“Shall we?” I held open the door.
Seated around the table were Beth Nightling, Felicity Charming and three other girls I didn’t know. Felicity’s eyes were red from crying.
“The floor is yours, Miss Gooder.” The headmistress took a seat at the head of the table.
“Thank you, headmistress. Before I reveal who took the gold jewellery, I have some important news for Felicity. I’m pleased to report that I’ve managed to identify Fluff.”
“Really, Miss?” Her eyes lit up.
From my pocket, I produced the photocopy I’d taken of the page from Cuthbert Shuttlebug’s book. “Fluff is an aurochilla.” I pointed to the illustration.
“Does that mean I can keep him, headmistress?” Felicity said.
“I suppose so. That illustration does appear to be your little friend, so I see no reason why you can’t.”
“Which brings me to the matter of the gold jewellery that has gone missing.” I walked over to Fluff’s cage and carried it across to the table.
Everyone, including the headmistress, looked confused.
“I brought this with me.” I took a small earring out of my pocket. “I lost the matching one years ago, but I didn’t throw it away because it’s gold.”
They now looked even more confused.
“Watch.” I put the earring through the bars of Fluff’s cage.
The cute little creature grabbed it, stuffed it into his mouth and began to eat it. A few moments later, it had gone, and he gave a tiny burp.
“The aurochilla are friendly creatures. They’re very rare—almost extinct, in fact. One peculiarity about them is that, as well as their normal diet of fruit and veg, they enjoy nothing better than eating gold.”
Everyone looked stunned; no one more so than the headmistress. “How can a little thing like that manage to chew its way through gold?”
“According to Cuthbert Shuttlebug’s notes, the aurochilla has a second set of incredibly strong teeth, which are hidden most of the time. It uses them to bite and chew gold.”
“Fluff ate my ring?” Beth looked gobsmacked.
“And my bracelet?” said the girl who I now realised must be Christine Ridings.
“That’s right. What’s more, I believe he also ate the inter-house sports cup. Felicity has been having some problems with the catch on the cage. My guess is that Fluff managed to sneak out one night and had a really big feast on the trophy.”
There was silence for the longest moment, but then the headmistress laughed out loud. “Well, blow me down. Whoever would have guessed? Still, I’d much rather it was this little creature than have a thief in our midst. I guess we’ll just have to find the funds from somewhere to buy a replacement cup.”
“That may not be necessary, headmistress.” I turned to Felicity. “Could I have a quiet word?”
“Of course, Miss.”
I took her to one side and told her what I wanted her to do.
She nodded, giggled and then picked up Fluff’s cage.
“Would you come with us, please, headmistress?” I said.
Ms Nightowl looked very puzzled but followed as Felicity led the way out of the building.
“I usually take him over there.” She pointed to a small copse in the distance, close to the perimeter wall.
“Lead the way.”
The three of us made our way across the playing fields, which had already been marked out in preparation for Friday’s sports day. When we reached the copse, Felicity stopped and looked at me.
“It’s okay.” I nodded. “Let him out.”
She placed the cage on the ground, pulled the catch, and opened the door. Fluff didn’t need any further invitation. He skipped out of the cage and scuttled into the trees.
We followed at a distance until we saw him stop.
“Wait here a minute,” I said.
When he turned around and came back, Felicity put him in the cage, then I led the way to the spot where he’d halted for a while.
“Look!” I pointed.
“Is that what I think it is?” The headmistress pulled a face.
“Yes, it is. It’s solid gold poo. I’m pretty sure there’ll be lots more of it around here. It may not look very pretty, but once it’s been cleaned up, it should still retain much of its value. If you collect it, there should be more than enough to pay for a new trophy.”
“I’ll get Reginald Crowe straight on it.”
Poor old Reggie.
“Miss,” Felicity said. “I don’t think I want to keep Fluff.”
“Why not? It’s okay now we’ve identified him. You’ll just have to keep him away from the gold.”
“I was thinking about what you said about them being almost extinct. He probably has a family or friends back at the Valley of Shadows. I’d like to take him back there and set him free.”
“That’s a very selfless thing to do. What do you think, headmistress? Could that be arranged?”
“Absolutely. I’ll get straight onto it as soon as I get back to my office.”
“Great. I suppose I’d better get back to Candlefield, then.”
“Before you go, Jill. I’d like to ask your permission to name the replacement inter-house sports trophy, the Gooder Cup.”
“I’m very flattered, but that really isn’t necessary. Anyway, my name won’t be Gooder after Saturday.”
“All the more reason to give your current name to the cup. It will act as a permanent reminder of when Candlefield’s most powerful witch first taught at our school. What do you say?”
“I—err—guess so. Thank you very much.”
“Excellent. In that case, you really must be here on Friday to present it to the victorious house.”
“But, headmistress, I—”
“I realise you get married the next day, and will have a lot on your mind, but if you could just see your way clear to being here for the final event of the day: The final of the mixed four-hundred metres relay. You could present the trophy immediately after that race, and then shoot off home. What do you say?”
“Please say yes, Miss,” Felicity said.
“How can I say no? I’ll be here.”
Chapter 17
It had been ages since I’d had breakfast at Aunt Lucy’s, but then, yesterday, when I’d just happened to mention that Jack would have to go into work early today, she’d suggested I should join her this morning.
What? No, of course I hadn’t been angling for an invitation. What kind of person would do that? Sheesh!
“Morning, Jill.” Aunt Lucy was in the lounge, cradling one of the Lils in her arms.
“Morning. Which one is that?”
“Lil One.” She hesitated. “Oh dear. I really shouldn’t call her that, but it’s the only way I can keep track of them. This is Amber’s Lil.”
“Lil One and Lil Two?” I like it. “I’m not sure Pearl would be very happy to know her little darling is number two, though.”
“She’d be mortified, even if I tried to explain it doesn’t mean anything. You won’t tell either of them, will you?”
“Of course not. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Take her, Jill, would you?” She handed Lil One to me. “Watch her while I see to breakfast.”
“Me? I don’t know how.”
“You’ll be fine. I won’t be long.”
“Err—okay.”
Lil One seemed to be giving me a puzzled look. She could probably sense that I didn’t have the first clue about babies.
“Goo, goo, goo,” I said.
Lil One appeared to smile, so I was obviously on the right track. This looking after babies was a piece of cake.
“Goo, goo, goo.”
She suddenly began to wail.
Oh no! What had I done?
“Aunt Lucy! Help!”
Moments later, she appeared at the door. “Did you call?”
“I think I’ve done something wrong. Lil One’s crying.”
“That’s what babies do.” Aunt Lucy smiled. “It’s nothing to worry about. Just rock her in your arms and talk to her.”
“I was talking to her. I said, ‘goo, goo, goo’, but that just made her cry.”
“Try talking to her properly—just like you would to anyone else.”
“But she’s just a baby. What shall I talk to her about?”
“Tell her about the wedding.”
“Seriously?”
“Why not? I’d better get back and see to the bacon.”
“Hey, Lil, I’m getting married on Saturday. To Jack. You don’t know him, but I think you’d like him.”