The Ghost of Ivy Barn by Mark Stay

Author:Mark Stay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Published: 2022-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

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Faye sat alone in her room waiting for the longcase clock downstairs to strike midnight. She alternated between bouncing her knee impatiently and tapping her foot on the floor like a rabbit in springtime. How much of her mother’s magic would be revealed to her by Mrs Housego’s soup? Faye had to sleep for one hour as instructed, and then she’d have quite a few hours to jot down as much as possible. Faye thought about getting a pencil and pad ready, but she reasoned she had oodles of time for stuff like that. There was no reason why she couldn’t recall all of the book before sunrise. Faye wondered if it would be like meeting her mother again. Or perhaps it would be like having a very one-sided conversation where Faye did all the listening? She chastised herself for being silly. It would only be words. Memories of words on a page. But Faye reminded herself that when she read her mother’s book for the first time, she could almost hear her voice again. Clear as day.

The longcase clock chimed. It was midnight.

Faye downed the soup, having prepared it as per Mrs Housego’s instructions. It was thick and nutty and stuck to the roof of her mouth. It had a peppery aftertaste and made her burp. It felt warm in her belly and she immediately felt drowsy. One hour, she reminded herself. Sleep for one hour only. Set… set the alarm. Faye wanted to reach for her bedside alarm clock, but it was so much easier to close… her… eyes…

The next thing she knew the longcase clock struck five.

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