Clementine Rose and the Special Promise 11 (2 page)

Angus ran to the door as soon as Poppy and Sophie left the room. Once he saw they had headed across the quadrangle, he turned back and shouted, ‘All clear!'

The children flew into action. Teddy raced to the storeroom to fetch the balloons and bunting. Mr Smee climbed up on a chair, armed with thumbtacks and sticky tape, while Astrid and Tilda took to the whiteboard. Tilda began drawing huge colourful flowers around the
edges while Astrid added all the French words she knew in the spots between.

Meanwhile, Angus and Joshua were in charge of moving the furniture. They zoomed around the room, stacking the chairs and pushing desks together to form one large table in the centre. The rest of the class then set about preparing the food. There were croissants and eclairs, macarons in blue, white and red, and even fizzy drink too. Mr Smee wouldn't usually have approved but today was a very special occasion.

Clementine proudly unveiled the marble cake she and her mother had made. It had mint-green icing and written across the top in pink were the words ‘
Au revoir
, Sophie' enveloped inside a huge love heart.

‘Hurry up!' Teddy called from his position as lookout. ‘I hear footsteps!'

‘Everyone, hide!' Mr Smee whispered. ‘Teddy, you can turn off the lights.'

Evie and Ally squealed with excitement. The children dived under desks while some
hid in the storeroom. Joshua crouched behind Mr Smee's reading chair. The door opened and Teddy flipped on the light switch.

‘Surprise!' the children screamed. They leapt out cheering and clapping.

Ethel Bottomley almost sprang out of her sturdy brown shoes.

‘What on earth?' she gasped, clutching at her chest.

The children groaned.

‘False alarm, it's just Mrs Bottomley,' Joshua said with disappointment.

The Kindergarten teacher spied the table of pastries and fizzy drinks and tutted loudly. ‘What's going on in here?' she demanded.

‘We're having a surprise farewell party for Sophie, and she and Poppy are going to be back any second,' Clementine explained. She hoped Mrs Bottomley would hurry up and leave before she spoiled everything.

‘They're coming!' Teddy yelled. ‘I can see them.'

‘Quick, everyone, back in position,' Mr Smee whispered. He grabbed hold of Mrs Bottomley's
arm and shoved the woman into the storeroom with one swift movement. ‘Just stand in there and pipe down,' he commanded.

Several children who had already hidden in the storeroom rushed out, leaving the Kindergarten teacher on her own.

Clementine smothered a laugh. She loved that Mr Smee wasn't afraid of Mrs Bottomley like all the other teachers at the school were.

The old woman's muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door. ‘But I came to talk about Grandparents' Day,' she protested. ‘It's on next Friday and we still have to choose the host –'

‘Nan, be quiet,' Angus hissed through the door.

Ethel began to scold the young man when an almighty shushing from the whole class finally put a stop to her jabbering. There were a few nervous giggles as the children lay in wait.

Poppy's voice carried into the room as she pushed open the door.

‘Why's the room all dark?' Sophie said.

‘SURPRISE!' the children yelled, leaping out from all over the place. Poor Sophie jumped into the air almost as high as Mrs Bottomley had. Teddy switched the lights back on.

‘Is this for me?' Sophie said, her face crumpling.

‘You didn't think we would let you leave without having a proper farewell party, did you?' Mr Smee smiled at the girl. ‘It's just a small one because it won't be long at all until you're back again.'

There was a pounding on the storeroom door, and Joshua Tribble ran over to open it. Sophie was surprised to see Mrs Bottomley spill out into the room. The woman's hair was sticking up all over the place and her brown dress was as crinkled as her frown.

‘Clearly now is not the right time to discuss Grandparents' Day,' Mrs Bottomley said, regaining her composure. ‘Enjoy your time away, Sophie, and make sure to savour everything France has to offer.'

‘Like frogs' legs and snails,' Joshua called out.

The old woman shook her head and waddled out of the room.

Mr Smee motioned for the children to gather around. ‘Clementine would like to say something,' he announced.

Clementine stood up in front of the whiteboard and took a deep breath. ‘I wrote a poem for Sophie.'

Joshua Tribble groaned. ‘Poems are boring.'

Angus glared at the boy. ‘No, they're not, and Clemmie is really good at them.'

‘You're just saying that because she's your
girlfriend
,' Joshua sputtered.

Roderick Smee shot the boy a warning look. Joshua hunkered down and crossed his arms, glowering.

Clementine pulled a page from her pocket and cleared her throat. She took another deep breath and began:

Au revoir,
Sophie!

A tear wobbled down Sophie's cheek. ‘Thank you,' she whispered.

Clementine folded the piece of paper and placed it back into her pocket. ‘Do you promise to come back?' she asked.

Sophie nodded. ‘Do you promise to write and tell me all the news?'

‘Of course,' Clementine said.

The two best friends hugged each other tightly as the rest of the class clapped and cheered.

‘Three cheers for Sophie,' Angus shouted. ‘Hip hip!'

‘Hooray!'

Clarissa Appleby snipped another long-stemmed rose and placed it in the wicker basket at her feet. She looked up to see Clementine half-heartedly nudging her soccer ball across the back lawn with Lavender trotting along beside her. She hated to see her daughter in such low spirits.

‘I have to go to the butcher's in a little while, Clemmie. Would you like to come?' Clarissa called. ‘We could get a gingerbread man from Pierre's?'

Clementine shook her head without looking up. ‘No, thank you,' she replied.

‘Uncle Digby said he met the new baker,' Clarissa added. ‘Apparently, he has a little girl the same age as you. It might be nice to introduce yourself.'

Clementine shrugged and prodded the soccer ball with her foot. ‘I don't want any new friends.'

‘Clemmie,' her mother admonished. ‘That's not like you, darling. You can never have too many friends. It's not as if this little girl will be replacing Sophie.'

