‘You! What are you doing here?’ the boy blustered.
Caprice’s mouth fell open and for a minute she gasped like a fish out of water.
‘I can’t believe you,’ Louis said, coming up behind his brother.
Alice-Miranda popped up next to the girl. ‘Oh, hello boys, we didn’t know you were going to be here too. I thought you were getting your hair cut.’
‘What’s she doing here?’ Louis pointed at Alice-Miranda.
‘It’s not just me,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘We all came to look at the tower.’
A few seconds later, the seven children were standing on top of the landing.
‘You can’t be trusted one little bit, Caprice,’ Edgar accused the girl. ‘You promised not to tell.’
‘Sorry,’ the girl huffed. ‘Lucas really wanted to see the tower, and it isn’t fair to keep this place all to yourselves.’
From somewhere outside, the children heard a loud banging.
‘What’s that noise?’ Sep said.
Edgar and Louis looked at each other and pushed past the children. ‘Langley!’ they shouted in unison and took off.
‘What about Mr Langley?’ Alice-Miranda wondered aloud before turning to follow them. The rest of the group stampeded downstairs behind her.
As they reached the ground floor, the hammering stopped.
The twins ran over to the window. Louis leapt onto the small stool they had positioned beneath it.
‘Can you see him?’ Edgar demanded.
Louis shook his head. ‘I’ll go and have a look outside. He tried to push the window but it wouldn’t budge. Did you close this?’ He turned and asked the group.
‘I was last through,’ Sep said, unsure if he should be apologising. ‘But I think I left it open.’
Louis pushed against the frame but it was stuck fast. ‘It won’t budge,’ he said, shoving harder.
‘What do you mean it’s stuck?’ Sloane asked with alarm.
‘It’s stuck – it won’t open,’ the boy replied sarcastically.
‘There has to be some other way out of this place,’ Millie said. She turned and looked across the hallway at the front doors.
‘There is no other way in or out. Trust us on that one,’ Edgar said. ‘All of the windows are nailed shut and now it looks like this one is too.’
‘Do you think Mr Langley locked us in?’ Lucas asked.
‘But why would he do that?’ Jacinta frowned. She didn’t like the idea of spending the night in the spooky old tower.
‘Well, it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t like either of you very much,’ Millie said to the twins. ‘But we haven’t really done anything to offend him – except for the boys sliding down the banisters.’
‘There’s something very strange going on,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Is there a telephone up here somewhere?’
The boys shook their heads.
‘Did anyone bring a phone with them?’ Millie asked.
There was a cacophony of ‘no’s.
‘Mr Bunyan knows we’re here. If we don’t get back before dark someone will come and look for us, I’m sure of it,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘How does he know?’ Caprice scoffed. ‘None of us told him.’
‘Actually, I did because I didn’t want him to worry about us, especially when Mr Thripp and Aunty Gee were so keen for him to accompany us,’ Alice-Miranda said.
Caprice rolled her eyes. ‘You’re such a goody-goody.’
‘You should thank her, Caprice. When it gets late, Mr Bunyan will come looking for us and we won’t be stuck here overnight,’ Sep said.
Caprice rolled her eyes. ‘Then there’s nothing to worry about,’ Jacinta said, trying to be cheerful.
‘Except that we’re trapped here with you lot for the rest of the day,’ Edgar griped.
‘I’m starving,’ Sloane declared. ‘Can we have something to eat?’
‘There’s nothing much up here,’ one of the twins said. ‘Maybe a muesli bar or two, but you’re not having those.’
‘It’s fine,’ the girl snipped, remembering the daypacks Bunyan had given them. ‘We have our own picnic.’
‘Good, you can share it with us then.’ Louis grabbed Millie’s backpack and took off upstairs.
‘Hey!’ The flame-haired girl yelled, racing after him.
Braxton Balfour sped along the lane. By his calculations he had just over ninety minutes to get to the cottage and back, including the time it would take to pick up the supplies from the farm shop. He had no idea if Lydie would be there, let alone if she’d be receptive to his questions, but he had to try.
