by Holly Bell
‘Oh!’ She spun round. ‘Tempest!’ He kept his eyes closed but raised his chin so she would know that she had succeeded in disturbing his nap. ‘I know what it was about him: he reminds me of Grandpa!’ She came away from the window and looked into the air, calling for Perran.
He appeared holding a plate of jam doughnuts.
‘Yes, bian? You all right?’
‘Yes, thank you. Grandpa. He’s a Cadabra, isn't he? The man in the café with the daughter. Yes?’
Perran chuckled.
‘Well done, bian,’ he raised a doughnut in salute and bit into the warm, soft, sweet roll until the jam oozed out of the centre, in the essence of deliciousness. Granny had long since pronounced the ring doughnut to be the work of nefarious forces and refused to have them in the house.
‘Oh and he knew who I was and he talked to me,’ responded Amanda, tears starting in her eyes. ‘He didn’t hold it against me for you running off with Grandma.’
‘Why would anyone hold that against you, pet? You weren’t exactly there at the time,’ he said teasingly. ‘Here now. Your mascara’s all over your face. Have a tissue. And blow your nose.’ Nevertheless, Grandpa smiled understandingly.
Amanda took his advice, then looked at him, still aglow.
‘Now then, bian, I don’t mean you can go knocking on their door.’
‘No, no, of course not,’ Amanda responded, a little subdued.
‘Let them come to you.’
‘Do you think they will?’ she asked eagerly.
‘Well now ... it looks like they already have!’
Thomas dropped in to tell Amanda about his new desk. Somehow he could hardly wait to share it with her. How odd.
‘Oh, but how wonderful! Tea to celebrate?’ Amanda took his unexpected arrival as a sign. Thoughtfully, she made the drinks. Bringing in the tray, she asked, ‘So have you found any possible locations for the equivalent of your thinking beach run?’
‘Not yet. Plenty of time. Thank you,’ Thomas added, receiving mug and shortcake from her.
‘I only ask,’ said Amanda, sitting down on the edge of the sofa, ‘because I have a place I go when I want to think. It’s rather unusual, high up, and we — Tempest and I — like to go there for picnics. But I don’t own it. You can use it too.’
‘Thank you. Perhaps you’d take me up there some time,’ Thomas replied, sensing that this was quite a concession and he should respectfully wait to be escorted.
‘Of course.’
But not yet, thought Amanda. Not quite yet. She wanted it all to herself just one more time.
It was Sunday, and the weather was fine enough for a picnic. Amanda parked near the library, and she and Tempest had begun the short to walk to their destination, when their progress was halted by a familiar and much-loved voice.
‘Amanda!’ She turned to see her friend, Mrs Pagely, the librarian, hurrying towards her, waving a slender book. Amanda turned back to meet and greet her.
‘Hello, my dear,’ said Mrs Pagely. ‘So nice to have you back. I don’t want to hold you up, but I did think you might like this. It’s a small out of print work on Bodmin Moor. It turned up in the stacks, and Jonathan found it. For, of course, our basement is a very odd place.’ Amanda knew all about that. ‘But we did think it might be of interest.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Pagely, I'm sure it will be.’
‘Anyway, you enjoy your picnic. Oh, and Mr Branscombe is starting on the inspector’s flat and office —’
‘— on Tuesday.’
‘Yes, that's right,’ said the librarian, apparently surprised that Amanda already knew. ‘Well, I must get back. Have a nice time.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Pagely.’
Amanda and Tempest continued on their way. Presently they were climbing what had once been part of the night stairs of the 1000-year-old priory, long in ruins on the edge of the village.
They sat down on the makeshift platform that Amanda had fashioned, with the aid of magic some years before. She opened her plastic container of artisan smoked ham for Tempest and the beef and mustard sandwiches for herself. Amanda took a deep breath of early spring air and looked down at Sunken Madley.
Soon the apple trees would blush pale pink, and the wisteria would be in bloom around her cottage door. The gardens would be bobbing with golden daffodils and scarlet tulips, lobelias spilling indigo over the walls.
Amanda looked to the north, towards Hertfordshire and the hints of bright green beginning to clothe the bare trees. She took a bite of her sandwich and began to consider the questions that inevitably came to her mind in this place.
Department 14 ... so many unknowns about that. And Gwendolen … who would have guessed? How many more secrets did she have? Could she be the mysterious Wicc’Lord, the behind-the-scenes force for good? It would fit. After all, she was a woman, and more than half who had held that title, passed from teacher to student, had, historically, been female. Gwendolen had been in on Department 14 for decades. She knew about all the agents everywhere. Wow. Yes. Why not?
