Polly Brown

by Tricia Bennett

  “Right, Polly, come with me. We urgently need to get you sorted out with a suitable gown for the banquet, for royal protocol demands that all princes and princesses dress up for the occasion.”

  “Ooh,” was all Polly managed to squeak as Mrs. O’Brien took hold of her hand and gently coaxed her toward the open classroom door. “Abigail Collins, you’re now in charge. So, girls, continue on cooking, and I will be back shortly,” she ordered as she closed the door firmly behind them.

  Moments later Polly found herself entering a most magnificent room, equipped with the largest gold and white bath she had ever seen.

  “I thought we were going to be trying on ball gowns?” Polly asked, trying very hard to hide her disappointment but failing dismally.

  “We are, my dear, but not before we have you smelling as sweet as a young princess should,” replied Mrs. O’Brien as she began to turn on both gold taps.

  Polly watched as the bath miraculously filled up to almost overflowing in just a matter of minutes. Mrs. O’Brien then unscrewed the top of a large jar filled with rose petals, which she began to scatter over the water.

  “Now remind me, dearest, when was the last time you had a nice, hot bath?”

  Polly thought long and hard before answering, “I think it might have been on the night I spent in a French hotel before boarding Concorde,” replied Polly sketchily.

  Poor Mrs. O’Brien recoiled, a look of sheer horror written all over her face. “Goodness gracious me! Was it really that long ago?”

  “Oh no, wait a minute. I’ve got that wrong. I remember now. Yes, I took my last bath when I was on the Queen Mary sailing home from America,” exclaimed Polly, feeling very pleased that she had finally remembered.

  “Oh, dear me! That’s still some time ago,” said Mrs. O’Brien, discreetly throwing in an extra handful of rose petals. Her face conveyed an expression of deep concern as to the length of time that had passed since Polly last had a good, long soak. In a matter of seconds, the room was filled with the most delightfully heady, aromatic smells.

  “Ah yes, positively exquisite,” announced Mrs. O’Brien, wrinkling up her nose as she allowed herself to be overcome by the sweet smells now drifting around the steamy room. “Yes, Polly, you will come out of this bath smelling divine, just like a princess should, but do be a poppet and have a really long soak, for I am anxious that you really get rid of all the dirt and grime that has built up over time. Yes, I really do believe you need a lengthy royal soaking,” she said, pouring yet more liquid into the bath from another smoky-glassed receptacle that stood on the bathroom shelf. “This special bath oil will soon have your skin feeling as soft as a baby’s bottom,” she announced, handing Polly a couple of the thickest and fluffiest white towels she had ever seen along with a purple-colored bottle containing shampoo. “This shampoo is truly excellent too, and will do wonders for your dull and lifeless hair, as well as those rather disgraceful split ends. Trust me,” she said with a smile as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

  Finally alone, Polly rather dreamily slipped into the luxurious bubble bath before slowly disappearing under the suds for a long soak. She held her breath and stayed submerged for as long as she was able to and repeated this over and over a number of times. When she emerged for the final time she was amazed to discover that all her scratches and cuts had miraculously disappeared, leaving her skin feeling, as Mrs. O’Brien had promised, as soft as a baby’s bottom.

  Eventually she sat up in the bath, and, after taking the top off the purple bottle, began the final task of washing her fairly knotted and tangled hair. As her hair nicely lathered up, she felt as though an extra pair of hands were massaging away all the painful memories from inside her head. Then after pulling out the plug with her toe, she wrapped one of the towels around her head in the style of a turban, using the other towel to wrap around her body. She climbed out of the bath, and as soon as she dried off there was a knock on the door.

  “Come in!” Polly shouted, looking over toward the door.

  “Perfect timing,” declared Mrs. O’Brien, taking another sniff into the highly perfumed air. “Finally you smell like an English rose. Polly, please step this way.”

  “Don’t I need to dry my hair first?” Polly questioned, pointing at her turban.

  “No, I don’t think so,” replied Mrs. O’Brien, moving closer toward Polly and swiftly removing the towel from around her head.

