Amanda Cadabra and The Strange Case of Lucy Penlowr by Holly Bell (best english novels for beginners .txt) 📕

‘Good morning,’ Trelawney, with an amused expression, greeted her quietly, so as not to disturb the occupants of the neighbouring house. ‘Yes. You can say it: you don’t recognise me with my —’

‘No suit! I mean, good morning.’

‘I know you think I was psychically attached to one when I was 23, but for practicality’s sake, I don’t run along the beach in worsted and Oxfords. At least, not for fun. Sweats and trainers do seem to work better.’

‘I’ll bet. Will I be ok in jeans and trainers?’

‘Absolutely.’

Once in the car, Amanda asked, ‘Do you run at this place every morning?’

‘As often as I can. I tend to give it a miss when it’s pouring with rain or freezing cold.’

‘Really?’

Trelawney chuckled at Amanda’s surprise.

‘Yes, really. I’m not quite as “well ’ard” as you apparently and generously give me credit for.’

‘I think you’re pretty tough and wise enough not to subject yourself unnecessarily to experiences you find unpleasant.’

‘Too kind.’

‘So, you do it to keep fit mainly?’ asked Amanda.

‘Hm, I suppose I do it because I ... I don’t know ... compulsion .... I hope not. I do feel the need to be by the sea as often as I can.’

Amanda was concerned.

‘How will you manage in Sunken Madley? So far from the coast?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. Laps around the village pond perhaps? There’s Madley Wood. Different, but I dare say with its own charm of nature.’ He glanced at her. ‘Don’t look so anxious. I’ll be fine. And of course, I shall be back here at least once a month. More if there’s an emergency.’

‘Where will you stay if you rent out your flat?’

‘My father’s most likely. Perhaps Mike’s. It won’t be a problem, honestly,’ Trelawney promised.

‘I’m sure your constable would put you up, at a pinch,’ Amanda suggested naughtily.

‘I think The Tail and Fin would be a more prudent option, don’t you?’ Trelawney replied ruefully.

‘I’m sure you’d be safe with her.’

‘Well, she looks like a small, blonde, gazelle, but you didn’t see her wrestle Big Benny ‘The Bike’ to the ground last Hallowe’en.’

Amanda laughed, but said seriously, ‘I doubt there can be that many homes where you would not be welcome, Inspector.’

They drove to the seafront, parked, got out, and began walking.

‘This place has a history of smuggling, I gather,’ said Amanda.

‘Indeed. From the 1700s, maybe earlier.’

‘If you’d been a policeman then,’ she wondered, ‘would you have been a Revenue man, going after the Gentlemen, as I believe the smugglers were called back then?’

‘Probably. The Peelers were only up in London and not until the late 1820s,’ Trelawney explained, referring to the embryo Metropolitan police force.

‘Do they still exist?’ asked Amanda. ‘Not the police, the Revenue men,’ she added as a humorous aside.

‘Her Majesty’s Revenue Cutters are no longer sailing ships,’ he pointed out with mock helpfulness.

Amanda put a finger to her chin.

‘I rather thought that might be the case.’

‘But yes, the Channel is still patrolled. I can guess your next question: when Lucy escaped that night, were there patrol boats out? Yes, most likely, there would have been. Of course, anyone is free to cross the Channel, but they are required to report to a port authority, to notify of their arrival. Failure to do so can result in a boat being impounded and possibly a hefty fine.’

‘And that night, they didn’t want it to be known that Lucy was entering the country, so the boat had to cross undetected.’

‘That’s right.'

Chapter 29

Caught in the Act

‘So, this is where you run?’ Amanda enquired.

‘Yes, sometimes on the sand, sometimes just in the edge of the water,’ Trelawney answered.

She looked doubtful. ‘Isn’t that cold?’

‘Yes, but there’s something about the feel of it. It’s hard to explain. My mother says it’s because I was born in a pool.’

‘In a pool? A birthing pool?’ It sounded to Amanda too unconventional for the inspector. But he replied,

‘Yes, at home. The Flamgoynes were furious.’

‘They thought you should have been born in a hospital?’

‘No, at Flamgoyne. But my father respected my mother’s wishes and, come to think of it, must have put his foot down pretty firmly on that one, yes, and so ....’

‘A water baby,’ Amanda jested.

‘Just so.’

‘And so you love to swim.’

‘I do. Especially here. Have you ever swum in the sea?’ Trelawney asked.

‘Not here. Except possibly when I was very little indeed. Since then, only abroad in the warmest waters. The shock of the cold, you see ... can bring it on,’ explained Amanda.

Trelawney nodded in comprehension. ‘Ah yes, the asthma.’ He looked at the waves and decided that it was calm enough for a suggestion. ‘How about paddling?’

‘If I’m careful and do it a bit at a time, get used the temperature.’ Suddenly Amanda looked at him brightly. ‘Do you think I could? Now?’

‘Why not? We have time.’

Amanda stripped off her shoes and socks, tossed them up onto the dry sand, and rolled up her jeans. She dipped first a toe in, then let the water lap a little more until, by degrees, her feet were immersed with each incoming wave.

‘Oh, it’s fun!’ she cried. She glowed with joy, and for a while was gently splashing around in the water, watching the gentle surf caressing her skin. Happily paddling, her arms spread wide, Amanda turned her face to the sky. Hence she failed to notice the oncoming wave that would surely have drenched her up the knees. Trelawney spotted it, knowing it would be too much, too soon for Amanda. He took two running strides and snatched her up into his arms just as the wave hit.

‘Oh!’ Amanda uttered in surprise, then, ‘Oh I see, yes. Thank you,