A/N: Here's the last chapter. It's actually mostly family stuff as the adventure is already over ... Do share your thoughts with me on this chapter, though!
I would like to thank my beta-reader awilliamsbbc.98 for proofreading this story for me. It was a great job on your part!
I also want to thank my reviewers! I enjoyed your lovely and encouraging comments!
You'll find a few further notes at the end of this chapter... please enjoy the story first...
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Chapter 13: Back At Home
It turned into an enjoyable afternoon for Jack, Philip, Dinah and Lucy-Ann. Tilda was beside herself with joy to be their host for a night. She did even have a tiny guest room.
'For hikers who get surprised by a sudden change of weather and need shelter,' she explained. 'There's only one bed, which is big enough for two people, but we can lay out an old mattress for the boys. You wouldn't mind that, would you?'
The boys didn't mind sleeping on a mattress, only Philip had doubts about getting up on his own in the morning with his foot still hurting so badly. He couldn't join the others either, as they walked down the hill to jump into the lake at its bottom for a refreshing bath. Instead he sat on Tilda's veranda, resting and letting her spoil him a bit. She even had a little surprise for him.
'Why – Hopper! You're still here?'
The tiny rabbit came hobbling towards him from Tilda's kitchen and Philip bent down to pick him up.
Tilda laughed heartily. 'He has stayed with us, waiting for you to return,' she said. 'Here – I've got some carrots you can feed him!'
So with Hopper nibbling carrots on his lap, his hurt foot propped up comfortably on a chair, fresh lemonade and fruit tarts in reach, Philip waited happily for the others to return.
They all had a jolly evening, including a huge meal for supper, and in the morning Rory drove them all to the station. There they met with Mike and off they went southwards. The ride took several hours, and around noon they unpacked the huge packed lunch Tilda had given them. She had even thought of Mike!
'Aunt Allie will be happy to have us all back in one piece,' said Lucy-Ann happily, looking at the passing landscape outside the train window. 'And I can't wait to see her and tell her all about our latest adventure!'
'She'll have a heart attack, hearing what you've been up to,' said Mike, who obviously had no idea about all the hair-raising adventures they had already had in the past. So they told him – it was a wonderful pastime and sooner than they had expected the train drew into the station where Mrs Cunningham was waiting with Bill. He had his arm in a sling but otherwise he was looking very much alright again.
Mrs Cunningham gave a short, joyful exclamation at seeing them and hurried up, pulling both of the girls into a hug as soon as she had reached them. Bill came up too and clapped the boys and Mike each on the back with his good arm. Kiki screeched excitedly, and they all went into a small cake shop around the corner for a treat. Then Mike had to take another train to London.
After they had said goodbye, Bill walked home with the two girls and Jack while Mrs Cunningham took Philip, who was still immobile with his hurt foot, home in the car. On the way Bill asked them about their adventure. But before any of the girls could start telling the story, Jack said that they had better wait until they were at home, so they wouldn't have to tell it all twice.
'Aunt Allie probably won't be very thrilled to hear that I left you to drive out for help on your own,' he remarked.
When they arrived they found Philip and his mother in the sitting room with biscuits and some tea. They all sat and then they took turns in telling the story. And indeed, Aunt Allie was very angry after hearing all that had happened – and especially at Jack, just like he had expected her to be. She had been cross with him before the adventure, but now she was fuming!
'You're irresponsible,' she reproached, pointing a finger at him. 'Leaving the girls alone like that – when you were the only one who could drive at all. I'm very disappointed of you, Jack! First you just take off to go on that trip to the end of the world – without telling anyone beforehand, mind – and then you leave the two girls to themselves when they're in danger. How could you?'
Poor Jack was sure he had never felt quite so small in all his life. 'It wasn't on purpose,' he defended himself, though half-heartedly. He could see from Aunt Allie's expression that she didn't care whether it had been on purpose or not.
'Mother, Jack's only been –' began Philip, but his mother turned on him with blazing eyes.
'You shut up, too!' she snapped at him, making him wince. 'You've been very irresponsible yourself!' Then she turned towards Jack again. 'I have a good mind to throw you out of my house.'
Jack certainly had expected a dressing-down but he hadn't expected that. 'But, Aunt Allie, wherever shall I stay?'
