Kensy & Max: Freefall Read online

  ‘Max, are you here?’ she called. She desperately wanted to talk to him before dinner, but the room was empty and so was the ensuite.

  She thundered down the stairs and along the hallway, almost knocking Song over as he walked out of the small sitting room into her path, a pile of cashmere throw rugs in his arms.

  ‘Goodness me, Miss Kensington. You need to slow down!’ the man berated. ‘But at least you are here on time. That is one good thing.’

  ‘We took Curtis to the lighthouse,’ Kensy said, eager to tell the man what they’d seen, but keen for some answers first. ‘Does anyone live in the cottage?’

  ‘It has been home to the Fife family for several generations,’ Song replied, his eyebrow twitching. ‘Young Frank lives there on his own since his father passed away the week after Christmas. Now if you will excuse me, Miss Kensington, some of us have jobs to do and I must get back to the barbecue.’

  ‘Is he Pharos?’ Kensy asked.

  ‘Of course. Everyone who works on the estate is – you should know that from your review,’ Song said tersely. ‘Miss Kensington, please go and brush your hair before your grandmother sees you. It looks like a bird has taken up residence in the rear of your head.’ There was the sound of tripping claws as Wellie and Mac hurtled around the corner and almost knocked the man over. ‘Outside, you two!’ he yelled. ‘Now!’

  Kensy rolled her eyes as the butler scurried away. ‘At least I’ve still got hair,’ she called after him, but if he heard her, he didn’t bite. She wondered what had put Song in such a bad mood. He was usually the happiest person in the house.

  She walked through the double doors and onto the flagstone terrace, which was bathed in twilight sunshine. The area at the rear of the mansion was tucked into an alcove with a long table for at least a dozen people and four sun lounges too. There was a built-in barbecue with an outdoor kitchen. Kensy loved that it didn’t get dark until almost ten o’clock in the evenings at the moment. Cordelia was standing in the corner with Mim and her grandfather, Hector, all sipping drinks from long crystal tumblers. The barbecue was sizzling away unattended.

  ‘Oh, hello darling,’ Cordelia motioned for Kensy to join them. ‘Did you have a good walk?’

  ‘Yes, Granny,’ the girl said. ‘We went to the lighthouse. It was –’

  ‘How lovely,’ the woman replied, cutting her off. ‘Mim was just telling me about the exciting new project she’s been working on with Hector and Marisol. Honestly between the three of them, I think they could solve the entire world’s food and health problems. You know, they’ve come up with a fast-growing wheat that can go from seed to harvest in a week and needs barely any water.’

  ‘Wow,’ Kensy said flatly. She had far more exciting things to talk about than boring old crops.

  ‘I would have thought you could show a little more enthusiasm, young lady,’ Cordelia said, arching her eyebrow at the girl. ‘Your grandparents and Mim might well change the world, which is more than most people do.’

  ‘If only there was more time,’ Hector said, a sad look in his eyes.

  Kensy frowned. ‘What are you talking about, Grandpère?’ Suddenly she felt a knot in her stomach.

  ‘We are getting old, my dear. If only we were young like your parents, then per’aps we would make more gains and then we could really make a difference,’ the man said.

  Kensy felt horrible for being so dismissive and lunged forward to give him a hug. ‘You’re not old, Grandpère. And you’re not allowed to think like that. I forbid it.’

  The man chuckled just as his wife appeared. Marisol Clement was as elegant as ever, dressed in red cigar pants and a white linen shirt. She wore a long gold chain around her neck and sparkling diamond earrings.

  ‘Oh, I wish I was French,’ Mim sighed when she caught sight of the woman. ‘Marisol, you could make a potato sack look like it was haute couture – unlike me who makes everything I wear look like a potato sack.’

  ‘My dear, that is not true at all.’ The woman smiled and patted Mim’s arm.

  Max and Curtis arrived at the same time a helicopter whumped overhead. Song appeared too, wearing a striped apron and twirling a set of tongs.

  ‘I think the sausages might be burning,’ Cordelia said, a curt edge to her voice. ‘And your parents are here, children.’

  Anna and Ed had flown up from London for the weekend. Fitz was meant to join them but had been delayed on some or other mysterious business.

