‘I’ll get rid of that right away.’ Uncle Digby was about to pick up the hair ball when Mr Doncaster blocked his way.
‘No, you don’t.’ Mr Doncaster wagged a finger at the man. ‘This is evidence.’ He pulled a Ziploc bag from his pocket.
‘Ms Spencer, you’re welcome to use the bathroom in the hall,’ Lady Clarissa offered. ‘I’m –’
Finley Spencer shook her head. ‘No, I’ll wait for this one to be cleaned,’ she insisted. ‘Mr Pertwhistle won’t be long, will he?’
‘But you might catch a cold,’ Clementine said to the woman.
‘I’m fine,’ she said sharply. ‘Now, if you all wouldn’t mind leaving …?’
‘That’s so strange,’ Clementine said as she and Will walked back into the hallway.
‘Maybe your Aunt Violet did it,’ Will suggested. ‘She didn’t come out to see what was going on, and Ms Spencer was really loud.’
Clementine frowned. ‘Aunt Violet did say Mummy should sell the house …’
She hated to think that her great-aunt would do anything so horrible, but at the moment all the clues pointed right at her.
‘Maybe we should see if her lipstick matches the glasses,’ Clementine said.
Will nodded, and the two children dashed upstairs to the top floor. Clementine knocked gently on Aunt Violet’s bedroom door but there was no reply.
‘What if she’s asleep?’ Will whispered.
‘We can just take a quick look,’ Clementine said, determined to find out the truth. ‘She always keeps her lipstick in the same place on her dressing table.’
Will gulped. His face was as pale as a snowflake.
‘Don’t be scared,’ Clementine said. She turned the handle and poked her head inside.
Will followed her and, together, the pair tiptoed across the carpet to the dressing table, which sat under the window opposite the large bed. They could see the outline of Aunt Violet under the covers. She was fast asleep, her breaths punctuated by fluttery snores.
Clementine scanned the dressing table. ‘It’s not here,’ she said. ‘Someone must have taken it.’
The children turned to leave when, all of a sudden, Aunt Violet sat bolt upright in bed. Clementine and Will froze, then realised she was wearing an eye mask with two giant eyes painted on it.
‘Eliza, darling, is that you?’ Aunt Violet called out. ‘Can you get Mummy a glass of water?’
Clementine wrinkled her nose.
‘Who’s Eliza?’ Will mouthed.
Clementine shrugged and pointed towards the door. The two children scampered like mice on the balls of their feet. As Clementine turned to pull the door shut, Aunt Violet fell back onto the bed and began snoring like a train.
Most of the household was fast asleep when a loud ruckus shattered the evening peace.
‘Good grief, get off me!’ Alfie Doncaster shouted.
Clementine awoke to the man’s cries. Digby Pertwhistle had just been having the most unsettling dream when he heard the commotion and sprang from his bed.
‘I think it’s Mr Doncaster,’ Clementine said as she met Uncle Digby in the hallway.
They raced down to the Marigold Room. Alfie Doncaster burst into the hallway in his dressing-gown, his grey hair sticking up in tufts all over the place.
‘I thought you said that the animals didn’t go anywhere near the guestrooms,’ Alfie barked at Clementine.
‘They don’t,’ the child said.
‘Then explain that there!’ Alfie pointed to his room. Uncle Digby and Clementine hurried through the door, where they saw Pharaoh fast asleep on the man’s pillow. ‘You can imagine how I felt when I woke up to that curled around the top of my head! And I can’t even wake the beast. Is he in a coma?’
‘He’s a heavy sleeper. I’ll take him.’ Uncle Digby walked towards the bed.
Alfie reached into his briefcase and pulled out a camera. ‘Not until I have photographic evidence to add to my report. Honestly, I have tried to overlook things I’ve seen here, and Lady Clarissa has done a wonderful job convincing me that they were all just anomalies, but I am beginning to think that the complainant was right. I am going to recommend that Penberthy House Hotel be shut down immediately, pending further investigations.’
‘But we’ll have to sell the house,’ Clementine protested.
‘If I were your mother I’d take the money and run.’ Alfie Doncaster snapped away with the camera before giving Uncle Digby the nod to take Pharaoh.
‘I don’t want to sell the house,’ Clementine said, her voice wavering. ‘It’s not fair. Pharaoh never comes up here, so someone must have put him in your room.’
