Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (Children of the Red King, Book 2) (20 page)

CHAPTER 20
PATON HAS A PARTY

Every year, on Uncle Paton's birthday Grandma Bone and her sisters took a short trip. They hated having to buy presents or indulge in "nonsensical celebrations," as Grandma Bone put it.

This year, Paton's birthday was on the first day of the break. Maisie decided that before Charlie and his uncle set off for the coast again, Paton should have a real party for a change.

"We've never had a real party here before," she said. "But Charlie's new friends have got such interesting parents, we really ought to get to know them."

Invitations were sent out and, surprisingly everyone accepted. Even the judge.

The party was kept secret from Grandma Bone in case she tried to put a stop to it. Maisie managed to hide the champagne under a sack in the pantry and the birthday cake was put in a crate marked
CAULIFLOWER
. Grandma Bone hated cauliflower so she kept well away from it.

On the morning before the party Charlie carried his grandmother's suitcase down the stairs. Grandma Bone was right behind him when he crossed the hall to the front door. There was a bang and the sound of breaking glass. Charlie dropped the case and look around.

"Oh dear," said Grandma Bone. "That picture's broken again, and Paton's just had new glass put in it."

The photo of Henry and his family lay on the floor; the glass in the frame had smashed into a thousand pieces. Had Grandma Bone knocked it down on purpose? She had a nasty smile on her face.

"Well, it's good riddance to him," she said, pushing the frame with the toe of her boot.

Charlie didn't say a word.
If only she knew the truth,
he thought.

Once she was out of the house, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"To work," cried Maisie. "Let's make this old house like a palace!"

At seven o'clock, their work complete, Maisie and Paton, Charlie and his mother, waited for their guests to arrive.

Tancred and his parents came first. As soon as the Torssons walked through the front door, all the candles flickered violently A few went out.

"Sorry!" boomed Mr. Torsson. "We'll try and keep the breezes to ourselves."

Maisie was delighted. "How clever," she said. "We could do with a bit of fresh air in here."

Benjamin and the detectives came next, and they were quickly followed by Fidelio and the singing Gunns, and Gabriel and his parents. Mr. Silk wrote murder mysteries and when he heard that Mr. and Mrs. Brown were private detectives he whipped out his notebook and was soon deep in conversation with Mr. Brown.

The Onimouses, the flame cats, and the Vertigos arrived at the same time. Olivia's father was a famous film director and immediately wanted to know if Mr. Onimous had considered a career in the movies. "I'm casting for The Wind in the Willows right now;" he said.

"I'll consider it," said Mr. Onimous.

By eight o'clock the party was in full swing. Charlie thought everyone had arrived, but Paton told him that there was just one more guest to come. A few minutes later the bell rang. Charlie opened the front door and found Cook on the doorstep.

" Pearl 's been keeping me up-to-date about Henry It's a happy ending for him, after all."

"And Mrs. Bloor," said Charlie.

He took Cook into the kitchen where Gabriel Silk was helping to serve the drinks.

"There's just one thing I'd like to know;" said Cook, sipping her glass of wine. "Where did Dorothy find that marble?"

"I gave it to her," said Gabriel. "Well, she asked me for it."

Charlie was surprised to hear this.

"Well, well," said Cook, "and where did you find it?"

"Mr. Pilgrim gave it to me," said Gabriel.

"Of course." Cook nodded slowly "Mr. Pilgrim is a mysterious man."

"Where do you think Mrs. Bloor is now?" asked Charlie.

"She'll be in Paris, just as she always intended. She'll have gotten herself a nice little apartment and soon she'll be giving violin lessons. Maybe she'll join an orchestra. Who knows? She'll be playing her violin again, which is all she ever wanted. And she'll be safe." Cook looked at Gabriel. "Thank you, Gabriel."

There was a sudden loud bang on the front door. It came again. Someone wasn't even bothering to ring the bell.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Whoever . . .?" said Paton.

Charlie followed his uncle to the front door.

