The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey

Author:Iona Grey [Grey, Iona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471140716
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

‘She asked me to put the key in the envelope, see? But first I needed it to put the clue in the Chinese House.’ Polly shook her head sadly. ‘I should have waited until later, but I wanted you to have it when you woke up. I had no idea you’d be clutching the blasted thing. Gone and ruined this one, haven’t I?’

‘You haven’t.’ Alice looked at the map, working out its features: the walled kitchen garden where she’d eaten her sandwiches yesterday, the iron gate into the main garden and the tunnel of tall yews. She recognized the Italian garden with the pool at its centre, the goddess statue Mr Patterson had revealed from behind curtains of ivy and the big banks of gaudy-flowered bushes by the lake. Mama had drawn the little bridge and marked the island with a large, shaky cross. ‘Have you got the treasure letter here? I do want to go to the Chinese Tea House, but would it be cheating to read it now?’

Polly slid another envelope from her pocket. ‘I don’t suppose so. And it would certainly save me a long walk. Here—’ She held it out to Alice. ‘You can read it while I go and make a pot of tea. I’m good for nothing until I’ve had two cups.’

Alice shoved the pillow into a wedge behind her and opened the letter. It was typewritten, but her brief prick of disappointment was forgotten as she began to read.

Darling Alice,

I know you’ve been dying to explore the gardens so I thought you might enjoy looking for this clue – and I know you’ll adore the Chinese Tea House. Isn’t it perfect? I believe it was built in my grandparents’ day, when the fashion for all things Eastern began. They made the lake by widening the river (cleverly leaving that little island) and made the sweet house as a backdrop for the lovely blossoming trees. I’m cursing myself for having been so hopelessly slow with my clues, because I have a feeling that the blossom will mostly be over by now, which is such a shame. Out here I’ve lost track of the lovely English seasons.

Anyway, like all fashionable things, the Chinese Tea House fell out of favour once the novelty had worn off and when I was a little girl it was hardly ever used for the purpose for which it had been intended (which was, I suppose, taking tea). Howard and his friends used to go down there after dinner to play cards and be riotous without disturbing The Grands, which is how the gramophone came to be down there (I suppose no one could quite bear to take it away after he died).

I had rather forgotten about it until that summer before you were born, when I came to spend some time on my own at Blackwood. I was supposed to go to Scotland with my parents, as I always did, to stay with the Rutherfords at Inverosse. I always dreaded it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.