“Will, I want to leave the subject of the castle and go on to tell you about something else that you might find even more far-fetched, if not quite unbelievable.”
Will nodded, as once more he picked up his glass to take a long sip of lemonade.
“Will, when I was truly at my lowest ebb, I met a couple of very likable tramps. One of the gentlemen was called Hodgekiss; the other, Ralph. They invited me to take a dangerous journey and come join them for tea in the most wonderful kingdom that you could ever imagine.”
As Will availed himself to listen to tale after tale, he suddenly found himself feeling slightly uncomfortable, but even though it took everything he had, he knew he must remain calm and collected and give her the freedom to express all that she felt she needed to.
Finally, he interrupted her.
“Polly, if this so-called place truly exists, then how come no one has ever heard of it?”
“Oh, but they have. It’s just that most who have been there keep it to themselves for the simple reason that it all seems so ridiculously implausible that such a place could truly exist,” a wide-eyed Polly insisted as she placed her glass to her mouth to take a long sip of lemonade. “But listen to me, Will. I have two friends, Justin Kase and Justin Thyme, and if I was to introduce these lads to you, they would surely confirm most of what I am telling you, for the simple reason that they too tried to climb Piadora. However, they refused to go with our guide, preferring to make the dangerous expedition alone, without any professional help. As a result of their stupidity, they had a terrible accident that landed both of them in Hope in Your Heart Hospital.”
Polly didn’t even stop to catch her breath, as tripping over her words she raced on excitedly as she allowed her very dramatic story to continue unfolding. “And it was only because of Dr. Loveheart, as well as dear, sweet Dr. Darling, that the lads came through their terrible ordeal unscathed and—”
“Whoa there. Hold on, Polly, and for goodness sake do yourself a favor by taking a deep breath, will you?” Will demanded, as he was now finding it virtually impossible to keep a straight face.
“Dr. Darling? Dr. Loveheart? Are you kidding me? Next you’ll be telling me about another doctor named Dr. Sweetheart!”
“No, Will, you’re just not listening to me. There was no Dr. Sweetheart on the mountain; just Dr. Darling and Dr. Loveheart. I’m not kidding, for both doctors were absolutely wonderful and so awfully kind. Then there is Aazi. As soon as a letter finally arrives from him, you will know for certain that I am telling you the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
“Calm down, Polly. You really do have my undivided attention, but you must understand that when you tell me that your climb up Mount Everest was just the practice climb, you must surely realize that this is all getting very hard to swallow!” he stated, giving a small but very telling grimace.
“I know it is, Will, but I promise I would not lie to you. Our guide, who went by the name Sir Eggmond Hoolari, was quite the madman, and to be perfectly honest, this verbose gentleman almost drove me to the cliff of complete despair, for he was so unbelievably stupid and arrogant.”
Will listened on without uttering another word because he felt physically sickened, as though he were sinking in quicksand. Therefore to interject and question her very absurd story any further would be utterly futile. She was, he believed, so convinced of her story that black could be white, and she’d readily and willingly believe it.
“Will, he even abandoned me on the mountain when he found there was not enough room for everyone in the helicopter and they needed to get Aazi to the hospital as quickly as they possibly could,” she spluttered as once more she began tripping over her words.
“What? Polly, you cannot be serious! This professional climber, along with a bunch of nurses and doctors, left you, a child, to die alone in the freezing cold on a mountain?”
“Yes, he did, Will. And believe me when I say that I nearly did die. I mean, after he placed the stretcher with Aazi in the helicopter, there really was only room for a few more, and that’s why he left me. I promise you with all my heart that all this is perfectly true.”
Will swallowed hard. For the first time since he first set eyes on her in the school corridor, he was finding this latest incredulous story just far too difficult to digest, let alone believe.
“Polly, I long to believe you; really, I do. But your story gets more and more fanciful with each and every word you utter. So tell me you’re just playing me for the fool, and I will understand.”
“Stop it, Will, for I am being serious. I need you to believe me; really I do. Look, if I introduce you to the two Justins, who are such good friends—and Will, believe me when I say they are truly inseparable—I know that they will readily confirm and so validate my story. Then will you believe me?”
“Well, I guess I’ll have no choice other than to try and believe you, and trust me, Polly, when I say that I really do want to believe you,” Will nervously replied, feeling momentarily distracted as he tried and failed dismally to come to terms with all the craziness he was being asked to swallow down and fully believe.
If the truth were to be known, he sorely wished that today of all days he had not invited her back to his house. Then maybe, just maybe they could have carried on as normal. But now after her very disturbing revelations concerning Sir Eggmond Hoolari, Mrs. O’Brien with her school for princesses in training, Piadora itself—oh, as well as Hodgekiss and the lovable vagrant Ralph—well, he was left seriously wondering if there was even the slightest possibility of resuming their friendship with any sense of normality.
