Fairy Secrets

by Gwyneth Rees

  Ellie thought for a moment. ‘I think we have to tell him the truth,’ she said. ‘Not about the fairy portal and all the toys coming to life . . . but about Henrietta and my idea to make Mrs Lloyd-Hughes think that Enid is her doll. He said today that he’d do anything to save the museum – and if I point out how this would be the best thing for everyone – including Mrs Lloyd-Hughes – then I think he might agree.’

  As soon as she had spoken, the toys immediately started to discuss whether or not it was fair to ask Mr Daniels to do something that dishonest, and the fairies began to argue loudly among themselves about whether he was likely to help them or not. Queen Lily stayed silent, deep in thought.

  They were still arguing when Myfanwy arrived back, dangling David’s camera beneath her as she flew into the room.

  Ellie quickly took it from her and announced as politely as she could, ‘Can all you fairies please get out of the way so I can take a photograph of Enid?’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry – fairies don’t show up in human photographs,’ Myfanwy told her, deliberately flying over to join Enid.

  So Ellie took a picture of Enid and Myfanwy together, and sure enough when she looked at the little screen on the back of the camera afterwards, Enid alone was in the frame.

  ‘There isn’t time for me to get a picture printed off,’ Ellie said, ‘but I can take the camera to Mrs Lloyd-Hughes’s house tomorrow and let her look at it on the back. I’ll return her photograph of Henrietta too. I just hope I can get it back inside the album without her seeing me.’

  ‘Myfanwy and I will come and help you, if you like,’ Bronwen offered.

  ‘Thanks,’ Ellie said, stifling a yawn.

  ‘It’s time we got Ellie back to bed,’ Queen Lily announced. ‘Bronwen, please go and tell our pony that we need him to fly Ellie home now.’ She turned to Ellie. ‘Bronwen and Myfanwy will help you as much as they can tomorrow. But as for the best way to deal with Mr Daniels . . . I think we must leave that up to you.’

  The following morning Ellie slipped her brother’s camera in her bag and went downstairs to tell her aunt she was going into the village to buy a comic.

  ‘All right, Ellie. Maybe David wants to go with you.’

  But fortunately for Ellie, David didn’t. ‘I’m going to go out by myself to do some sketches of the wildlife,’ he told them. ‘I might take some photographs too. Have you seen my camera, Ellie?’

  ‘No,’ Ellie lied, clutching her bag and willing herself not to look guilty.

  ‘David had a strange dream about his camera last night,’ Aunt Megan told Ellie. ‘He was just telling me about it. He dreamt it was being carried through the air and out of the window.’

  ‘Really?’ Ellie was startled. ‘Did you see who was carrying it?’ she asked him.

  David scowled. ‘No. But it’s no wonder I’m getting weird dreams, having to listen to all the nonsense you talk!’

  Ellie realized that she’d better leave before David discovered that his camera really had been taken. ‘See you later,’ she said quickly to Aunt Megan, before hurrying through the door.

  Bronwen and Myfanwy had promised to meet her outside the church at ten o’clock, and as soon as she got there they flew out from behind an old gravestone and greeted her excitedly.

  ‘So what do you want us to do when we get there?’ Bronwen asked as they headed towards Mrs Lloyd-Hughes’s house together.

  ‘I suppose the main thing is to get her attention away from me while I’m putting the photograph of Henrietta back in its album,’ Ellie replied.

  ‘That will be easy,’ Myfanwy said, grinning. ‘We can always knock an ornament off a shelf, or fly up to the ceiling and give one of the chandeliers a bit of a rattle – if there are any chandeliers, that is. Fewer and fewer houses seem to have them these days.’

  ‘I don’t want you to break anything,’ Ellie said. ‘Especially not her ornaments, because they look really expensive.’

  ‘We could just tap on the window with a branch or something,’ Bronwen suggested. ‘But we’ll have to stay outside to do that.’

  ‘What if she sees you?’ Ellie frowned. ‘I mean, do you know for a fact that she doesn’t believe in fairies?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Myfanwy said confidently. ‘Last summer a whole bunch of us gatecrashed one of her garden parties and she didn’t see any of us – though one of her friends did, which was a bit tricky.’