  Song raised the lid of the barbecue, engulfing the terrace in a pall of smoke, leaving everyone coughing and sputtering and earning himself a death stare from Cordelia. The twins looked at each other and launched themselves over the garden bed, sprinting around the corner to the helipad, leaving Curtis behind.

  ‘I think my grandchildren have quite forgotten their manners this evening. Why don’t you go after them?’ Cordelia said to the boy.

  ‘Thank you, Dame Spencer,’ Curtis replied. ‘But I think sometimes families need to have time alone. I’m sure they’ll be back in a minute.’

  The woman nodded, impressed by the boy’s level of emotional intelligence. He was considerate and kind. ‘How are you coping being so far away from your own parents?’

  Given the boy had only been at Alexandria for a day he hadn’t really thought about home terribly much.

  ‘I miss them, of course, but this is all so exciting, and Mum and Dad were really happy that you invited me to come,’ the boy replied. ‘Even though I’m an only child, my parents have always been pragmatic about the times I’d be away – for school camps and Scouts and sleepovers, though this is definitely the best one of those I’ve ever had.’

  ‘Your parents sound like particularly sensible people,’ the woman said. ‘What sort of business is your father in?’

  ‘Engineering,’ Curtis replied. ‘Although he was saying a little while ago that he would love a new challenge. Mum said that he should think about changing jobs. She was even keen for him to do some work overseas so we could all have a bit of an adventure.’

  Cordelia smiled. ‘What a wonderful idea.’ Little did Curtis know that every answer he gave was part of the test to see whether or not he was a suitable candidate.

  Meanwhile around the corner Kensy and Max had enjoyed a cuddly reunion with their parents and were now bursting to tell them about the boat and the lair and Frank Fife, except Ed had to take an urgent call from the newspaper and Anna made a dash for the bathroom through the kitchen, not wanting to be seen before she had freshened up.

  ‘Seriously,’ Kensy huffed. ‘I’ve tried to tell Song and Granny and they didn’t want to know. It’s as if all the adults are way too busy to listen to anything we have to say.’

  ‘It’s okay, Kens,’ Max said. ‘We can tell them at dinner.’

  ‘No, we can’t – at least not about the boat because Curtis doesn’t know that people have been trying to kill us, remember,’ Kensy said. ‘And we can’t just blurt that out.’

  Max frowned. ‘Okay. But I’m sure that we can mention the lighthouse and what we found. Then we can tell Granny about the boat later on.’

  Kensy grinned, a twinkle in her eye.

  Her brother looked at her. ‘What are you up to?’

  ‘Nothing, but maybe we should have some fun – tease Granny a little bit,’ Kensy said.

  Max nodded. ‘Okay, you can take the lead.’

  The children arrived back at the terrace moments before their parents.

  ‘Evening all,’ Edward said and greeted his family one by one. Anna did the same. The twins were happy to see that Cordelia kissed their mother and gave her a hug – things seemed to have thawed a little of late, which was some good news at least.

  ‘Hello Curtis. How are you?’ Edward reached out to shake the young man’s hand.

  ‘I’m very well thank you, Mr Spencer,’ the boy replied.

  ‘Please call me Ed,’ the man said.

  Song was quickly on hand to offer drinks and canapés and it wasn’t long before t
hey sat down at the long table to enjoy the barbecue feast. There was an array of gourmet sausages, lamb cutlets, steak and chicken kebabs as well as several salads and baked potatoes with sour cream and chives. The children sat between their parents and Curtis was opposite with Mim and Marisol either side. Cordelia was at the head of the table at one end and Hector at the other. Wellie and Mac had taken up residence under the table, hoping for some tidbits.

  ‘What ’ave you got planned for tomorrow, children?’ Hector asked.

  Kensy glanced across at her brother and gave him a sly wink.

  ‘Nothing really. I wish we had a boat,’ Kensy said, staring at Curtis and willing the boy to go along with her.

  Cordelia glanced up. ‘What sort of boat?’

  ‘Something big enough that we could go out on the ocean. It looked so lovely from the clifftop and it’s supposed to be calm again tomorrow,’ the girl said.

  ‘It would be great to go fishing,’ Max added, giving Curtis an encouraging look.