‘Show me the evidence and I’ll reconsider,’ Mr Doncaster huffed, and slammed the bedroom door.
Clementine and Uncle Digby took Pharaoh down to the kitchen.
‘Do you think Mummy will really have to sell the house, Uncle Digby?’ Clementine asked.
‘I’m sure it won’t come to that,’ Uncle Digby reassured her, but truthfully things didn’t look good at all. ‘Now, come on, let’s get back to bed.’
The following day dawned grey and miserable, just like the members of the household.
‘I’m so sorry you had to deal with all that last night,’ Lady Clarissa said to Uncle Digby as the pair sat down to breakfast.
‘Don’t worry about me, Clarissa,’ the man replied.
Clementine thumped downstairs, still half-asleep, in her dressing-gown and slippers. She yawned loudly, heralding her arrival.
‘Hello sleepyhead.’ Her mother stood up and greeted the child with a cuddle.
Clementine rubbed her eyes. ‘What time is it?’ She looked at the kitchen clock and realised that it was after nine. ‘Oh no! I’m going to be late for filming.’
‘No, darling. Basil telephoned and said that he’s taking the day to go through Granny’s diary,’ Lady Clarissa said. ‘You now have the day off.’
Clementine looked outside at the heavy sky. The rain didn’t look as if it was going to let up anytime soon. ‘Did Uncle Digby tell you about Mr Doncaster?’ she asked.
‘Yes, sweetheart.’ Lady Clarissa pulled the girl onto her lap. ‘Don’t you worry about a thing.’
Clementine laid her head on her mother’s shoulder. ‘He said he was going to close our hotel.’
‘That’s for me to work out. Now, what can we do to cheer everyone up?’ Clarissa said, tapping her chin.
‘What about a movie afternoon?’ Clementine suggested, perking up. ‘Will can help me. Please, Mummy?’
Clarissa nodded. ‘That is a great idea, as long as Drew doesn’t have any other plans. He might like to take Will out on his day off.’
‘Can you help me make popcorn, Uncle Digby?’ Clementine asked. ‘And can we invite Tilda and Teddy and Mintie?’
‘I’m afraid that the children and Ana have gone to visit her mother today to give Basil some peace and quiet at home,’ Clarissa said.
‘Oh.’ Clementine’s face fell.
‘But your mother and I will come along and watch, and I’m sure Aunt Violet would love to see your movie too.’ Uncle Digby smiled at Clementine.
‘If she ever wakes up,’ Clementine said. She paused and then looked at her mother. ‘Who’s Eliza?’
Lady Clarissa flinched and Uncle Digby almost spat out his eggs. ‘Where did you hear that name?’
‘Will and I went to see Aunt Violet yesterday but she was asleep and I think she was having a dream and she called out for Eliza,’ Clementine explained. ‘Aunt Violet doesn’t have any children, does she?’
‘Oh, darling, please don’t mention that to Aunt Violet. We’ll talk about it another day.’ Lady Clarissa glanced at Uncle Digby, whose face crumpled into a soft smile. ‘You’d better hurry up and get dressed so you can organise your movie afternoon.’
‘Did I hear someone mention a movie after noon?’ Drew asked as he and Will appeared on the back stairs.
Clementine turned around excitedly. ‘Can you and Will help? B
asil said we have the day off.’
‘Yes, I just spoke to him. How about I finish editing your movie and we can watch that first?’ Drew asked. ‘Basil sent me the copy of your ballet concert last night too.’
Clementine grinned. She spotted the video camera perched on the edge of the dresser and raced to get it. She looked at the blinking red light, which indicated the battery was almost flat. ‘Uh oh, I think we left this on last night.’
‘Don’t worry, Clementine,’ Drew said. ‘I can charge it.’
Clementine handed him the camera.
‘We could make some posters, just like the ones for real movies,’ Clementine said to Will.
The boy nodded eagerly. ‘We could make tickets too and we could charge everyone a gold coin to watch.’
‘And we could give the money to Queen Georgiana’s Trust for the Protection of Animals,’ Clementine suggested.
Lady Clarissa smiled at the children. ‘Listen to you two. Filmmakers and philanthropists.’
‘A philanthawhat, Mummy?’ Clementine asked.