Mrs Cunningham gave him a cool look. 'At your uncle's for all I care. Just get out of my eyes. That reminds me, have you spoken to your uncle yet?'
'No, not yet,' said poor Jack in a small voice.
Both girls were utterly shocked at Mrs Cunningham's unlikely outburst, and Lucy-Ann was on the verge of tears. Philip was staring at his mother with a look of disbelief.
It was only after Lucy-Ann had started to cry in earnest that Bill got involved into the debate. 'Allie, don't you think we ought to find another way to deal with this? We can't just throw him out.' His face suddenly hardened. Jack had never seen him look like that at his wife. 'I won't let you make a decision like this all by yourself.'
Taken aback at the lack of backup from her husband, Mrs Cunningham gave no reply. Then her eyes fell on Lucy-Ann, and at seeing her tears she gave a little sigh. She turned at Jack once more and said, 'for the sake of your sister, Jack, I'm going to relent. You shall stay until we find a solution, whichever it may be.' Then she turned and swept out of the room, needing to cool off.
After fetching a light coat and her summer hat she left the house, suddenly feeling ashamed of her own outburst. But she couldn't help it!
Most of her anger had come from Jack's unseemly departure to New Zealand of course. She still hadn't got over it. How could he make her worry like that? Hadn't she been like a mother to him? Hadn't he promised her to put more effort into his school work last summer?
She had spent hours and hours on the phone, talking to Mr Trent. She had talked the sour old man into keeping Jack at the good, but expensive school. She had told him that the boy would finish his last year successfully, always thinking of the promise he had made. And yet he had disappointed her.
Back in the sitting room there was a long silence after Mrs Cunningham had left.
'Are you going to go back to school and give it another try?' asked Philip finally. 'You'll be just one year older than the others.'
'No – I don't suppose the school will have me,' said Jack with a shrug. 'But even if, I won't be able to pay the school fees on my own. The job in New Zealand paid off, of course, and I've also got some money from the photographs I sold to the magazine before. But I'm afraid my uncle will want back some of the money he invested in my education. Probably every penny he paid since I turned eighteen."
'Bother,' said Philip, paling a little as he tried to calculate how much money they were talking about. 'Do you have as much?'
'No,' said Jack, who didn't need to calculate it to know he didn't have as much.
'What a pity, what a pity,' said Kiki, pecking Jack's ear affectionately. She seemed to know something bad was going on.
'I can lend you some,' suggested Bill.
'Thanks awfully, Bill,' said Jack. After that there was nothing else to say.
Over the next couple of days Jack had an awful time. He had a brief conversation on the phone with his sour old uncle, and it turned out the way he had expected. The old man, never having been very fond of either his nephew or his niece, didn't appreciate having to pay for a school education Jack wasn't attending. Still being Jack's and Lucy-Ann's legal guardian, he had been obliged to pay their school fees – at least until they came of age. And since Jack had turned eighteen in the middle of his last school year, his uncle wanted back the money he had invested in his education since then.
And of course, that was more than Jack had. So what was he to do now? He thought briefly of Isabel and her suggestion to join the police force. After all, he did need to make a living. But would they take him if he hadn't finished his school education? Maybe he could call Isabel up and talk to her about it. It wasn't what he wanted to do with his life, but he knew he needed to earn money.
Aunt Allie brought up the topic of him going back to school a couple of times. Most of the time, however, she wasn't speaking much to him at all. She never gave him a chance to explain his point of view to her.
The day he finally made up his mind to call Isabel, something unexpected happened. It occurred while they were sitting at breakfast. Bill was engaged in the newspaper; he had his arm out of the sling and although it was still stiff, he could hold the paper on his own again. Lucy-Ann and Dinah were talking about a picnic they were planning to go on. Kiki was was pecking strawberries from the marmalade jug when she thought no one was looking.
Jack was absent-mindedly picking at the leftovers of his scrambled eggs. The uncertainty about his future and the still tense atmosphere between him and Aunt Allie bothered him, leaving him with somewhat less of an appetite than he usually had.
Suddenly the door was flung open and in came Philip who was very mobile again by now. His ankle had healed a few days ago – much to everyone's relief, for he had become nearly unbearable, confined to sitting still for days on end. He was holding a stack of letters in his hand, waving them excitedly.