  Wonderful, followed by absolutely stunning, were the only words that came from her kind teacher’s mouth as she moved full circle around Polly, expressing her deep admiration. “Polly, go look in the mirror if you do not believe me.”

  Polly obeyed, moving quickly toward the large, ornate, gold mirror that hung on the bathroom wall.

  “Oh, my goodness!” she loudly exclaimed, quite forgetting to close her mouth afterwards.

  “Yes, Polly, I believe your hair looks very sophisticated swept up from your face, for it shows off your fine features. Don’t you think?” Polly could only nod as she moved her face from side to side to get a good look at her new and very chic hairdo.

  “Now, come this way quickly,” urged Mrs. O’Brien as she attempted to lead Polly, still cloaked in her towel, through another exit door into a very large dressing room.

  “But what about my old clothes?” Polly asked as she pointed down toward her neatly piled but threadbare clothes.

  “Oh, I think we can temporarily dispense with those,” exclaimed Mrs. O’Brien as she reached down to pick them up, pinching the material between two fingers whilst raising her nose playfully into the air. She then unceremoniously dumped them on top of the laundry basket.

  “Right, I think we’re ready to move on. Come this way,” she said, grabbing hold of Polly’s hand and guiding her through the bathroom door into a very large dressing room that was filled to bursting with party frocks.

  Polly tried on ball gown after ball gown as she anxiously deliberated on which one she liked the best. “I don’t know which one to choose, for they are all so gorgeous,” she wailed as she stood in front of another huge gold mirror. Finally, and much to Mrs. O’Brien’s relief, Polly made the decision to choose a purple and cream frock.

  “You’ve made an excellent choice,” said Mrs. O’Brien, who was now standing by a pile of dresses that stood a mile high. “Now it is time for the accessories,” she said as she handed Polly a pair of silky white elbow-length gloves. “Wonderful! Now you’re a three in shoe size, aren’t you? Be a dear, Polly, and slip these on,” she ordered, handing her a pair of shiny gold slippers. “Amazing! All we need to add now is some jewelry. So here, allow me put this bracelet around your wrist, and then I’ll put this delicate chain with a gold heart around your neck,” said Mrs. O’Brien, suddenly producing an open box that contained the precious jewelry. “Perfect! I think we’re done.” she declared, standing back to admire her workmanship.

  “But what about…” said Polly, tailing off and not finishing her sentence.

  What she wanted to ask for was a tiara, as she believed that all the other girls would be wearing their crowns. But she felt far too embarrassed to make any further mention of this missing accessory, especially as she had already been given much more than she could possibly have dreamed of.

  “Polly, I don’t believe you need anything else, for you look decidedly beautiful,” declared Mrs. O’Brien with an air of satisfaction. “Now be a good girl and give me a twirl.” Polly obliged, twirling not once or twice, but several times. She danced delightedly around the room. “Polly, the good news is you won’t change into a pumpkin at twelve, and that’s a promise! I would therefore suggest that you leave all further dancing and prancing about until after the banquet. Unless, of course, you wish to miss out on all the scrumptious food,” said Mrs. O’Brien, hurriedly glancing down at her watch. “Oh, my goodness, child, we must leave right now!” she anxiously declared as she grabbed hold of Polly’s hand, pulling her toward the exit door. “For a princess to turn up late to a
ball is, in my opinion, absolutely inexcusable,” she muttered as she hurriedly led Polly down one marble corridor after another until she found herself standing in front of the most stately looking set of doors she had ever seen.

  Before Polly could say a word, the doors opened up directly in front of her, and Mrs. O’Brien gave Polly a little push from behind. “You’re on your own now, my dear. Walk like a princess and talk like one, and remember to have fun. Promise me,” she instructed, giving Polly a light peck on the cheek. “Oh, and before I completely forget, I believe you may well require these,” she said, pushing a soft drawstring purse into Polly’s open hand.

  “What’s in here?” Polly asked, very surprised.

  “You’ll find out soon enough. Now hurry along before I turn into a freckly toad for bringing you here so late,” said Mrs. O’Brien, breaking into a warm smile.

