“Everyone’s fine.”
“What happened?”
“I’m going to call it a day and come home. I’ll tell you everything when I get back.”
“Okay, but you’re sure you’re alright?”
“Positive, honestly. I’ll see you soon.”
***
My drive home to Middle Tweaking was a longer journey than the one I’d had when we lived in Smallwash, but it was well worth it. We loved the picturesque village and we adored the old watermill.
Six years earlier, when Myrtle Turtle had sold up and moved to the coast, I couldn’t have dreamed that one day we would live in that property. Tragedy had struck nine months ago when out of the blue, Jack’s dad, Roy, had died of a heart attack. Obviously, it had hit Jack very hard, but he’d soon rallied when his father and mother had both made contact with him. Knowing they’d been reunited in Ghost Town had really lifted Jack’s spirits. Pun definitely intended.
Jack’s dad had left him a substantial amount of money, including the proceeds from the sale of his house. That money had enabled us to purchase the old watermill which, fortuitously, had just come back onto the market. I still had to pinch myself every morning when I woke up and found myself living there.
Another plus to living in Middle Tweaking was that I no longer had to endure the toll bridge. Even better, I didn’t have to put up with Mr Ivers and his ramblings.
I parked in front of the house, and I’d no sooner walked through the gate than the door opened.
“Mummy! Mummy!” My beautiful daughter came running up the path and threw herself into my waiting arms. “I drew a frog at school today.”
“Did you, darling? That was very clever of you.”
“Would you like to see it?”
“Of course I would.”
“It’s purple.”
“Purple? How unusual.” I carried her to the door where Jack was waiting for us. “Florence tells me that she drew a frog at school today.”
“She certainly did.” Jack raised his eyebrows. “Just wait until you see it.”
“Why don’t you go and get your picture?” I put her down, and she ran into the house.
“Are you sure you’re alright?” Jack said.
“Yes, honestly, but I don’t want to talk about it in front of Florence.”
“Okay. I’d better go and check on the oven.”
“Look, Mummy!” Florence came running back, sheet of paper in hand. “Look at my frog.” It was just as well that she’d told me what the drawing was, because it could have been any animal, vegetable or mineral. “Do you like it, Mummy?”
“It’s the nicest frog I’ve ever seen.”
“His name is William.”
“That’s a great name.”
“William is one of my friends at school. That’s why I called the frog William.”
“Did you tell William you’d done that?”
“Yes. He named his elephant Florence.”
“That was nice of him. What else did you do at school today?”
“Jackie ripped her skirt when she climbed on the fence. Miss said that we shouldn’t climb, so it was her own fault, wasn’t it, Mummy?”
“Yes, it was. You have to do what the teacher tells you.”
“I was going to mend it for her, but you said I mustn’t use magic.”
“That’s right, I did. You’re a good girl for remembering.”
“Why can’t I, Mummy? I could have mended her skirt and then she would have been happy.”
“Don’t you remember the talk we had about that, Florence? Magic has to be our secret because it might frighten other people. We don’t want to scare anyone, do we?”
“No, but I wish I could have mended Jackie’s skirt. I’m hungry now.”
“Me too.”
“Daddy has made pancakes!”
“Yummy. Nice one, Daddy.”
Chapter 3
It was almost seven-thirty when Jack finally made it back downstairs from taking Florence to bed.
“Did you fall asleep up there?” I said.
“No, she kept asking me to read the story again.”
“I thought we’d agreed that we were only going to read it twice each night.”
“I know that’s what we said, but you know what she’s like.”
“I know she can wrap you around her little finger. When it’s my turn to read her a story, she knows that Mummy is only going to read it twice, and then I’m going downstairs.”
“You’re right, I know. I’m much too soft with her.” He sat on the sofa.
“You don’t have time to sit down. The babysitter will be here in fifteen minutes. You do still want to go out, don’t you?”
“Definitely, I’ve been looking forward to it. I’ll go and get changed now.”
When we’d lived in Smallwash, we’d had a regular babysitter, but it was too far for her to come all this way. I’d asked around, and a couple of people had recommended a young girl called Sarah who was sixteen and lived on the other side of the village. She’d popped in to see us last week, so we could introduce her to Florence. The two of them had hit it off straight away, and both Jack and I liked her.
Jack had just made it downstairs when there was a knock at the door.
“Sarah, come in.” I took her coat. “We really appreciate you doing this at short notice.”
“No problem. I love babysitting, and the extra money comes in handy.”
“You’re still at school, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m doing my A levels, and I’m hoping to go to nursing college after that.” She glanced around. “Is Florence still up?”
“No, her bedtime is at seven. She’s probably not asleep yet, but I wouldn’t go up there unless she shouts.”
“Okay. I’ve brought some homework with me, so I’ve got plenty to do.”
“There are snacks in the cupboard, and pop in the fridge. Help yourself to anything you like.”
“Thank you. Are you two going anywhere nice?”
“We’re just
