a cake that’s a replica of the windmill. They took the order last week.’
‘When’s it for?’ asked Grandad.
‘Not for a while. I think Mum said Easter.’
‘Excellent, we’ve got plenty of time to suss things out,’ said Grandad, relieved.
‘We?’ queried Alice, who had actually been listening all along.
‘Please, can we just enjoy the Christmas holiday first?’ begged Sarah. ‘I’ve really been looking forward to it.’
‘I think I’m starting to look forward to going back to school,’ muttered Alice. Shocked at herself as she said those words aloud, she considered that to be the most remarkable transformation so far...
IN APRIL 2012
Alice will return in ‘Alice Parker and the Mind Magician’
Book 2 of the New Adventure Series for Children.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicola Palmer lives in a normal, semi-detached house in Warwickshire, England. She likes animals, chocolate and coffee. One day she hopes to grow wings and live in an underground village.
She is currently working on Book 3 in the Alice Parker series, due for completion in summer 2012.
Unfortunately, Nicola doesn’t have a magic letterbox, but she can be contacted at:
[email protected]
nicolapalmerwriter.blogspot.com
facebook.com/AliceParkersAdventures
twitter.com/nicolalpalmer
If you have enjoyed reading this book, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Reviews can be posted on the webpage where it was purchased, or you can share your thoughts via one of the links above.
Alice Parker's Metamorphosis (Book 1 of the new adventure series for children) Page 14