  They had reached the front door now and Ellie rang the bell. As she waited for the housekeeper to appear, the two fairies flew off to find some suitable twigs to bang against the living-room window.

  ‘Wait until you see me pick up the photograph album before you do it,’ Ellie called after them, and they nodded that they would, before disappearing into the garden.

  *

  The housekeeper led her straight into the living room, where Mrs Lloyd-Hughes was sitting reading a book. She looked up in astonishment when she saw who it was.

  ‘Ellie? What a surprise! Is your aunt not with you this time?’

  Feeling a wave of shyness come over her, Ellie swallowed and shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Myfanwy waiting outside the window, waving a large twig.

  ‘I’ve got something to tell you,’ she blurted. ‘It’s about Henrietta. I saw a doll that looks just like the one in that photograph you showed me, and I think it might be her. She’s in the toy museum and I took a picture of her on my brother’s camera. Look.’

  Before Mrs Lloyd-Hughes had time to speak, Ellie had switched on the camera and was pressing the button that displayed all the stored images. She showed the old lady the picture of Enid dressed in Henrietta’s clothes.

  Mrs Lloyd-Hughes put on her reading glasses in order to see more clearly, then let out a shocked gasp. ‘You’re right! This looks exactly like her!’

  ‘I know. That’s why I thought I’d better come straight away to tell you.’

  ‘Quick, pass me the photograph album again. I need to have another look at Henrietta,’ the old lady instructed.

  So Ellie went to the bookcase and, with her back still turned towards Mrs Lloyd-Hughes, she started to flick through the album herself, saying, ‘I’ll just find the right page for you, shall I?’

  ‘I’ll do that! Just bring it here!’ the old lady snapped impatiently.

  Flustered, Ellie dropped the photograph, but luckily at that moment there was a loud rattling sound on the window. Mrs Lloyd-Hughes turned to see what it was, which gave Ellie enough time to pick up the photograph again without being seen.

  ‘What on earth . . . ?’ Mrs Lloyd-Hughes was staring, mesmerized, as first a large leafy twig and then a red rose (which Bronwen must have taken from one of the flower beds) began to dance across the outside of the windowpane.

  Ellie leafed through the book until she found the right page, slipped the photograph in the correct slot and shut the album again. Then she carried it over to the old lady, who was still staring open-mouthed at the window.

  ‘It must be the wind,’ Ellie said, and suddenly, as if they had heard her, the rose and the leafy twig both flopped to the ground.

  ‘That’s the strangest gust of wind I’ve ever seen,’ Mrs Lloyd-Hughes muttered, finally turning back to look at Ellie. ‘Oh, you’ve brought the album. Now let’s see . . .’

  She sat for a long time comparing both pictures before asking Ellie to fetch her magnifying glass from the bureau so that she could inspect them even more closely.

  Finally, after what seemed like forever, Mrs Lloyd-Hughes sighed loudly and said, ‘I must say I have to agree with you, Ellie. This doll does look like she might be my Henrietta. Her dress is a different shade of yellow to the way I remember it, but it’s difficult to tell what colours are really like from a photograph. Do you think you could arrange for her to be brought to me? And I promise you, if this is Henrietta, your friend won’t have to worry any more about not having enough money to keep his museum going. So long as he lets me have Henrietta back, I will give him all th
e money he requires.’

  ‘Oh . . .’ Ellie hadn’t expected Mrs Lloyd-Hughes to want to keep Enid, and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. ‘Wwouldn’t it be better if Henrietta stayed in the museum, where lots of people can admire her?’ she pointed out nervously.

  ‘Of course not! Do you really think that if I found Henrietta again after all this time, I’d want her to be anywhere but here in this house with me?’

  ‘I . . . I suppose not,’ Ellie admitted, telling herself that perhaps Enid wouldn’t mind living with Mrs Lloyd-Hughes. Anyway, since she still had to convince the old lady that Enid was Henrietta when they met for real, she supposed it was a bit early to start worrying about what might happen afterwards.

  Bronwen and Myfanwy were waiting for her when she got outside.

  ‘She wants Mr Daniels to bring Enid to her, so I’ll have to go and talk to him now and see what he says,’ she told them.

  They hurried towards the museum and on the way Ellie told them the rest of what Mrs Lloyd-Hughes had said.

