Phyllis Wong and the Return of the Conjuror by Geoffrey McSkimming

Author:Geoffrey McSkimming
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook, book
ISBN: 9781743435496
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2014-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

Using her Pockets

Phyllis decided on black for her first expedition alone.

From her History lessons at school she knew a little about the clothes they wore back in Shakespeare’s time. One of her teachers had shown Phyllis and her classmates a slideshow of the types of clothing people wore back then: the men’s tight-fitting button jackets they called doublets, the bodices and the skirts worn by the women and the framework that went under their skirts (Phyllis had liked the name of the framework—it was known as a farthingale, and was made of whalebone or wire), and the tube-shaped bundle that women wore to give them the appearance of having bigger hips (the boys in her class had enjoyed a good sniggerfest when they’d learnt that this was called a bumroll).

Phyllis decided that she couldn’t hope to dress in the authentic fashion of the time, but wearing black would be the next best thing if she didn’t want to stand out in the crowds. The last thing she needed was to draw too much attention to herself. So she dressed in a dark shirt, black sweater and jeans, and a pair of dark runners. She chose her long black coat that came down past her knees, and tied her hair back in a ponytail. She didn’t want to be choking on mouthfuls of it when the wind picked up in the Pocket.

Daisy lay on the bed, watching her as she got dressed. ‘You’re a good girl,’ Phyllis said to her. ‘I’m going to be gone for a little while—’

At the sound of the word gone, Daisy sat up and extended a paw, her little face crinkling in the way it always crinkled when she heard words that unsettled her.

‘But,’ said Phyllis, taking Daisy’s paw and shaking it gently, ‘you’ll hardly even notice. Time will fly and I’ll be back before you can sneeze.’

Daisy gave a little gargling-of-marbles sound.

Phyllis held her paw. ‘Maybe I’ll take you with me another time. But not now. Not this time. I have to get used to this, and I don’t want anything happening to you that shouldn’t . . .’

Phyllis stopped and, still clasping Daisy’s paw, she took a deep breath. ‘Okay, Miss Daisy, it’s time.’

She took one of Daisy’s favourite treats from a tin on her dresser and gave it to her. Daisy wagged her tail and settled down with the biscuit. She was enjoying it so much—as she always did—that she didn’t notice Phyllis picking up her shoulder bag and quietly leaving the bedroom.

The elevator was waiting, and Phyllis went straight in. She inserted her key in the basement lock on the control panel and turned it. The doors closed and the old contraption began descending.

As she went judderingly down, Phyllis wished that the journey through the Pockets could be like this. Even though the old elevator didn’t give the smoothest ride, it was way smoother than some of the turbulence she’d go through if she Transited through an Anamygduleon or another Andruseon.

Then, with a final lurch, she was in the basement.

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