But there were other things to ponder. How did Gwendolen think Amanda would have her hands full at The Elms? And how would the new partnership with the inspector work? It was real now. She’d signed on the dotted line. What was the next move in finding The Grimoire with the antidote to her asthma? And what was all that other stuff the attackers went off with? Where did it go? Where was it now? And, importantly, what did it do?
Questions .... Chalice, bell, candle, books or boxes ... but most crucially: The Grimoire, the one hope of the asthma antidote, and what else besides? She had come so close to it. If she had done that once, surely she could do it again. Amanda pulled Tempest close, feeling his warmth and magical presence. She looked toward the west.
‘Whoever has got it, you’d better hide it well, you’d better bury it deep. Because I’m coming for it,’ said Amanda Cadabra.
The End
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Cornwall and to Sunken. If the story gave you pleasure, I would love you to tell me your thoughts about your journey through the book. And if you could write a review, that would be tremendously helpful. You can post it on the e-store where you bought the book (if you’re not sure how to post a review on Amazon, there is a how-to on my website) or on Facebook, Twitter or your social platform of choice. It would mean a great deal to me.
Best of all would be if you dropped me a line at [email protected] so we can connect in person. If there is a character you especially liked or anything you would like more of, please let me know. Amanda Cadabra Book 7 is in the pipeline, and I want to make sure that all of the things that you liked about the first three books make an appearance for you.
For tidbits on the world of Sunken Madley and to keep up with news of the continuing adventures of our heroes Amanda, Tempest, Granny and Grandpa, Trelawney and Hogarth, visit www.amandacadabra.com, where you can also request to enter the VIP Readers Group or sign up for the newsletter to stay in touch and find out about the next sequel. The VIP Readers is a limited numbers group. Members are invited to receive and review an advance copy of the next book. If you are one of that treasured number, thank you for reading, evaluating and giving your precious feedback.
You can also find me on:
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Holly-Bell-923956481108549/ (Please come and say hello. It makes my day when a reader does that.)
Twitter at https://twitter.com/holly_b_author
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/hollybell2760/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hollybellac
Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18387493.Holly_Bell
and Bookbub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/holly-bell
See you soon.
About the Author
Cat adorer and chocolate lover, Holly Bell is a photographer, video maker, and student of the Cornish language, w
hen not writing. Whilst being an enthusiastic novel reader, Holly has had a lifetime's experience in writing non-fiction.
Holly devoured all of the Agatha Christie books long before she knew that Miss Marple was the godmother of the Cosy Mystery. Her love of JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings meant that her first literary creation in this area would have to be a cosy paranormal. If you would like to read an interview with Holly, you can find one here: Flora Meets Independent British Author Holly Bell
Holly lives in the UK and is a mixture of English, Cornish, Welsh and other ingredients. Her favourite animal is called Bobby. He is a black cat. Purely coincidental. Of course.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Kim Brockway of Brockway Gatehouse Literary Services, for constant support, keen-eyed and intuitive editing and and to Flora for her ongoing encouragement and publicity, to Judes Gerstein, my Canadian gem of an advance reader, for noticing issues and offering ideal solutions, to Katherine Otis for her invaluable fine-tooth-combed proof-reading of the manuscript, to David, Dana, Mary and other wonderful VIP Readers Group members for their supportive comments and suggestions, and to my dear friend, Katherine DeMoure-Aldrich, for round-the-world inspiration and feedback from wherever her travels take her. Thank you to Joe for his loyal support on Facebook. Thanks also to my mentor Tim Brown for always cheering me on all the way from Wales.
The Cornish language in this book would not have been possible without the assistance of my superb teacher, Kensa Broadhurst, and the abundant encouragement of the Cornish language community. Thank you to Tracy Olsen, Tracey Deborah and Steve Beazley for their indespensable help with the flora of Bodmin Moor. Also thanks to Louis Cazeau and Robert Woodhouse for their assistance in identifying the trees on the Great North Road up to the turn off to the real Sunken Madley.
Thanks are also due to the rector of St Mary the Virgin, Monken Hadley whose fund of information helped me to shape the village of ‘Sunken Madley’, and to Stephen Tatlow, the Director of Music there and the churchwardens for their kind welcome and delight at being fictionalised.
Praise and thanks go out to my outstandingly talented illustrator Daniel Becerril Ureña (Instagram: danbeu) for his beautiful book cover art.
Also due are thanks to Tanja Slijepčević of Books Go Social for her expert advice and unfailing assistance with spreading the word about both this book and the Amanda Cadabra series.
