Alice Parker & the Curse of Fate (19 page)

Alice couldn’t
help smiling when she saw the kiss on the end.

‘
Good news?’
asked Thomas.

‘
Er, I’m
not sure. I suppose so!’ she mumbled, determined to call Ralph
as soon as she left the table. How did he know?

*

‘
Explain!’
she demanded rudely when he answered her call.

‘
Good morning
to you too, Alice! Well, you know I can determine a person’s
location when they think about me.’

Stunned, Alice said
nothing for a moment. ‘Why would SHE be thinking about YOU?’

‘
Do I detect a
hint of jealousy?’

‘
Just tell
me!’ growled Alice.

‘
Isabella will
be thinking about me for a while,’ he replied calmly. ‘When
Hermann raised his foot to crush her, she looked over at me. Before
she managed to topple him, I could see the fear in her eyes. When
she thought she was about to die, mine was the last face she saw.
She will not forget that in a hurry.’

‘
Hmm. Shame
Hermann didn’t complete the job.’

‘
Well, for now
we will always be one step ahead. Each time I see a change in her
location, I will let you know.’

Alice was still
worried. ‘I suppose she’s back at her parents’
house for safety. Which means she’s too close to our house for
my liking.’

‘
No. You live
in the Midlands, correct? Isabella is in London. So take it easy.
Have a safe journey home. I shall be thinking of you.’

‘
OK. Thanks.
Me too,’ said Alice softly before she hung up. Aaargh! Me
too? What a stupid thing to say! As if she would be thinking about
herself as well! Ugh. Mushy talk didn’t come naturally to
her. Ralph would think she was a heartless idiot. And he would be
hearing these silly thoughts as well!

‘
We must leave
for the airport in twenty minutes,’ called Brigitte.
‘Suitcases packed?’

‘
Of course,’
replied Thomas.

‘
Nearly,’
said Alice.

Grandma had just
been out to buy Brigitte some flowers. She seemed much happier this
morning – probably because she was looking forward to seeing
Grandad at the airport. When they had told her last night that he
was in Finwip village she was surprised. But delighted that things
had been cleared up with Ralph.

‘
I can
understand why he didn’t just turn up here,’ she
whispered. ‘But he’ll be annoyed he missed that
breakfast this morning!’

‘
I wonder what
they have in Finwip village here, though?’ Alice wondered. ‘I
bet their breakfast is even better!’

*

At the airport they
said goodbye to Brigitte and thanked her for letting them stay.

‘
I’m
sorry if we were a pain,’ said Alice. ‘But we have
enjoyed our time here.’

Brigitte gave her a
brief but crushingly strong hug. ‘I knew you would be
trouble,’ she said with a wise smile. ‘You are like your
grandfather! Of course, your grandmother is to blame. She married
that peculiar man.’

*

To Alice’s
relief, the flight was smooth and without incident. She didn’t
see anyone who bore even a passing resemblance to Isabella. Perhaps
she had hurried back to England because Lukas’s death had
frightened her. She’d had a near miss herself.

‘
You do
realise she was probably threatened by the Sinwips in Berlin?’
said Grandad as he drove them home from the airport. ‘She was
new to their village and wiped out a valued member of their
community. They will have rejected her and turned her away with a
warning not to return to Berlin.’

‘
Good for
them. It says a lot about her if her own people have booted her out.
Shame the Sinwips at home haven’t done the same.’

‘
Well, that
would be awkward, given that the entrance to the village is on her
father’s property! And he’s the leader of Sinwip
village!’

‘
It depends
how far she pushes him, I suppose,’ said Alice. ‘Grandad,
can we stop at our village on the way home? I really need to find
out about ... you know. Please. I can’t bear not knowing if
he’s lying.’

‘
If that’s
what you want.’ He parked his beloved old Morris near the
giant oak tree and glanced at Thomas in the rear view mirror. ‘We’ll
stay in the car, Alice. I assume you’d rather do this bit of
research on your own?’

Alice nodded. ‘I
won’t be long.’

As she pondered her
future with a heavy heart, the tree lift never seemed to have
travelled so slowly. Was she really going to marry Hugh? She
couldn’t think of anything worse than spending her life with
him. Even though he was a Finwip now, he was still strange. Not to
mention unappealing.

Down in the village
Alice wasn’t even tempted by the smell of homemade peach
crumble. Her stomach was tying itself in knots over what she was
about to discover. She found Imogen in the kitchen and asked her to
retrieve one of her books from the vault. Imogen was the only key
holder and kept it on a chain around her neck.

‘
Are you
sure?’ asked Imogen, knowing how Alice felt about ‘seeing’
the future. ‘Is everything all right? Did something happen
during your holiday?’

‘
Plenty
happened. And I won’t know if everything is all right unless I
look inside that book. I need to know what happens fifteen years
from now.’

‘
I see. You
go and sit down in the library and I’ll bring the book to you.’

Alice waited
impatiently, drumming her fingers on the table and breathing deeply.
In just a few minutes she would know if her future was going to be
unbearable. Imogen placed the book gently in front of her and turned
to leave the room.

‘
Wait! Don’t
go, please,’ begged Alice. ‘I ... I don’t think I
can do it.’

‘
Would you
like me to do it for you, my dear? What exactly am I looking for?’
asked Imogen kindly.

‘
I need to
know ... I need to know if I marry Hugh Rowbottom,’ whimpered
Alice. The words stuck in her throat.