‘It just means that you’re generous, giving your money to others who need it more than you,’ Lady Clarissa said.
‘Oh, we could give the money to you, because you need it for the hotel,’ Clementine suggested.
Lady Clarissa smiled at her daughter. ‘That is very thoughtful of you, but I’d rather you give it to the animals.’
After lunch Clementine and Will finished setting up the library for the screening. ‘Mummy, is Aunt Violet going to come down?’ Clementine asked.
‘I’m not sure, darling,’ Lady Clarissa said. ‘She hasn’t been well.’
Clementine nodded.
The library looked just like a proper cinema with the chairs in neat rows. Uncle Digby had helped drag an old puppet theatre down from the attic, which Clementine and Will had transformed into a box office by the door. The retractable screen sat at the end of the room and the projector was positioned behind the seats. Several hand-drawn movie posters adorned the walls. The children had made tickets and positioned place cards on the seats too.
‘Come on, everyone!’ Clementine was doing her best to round up the members of the household, who kept on disappearing. ‘Drew, you’re sitting next to Mummy,’ Clementine directed. She paused, looking around for her. ‘Uncle Digby, where’s Mummy gone now?’
‘I saw her in the hallway with Ms Spencer,’ the man replied as he poured fresh lemonade for everyone.
Clementine raced off to find her. ‘Mummy, the movie’s about to start,’ she said, grabbing the woman’s hand and dragging her down the hall.
‘I’m coming, darling,’ Lady Clarissa replied. ‘What were you going to say, Ms Spencer?’
‘I’m leaving this afternoon. Family emergency. I’ll pack my things and be off in a little while,’ the woman said breezily.
‘Oh, I am sorry to hear that,’ Lady Clarissa replied. ‘I hope everything is all right.’
‘Yes, better than all right,’ the woman purred. ‘I’m sure it will be fine.’
Ten minutes later Clementine and Will had sold six tickets in total – to Lady Clarissa, Uncle Digby, Drew, Lavender, Pharaoh and, most surprisingly, Mr Doncaster. Clementine eyed the man warily as he walked in and sat in the middle of the front row, where she had reserved a seat for Aunt Violet.
‘This had better not be a trick,’ Mr Doncaster complained.
‘I can assure you, you’ll love this,’ Drew said.
Clementine handed each guest a bag of popcorn and a cup of fresh lemonade, although Lavender and Pharaoh would have to wait until they were back in the kitchen to have theirs. Then she stood in front of the screen with Will beside her.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Clementine began, ‘we are proud to present, for your viewing pleasure …’ She looked over at Will and gave a nod.
‘… Beauty and the Beast,’ Will finished proudly.
Clementine giggled and nudged him. ‘We’re not calling it that, remember?’ she whispered loudly. ‘Aunt Violet will get mad.’
Will blushed as the audience tittered with laughter.
Clementine took a deep breath and started again. ‘We are proud to present Lavender and Pharaoh: An Unlikely Love Story.’
The two pets had front-row seats, except they were sitting on the floor.
‘Weren’t you going to wait for me?’ Aunt Violet sniffed as she strode through the door.
‘Aunt Violet!’ Clementine rushed to the old woman and hugged her around the middle. ‘I’m so glad you’re feeling better.’
‘Settle down, Clementine. I just had a migraine. I wasn’t about to die.’ Aunt Violet made her way to a spare seat at the front, a smile at the corner of her lips. ‘Besides, I was told I had to be here,’ she said, glancing at Drew.
‘Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Clemen tine asked. ‘You look different.’
The old woman frowned. ‘Perhaps because I’m not wearing any lipstick. It seems to have gone missing.’
Clementine and Will shared a look before taking their seats.
With everyone finally settled, Drew pressed ‘play’ and the screen came to life. He hustled across the row of chairs to sit beside Clarissa. The movie started with a sweet scene where Lavender looked to be giving Pharaoh a kiss, followed by Lavender running about playing soccer and Pharaoh looking on lovingly through the Hobbses’ window.
Clementine and Will took turns narrating the movie. Mr Doncaster chuckled at Lavender rolling about in Ana’s lavender bush and there were some shots of the two creatures in the garden at Tilda and Teddy’s house, which almost caused Aunt Violet to choke.