  Polly hesitated, and through misty eyes she took hold of her teacher’s hand. “Mrs. O’Brien, I don’t know what to say. I have no way of properly expressing my gratitude for all you’ve done.”

  “You can thank me by getting your butt through that door and having a good time,” replied Mrs. O’Brien with a wink. She gave Polly a hard push to encourage her to stop all further procrastination and enter the banqueting hall.

  Chapter 38

  TEA WITH HODGEKISS

  POLLY CAUTIOUSLY ENTERED the room and came across two rather long lines of smartly dressed, uniformed men, standing to attention on both sides of the doorway. At the top of the line guarding the doorway on both sides, were two rather portly men who looked similar to English butlers. They were dressed from head to toe in black with crisp, white shirts underneath their long penguin-looking jackets. Black bows were neatly tied around their necks. One held a long list in his hand, and the other held a bell at his side.

  As Polly momentarily stood alone with one man on either side of her, she noticed that the one to the right was quickly scanning down his list of names. Her heart skipped a beat. For a second, she thought her name was not there.

  Finally, the man raised his nose high into the air and began to rather loudly bellow while the other man dutifully rang his little bell.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Princess Polly.”

  Suddenly there was the sound of trumpets, and the two lines of uniformed men raised their swords up high in front of them until the points of their swords met in the middle, forming an archway in front of her. Polly was very unsure of what to do next when Mr. Beloski suddenly appeared from nowhere and, having hurriedly walked through the line of raised swords, presented her with a little bouquet of delicately scented white orchids, mixed with miniature white rose buds and sweet freesias.

  “Come this way, Polly,” he said warmly as he took her hand and gently placed it through his looped arm.

  They then walked slowly through the archway of raised swords to the sound of trumpets and loud bursts of applause that came from all those already gathered and seated at the extraordinarily long banqueting tables.

  “I believe this is your seat,” he said with a smile as he pulled out a chair from under the table. “You’re seated next to your beloved brother, Thomas. So come, Polly, please take your seat, for the banquet is about to commence.”

  Polly momentarily ignored his request as she leaned over and gave Thomas a mighty hug. Once she was seated, a butler came over to her side to fill her crystal glass with some sparkling liquid that glistened like morning dew and tasted like pure nectar. He then handed her a starched, pristine white napkin with HRH sewn on in gold letters.

  As Polly opened up the napkin and placed it on her lap, she used the opportunity to glance around the room in search of faces she could recognize. Every table was filled with young and old alike, and Polly could see that they came from every imaginable background, although she was unable to tell if they were rich or poor because all the guests were decked in the finest of clothes. As her eyes met with the various faces, each one broke into the warmest of smiles as though they had known her for years and were delighted to see her. Then out of the middle of nowhere, Polly found herself having a sad thought. She suddenly found herself thinking of Aazi and wished with all her heart that he too could be at her side at this wonderful banquet. No sooner had she reflected on her dear friend and her last moments spent with him when her thoughts were abruptly brought to a standstill.

  “Your attention, everybody!” shouted the butler in a voice so loud that it almost shook all the dining tables.

  The whole room went quiet as heads turned and looked towards the center of the main table to the only remaining vacant chair. It resembled a throne, for it was huge with plush maroon cushions, and its arms and legs were sumptuously encrusted with gold and bedecked with jewels that shone brighter than the sun. The throne was surrounded by a host of angelic beings of all shapes and sizes, their faces glowing and their wings flapping excitedly as they eagerly awaited their host.

  Suddenly the trumpets began to blow, filling every heart with a joyous sense of anticipation as they continued to look in the direction of the unoccupied throne. Seconds later, Hodgekiss entered the room dressed from head to foot in white and surrounded by yet more angelic hosts as he made his way over to the throne.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and raise your glasses to the king of Piadora,” shouted the butler. Polly stood up and joined everyone else as they raised their glasses to acknowledge his presence.

  With Hodgekiss now standing by his throne, he addressed the people, “May I remind all present that there is no need to hurry. Food is not only plentiful, but if what you desire is not brought to the table, then just hold out your hand and imagine it and I assure you it will appear.