As he sat back and studied her facial features afresh, Will felt numbed, as well as lost for words, for he sincerely believed that she had unwittingly given him every reason under the sun to end their friendship, or at the very least put it on hold. He already had a slightly demented mother, as well as a seriously depressed brother; therefore, he felt in no position to take on any further heavy burdens. So, sadly, in that moment he felt incapable of dismissing these new concerns regarding Polly’s credibility and, alas, her mental stability as well.
Polly excitedly rambled on with her remarkable story, all the while remaining completely innocent and therefore oblivious to this latest, fresh crisis she had just caused.
“That’s settled, then. Tomorrow I will find both boys, and we can take it from there. But for now, Will, I need your complete attention, as we need to concentrate fully on my homework before I have to rush back to the castle,” she stated brightly as she then hurriedly opened her exercise book to begin.
True to her word, the next day after school found Polly racing over toward Will, who was nervously standing alone by the school gates. The reason for his agitation was simple: should this be the occasion for him to tell Polly that their close friendship was over, or should he just leave for home and let Polly work out the reason for herself? The hideous turmoil he felt inside left him feeling both sad and confused.
“Will, I’ve finally located both boys, and as always, they are together in the café at the train station. So come on. Let’s race over to the station and catch them before their train gets in.”
Will, in his endeavor to bring this nonsense to its natural finality, nodded his head in agreement.
Minutes later and despite being out of breath, Polly and Will burst into the café. Polly rushed over to where two boys were seated, and, in spite of the fact that they were in the company of two females, she overexuberantly began to greet them and explain to Will which was Justin Kase and which was Justin Thyme.
Both boys were taken aback by her. However, Polly, never one to concern herself with small courtesies, continued to get straight to the point. “Hi there, guys. I need a quick word with you both.”
Both Justins appeared pretty annoyed with her. “Not now. Can’t you see we’re busy? So buzz off,” Justin Kase rudely whispered in a voice loud enough for her and Will to hear.
“Yes, all right. But boys, I need you
to meet my good friend, Will,” Polly anxiously continued.
“Yes, yes. We’ll talk to you both later if we must, but for now leave us alone, for we’ve just met these lovely girls, so don’t mess it up for us,” Justin Thyme muttered through clenched teeth.
Will could clearly see that her sense of timing was drastically out and tried hard to coax Polly to leave the boys well alone and come with him, but Polly was having none of it.
“Boys, please tell Will about Sir Eggmond Hoolari and how you guys went ahead of us to climb Mount Piadora,” she begged.
The boys continued to ignore Polly.
“If nothing else, please tell Will about your accident,” she breathlessly pleaded. “Look, Justin, you’ve still got a scar from your terrible head wound,” she stated, pointing at Justin’s Kase’s deeply scarred forehead.
Neither boy appeared the slightest bit amused by Polly’s refusal to leave them alone, and they continued on chatting amongst themselves, oblivious to her. After all, Will thought, they had tried hard to be reasonable, and they had made it quite plain that they were too busy to talk, for they were at a very critical stage in their chat with two extremely gorgeous girls.
Both boys looked up, and Justin Thyme was the first to speak. “Look, I don’t know who you are or why you are speaking such utter tosh! I, for one, have never met you or your friend Sir Egghead, or whatever his name is. So do us all a big favor and leave us alone.”
Polly stood silent and dumbfounded, unable to hide the look of great shock that was clearly visible to all as Justin Thyme continued on.
“I can also categorically state that as I am very unfit, I’ve never as much as climbed a mole hill let alone a mountain. So, young lady, you are suffering from a case of mistaken identity, for you really do have the wrong people. Get it into your thick head that we don’t want to talk to you, so push off,” he exasperatedly expressed through gritted teeth.
Polly drew breath before letting out a gasp that genuinely conveyed her pure disbelief.
“Justin, don’t be silly. Of course you know me,” she cried as she quickly gave Will a friendly dig in the ribs, as if to convey that all this was just a friendly game that the boys were playing on her.
“Guys, come on now. Stop messing around, for you saved me and Jessica when we were lost in the desert. Come on. Tell Will here the truth,” she cried out in desperation.
“Come on, Polly. Let’s get out of here.” Will sniffed, as he was now feeling very embarrassed by her.
But Polly refused to leave, even after he grabbed hold of her arm and gently attempted to pull her away from the group to head out of the door. “No, Will. Let go of me, for I’m not leaving until these lads finally admit the truth. Justin Kase, tell your friend off; for he is just fooling around, isn’t he?”
Justin Kase looked up and shook his head. “Buzz off, for we’ve all had enough! We’ve tried to be nice, but for some reason you won’t listen. Neither of us has ever met you before, and we have no reason to ever want to get to know you either, as you’re obviously completely deranged. Also, this scar is from a biking accident that I had two years ago, so I would suggest that both you and your friend do the right thing by leaving this café to get the next train out of here.”
“Yes, go back home to your silly little fantasies, for if you continue bothering us, I warn you now, things might just get ugly,” Justin Thyme added.
Polly looked both boys directly in the eye, and both boys surreptitiously looked away. She then stood, arms folded, shaking her head to express her utter disbelief.
Will could tell she had really believed that the boys would help her out, and instead they had contributed to making a complete fool of her. As Polly turned to leave, she was finally forced to admit that it was she alone who had made a complete fool of herself.