  ‘What?’ Bronwen exclaimed when Ellie had told them everything. ‘Do you mean she’d want Enid to actually leave the museum?’

  ‘Yes,’ Ellie said. ‘Do you think she’ll mind? It is a very comfortable house – much more comfortable than the toy museum – and—’

  ‘She can’t leave,’ Bronwen interrupted. ‘If Enid isn’t there to sit around the picnic rug with the others, then the fairy portal can’t exist. The portal needs all four toys in order for it to work.’

  Ellie frowned in dismay. ‘So for the fairy portal to work, none of those toys must leave the museum?’

  Bronwen nodded.

  Ellie couldn’t help feeling frustrated with the fairies for only telling her about this now. ‘Well, I don’t know what else we can do,’ she said flatly. ‘Maybe Mr Daniels can persuade Mrs Lloyd-Hughes to let Enid stay at the museum, but I doubt it. In fact, he’s far more likely to let her have anything she wants, if it means his museum gets saved. After all, he doesn’t know about the fairy portal, does he?’

  Myfanwy sounded upset. ‘What are we going to do then?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Ellie replied. ‘I guess the first thing is to tell Queen Lily what’s happened.’

  When they reached the museum they were greeted at the door by a very excited Mr Daniels.

  ‘I’ve just had a phone call from Mrs Lloyd-Hughes, Ellie,’ he said. ‘She told me all about your visit. I had no idea that one of the dolls here once belonged to her. Anyway, she’s asked if I’ll show her the doll, on the understanding that if it is the same one she lost as a child, she’ll pay me everything I need to keep the museum running, in exchange for getting her doll back. Isn’t it wonderful? She says it’s a china doll in a yellow dress. What’s puzzling is that I don’t remember having a doll like that here, but she says you know which one she means.’

  Ellie took a deep breath. ‘Mr Daniels, there’s something you need to know,’ she began. ‘You see, I really wanted to save the museum, so I did something I probably shouldn’t have . . .’ And she told him how she had tried to pass Enid off as Henrietta by dressing her like the doll in Mrs Lloyd-Hughes’s photograph. (Though of course she didn’t mention the help she had had from the fairies.)

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Mr Daniels said. ‘When exactly did you do this? And how could you open up the cabinet? And where did you get the yellow dress from?’

  Ellie thought very quickly. ‘I . . . I borrowed the key from your office while you were talking to Aunt Megan – and that’s when I did it. And . . . and the yellow dress came from . . . it came from one of my own dolls.’

  ‘Really?’ Mr Daniels sounded incredulous.

  Ellie swallowed. She hated lying, but before she had time to say any more, a car pulled up outside.

  To Ellie’s amazement, Mrs Lloyd-Hughes’s housekeeper got out of the car and went to open the back door.

  ‘She’s actually come here herself!’ Ellie gasped as Mrs Lloyd-Hughes emerged.

  ‘She did sound very excited on the phone,’ Mr Daniels said, frowning as if he was deep in thought. ‘Ellie, about this doll . . . is she still wearing the yellow dress?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Then maybe we should let Mrs Lloyd-Hughes decide for herself whether the doll is hers or not.’

  ‘But Mr Daniels, she’s definitely not because—’

  ‘You can’t know that for sure,’ he interrupted her. ‘I mean, she could have had a change of clothes over the years. Maybe the doll we have here really did have a yellow dress originally. Anyway, if Mrs Lloyd-Hughes says she’s the right doll, then that’s good enough as far as I’m concerned. After all, what harm can it do?’

  ‘That’s what I thought at first,’ Ellie said. ‘But, Mr Daniels, now I don’t think you should give Enid – I mean the china doll that’s here – to Mrs Lloyd-Hughes. After all, she’s . . . she’s . . . a very special antique doll and she belongs in your museum!’ If only she could explain about the fairy portal, she thought desperately. But she knew he would never believe her even if she did.

  Unfortunately Mr Daniels had a strange, determined sort of look on his face. ‘Beggars can’t be choosers, Ellie,’ he said firmly. ‘At least this way I’m only sacrificing one doll for the sake of all the rest. And like I told you before, I’m willing to do just about anything to save my museum.’

