I met them at the airport when I was collecting my luggage She thought my bag was hers until I showed her the tag You can't trust that sort said Leah as she sur veyed the back of the teenage girl sporting a short leather skirt tattooed ankle and pink Mohawk They're just a bunch of wasters They're OK She's certainly friendly and even remembered my name Well you never know Leah shook her head You are a bit too trusting if I recall When they arrived on the island later that after noon Leah's dad treated them to a delicious fish and chip dinner Amanda laughed as she read out the menu Mushy peas yuk Toad in the hole Spotted dick That can't be real I think I ll stick with fish and chips thank you After dinner they walked down the cobblestone streets of Cowes passing a shop with interesting used books in the window Can we please stop and have a look in here asked Amanda It's only books Leah kept walking But I love books and these look way cool Why don't you girls stop in here while I visit the shop next door to purchase some fittings for the boat Amanda was in her element The dusty old store had books piled up right to the ceiling The shelves looked like they would topple over from the weight of the volumes The many stacks on the floor leaned to the left and to the right The place smelled like stale well worn novels Amanda loved books so much and had a nice collec tion If there was ever a fire in her house she would throw her books out first before she jumped out of the window Fortunately her bedroom was on the
ground floor Leah browsed in the romance section Amanda drifted to a vintage section where her eyes lighted upon a copy of Vicky and Alice Her great aunt Amelia had a series of these delightful books about two Vic torian sisters She would let Amanda read them when she visited But she hadn't seen this one before Vicky and Alice at the Seashore Amanda laughed at the picture of the girls in bathing suits that cov ered most of their bodies The price written in pencil was three pounds I found a book I want to buy It's a real gem Leah wasn't as excited about it but smiled politely She had a fashion magazine in her hand I think I'll get this They gave their money to a man reading at a desk in the middle of the room He was as dishevelled as the rest of the store with unkempt grey hair and round glasses that sat at the end of his nose A large snor ing tabby cat took over the only part of the desk not piled high with books and papers Don't mind Rupert said the gentleman He iust likes to be around books He'll do you no harm A good purchase he said as he rang in the Vicky and Alice book These are hard to come by these days He almost smiled at
Chapter 3 The bed and breakfast a cool old place looked like the houses described in the Vicky and Alice books How do I flush the toilet asked Amanda Just pull the chain silly shouted Leah from their bedroom Amanda looked around The only chain hung from a porcelain box high up on the wall She gave it a tug The toilet flushed Amazing she thought Breakfast came on a huge plate bacon sausages eggs fried potatoes mushrooms fried tomatoes and baked beans Amanda took a piece of unbuttered toast from a silver rack She placed a square of butter in the middle and tried to spread it The butter refused to move over the cold darkened piece of bread which eventually broke in half She decided to eat it without butter and dunked it in the soft egg yolk Where are we going today I need to work on the boat said Mr Anderson I can drop you off at Osborne House for the morning Mrs Anderson thought it would be fun to explore Oh droll I went there on a school trip once It was boring Leah rolled her eyes What is it asked Amanda It was the summer vacation house of Queen Victo ria and her family They have some very nice displays there now and I know you would enjoy it Amanda You could have tea there and I will pick you up after lunch said Mr Anderson Well at least the gardens are nice there We could take a stroll around and talk I guess There isn't much else to do here anyway Leah winked at Aman
Leah's dad dropped the girls off at the entrance of a large house How could this be a summer vacation home Osborne House looked like a palace to Amanda A large wild boar greeted the girls on one side of the front door and a huge mastiff dog stood on the other side Luckily they were made of stone Once inside Amanda was amazed at how elegant and mag nificent the house appeared The walls covered in paintings and the hallways lined with bronze sculp tures made it feel more like a museum than a home Pretty posh isn't it said Leah A painting of a family covered one entire wall in what seemed like the dining room Is this them The royal family asked Amanda A woman wearing a crown an elegant gentleman three pretty little girls in frilly dresses a young boy in a sailor suit and a baby made up the painting Yes that s Queen Victoria Prince Albert and five of their nine children replied Leah Nine children What a large family I would love to have all those brothers and sisters Not me replied Leah They'd just be a nui Sance Amanda looked at the names under the painting The three little girls were called Victoria Alice and Helena Let s check out the nursery it might be more inter esting than this Leah started up a set of marble stairs The nursery seemed much cosier than the rest of the house The furniture still fancy but in smaller proportions looked adorable An old music box with a medieval castle scene sat on a table When Amanda turned the handle the figures began to move A knight on a horse pranced over the draw bridge and a princess appeared on a