  “Wow, that’s terrific news!” declared Polly as she gave Thomas an excited nudge.

  “It only leaves me with one more thing to say, and that is a big thank you to Mrs. O’Brien and her young princesses. Thanks to their hard work we have enough Appletude Pie and April Crumble here to feed a whole army. Please kindly be seated and let the banquet begin.”

  Within a matter of seconds, Polly found her eyes feasting on a table laden with choice food. And as she watched, completely spellbound by all the food that was miraculously and very suddenly appearing on the table, she found herself wondering what on earth could possibly be missing.

  The answer came as quickly as her curious thought when a young, dark-skinned boy stood up from his seat and waited in excited anticipation with his plate in his outstretched hands. In a matter of seconds a large round dough base fell into the palms of his upturned hands and instantly began to revolve around in circles. As he continued to stand, grinning from ear to ear, one topping after another fell onto the dough until it was piled high with every imaginable topping, requiring all his strength to balance it in his hands. Even then Polly saw he was struggling under its weight. She laughed out loud as she turned to nudge Thomas again and get his undivided attention.

  “My favorite pizza!” cried the boy as he dropped back into his chair and then, picking up his knife and fork, began digging in. On seeing this happen, many of the other children present began to do likewise, and pretty soon all the other banqueting tables were filled with children standing with plates in their outstretched hands as pizza topping after pizza topping dropped onto revolving bread bases.

  “I prefer hamburger and chips!” shouted a very tall boy with sandy colored hair. He excitedly jumped up from his seat and held out an empty plate. Seconds later he found it piled high with large, chunky chips as well as the most enormous hamburger.

  “We have a banquet every day,” Thomas informed Polly, “and no two banquets are ever the same. Every day there are new intakes who are invited to attend, and they all have different preferences when it comes to food. You would be amazed at all the different favorite dishes I have seen since coming here.”

  “Oh, my word,” exclaimed Polly as she watched dear Stanley Horlicks stand watching as a large portion of bread-and-but
ter pudding landed on his plate, followed by a large dollop of creamy custard. “Well, that’s obviously his favorite dish,” said Polly, giving Thomas a nudge.

  Then suddenly the child seated next to Stanley stood up and held out his plate. Seconds later this too was covered with a large pizza base that was spinning wildly. Seconds later it was piled high with blue bubble gum, chocolate raisins, blancmange, whipped cream, and lemon custard.

  “See what I mean, Polly? You can have whatever your heart desires,” said Thomas with a smile.

  “Yuk, I’d never eat that. It’s disgusting,” she tittered, placing her hand over her mouth as she spoke so as not to offend.

  “Well, Polly, why don’t you think of something that takes your fancy and then see what happens,” Thomas thoughtfully suggested.

  “All right then, Thomas. I will,” she said, moving her chair to one side and then standing up straight. “A plate of lasagna, please,” she whispered, trembling with excitement as she held out her plate.

  Sure enough, a large and very delicious-smelling portion of lasagna appeared from out of nowhere. Polly sat back down but struggled to eat it with any dignity, as she kept breaking into laughter.

  Finally, having devoured every last morsel, she stood up again and this time ordered a knickerbocker glory. Polly gasped with delight as the tallest sundae glass she had ever seen suddenly appeared and balanced itself on the palm of her hand. It was filled with fruit and every imaginable ice cream flavor. She then watched delightedly as lashings of whipped cream piped itself on the top. Then, thinking it was now ready to eat, she sat back down and picked up a spoon. Suddenly, from nowhere a bright red cherry came to land on top of the cream with a loud plop, causing her to burst into more fits of the giggles.

  The next few hours were utterly magical as Polly and Thomas communed while eating to their heart’s content. With every mouthful Polly took, she felt as though she were going to explode, not from overeating, but because she felt intoxicated by the most inexpressible love that flooded and coursed through every fiber of her being. It was only when Polly felt she had no room left for anything else that she sat back contentedly on her chair, momentarily closing her eyes and hoping with all her heart that she would never wake up.