Braxton parked the car in the usual spot and charged through the undergrowth to the cottage. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted her kneeling down beside a flowerbed by the side of the house. ‘Lydie!’ he called.
She looked towards him, then stood up and started to run away.
Braxton took off after her. ‘Stop! I just want to talk to you.’ He reached the back door and blocked her path.
‘Please leave me alone,’ she whispered, catching her breath. Her head felt as if it were stuffed full of cotton wool.
‘I don’t want to hurt you. I just have to know why,’ Braxton pleaded. ‘Why did you go away?’
Out of the corner of his eye Braxton spotted the raven. It was flying straight for him.
Lydie must have seen the terror in his eyes. She turned and held out her hand. ‘Away, Lucien!’ she called.
The beast swooped low, then circled back and landed on the roof of a small outbuilding.
She turned back to Braxton, a look of utter confusion on her face.
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the photograph, then held it out for her to see.
Lydie frowned as she took it and traced her forefinger over the outline of the couple. For several minutes she seemed completely lost.
‘Please, Lydie, I don’t care if you didn’t want to marry me. I just want to know why you ran away,’ Braxton began. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst right through his chest. There were so many questions.
‘Braxton …?’ she whispered, looking up at him. ‘Braxton Balfour?’
‘Yes, it’s me, Lydie.’ A wave of relief washed over him. He wasn’t imagining things, after all.
Lydie’s face crumpled. ‘Oh my goodness, we were going to get married.’
Braxton nodded sadly. ‘We were. And then there was the accident and you wouldn’t see me anymore. You left and I had no idea where you’d gone. Please, Lydie, I have to know why.’
Her eyes filled with tears. ‘I don’t remember.’
‘What do you mean you don’t remember?’ Braxton reached out and held her hands in his.
‘I couldn’t remember any of it – you, what happened to me, who I was …’
‘Your brother told me you didn’t want to see me ever again,’ Braxton said.
Lydie shook her head. ‘I didn’t know who anyone was – not even my own mother or father. The doctors all said it would get better and that I’d be okay, but I wasn’t. That’s why I went away. I needed to discover who I was and hope that one day it would all come back to me.’
‘And has it?’ Braxton asked.
‘No … I mean, not properly. For a long time there were scratchy memories here and there, then one day I was walking across a field near the village where I was living in France and I saw an old woman in the distance. I don’t know why it happened but something sharpened in my mind, and all of a sudden I remembered my Aunt Marian and I had an overwhelming urge to come home. Except that I didn’t really know if I still had a home.’
‘Aunt Marian?’ Braxton frowned.
‘Marian Marmalade – my godmother,’ Lydie said. ‘I’m told that she was a good friend of my father’s when they were young. I wrote to her and asked if she could help me.’
‘Do you remember the Queen?’ Braxton asked.
‘No, not really, other than things I’ve read about her or seen in the
newspapers. I know we were second cousins because Aunt Marian told me but I can’t recall anything about being at the palace or things we used to do with her when we were children.’
‘You poor darling,’ Braxton said. ‘I can’t imagine losing my memory like that.’
Lydie shrugged. ‘Sometimes it feels like a seam-stress is picking at a part of my brain, just trying to catch the right stitch so that everything will unravel. When I saw you the other day, I knew there was something more. I’ve been thinking and thinking.’
‘How long have you been here?’ Braxton asked.
‘Three years,’ she replied.
‘Three years!’ Braxton sighed. ‘I can’t believe you’ve been so close. Who knows you’re here?’
‘Only Aunt Marian, and I suppose Her Majesty must too. I’m not really sure. Aunt Marian arranged for me to live in the cottage. She said that my timing was perfect and so was my trade. I trained as a milliner in France, you see, although I was something of a hermit there too. Her Majesty’s milliner had just retired and they needed someone to take up the position. I just couldn’t tell anyone and, up until now, that’s suited me very well.’
‘Hats? That’s what I pick up in the boxes?’ Braxton asked, remembering the piece of fabric he’d picked up off the sitting-room floor.