  ‘Yeah, I love fishing. My grandad has a little tinny that we take out on the harbour,’ the boy said.

  Edward glanced at his wife and then at Mim before his gaze came to rest on Cordelia.

  ‘We used to have a boat, didn’t we, Mother?’ the man said, a cheeky look on his face. ‘Several, as I recall. An adventure on the high seas sounds like fun to me.’

  ‘Where did you go on your walk this afternoon, children?’ Cordelia eyeballed the twins and then Curtis. ‘The lighthouse, was it?’

  The three of them nodded.

  ‘And did you see anything interesting out there?’ the woman asked.

  Dinner had suddenly turned into a game of cat and mouse and now it felt as if Cordelia had taken on the feline role. She was stalking her prey, clearly aware of exactly where the children had been.

  ‘The lighthouse,’ Kensy said.

  ‘And the cottage,’ Curtis added. ‘Don’t forget that – it’s like a scene from a postcard.’

  ‘And the underground lair with the boats that looks like something out of a Bond movie,’ Max confessed.

  ‘I was going to tell you before, Granny, but you changed the subject,’ Kensy said. ‘No one told us that we couldn’t go. And we only found it by accident.’

  ‘An underground lair,’ Hector gasped. ‘That sounds intriguing.’

  A grin began to play on Dame Spencer’s lips.

  She looked over at Song. ‘Do you think it would be possible to have Anuket ready for an outing tomorrow? I understand she’s had a complete overhaul for the summer. Could you ask Frank if he’d captain the ship for us? Might be good for the young man to have a distraction. I know he’s still very sad about losing his father.’

  Song nodded. ‘I will make the arrangements, ma’am.’

  ‘Anuket?’ Curtis said. ‘You must really love Egypt, Dame Spencer. She’s the Goddess of the Nile and nourisher of the fields. And I saw that your other boats are called . . .’

  Kensy delivered Curtis a swift kick to the shin under the table and stared at the boy wide eyed.

  ‘Ow,’ he yelped then realised why she’d done it.

  Cordelia looked at the lad. ‘Go on, Curtis. You were saying.’

  ‘Oh, delicious sausages. What sort were they again?’ he asked, stuffing a large bite into his mouth to prevent himself from saying anything else that he shouldn’t.

  Following the main course Song and Mrs Thornthwaite appeared with an array of desserts. There was summer pudding with Song’s home-made vanilla bean ice-cream, pavlova laden with fruit and whipped cream, and chocolate mousse to satisfy the sweetest tooth at the table.

  ‘How long are you and Dad staying?’ Max asked his mother who had just popped a plump strawberry into her mouth.

  ‘I’m afraid that I have surgery this week and your father has to get back to the paper for meetings so it’s only the night,’ Anna replied. She could see the disappointment etched onto her son’s face. ‘But we’re having two weeks holiday as of next Friday.’

  Max’s expression brightened. ‘Really? That’s great. Are you coming up here?’

  Anna nodded.

  Song walked over and whispered something in Cordelia’s ear.

  ‘Excuse me, everyone, I have to take a call. I won’t be long.’ Cordelia folded her napkin and placed it on the table before pushing out her chair and walking into the house.

  Curtis tried to get Max’s attention. He squirmed in his seat and realised that it probably hadn’t been the best idea to guzzle four large glasses of Song’s homemade lemonade in the space of an hour or so.

  Mim noticed the boy fidgeting. ‘Are you all right, Curtis?’ she asked quietly.

  ‘I’ve had a few too many drinks,’ the boy replied. ‘Could you point me in the direction of the nearest toilet?’

  Mim smiled and explained. She’d hardly finished when Curtis pushed out his chair and sprinted inside. He was repeating the instructions in his head, but when he turned left at the end of the corridor he couldn’t remember if Mim had said it was the first door or the second. He didn’t have time to go back and check – it was getting desperate.