‘What’s my Pharaoh doing outside?’ she demanded.
‘It’s fine, Aunt Violet. He was supervised,’ Clementine said.
The movie continued with shots of the pair in the kitchen when all of a sudden the sound crackled and the screen went black.
‘Is that all?’ Aunt Violet said. ‘What happens in the end?’
‘Oh no, is this where I left the camera on in the kitchen last night?’ Clementine said disappointedly.
‘Trust me, Clementine, you’ll be very glad you did.’ Drew winked at her. ‘I think you’re all going to love what comes next.’
Clarissa and Uncle Digby looked at one another and shrugged.
‘What’s he talking about?’ Uncle Digby asked.
The screen came back to life, this time showing a dim kitchen illuminated only by a couple of wall lamps. In the corner of the frame was an outline of a person – a woman. They all watched as the shadowy figure reached down into Pharaoh’s basket and picked up the sleeping cat. Then she walked up the back stairs and vanished out of shot.
‘Ms Spencer!’ Clementine exclaimed. ‘She took Pharaoh upstairs.’
‘Yes,’ Drew said, ‘and if you look at the time stamp on the video, it happened not long before Mr Doncaster discovered Pharaoh wrapped around his head.’
‘Oh, dear me,’ Mr Doncaster gasped. ‘Drew, you were right. It seems we have a saboteur in our midst.’
Lady Clarissa looked at Drew. ‘You knew about this?’ she asked.
‘I saw it when I was editing the footage this morning. I thought it best if Mr Doncaster found out with everyone else. I should have told you. I’m sorry,’ he said sheepishly.
Clarissa shook her head and smiled. ‘Don’t be sorry. It’s brilliant … but Ms Spencer’s leaving any minute now.’
‘No, she’s not,’ the group chorused.
Drew jumped up and took off, with Lady Clarissa and the rest of the household hot on his heels.
They reached the entrance foyer just in time to see Finley Spencer bouncing down the staircase.
‘Stop right there!’ Drew yelled.
The woman paused and smiled like the cat with the cream. ‘Hello Drew. Whatever’s the matter?’
‘I’ll tell you what the matter is,’ Lady Clarissa said, stepping forward. ‘You’ve been caught on camera, red-handed.’
‘What are you talking a
bout?’ Finley demanded.
‘You put Pharaoh in Mr Doncaster’s room,’ Clementine blurted.
‘I did no such thing.’ The woman dropped her suitcase with a thud. At the same time a small gold cylinder fell out of her pocket. It clattered on the ground and rolled down the steps, stopping in front of Aunt Violet’s foot.
‘That’s my lipstick!’ Aunt Violet gasped, reaching down to pick it up. ‘I’ve been looking for it everywhere.’
Finley Spencer gulped.
Clementine and Will looked at each other and then at the woman.
‘You put the lipstick on the glasses,’ Will said.
‘And you cut Nellie’s hair and dropped the cake!’ Clemmie exclaimed.
‘May I have my key back?’ Uncle Digby held out his hand, glaring at the woman. Finley Spencer pulled it out of her pocket and threw it at him.
Mr Doncaster turned to Clarissa. ‘It seems I owe you an apology. What I don’t understand is why. What did you have to gain by doing this, Ms Spencer?’
Aunt Violet suddenly realised what it was that had been bothering her about the woman. ‘It was you in the paper the other day. You’re Finley Spencer from Spencer Industries, aren’t you?’ the old woman flapped.
‘Oh my goodness,’ Lady Clarissa sighed. ‘You’re the person who’s been sending me all those letters asking to buy Penberthy House.’
‘You made the anonymous complaint, didn’t you?’ Mr Doncaster added, his eyes narrowing. ‘And I bet you found out when I was coming so you could be sure that I’d find all those dreadful things.’
Finley shrugged. ‘Forcing the hotel to shut down would mean they’d have to sell the house.’
‘Why do you want the house so badly?’ Lady Clarissa asked, still puzzled. ‘The house has hardly any land and it needs extensive renovation.’
Finley Spencer laughed. ‘I wasn’t planning to renovate it. I was going to put a bulldozer through it to make way for the road I need for the housing estate right behind you.’
‘Over my dead body!’ Aunt Violet snapped.
‘Over mine too.’ Clementine stamped her foot.
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