Hi guys! I've been on a vacation so far and haven't had the chance to update. I hope you enjoy and as always, please review! Also, I'm planning for about five more chapters and then this story will end. I will write a sequel but don't know the name yet. Feel free to suggest names in the reviews. Please review and enjoy!
Emma gave me a brilliant smile and hugs me. "That's like asking if a bird could fly. It's obvious that once he loved you and you did too," she murmurs gently, then walks out of the room. Maybe so but I must get lunch ready. The children would probably like some tomato soup and cheese and bacon sandwiches to dip.
Claire tugs at my navy fishtail skirt; gently prying her hand off of it, I ask, "Claire, do you want to help me cook lunch?" Her cornflower blue eyes widen in excitement as she squeals, "Yes!" With a wide smile, she begins stacking the bread with the cheese, then handing it to me to put beneath the broiler as I fry the bacon. "Miss Peregrine? Where are we going next? And why didn't Emma let me into the parlor?" Claire innocently asks in a hurt tone. "Oh? And what is Emma doing in the parlor?" I ask severely. "I don't know, she invited Jacob, Enoch, Bronwyn, Millard, me, the twins, Hugh, and Horace, but then she kicked me out because I tripped on a table leg and made a lot of noise. She shushed me and then told me to go help you." Pouting, she pops a grape into her mouth from a celadon porcelain bowl on the table. "Claire! Did you wash your hands?" I scold.
"Mmrgh," she protests, nodding. We finish the sandwiches as Claire peels the tomatoes for me. Dicing them into quarters, I simmer them with a bit of water, crushing them with a bit of unneeded garlic clove. "Come on, let's go find out what they're up to." I take Claire by the hand, but she wrenches away and brightly interrupts, "Let's make creme brulee! Please?" If I didn't know better I would have said she was acting; her eyes briefly flick to the parlor as she tugs me into the kitchen.
Meanwhile in the parlor, Emma told everyone about Miss Peregrine's long lost love. Enoch immediately had a jealous glint in his eye as we burst into twittering. "But what should we do?" Olive, always the practical one, asks. "Claire told me a few days ago that she saw a big red bird flying around." Emma states, eyes dancing. "Wait..how exactly does that fit in with this man?" Horace points out.
"When I first came to Cairnholm I was playing hide and seek with Claire and...Fiona when I decided to hide under Miss Peregrine's desk." When everyone stared in astonishment at her she shrugged and continued. "What? I was like, 7! Anyways so I started tugging at her drawers inside and yes, I know I shouldn't have but again, I was 7. You know how the papers inside her drawers stick out?" Again, everyone stared in astonishment before nodding. "So I pulled out an envelope by accident. It was empty and had water-stains on it but I found a tiny red down feather in it and the envelope was addressed to Altair Phoenix." "Wait. Wait. But males can't be Ymbrynes," Enoch points out snubbingly.
"I know that," I say rather snappishly. "But she said when she attended Miss Avocet's academy, so he must have been a peculiar." Maybe I'm grasping at straws but Miss Peregrine deserves to be happy. She's given us so much over this last century but she never stops to take care of herself.
"I agree with Emma," Olive pipes from behind Enoch. The twins nod as Horace and Hugh exchange a glance, then nod assertively. "OK then. So how exactly should we tell that Altair person we need him to...wait, what do we need him to do?" Millard says. "I don't know, I'm thinking...a little romance?" I reply, a smile curving my lips as wide grins break out across everyone's faces. Operation Peregrine Phoenix has begun.