  Curtis decided on the first one and found himself in a billiards room. It was lined with dark wood panelling and there was a gruesome assortment of antique hunting trophies on the walls. Curtis flinched at the sight of them – especially the poor old rhino above the fireplace. There was another door at the opposite end of the room – maybe that was it, although he didn’t remember Mim saying anything about going through the games room. He ran around the edge of the vast billiard table, past the bar, which could have been plucked straight from the interior of an English pub, wrenched open the door, relieved to find what he was after – an old-fashioned water closet. Though upon closer inspection he wasn’t exactly thrilled by the stuffed ferret sitting atop a shelf leering down at him. Curtis turned his back to the creature and thankfully felt much better with every passing second. Except that he could hear a voice. He glanced around, anxious to make sure that he was alone when he realised that the noise was coming through a vent beside the toilet. Curtis finished his business and pressed his ear against the grille.

  ‘You need to get them out of there as soon as possible,’ Dame Spencer said. He shouldn’t have been listening, but everything about Alexandria was intriguing and with his penchant for spying, he couldn’t help himself. Curtis washed and dried his hands then went to leave when something Dame Spencer said stopped him in his tracks.

  ‘Tinsley and the children will do whatever you tell them to. This is not a negotiation. The children might be upset for now, but that’s far better than the alternative,’ the woman said.

  Tinsley. The children. Was she talking about Mrs Chalmers and Van and Ellery? Curtis knew that their father had done something bad that night in the shed at Exeter, when he’d helped Kensy and Max, but he hadn’t seen the man around the neighbourhood since. Strangely Van and Ellery and their mother had left town too. They weren’t at school the week after the incident so Curtis had gone to their house to see if they were okay. It was locked up tight. He asked Ms Skidmore in the school office if she knew where they were and she said that the family had moved overseas indefinitely – something to do with their father’s work. It was weird though, Van and Ellery were the sort of kids you would have expected to have a big farewell party, but they pretty much disappeared overnight without a word.

  Curtis was still listening when he heard Max’s voice.

  ‘Curtis, are you in here?’ the lad called.

  For a second he dallied, but then he opened the door.

  ‘Yeah, hi, sorry – desperate trip to the loo,’ the lad said.

  ‘I think you must have got lost,’ Max said. ‘You know there’s another toilet down the hall, off the patio.’ Max frowned, pointing behind where Curtis was standing. ‘So there’s a toilet through there?’

  Curtis nodded. ‘It’s a bit creepy.’

  Max pushed his way past the boy. ‘I see what you mean. Someone in
the family had a thing for taxidermy. Thankfully Granny said she won’t be adding to the collection, but she doesn’t have the heart to get rid of it all. Apparently there’s loads more up in the attic. We should check it out while you’re here.’ The boy turned to leave when he stopped short.

  ‘Did you hear that?’ he asked Curtis, who was standing outside the open door.

  The lad shook his head.

  ‘No, not a thing,’ he said. He didn’t want Max to think that he’d been eavesdropping on his grandmother’s private conversation.

  Max picked up a pair of glasses that were sitting on a small table beside the toilet. They looked exactly like Song’s. In a basket on the ground was a pile of magazines. He reached in and took one, realising it was written in Chinese. The cubicle must have been the man’s secret retreat. Fair enough – even in a house this big perhaps he had trouble getting some peace and quiet at times, and Max didn’t imagine this was the most popular of rooms for the rest of the family.

  The boy spun around and was about to step outside when he heard his grandmother’s voice loud and clear.

  ‘Take them to the Eagle’s Nest. Plain sight. We’ll speak in the morning,’ Dame Spencer said. ‘And Bear, be careful. We all know what he’s capable of.’

  They heard a chair scrape on the floor and footsteps.

  ‘Don’t tell me you didn’t hear that, Curtis,’ Max looked at his friend.

  He hesitated for a second then nodded.

  ‘Then you had to have heard more, before I arrived,’ Max said. ‘Granny was on a call. Her office must be on the other side of that wall.’

  Curtis was about to say no then decided better of it. Max wasn’t stupid.

  ‘Okay, I heard a couple of things,’ Curtis said.

  Max folded his arms and tapped his foot on the ground. ‘I’m waiting.’

  ‘Your grandmother mentioned Tinsley and the children. I assume she meant Tinsley Chalmers and Van and Ellery. There can’t be too many Tinsleys in the world, can there? She said that they had to do whatever the person she was talking to told them – that it wasn’t a negotiation,’ Curtis blathered.