“Will, I’m so sorry. I know I have been incredibly stupid. I feel so humiliated. Just take me home, please,” she whispered through a mist of tears, her voice showing great strain. Will obliged by taking the same train and then walking her the distance to the castle.
As they continued the walk together but alone, neither uttered a single word to the other. The sky above them quickly turned the most oppressive dark gray, and the sun, which moments earlier had shone so gloriously, instantly disappeared completely behind thundering, rolling clouds, as though it were going into premature mourning for the loss of a unique and once beautiful friendship.
“Take care, Polly,” was all Will felt capable of muttering as with a seriously burdened heart he left her at the castle gates to walk the long distance home.
“Will, I’m telling you the truth, really I am,” she cried out after him.
Will pretended not to listen as he slunk away with his hands thrust deep into his trouser pockets and his head and upper torso stooped low as though he were carrying the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. With each sad and lonely step he took, he tried hard to give serious thought to all he had heard that night. As he went over and over all she had told him, it all had him feeling very perplexed and wondering quite where to go from here!
“Hey, Will. See you at school tomorrow. Perhaps we can meet up at lunchtime,” a desperate Polly called out after him. “Please save me a seat in the dining hall.”
Will made no attempt to turn around and reply. He just continued on walking.
Chapter Sixteen
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
AS POLLY OPENED the front door of the castle, she was caught off guard as she was greeted by much noise and excitement. “Polly, guess what? Aunt and Uncle are finally home, and they’ve brought us all a wonderful present of some strawberry-flavored candy. Aren’t they the best?” a sticky-faced Bertha Banoffee ecstatically shouted.
“Great!” was all Polly managed to mutter, as Bertha then began dancing in circles around Polly before rather grossly plunging the end of her thick candy stick straight back into her strawberry-smeared mouth to continue on with the sucking.
Polly’s heart sank as she considered how little it took to get all the children into a crazed, euphoric state. She also knew deep in her heart that in no time at all things would indeed be back to normal, and ten, twenty, or a hundred sugary candy sticks could never even begin to sweeten that bitter truth.
Polly wearily climbed the stairs and forlornly headed toward the dormitory to change from her uniform into her work clothes. In truth, she had no need of candy; all she hoped was that no one had missed her or realized she was late home. This time she was very fortunate.
As the evening drew to a close, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that she only had the shoes left to clean and then she could head off to bed. As she stood in a freezing cold room rubbing and polishing each pair of shoes until they shone, she found herself feeling quite concerned that Will had seemed so terribly tired and withdrawn on the way home. She could only hope to put things right the next day.
Suddenly the door opened, and she could hear the pitter-patter of feet as well as the heavy breathing that could only come from one source, and that was Pitstop!
“Well, good evening to you, Polly,” Uncle Boritz snorted.
“Good evening, Uncle,” Polly half-heartedly mumbled as she lowered her head and with a polish rag began to feverishly rub the shoe she held out.
“Most sadly, we have clean run out of candy, and therefore there is none available for James or your good self—not that you are entitled to any such treat, for may I remind that you, girl, are still on relinquishment of all privileges and enjoyments. With that in mind, may I use this opportunity to bring to your attention that we have yet to deal with the scene of utter carnage I encountered regarding my handmade coffins.”
Polly lowered her eyelids as she continued vigorously rubbing the shoe she was still holding.
“I am therefore putting you on notice that you will be attending a meeting with Dr. Ninkumpoop to decide where we go from here. But before this happens, I need you to know that Mildred and I have spent the past two
weeks running around the countryside like a couple of headless chickens in our attempt to find out anything concerning this ring. And I’m sorry to say that, no thanks to you, we have come back from this quest none the wiser as to where this valuable ring originated from.
“As you continue to refuse to cooperate with us, I have been left with little choice other than to go ahead and contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation, better known across the pond as the FBI. They are in the process of sending me two of their best men, who have truly spectacular skills when it comes to ousting the truth from people such as yourself, as well as many other potential or international terrorists.
“They land at Heathrow Airport tomorrow morning. Of course, they will need some time of refreshment in a London hotel, but then they will immediately make their way here. So it is very much in your interest to be as cooperative with these gentlemen as you are able; otherwise I cannot even begin to imagine the consequences.”
Uncle Boritz plunged his hand deep into his pocket and pulled out a long stick of strawberry flavored candy. “Yes, this was the piece I was saving for you, but sadly, as you can see, Pitstop got to it first. Such a disgusting animal to have slobbered all over this candy treat, don’t you think?” he smugly grinned. He then proceeded to bring the candy up to his own mouth to stick between his thick, generous lips to slowly suck on. “Hmm, lovely. Ooh, strawberry. Delish. Here, Pitstop. You can now dispose of the rest. There’s a good boy,” he said, patting the beast with one hand while holding the candy up to the beast’s slimy, drooling jaws with his free hand to allow Pitstop to once more slobber all over the candy stick.
The Trouble with Polly Brown Page 29