Clementine's shoulders slumped as she watched the ball roll away under a bush.

Lady Clarissa put down her garden clippers and walked over to the child. She knelt in front of Clementine and, taking up both of her hands, looked into the girl's watery blue eyes. ‘The good news is, Will and Drew are coming tomorrow.'

‘They are?' Clementine brushed her eyes with the back of her hand.

Clarissa nodded. ‘They're moving into the cottage at the end of next week but they'll come to stay with us tomorrow so that Will can start school on Monday. I'm going to have a welcome dinner for them tomorrow night and I thought we could invite the new baker and his family,' she said gently. ‘Why don't you come inside and give me a hand, sweetheart?'

Clementine nodded, then scurried across the lawn to retrieve her ball. She'd never felt so mixed up inside. She was happy about Drew and Will coming, but it still didn't seem fair that Sophie had to go away for a whole year. She wondered if being really sad was like a gloomy day when, no matter how hard the sun tried, it just couldn't get through the clouds. Clementine booted the ball hard to the other end of the garden. It whistled past Aunt Violet's ear as the woman walked out the back door.

‘Good heavens, that missed me by a whisker!' Violet Appleby exclaimed. ‘You know, Clementine, being in a sulk is not going to make Sophie come back any sooner.'

‘I'm not in a sulk,' Clementine mumbled. She took Lavender up in her arms and nuzzled the little pig.

Aunt Violet raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that so? Then get your cardigan, Clemmie. You're coming with me to Highton Mill.'

Clementine pouted. ‘But I don't want to.'

‘I'll go,' Clarissa offered.

‘No, dear,' Aunt Violet said. ‘I'll drop by the butcher's and then I'll get the bread rolls you were after for tonight.'

‘If you really don't mind, that would save me some time,' Clarissa replied. ‘We've got a few people arriving this afternoon and I should help Uncle Digby with the beds.'

Aunt Violet nodded. ‘That's settled then. Lavender can come too.'

‘But you don't like her going in your car,' Clementine said.

The old woman softened. ‘It's all right. Just get her lead and make sure she goes to the toilet before we leave.'

Clementine sighed and, clutching the little
pig tighter, trudged across the lawn and up the back steps.

Violet Appleby opened the rear passenger door. Lavender jumped down onto the path and waited for her mistress to clamber out after her.

‘Where are we going first?' Clementine asked, holding Lavender's red lead.

‘Pierre's, to pick up the bread order,' Aunt Violet said.

Clementine looked down the street. People were walking in and out of the patisserie as though nothing had changed. But everything had. For a start, Pierre wouldn't be there. She took a deep breath and tried again to push the sad thoughts away.

When the three of them walked inside, a man with a thick head of curly black hair looked up over the top of the counter. He had a long moustache that twirled on the ends and
wore a bold yellow apron over a purple shirt with paisley swirls. Clementine stared at the apron, wondering what had happened to Pierre's red one. She slipped her hand into her great-aunt's.

‘Hello,' Aunt Violet said to the man, eyeing his attire. ‘It's lovely to meet you Mr … Oh dear, I have only heard Digby refer to you as Roger. How ghastly of me not to know your surname. I'm Violet Appleby and this is my great-niece, Clementine Rose.'

‘That's all right, Vi. We don't stand on ceremony around here,' the man said cheerfully. ‘For the record, it's Baker.'

The old woman blanched. At a pinch she might have tolerated this stranger calling her by her first name, but an abbreviation was completely unacceptable. ‘You can call me
Miss
Appleby,' she instructed.

Clementine giggled. ‘Mr Baker is a baker,' she whispered to Lavender.

Roger Baker grinned and peered down at the pig. ‘What sort of dog is that?' he asked.

Clementine laughed. ‘Her name is Lavender and she's a teacup pig.'

Lavender squealed at the mention of her name.

‘I've never seen such a charming little thing. Is she a baby?' the man asked.

Clementine shook her head. ‘No, she's a grown-up.'

Roger Baker walked around the counter to give the tiny pig a pat. Lavender sniffed his fingers, then gave them a nibble. ‘Wait until my Saskia sees her,' he said. ‘She'll be insisting I get her one right away.'

‘Mr Baker, I've been asked by my niece, Clarissa, to invite you and your family over to dinner with us tomorrow night at Penberthy House,' Aunt Violet said.

The man smiled and stood up. ‘Oh, that would be lovely. I'll bring something for dessert.'

‘We wouldn't dream of it,' Aunt Violet said. ‘Come by around five and we'll start with some drinks on the terrace.'

‘Wonderful,' Mr Baker said. He walked back to the other side of the counter and quickly washed his hands before passing Aunt Violet a large basket of bread rolls. ‘My Sassy is going to go nuts over that pig. Lock her up, Clementine,' he warned, ‘or she might just disappear home with us.'

Clementine's eyes widened in horror and she squeezed her great-aunt's hand in a vice-like grip.

Aunt Violet frowned at the man. ‘Come along, Clemmie, we need to get to the butcher's before it closes. Oh, I almost forgot – what would you like?'

The child peered into the glass cabinet. For some reason the butterfly cupcakes didn't look quite so fluffy and the buttons on the gingerbread men seemed a bit skew-whiff. Clementine shook her head. ‘I'm not hungry,' she said softly.

‘Funny about that, me either.' Aunt Violet smiled tightly at the man. ‘We'll see you tomorrow night then, Mr Baker.'

Roger gave them a friendly wave. ‘Looking forward to it, Vi.'

Clementine followed Aunt Violet out onto the High Street. As the old woman launched into a speech about the decline of manners in the world today, Clementine glanced back at Pierre's patisserie. She hadn't thought it possible, but she now missed Sophie and the Rousseaus more than ever.