by Gwyneth Rees
‘November the twenty-first was special because it was the date they started their club,’ Grandma said. ‘Remember I told you the first time we went to Brighton was in November, because it was my sister Esmerelda’s birthday? Well, apparently that was when your mother first suggested they should start a secret club. I might have known it would be Claire’s idea!’
‘Will you bring Kirsten’s letter with you when you come to see us, Grandma?’ I asked excitedly.
‘Of course, but Kirsten says you can also write to her yourself. I’m sure there’s a lot more she can tell you about the Mysterious Four Club if you ask her.’
Dad and Lizzie were pleased when I told them my news, and even Matty was quite interested.
‘It all makes perfect sense now, doesn’t it?’ Dad said.
I nodded. ‘But there’s another reason why November the twenty-first is so special,’ I announced. ‘It’s also special because it’s the date that Lizzie came all the way to Brighton to find me.’
‘More fool her,’ Matthew joked as he knelt down on the floor to tickle Hercule’s tummy. ‘Next time you should just leave her there, Lizzie.’
Lizzie put her arm round me protectively. ‘I’m very glad I did find you, Esmie.’
‘So am I,’ I said happily. And it struck me that Lizzie had acted just like a mum that day, so in a way Nevada’s prophecy had been right after all. I had met my mum at the end of the pier – not my birth mum, but my new mum.
‘And you know what, Lizzie?’ I added. ‘If you and Dad do ever decide to get married, I honestly don’t mind if it’s in a registry office.’
‘Just so long as they still need a bridesmaid, right, Esmie?’ Matthew teased.
And to my amazement, instead of getting cross, Dad and Lizzie looked at each other and actually started to laugh.
Gwyneth Rees is half Welsh and half English and grew up in Scotland. She went to Glasgow University and qualified as a doctor in 1990. She is a child and adolescent psychiatrist but has now stopped practising so that she can write full-time. She is the author of The Mum Hunt, The Mum Detective, My Mum’s from Planet Pluto and The Making of May, as well as the bestselling Fairies and Cosmo series and Mermaid Magic for younger readers. She lives in London with her partner, Robert, their daughter, Eliza, and their two cats, Hattie and Magnus.
Visit www.gwynethrees.com
Other books by Gwyneth Rees
The Mum Hunt
The Mum Detective
My Mum’s from Planet Pluto
The Making of May
Something Secret
For younger readers
Mermaid Magic
Fairy Dust
Fairy Treasure
Fairy Dreams
Fairy Gold
Fairy Rescue
Fairy Secrets
Cosmo and the Magic Sneeze
Cosmo and the Great Witch Escape
Cosmo and the Secret Spell
First published 2007 by Macmillan Children’s Books
This electronic edition published 2011 by Macmillan Children’s Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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ISBN 978-0-330-47185-5 EPUB
Copyright © Gwyneth Rees 2007
The right of Gwyneth Rees to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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