'There's a letter for you, Jack!' Philip took the top letter from the stack and handed it to Jack, discarding the remaining mail on the kitchen counter without further notice. 'It's from Peter Painshaw, the journalist!'
That was a surprise! Jack took the letter and ripped it open. Everyone's attention was on him now. Kiki snatched another strawberry from the jug and then, her beak treacherously red, she fluttered to Jack's shoulder.
'Humpy Dumpy sat on a wall!' she sang, dropping a small piece of strawberry onto Jack white shirt. 'Ding dong bell – Polly is in the well.'
But Jack took no notice of her or the awful stain she had caused on his clothing. He read through the letter in excitement, not noticing that the others were watching him.
'What does it say?' asked Lucy-Ann, who could no longer stand the silence. When her brother didn't reply she reached over and pulled his sleeve. 'Come on, read it out loud.'
And so he did:
'Dear Jack,
I hope you have returned safely home to your family.
Last week I spoke to the publishers. The article we wrote was a huge success, and we're getting an extra page for it in the next month's edition of NATURE'S GREATEST. Of course, that means we're getting a pay rise as well. Please find the check enclosed with this letter accordingly.
Since the project has come to be a success the editors would like to give us another assignment, this time in Canada, and I do hope you're willing to accept the offer. A meeting will be held at the publishing company on July 30th to sort out the details. I would be very pleased if you could attend that as well.
Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. You'll find my phone number and address at the office at the bottom of this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Painshaw'
'Gracious!' exclaimed Dinah, who was impressed. 'Canada – that would be wizard, wouldn't it? Will you go, Jack?'
He couldn't quite believe his luck. 'I – I suppose so …'
'Well, it seems like going back to school is really out of question then,' said Mrs Cunningham from the door. No one had heard her come in.
After refolding the actual letter and putting it back in the envelope, Jack glanced at the enclosed check. It was enough to pay off his debt and save a little money too! He told everyone how much it was and then he turned pleading eyes on Aunt Allie. 'I know I don't really have to ask you, as I'm of age and all,' he said slowly. 'But I would hugely appreciate it, if you approved of me accepting this offer. See, if every job would pay off as nicely as this … I might easily make a living of it.'
Mrs Cunningham sighed but her expression softened a little.
On went Jack, of course, seeing that her resistance was crumbling, 'I know you hoped I would go to university, like Philip. But this –' he waved the envelope with the letter in it, 'this is what I've always wanted to do. Study birds, photograph them and write about their habits for books and nature magazines!'
'It's really going to pay the bills,' said Bill, putting the newspaper aside to pick up the check Jack had received.
'Silly Billy! Bill – pay the bill, Silly-Billy!' sang Kiki, but once more no one took notice of her.
'And there's bound to be more jobs for Jack!' Lucy-Ann said excitedly. 'Especially if he'll do as well as he did on his first job. Which he will, of course. He's got a talent at photographing.'
'I must admit, you do have a point,' replied Mrs Cunningham with another sigh. 'I'm not quite convinced yet, but you certainly have a point.'
'He'll be famous,' cried Dinah, beaming at the thought. 'And he will get to travel the world! Just imagine – New Zealand, Canada – what's to be next?'
'Blow university,' said Philip sulkily. 'I'd rather go to Canada too!'
His mother's eyes went wide at that. 'Don't you even think about it!'
'What a pity, what a pity!' shouted Kiki, who was fed up with being ignored, making everyone laugh. 'Pop goes the weasel!'
XXX
A/N: I'm sorry if you have the feeling that Jack and Allie haven't really made it up yet, but that's the way it is... Allie will be disappointed about Jack's unreasonable decision for a while yet, and the two of them will have a longer discussion about all this much later; actually years after this. If you're interested in it you can read about it in my fic Let Your Heart Be Light (which is a Christmas fic, mind)
I hope I did alright with the characterisation of everyone! Please share your thoughts with me on that if you like.
I still have a few ideas for future fics for this fandom ... but not all of them might be turned into a full story and be posted. Do let me know if you're interested in reading more Adventure Series fanfiction! (Any requests, topic-wise?)
Hope you all enjoyed this little adventure! I'm not Enid Blyton herself, but I did my best to get close! Cheers everyone:)