Thank you to all of those in the plural community, to the researchers and doctors who have shared their stories and cases, and to the unfailing kindness and infinite skill of Dr Anton Van Rhijn, Dr Tamara Magdalena Callea (posthumously), and Chris Perrin, to whom this book is dedicated.
Thank you, in fact, to all those without whose support this book would not have been possible.
Finally, in whatever dimension they are currently inhabiting, thanks go out to my cat who inspired Tempest, and to my grandfather and brother for Perran and Trelawney. Your magic endures.
About the Language Used in the Story
Please note that to enhance the reader’s experience of Amanda's world, this British-set story, by a British author, uses British English spelling, vocabulary, grammar and usage, and includes local and foreign accents, dialects and a magical language that vary from different versions of English as it is written and spoken in other parts of our wonderful, diverse world.
DID You Know?
Dissociative Identity Disorder is a real condition, arising specifically from childhood trauma before the age of around nine.
Lucy is based on the experiences of real systems, also known as multiples and plurals. My thanks go out to all of the multiples, doctors, nurses and therapists who have contributed to my understanding of D.I.D., and to all who, like Lucy, are happily multiple, adding to the infinite diversity of our wonderful world.
If you would like to know more about D.I.D., here are some helpful links:
https://solipsistful.weebly.com/faq.html
http://healthymultiplicity.com/
https://www.deviantart.com/tigrin/art/D-I-D-You-Know-58072489
https://morethanone.info/ - experience
https://thepluralassociation.org/
The Cornish Language
If reading this book has sparked you interest in Kernowek — Cornish — here are some useful places to find out more:
gocornish.org
kesva.org
Questions for Reading Clubs
What did you like best about the book?
Which character did you like best? Is there one with whom you especially identified?
Whom would you like to know more about and why?
If you made a movie of the book, whom would you cast and in what parts? Have you chosen any recasting over the first three books in the series? Would you still have the same actress play, Amanda, for example, as you did in Book 1?
Did the book remind you of any others you have read, apart from the others in the series, either in the same or another genre?
Did you think the cover fitted the story? If not, how would you redesign it?
How unique is this story?
Which characters grew and changed over the course of this book, and over the series, and which remained the same?
What feelings did the book evoke?
What place in the book would you most like to visit, and why? Any additional ones to Books 1, 2, 3, 4 and/or 5?
Was the setting one that felt familiar or relatable to you? Why or why not? If you have read any of the first three books, how at home did you feel revisiting the locations?
What did you think of the continuity between the first book or Book 4 and this sequel?
Was the book the right length? If too long, what would you leave out? If too short, what would you add?
How well do you think the title conveyed what the book is about?
If you could ask Holly Bell just one question, what would it be?
How well do you think the author created the world of the story?
Which quotes or scenes did you like the best, and why?
Was the author just telling an entertaining story or trying as well to communicate any other ideas? If so, what do think they were?
Did the book change how you think or feel about any thing, person or place? Did it help you to understand someone or yourself better?
What do you think the characters will do after the end of the book? Would you want to read the sequel?
Glossary
As the story is set in an English village, and written by a British author, some spellings or words may be unfamiliar to some readers living in other parts of the English-speaking world. Please find here a list of terms used in the book. If you notice any that are missing, please let me know on [email protected] so the can be included in a future edition.
British English
American English
Spelling conventions
—ise for words like surprise, realise
—ize for words like surprize, realize
—or for words like colour, honour
—our for words like color, honor
—tre for words like centre, theatre
—ter for words like center, theater
Mr Mrs Dr
Mr. Mrs. Dr.
Double consonants for words
like traveller, counsellor
M3
Highway going South West from London
Battenberg
Cake made of pink and yellow
diagonal squares, wrapped in
Marzipan
Biscuit
Cookie
Overalls
Coveralls
Boot
Trunk
Car Park
Parking lot
Chips (food)
French fries
Corner shop
Small grocery store
Cornish Clotted
Cornish clotted cream - thick cream
Cornish pasty
Disk of puff pastry filled
with meat
and vegetables then folded and
sealed at the edges.
Crumpet
Cake with holes in, served toasted
with butter
Cuppa
Cup of tea
Curtains
Drapes
Different from
Different than
Eyrie
Aerie
Fridge
Refrigerator
Garden
Yard
Gingernut
Hard (like a nut but not containing
any) ginger biscuit
Grey
Gray
Grammar School
For students ages 11-18 who have
passed an entrance examination
Head
Principal
Jam roly-poly
A flat layer of suet pudding, spread