The Christmas of Adventure

©2015 June E.

Philip, Dinah, Jack and Lucy-Ann are excited at the prospect of spending their first Christmas together, but by Christmas Eve all their plans lie in ruins. Things get even worse when a severe snowstorm brings the country to a standstill and leaves Bill snowbound, hundreds of miles away. Forced to fend for themselves in Bill's remote moorland cottage, rumours abound of a strange and terrifying creature lurking in the woods nearby... and with a ruthless thief on the loose, striking at night and stealing birds from the local Sanctuary, the scene is set for a frightening and perilous adventure. Can they stop the thief before it's too late? Or will Kiki be the robber's next victim?

Chapter 4: 'This is the start of our next adventure!'

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No one slept soundly that night. Mother tossed and turned, wondering whether she would have to ring the hospital and tell them that she could not look after nanny Dora after all, and instead leave the poor old lady to spend Christmas in hospital. The children were restless, wondering whether they would be spending Christmas at home in dear little Holly Cottage, or whether they would be packed off to stay with relatives.

At 6 o'clock on Christmas Eve morning, the telephone rang, its sound almost deafening as it broke the silence of the early morning. The children, now all awake, heard the quick pad, pad, pad of Mother's bedroom slippers on the stairs as she went to answer it.

'What now!' thought Dinah, heartily wishing that telephones had never been invented – they always seemed to bring trouble!

The children strained their ears, but they could only make out Mother's muffled voice, murmuring up from the hall. Then there was a click as Mother put down the receiver, and then it went quiet.

After a few minutes, Dinah's and Lucy-Ann's bedroom door opened a crack, and Mother peeped in.

'Are you awake?' she whispered.

'I should think everyone in the village is awake,' answered Dinah in her usual forthright tone. 'That telephone is loud enough to wake the...'

But Mother interrupted before Dinah could get too far into her tirade.

'Just put your dressing gowns on and come downstairs as fast as you can, dears,' she said.

Dinah and Lucy-Ann looked at each other – what on earth was going on?

The two girls hurried downstairs, their thick dressing gowns protecting them from the cold of the early morning. The boys were already sitting by the fire, which Mother was poking vigorously, having just piled on some fresh logs. The logs caught fire, crackling and hissing as they did so, and a comforting warmth radiated out from the fireplace.

'Now then,' said Mother, leaning back from the fire. 'That was Bill on the telephone. I told him about our dilemma. And now I've got a question for you all. How would you like to spend Christmas at Bill's house in Yorkshire?'

'With Bill?' asked Lucy-Ann, incredulously.

'Yes, of course she means with Bill, you silly,' responded Dinah.

Everyone's face lit up – they could hardly believe it!

Then Mother explained.

'Bill is at aerodrome in Paris, just about to board the aeroplane. Then he is going to motor from the aerodrome in London, straight back home to Moorland Village in Yorkshire. Children, if you pack quickly, you can catch the last train before the railway lines close down for Christmas. Bill will collect you from Moorland railway station, and take you to his house to spend Christmas with him. Bill is going to telephone Mrs Grouch, his housekeeper, and tell her to make sure the spare bedrooms are made ready, and to buy enough extra food for four hungry children.'

As it was Christmas Eve, the last train left at 11 o'clock that morning, so they would have to be quick if they were to be ready in time.

'Poor Kiki! Poor Kiki!' said the parrot in a sad tone.

'Oh, don't worry Kiki!' said Mother, laughing. 'Bill didn't forget about you. Mrs Grouch is buying food for you too!'

The next few hours were spent in a whirlwind of activity. Mother made breakfast whilst the children hastily washed and dressed. Then they ate a hearty meal of bacon, eggs, sausages and buttered toast, all washed down with hot tea poured from an enormous brown teapot. Next, it was time to pack. The girls had a suitcase to share between them, and there was another suitcase for the boys.

'Remember to pack your pyjamas, toothbrushes, plenty of warm clothes, plenty of socks...' said Mother.

'Yes, we know,' chorused all four children.

'Don't forget, we pack for school at the start of every term!' said Philip. 'We are quite used to it!'

'And please try to keep your rooms clean and tidy when you're at Bill's,' pleaded Mother. 'Apparently Mrs Grouch is very particular about tidiness.'

'What about our Christmas presents?' asked Dinah. 'Must we do without them until we get back?'

'Oh no,' said Mother. 'I have packed them into two rucksacks for you to take with you. And I have put your Christmas stockings in too, and the gifts you have bought for each other.'

The children were pleased. They each had one main gift from Mother, and they were looking forward to opening it on Christmas day. In addition, a few days earlier, the four children had pencilled their names on small scraps of paper, and then placed the four papers in a hat. With their eyes closed, each one had chosen a scrap and opened it in secret.

'We don't have enough money for each of us to buy a gift for the other three – not if we are going to buy Mother something special as well,' Philip had explained. 'So we must only buy a gift for the person whose name is on the paper we have chosen. This way, we each have only one thing to buy.'

Everyone had agreed that this was a good idea, and now the four carefully chosen gifts were wrapped and labelled, and ready to be handed out on Christmas morning.

Two hours later and the four children were hugging Mother and then bundling excitedly onto the eleven o'clock train to Yorkshire.

'This carriage is free, let's bag it,' called Jack, and they all scrambled in.

'Pass me the suitcases, Dinah,' said Philip, 'I'll stow them in the luggage rack.'

'Let's keep our rucksacks by us,' said Lucy-Ann. 'I don't want to risk losing any Christmas presents, they're far too precious!'

'I'll put the packed lunches on our little table,' said Dinah.

'Goodness, there seems to be an awful lot of food,' commented Jack, looking at the various paper bags and bottles.

'Ah, but don't forget we have a packed tea as well,' said Dinah. 'We are going to be on this train for hours and hours and we are sure to get hungry.'

Suddenly, the guard's whistle sounded and the train jolted – they were off!

'Quick, wave to Mother!' shouted Philip. 'Goodbye Mother, Happy Christmas!'

'We'll miss you!' shouted Lucy-Ann.

'Goodbye Mother, I do hope nanny Dora gets better soon,' said Dinah. 'And I hope Aunt Polly and Uncle Jocelyn get over the 'flu', she added, blushing as she remembered her previous hasty remark.

'See you soon Aunt Allie, thanks for all the food – and the gift too!' called Jack, waving madly.

'Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Don't forget to blow your nose,' called Kiki, making everybody dissolve into laughter.

And in a few moments, the train platform, and Mother, were completely out of sight. The children sank back into their seats and looked at one another.

'I've got a strange tingly feeling in my stomach,' said Lucy-Ann.

'So have I,' said Philip.

'Is it because of the train jolting along?' asked Lucy-Ann, wondering if she was going to get train sick.

'No,' said Philip, winking at the others. 'It's because this is the start of our next adventure!

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