  And before Ellie could say anything else Mr Daniels was on his way down the steps to meet Mrs Lloyd-Hughes, who was prodding the wooden staircase with her walking stick as if she suspected that it might collapse at any minute.

  Bronwen and Myfanwy had already gone inside the museum. Ellie quickly followed them and found the four toys sitting around the little picnic rug, still inside their cabinet. The rug was glowing brightly and Bronwen and Myfanwy were hovering above it, getting ready to fly back through the fairy portal.

  ‘We have to go and tell Queen Lily what’s happening straight away,’ Bronwen called out to her, as bright rays of light began to shoot out from the rug.

  ‘But, Ellie, you mustn’t let that old lady take Enid away from here! If she does, none of the other fairies who are out in the valley today will be able to get home to Fairyland!’ Myfanwy warned her in a frightened voice, as both fairies flew into the light and disappeared.

  Fortunately Mrs Lloyd-Hughes took a very long time to climb up the stairs, which gave Ellie time to think. She had to stop Enid being taken from the museum, at least until all the valley fairies had a chance to get home through the fairy portal. But how was she going to do it?

  Suddenly she remembered that the cabinets were all locked and that she had seen the keys hanging up in Mr Daniels’s office.

  She got to the office just as Mr Daniels and Mrs Lloyd-Hughes were nearing the top of the stairs. There was a bunch of small keys that opened the cabinets, and Ellie quickly snatched it from its peg and shoved it into her pocket. Then she rushed back into the little lobby area.

  ‘Hello, Mrs Lloyd-Hughes,’ Ellie said, as cheerfully as possible, when the old lady stepped in through the door.

  ‘Hello, Ellie. After your visit I decided that I had to come and see this doll straight away.’

  ‘She’s through here,’ Ellie said, ‘though I’m not so sure now that she really is the same one. You see—’

  ‘I shall know if it is Henrietta, don’t you worry,’ the old lady interrupted, stepping past Ellie into the main room while Mr Daniels followed behind.

  The old lady headed straight for the central cabinet. The toys were still sitting around the rug, although they were all completely motionless now and Ellie couldn’t tell if they were aware of what was happening or not.

  ‘Well?’ Mr Daniels asked, sounding a bit hesitant. ‘Is she yours, do you think?’

  Mrs Lloyd-Hughes had tears in her eyes as she stared at Enid. ‘The dress is unmistakable – though the colour has faded somewhat. Her face is more or less how I remember it. Her hair is perhaps a little different – but then my memory cannot
be perfect after all this time.’

  ‘If your memory’s not perfect, hadn’t you better take some time to think about it?’ Ellie said quickly.

  ‘What good will thinking about it do?’ the old lady retorted. ‘I should like to examine her more closely, Mr Daniels. Will you take her out of the cabinet for me?’

  ‘Of course. I’ll go and get the key.’

  Ellie felt her stomach start to churn as she waited with Mrs Lloyd-Hughes, and it seemed like an eternity later when Mr Daniels returned with a puzzled look on his face. ‘I can’t find the cabinet keys. I’ve searched all over the office and they’re not there.’ He looked suspiciously at Ellie. ‘You said you borrowed them before. You haven’t still got them, have you?’

  Ellie flushed as she shook her head, hoping he wouldn’t ask to search her pockets.

  ‘I might have left them in here somewhere,’ Mr Daniels told the old lady. ‘If you can wait for a few minutes, I’ll have a look round.’

  Ten minutes later Mrs Lloyd-Hughes was getting extremely impatient. ‘If I can’t examine the doll properly, then I can’t confirm that she’s Henrietta,’ she said crossly. ‘Surely you can’t be so incompetent as to have lost all the keys? Don’t you have a spare set somewhere?’

  Ellie’s heart skipped a beat, but fortunately Mr Daniels muttered that he didn’t know exactly where to lay his hands on the spare set. Flustered, he apologized and said that if Mrs Lloyd-Hughes wanted to go home and wait, then when he found the missing keys he would bring the doll straight to her.

  Mrs Lloyd-Hughes, though clearly furious, had no choice but to do as he suggested.

  When Mr Daniels returned after seeing the old lady to her car, Ellie produced the keys from her pocket straight away. ‘I’m sorry, but I just didn’t want her to take that doll away when I know she isn’t Henrietta,’ she told him.