The Autumn Palace Read Free Page B

Hamish very much to speak of those horrible events. She wound her arm around his waist and gave him a hug. He returned it but without the intensity she needed. Despite the picture-postcard scene, her happy mood evaporated. Somewhere in this vast palace was a ballroom, where, decades ago, Great Aunt Col had lost her dental-floss-thin grip on her temper and cast Hamish into ferret form. And in that form he’d stayed for years and years, until he’d met Ondine. The only good to come from his being trapped as a member of the weasel family was that his human physical form had not changed since that day. 20
    They walked to the gatehouse and Ondine let Col do all the talking. The guard looked at the three of them and asked for identification. Oh dear,Ondine had none, neither did Hamish.
    â€˜They are with me,’ Old Col said, ‘the Duke is expecting us.’
    â€˜Wait one moment,’ the guard said, picking up an intercom and pressing a button.
    â€˜By the time you do that, we could be inside already. Come children,’ Col said, breezing past him.
    Eeek, that felt a bit naughty. Hamish took Ondine’s hand and they followed Col. Click clack went her feet on the cobble stones, which had fleur-de-lis carved on them.
    Wind suddenly howled through the trees. Ondine’s dark hair whipped across her face and stung her eyes. A gust pushed her from behind and she lost her footing.
    â€˜Steady, lass.’ Hamish held her hand as the trees around them twisted and thrashed. His lips kept moving, but the wind stole the rest of his words. Old Col staggered, then turned and pointed.
    Ondine looked behind them to see a tornado sucking up everything in its path – buildings, plants and earth. It was heading right for them! The guardfled his post, just before the twister ripped up the gatehouse.
    â€˜Run!’ Hamish yelled, grabbing her and racing towards the safety of the palace.
    The wind clawed at them. Ondine screamed as something exploded beside her and slate tiles flew through the sky. Bang! The twister sucked the doors off the stables and half a dozen terrified horses bolted out.
    The next second Col had Ondine by the other hand. The three of them ran towards the palace portico.
    Just as someone slammed the enormous doors in their face.
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    13    In the process of receiving World Heritage Listing. Knocks Argentina’s Ischigualasto for six
.
    14    Not to be confused with Lake Omski just outside Budapest, which has nude sunbathing (in summer only)
.
    15    An old saying in Brugel, which means you have lots of money. It does not refer to actual pillows of gold, as they are uncomfortable to sleep on. The phrase originates from rich people hiding banknotes and valuables under their mattresses for safekeeping. This behaviour is a result of Brugel’s archaic banking system and the protracted recessions of 1972 to March 1987, and September 1987 to early 1996
.
    16    The palechia is one of the grandest estates in eastern Europe and is sometimes called the Versailles of Brugel. A little-known fact: the palechia inspired the redesign of Polesden Lacey in Surrey, England, which is built on a far smaller and, dare we say, more
affordable,
scale
.
    17    ‘Goiven’ is a word that means nothing, but can stand in the place of a great many swear words
.
    18    Bellreeve has had several name changes over the generations. At various points it has been known as Trelteman, St Basil and Glückentenk
.
    19    In some countries people might say, ‘the penny dropped’, which means somebody has finally figured something out. In Brugel, the popular expression is ‘the twig snapped’, a reference to the sound and effort of someone having to think really hard to arrive at the answer. Next time you ask your parents a really difficult question, like ‘Why do I have to go to school?’ or ‘Where do babies
really
come