Lydie nodded.
‘What about your brother? Does he know you’re here?’ the man asked. He knew that both her parents had died some years ago.
Lydie shook her head. ‘Aunt Marian has told me about him and shown me photographs, but I can’t remember him at all.’
‘Don’t you think seeing him might have helped?’ Braxton frowned.
‘I didn’t want to. There was something that just didn’t feel right.’
Braxton’s heart skipped. ‘My dear girl, out here on your own all this time.’
‘I thought coming back would help but it didn’t. Apparently I’m doing something important for Her Majesty, and Aunt Marian visits when she can. I take walks in the evenings and I’ve got my animal friends for company,’ Lydie said calmly. ‘Please don’t feel sorry for me.’
‘The raven?’ Braxton’s brow creased.
‘Yes, his name’s Lucien and he’s rather protective, as you learned the other day. There are others too – a rabbit and a wren. I raised them by hand when they were left for dead.’ A small smile perched on Lydie’s lips.
‘You did always love animals,’ Braxton said tenderly.
‘They don’t judge, do they? They just love you for who you are.’
Braxton thought for a moment. ‘Have you been to the tower?’
‘No,’ Lydie replied. ‘But I’ve thought about it a lot lately. I’ve had small flashes – of arguments, then everything goes black. I don’t know what it all means but I think I want to. I’m tired of not knowing.’
Braxton glanced at his watch. He’d already been away for much longer than he should have been.
‘Would you take me there?’ Lydie asked. ‘I don’t think I can do it on my own.’
Braxton nodded and drew her close. ‘Of course.’
Queen Georgiana had spent a surprisingly delightful afternoon with the Prime Minister of Samoa. The man told completely inappropriate jokes that she found hilariously funny and he adored Archie and Petunia, who almost licked him to death. He was also a serious follower of rugby – a sport Her Majesty was keen on as well.
‘If you’ll excuse me, Prime Minister, I’d like to check on my young guests and give you time to freshen up before dinner,’ the woman said.
‘Your Majesty, you have been so utterly generous with your time. I will take my leave and allow you to get on with far more important things than entertaining a silly old man.’
Queen Georgiana chortled. ‘Oh, you do make me laugh, Tuitua. I’m looking forward to our evening.’
The Prime Minister exited the room through the main doors. Queen Georgiana waited a few moments before she left through a side door that directly accessed her study. She almost walked straight into Thornton Thripp. Marjorie Plunkett was standing by the window with a face as pale as a pint of milk.
‘What’s the matter?’ Her Majesty demanded, dread filling her stomach. ‘Where are the children?’
‘Gone,’ Marjorie whispered. She handed Her Majesty a piece of paper in a plastic sleeve.
‘What do you mean they’re gone? Isn’t Bunyan with them? And what’s this?’ Queen Georgiana’s hand began to tremble.
‘Bunyan accompanied them on their way to the tower but the children raced ahead, and when he arrived there was no sign of them,’ Marjorie explained. ‘The place is locked up tight and all of the windows are nailed shut. He’s searched everywhere.’
‘Well, that doesn’t mean anything,’ Her Majesty said. ‘They could be playing hide-and-seek for all we know … right?’
‘We hoped that was the case but I think you’ll agree that this confirms our worst fears.’ Marjorie handed over a grainy photograph of the children standing together in a bare room. There was no furniture and scrawled on the wall behind them in large letters was the word ‘help’.
‘Oh, good heavens! Where are they?’ Queen Georgiana’s breath caught in her throat. ‘How do we even know that this photograph is real? It could have been tampered with.’
‘I’m afraid not, Ma’am,’ Marjorie said, shaking her head.
‘Do we know what they want? I’ll pay whatever they’re asking.’ The Queen wrung her hands together.
‘Would you give up your crown?’ Thripp asked, his voice wavering.
‘My crown? Is this a joke?’ Queen Georgiana demanded.
Marjorie shook her head. She pulled out a page with the same cut-out letters as the ones they’d received before.
With an unsteady hand, Queen Georgiana took the ransom note and read it aloud.
