so Lottie wisely hung outside the door jotting down what he said in her notebook I can’t get a donation that large Especially by tonight Lottie continued scribbling until she heard the click of Sir Trevelyan’s telephone receiver being placed back on its cradle She quickly darted away from his office door looking for a place to hide as she heard him stand and pace around his office You may as well come in called the curator’s voice from the office I know you’re out there 4
Lottie gulped and poked her head around the door H-how did you There’s always a strange kind of silence when you’re eavesdropping Lottie Lipton said Sir Trevelyan How much did you hear Lottie entered the office properly and looked back at her notes Um something about a large donation she said Sir Trevelyan sighed and stared out of his window That was the chairman of the board of directors They say they need an impossible amount of money to keep the museum running or we’ll have to close the whole place down 5
Lottie gasped Does that mean you’d lose your job And Uncle Bert Yes and that useless caretaker too sneered Sir Trevelyan Lottie was going to protest about her friend Reg being called useless but decided that now wasn’t the time And you’d be thrown out of your quarters here The whole museum would be shut down until the money could be raised Lottie bit her lip in worry Sir Trevelyan for all his unpleasantness was a fighter He never backed down from an argument or a challenge but as Lottie looked at him she realized that today he looked different He looked defeated 6
I’ll go tell Uncle Bert she said turning to leave As she walked away from the curator’s office she realized that she would have to do the unthinkable She had to help Sir Trevelyan Taylor Lottie walked through the Ancient Rome department where she found her great uncle Bert face down on the floor his head pressed against the wooden floorboards Are you all right Uncle Bert she said dashing over to him Did you fall No no Just erm resting he said unconvincingly 7