‘
Oh!’
exclaimed Imogen. ‘Well, Nona informed me of recent ... er ...
developments. I’m afraid he’s part of our village now,
Alice, whether we like it or not. The fact is all Finwips are good
people. So if we do find that you’re going to be with Hugh in
the future ... it won’t necessarily be the end of the world.’

‘
Please, just
check for me.’

Imogen opened the
book and flicked through the pages carefully. Alice could not
interpret much from her facial expressions. A raised eyebrow, a few
nods, a frown and finally a contented smile.

‘
So?’

‘
So ... you
have nothing to worry about, Alice. The short answer is yes, you
will marry Hugh. But of your own free will because you grow to love
him.’

Tears streamed down
Alice’s face. ‘I won’t!’ she croaked. ‘I
can’t! Never!’

‘
Shh, it’s
all right,’ Imogen reassured her, clasping Alice’s hands
in her own. ‘In fifteen years you will see things a lot
differently. You will be a strong-minded, well-educated young woman.
You will know who you can trust, and what you want to achieve in
life. In fact,
you
will
ask Hugh to marry you! He never plucks up the courage, he’s so
in awe of you, Alice. Remember that.’

Her face buried in
her hands, Alice sobbed quietly.

‘
You need to
be strong over this,’ Imogen continued. ‘You’re
going to bump in to Hugh all the time in this village. I know he
lives in London now, but he plans to move back here soon. Nona
assures me that he’s one hundred percent Finwip now. I’m
prepared to accept that. Can you, knowing that he will play a
significant role in your future?’

‘
I don’t
know,’ sniffed Alice. ‘I’ve tried to think about
the good things he’s done lately to help me and my family. I
did think it was a bit weird at the time. And I’ve always
suspected that his dad isn’t a true Sinwip.’

‘
There you
have it. Why do you think Brian Rowbottom treats his own brother so
badly? He knows something isn’t quite right – in his
eyes, anyway.’

‘
But ...
there’s something else I don’t understand. Apparently
Brian leaves Hugh an enormous inheritance in the future. If Hugh’s
one of us, why would Brian do that? He hates Finwips!’

Imogen paused for a
moment. ‘Think about it,’ she said slowly. ‘Way
in the future, if Brian becomes ill or needs help, who will look
after him? Of course he can afford medical care, but who will bother
to visit him? I suspect he’ll outlive Jacqueline. She drinks
too much – but keep that to yourself. If Isabella continues to
be out of control, Brian will wash his hands of her. Lucinda has
been through so much, she will probably move far away from her family
when she’s older, perhaps even abroad. Hugh, however, will be
here, helping you to lead this village. Would he see Brian suffer or
be lonely? I doubt it. Whatever Brian may think of Finwips, he’ll
be glad that his nephew is there for him.’

‘
Well, when
you look at it like that, I suppose it makes sense,’ admitted
Alice, drying her eyes. ‘You can close the book now, if you
like.’

‘
I’m
glad you asked me to do this,’ said Imogen with a grin. ‘I’ve
just found out that I live for at least another fifteen years! I
shall be present at your wedding! I’ll look forward to buying
a hat when I’m a hundred and nine! Let’s hope I still
look young!’

Alice began to
smile, but something flashed through her mind and wiped it from her
lips.

‘
I need to
go,’ she said hurriedly.

‘
Is someone
here with you?’ asked Imogen, concerned.

‘
They’re
waiting outside,’ replied Alice. ‘Thanks for your help,
Imogen. Will you lock the book away again?’

Imogen nodded and
gazed after her as she rushed out of the library and back to the
lift.

Her heart racing,
Alice climbed back into the car and slammed the door. She glared at
her Grandad as he and Grandma turned to look at her tear-streaked
face.

‘
You knew,
didn’t you?’ she growled. ‘That’s why you
were being so nice to Hugh!’

Grandad turned away.
‘There’s no point bearing malice, Alice.’

‘
How poetic!’
smirked Thomas.

‘
Shut up! And
it’s another reason why you didn’t tell me about Ralph,
isn’t it?’ Alice continued to rant. ‘You were
afraid I’d like him and you knew it would be a waste of time!’

‘
How could
your grandad possibly have known about Hugh?’ asked Grandma.

‘
Because he
peeked inside one of my books earlier this year!’ screeched
Alice. ‘Remember when he said Imogen couldn’t die yet,
because she would be present at an event in the future? It was my
wedding! He knew I would marry Hugh in the future and didn’t
tell me!’

‘
Can you blame
him?’ asked Thomas. ‘You’re hysterical!’

‘
Wouldn’t
you be, if you thought you were going to marry Hugh?’

‘
Oh, come on!
He’s not my type.’

‘
He’s
not mine, either! I feel like my life has just been destroyed. I
am
fated. Cursed. Becoming a Finwip was the start of the curse.’

‘
Hardly!
You’ve always been a problem child.’

‘
All right,
all right,’ snapped Grandad. ‘I’m sorry, Alice,
but I didn’t know
how
to
tell you. More importantly, I didn’t think I should. I wish
I’d never read that part, it’s been eating away at me for
months. And yes, I have been acting strangely because of it. Not
surprising, is it? I was just as shocked as you are now.’

Alice scowled. ‘No
more secrets. That’s what you said last year.’

There was an
uncomfortable silence for a moment.

‘
Let’s
go home. This is pointless.’

‘
I agree,’
said Grandad solemnly. ‘There’s no point fighting fate.
It’s a battle that can’t be won.’