Ring-a-ding-ding, no Freddy the King!
Your line is a lie, now’s time to fly,
A Lancaster-Brown should be wearing the crown,
But he must take a bride, for family pride.
The papers are clear – do the right thing, old dear.
Abdicate tonight, and all will be right;
Stay in your place, and I’ll show them no grace.
‘What’s all this rubbish?’ Georgiana asked, confused. ‘Of course we’re the rightful heirs – Lloyd’s grandfather abdicated. And why does Lloyd have to be married now?’ Her Majesty stared at Marjorie.
‘I knew you were ambitious, Marjorie, but this is a little extreme, don’t you think?’ Thornton glared at her from under his bushy eyebrows.
Marjorie Plunkett recoiled. ‘You can’t think I had anything to do with this?’ she protested.
Queen Georgiana had been wondering the same thing. ‘Well, the whole thing is ludicrous.’
Thornton Thripp handed Her Majesty another document. ‘This came with the letter.’
Queen Georgiana scanned the piece of paper and huffed loudly. ‘What does this prove? It’s the abdication document. It’s all there in black and white.’
Marjorie shook her head. ‘Take a look where the second signature should be, Ma’am.’
‘It was probably just an early draft,’ the Queen said.
‘I’m afraid not, Your Majesty. Fiona has authenticated it,’ Marjorie confirmed.
The woman stumbled backwards. ‘Good heavens, my whole life has been based on a lie.’
‘Your Majesty, please sit down.’ Marjorie rushed around and pulled out a chair. ‘I’m sorry to say it but there’s more.’
‘More! Could it get any worse?’
‘It depends which way you look at it,’ Thripp said, his lip curling in Marjorie’s direction. He pulled out another sheet of paper. This time it was as if the perpetrators didn’t have time to think up more of their silly rhymes.
PS. You have until nine o’clock tonight. Call a press conference to make the announcement and I will set the children free. If not, you won’t see them anytime soon.
‘Are you behind all
this, Marjorie?’ Her Majesty searched the woman’s face. ‘I knew you were keen to be part of the family but I didn’t think you’d take things this far. Lloyd has never expressed any interest whatsoever in being King.’
‘Your Majesty, how could you even suggest such a thing? I don’t want this to happen any more than you do. I’m not cut out to be Queen.’
The Queen sighed and put her head in her hands. ‘What am I talking about? I’m sorry, Marjorie. I don’t know why I said that. You’ve been a loyal servant of the Crown for many years and that was a dreadful slight. I’m just dumbfounded.’
‘Ma’am, you can’t really be considering this,’ Marjorie said, suddenly afraid.
Queen Georgiana swallowed hard. ‘I don’t see what other choice we have. I’m not letting these monsters harm one hair on any of those children’s heads. We need to get Lloyd over here immediately.’
‘What about Freddy, Ma’am?’ Thripp asked.
‘What about Freddy? I think the less he knows the better, don’t you? I can’t let him stop me, so let’s leave it at that, shall we?’
‘Don’t you think it’s strange that Bunyan hasn’t come to find us yet?’ Millie said to Alice-Miranda and Sloane. The three girls had taken up residence in what was once a sitting room. At least there were some armchairs, even if they were threadbare.
Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘I wonder if something’s happened to him.’
Back in their workshop, Louis was showing Sep, Jacinta, Caprice and Lucas some electromagnets.
‘Is there a cellar?’ Sep asked, wondering if perhaps there might be a way out from there. ‘Sometimes there are tunnels in old places like this. We found one not so long ago when we were on camp at Pelham Park.’
Louis shook his head. ‘There’s a cellar but we’ve never found any tunnels.’
‘I’m bored!’ Caprice huffed. ‘Surely there’s a way out of this dump. I’ll look in the cellar.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Jacinta said, jumping at the chance to do something other than sitting around. ‘But I think we’ll need a torch.’
Fortunately, the twins had several of them. ‘You can take this,’ Edgar said, offering her one.
Alice-Miranda at the Palace 11 Page 17