Grandma Bone stood on the top step with her three sisters behind her.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"We're having a party" said Paton coolly "What are you doing here?"

"How dare you have a party in my house. Stop it this minute!" snapped Grandma Bone.

"Stop it!" said Lucretia.

"Everybody out!" said Eustacia.

"You can't have a party without our permission," said Venetia.

"SHUT UP!" said Paton. "I can have a party In case you've forgotten, it's half my house."

"What's the trouble, Paton?" Mr. Torsson had come to see what the fuss was about.

"No trouble," said Paton. "Nothing I can't handle."

Whether Paton could handle it or not was beside the point. Mr. Torsson took one look at the four angry sisters, puffed up his cheeks, and blew them down the steps and clean across the street.

Grandma Bone narrowly missed being hit by a bus.

Charlie watched in awe and astonishment as the Yewbeam sisters picked themselves up, patted their hair, brushed their muddy clothes, and shook their fists at Paton and Mr. Torsson.

A loud thundercrack and a sudden cloudburst sent them scurrying away down the street, shrieking and cursing.

"We'll pay for that," Paton murmured.

"But not tonight," said Charlie.

As soon as the four sisters were well and truly gone, Olivia Vertigo said, "Let's dance!"

"Yes, a dance!" cried Fidelio.

Before anyone could stop them they had moved the table in the dining room and rolled up the rug. Emma put some music on the CD player and all three of them began to dance around the room.

The other boys hung back at first, but then Maisie grabbed the judge around the waist and whirled him onto the dance floor. After that, no one else could resist the music. Soon the usually cold and cheerless room was full of swaying, bobbing figures. Uncle Paton even managed to persuade Miss Ingledew onto the floor. The room was so crowded they had to dance very close. Charlie noted that Miss Ingledew didn't seem to mind a bit.

He couldn't see his mother in the room and so he went to find her. She was sitting in the kitchen staring through the window Little flakes of snow were drifting down from the sky but Charlie knew his mother didn't see them.

"Dad will come back," said Charlie quietly.

When Mrs. Bone turned to him, she didn't look sad at all, in fact she was smiling.

"You know Charlie, I'm beginning to believe you," she said. “After what happened to Henry I can believe almost anything."

* * *

JENNY NIMMO

I was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England, and educated at boarding schools in Kent and Surrey from the age of six until I was sixteen, when I ran away from school to become a drama student/assistant stage manager with Theater South East. I graduated and acted in repertory theater in various towns and cities: Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Hastings, and Bexhill.

I left Britain to teach English to three Italian boys in Amalfi, Italy On my return I joined the BBC, first as a picture researcher, then assistant floor manager, studio manager (news), and finally director/adaptor with
Jackanory
(a BBC storytelling program for children). I left the BBC to marry Welsh artist David Wynn Millward and went to live in Wales in my husband's family home. We live in a very old converted water-mill, and the river is constantly threatening to break in, which it has done several times in the past, most dramatically on my youngest child's first birthday During the summer we run a residential school of art, and I have to move my office, put down tools (typewriter and pencils), and don an apron and cook! We have three grown-up children, Myfanwy Ianto, and Gwenhwyfar.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy.

BY JENNY NIMMO CHILDREN OF THE RED KING SERIES BOOK 3

A beautiful girl arrives at charlie's house. her eyes keep changing color. she lives with the yewbeam aunts and seems to have a strange power over them. her name is belle. she goes to Bloor's Academy with Charlie, and is put in the art department.

Emma finds a letter that Mr. Boldova, the new young art teacher, has dropped. it reveals that he is the older brother of Ollie Sparks, who disappeared a year ago, made invisible by an ancient blue boa constrictor. emma and charlie decide to help mr. boldova find ollie.

Billy Raven sees Belle change her shape — she becomes a very old woman. bllly is terrified. the old woman Has come to help the bloors control the children of the red king, and to make sure they don't rescue ollie.

Can Charlie and his friends rescue Ollie and make him visible again?