‘Eva and I will take good care of you. We won’t let them hurt even the smallest of your branches – we promise.’
For a second I agreed with her, and I almost reached out and patted Jeremy too.
Then I remembered that Kate was talking to a tree, and making promises to it.
I sooo didn’t want to be part of this.
It was just too weird.
And if Victoria and Ella ever got to hear about it, I would never, ever be allowed to forget it.
Chapter Sixteen
I was up and dressed early the next morning. There was no sign of Kate, and I still didn’t dare to call for her. So, feeling slightly nervous, I set off for the Island of Dreams.
When I got to the field, Kate was already there, sitting on an old, faded rug. She looked tired.
‘How long have you been here?’ I asked.
Kate shrugged.
‘Dunno, but it was early when I got here. It was still sort of dark.’
‘Sort of dark?’
She gave a tired smile.
‘OK, so it was completely dark. I think it wasabout five o’clock.’
‘Didn’t Martha mind you going out so early?’
Kate shook her head.
‘Nah, Martha trusts me not to get into trouble. And I couldn’t take any chances. I know those men are going to come back. So I had to be here. I had to be ready for them.’
‘And when they come back, what are you going to do?’
She shrugged.
‘Any bright ideas?’
I wasn’t sure how to tell her the good news that I didn’t have a single idea, bright or otherwise. But before I could say anything at all, I heard the sound of an engine coming up the hill.
It was the jeep from the day before, with just Chainsaw Man inside. He climbed out and came over to us. Kate jumped up and threw herself against Jeremy.
‘Don’t you dare touch him,’ she hissed.
‘So you’re still at this nonsense,’ he said. ‘Well,have fun, because we just have to finish up another job. We’ll be back here by four o’clock this afternoon, and we’re not going to have any messing around. We’re cutting this tree down whether you like it or not.’
‘But why?’ I asked. ‘Why are you cutting down this perfectly good, perfectly beautiful tree?’
‘Because a man from Dublin has bought this field. He wants to build a holiday home here, but your tree, Jasper, or whatever you call him, is in the way.’
‘It’s Jeremy,’ said Kate.
The man rolled his eyes.
‘If you say so,’ he said.
‘But it’s a huge field,’ I protested. ‘The man could build his house anywhere else, and the tree could stay. Why does he have to build on this exact spot?’
The man shrugged.
‘I don’t know, do I? I don’t ask questions. Ijust do my job.’
‘Well it’s a
horrible
job,’ said Kate sulkily.
The man laughed, but not in a mean way.
‘Look girls,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry you’re upset, but do yourselves a big favour and don’t be here when I get back. OK?’
Neither of us answered, so he gave a big sigh, climbed back into his jeep, and drove off with a loud rev of his engine.
‘Now what?’ asked Kate.
If Kate wanted to know about cool dance moves, or where to buy totally great jeans, and stuff like that, I was her girl.
When had I become the expert on saving trees from being cut down?
But then I looked more closely at Kate. Her face was pale, and her eyes were rimmed with red. She looked like her whole world, and not just a tree, was about to come tumbling down.
And she had no one else to call on. She had no friends, and her only family was an old grannywho never seemed to venture outside her own front door.
So, even though I totally didn’t want to be involved, I knew it was already much, much too late for that.
‘Don’t worry, Kate,’ I said. ‘Leave it to me. I’ll think of something.’
I sat on the rug and thought for ages.
‘You should be good at this sort of thing,’ said Kate after a while. ‘Didn’t you say that you helped heaps of people before, when you were trying to do what Madame Margarita said?’
‘That was sooo different,’ I
For a second I agreed with her, and I almost reached out and patted Jeremy too.
Then I remembered that Kate was talking to a tree, and making promises to it.
I sooo didn’t want to be part of this.
It was just too weird.
And if Victoria and Ella ever got to hear about it, I would never, ever be allowed to forget it.
Chapter Sixteen
I was up and dressed early the next morning. There was no sign of Kate, and I still didn’t dare to call for her. So, feeling slightly nervous, I set off for the Island of Dreams.
When I got to the field, Kate was already there, sitting on an old, faded rug. She looked tired.
‘How long have you been here?’ I asked.
Kate shrugged.
‘Dunno, but it was early when I got here. It was still sort of dark.’
‘Sort of dark?’
She gave a tired smile.
‘OK, so it was completely dark. I think it wasabout five o’clock.’
‘Didn’t Martha mind you going out so early?’
Kate shook her head.
‘Nah, Martha trusts me not to get into trouble. And I couldn’t take any chances. I know those men are going to come back. So I had to be here. I had to be ready for them.’
‘And when they come back, what are you going to do?’
She shrugged.
‘Any bright ideas?’
I wasn’t sure how to tell her the good news that I didn’t have a single idea, bright or otherwise. But before I could say anything at all, I heard the sound of an engine coming up the hill.
It was the jeep from the day before, with just Chainsaw Man inside. He climbed out and came over to us. Kate jumped up and threw herself against Jeremy.
‘Don’t you dare touch him,’ she hissed.
‘So you’re still at this nonsense,’ he said. ‘Well,have fun, because we just have to finish up another job. We’ll be back here by four o’clock this afternoon, and we’re not going to have any messing around. We’re cutting this tree down whether you like it or not.’
‘But why?’ I asked. ‘Why are you cutting down this perfectly good, perfectly beautiful tree?’
‘Because a man from Dublin has bought this field. He wants to build a holiday home here, but your tree, Jasper, or whatever you call him, is in the way.’
‘It’s Jeremy,’ said Kate.
The man rolled his eyes.
‘If you say so,’ he said.
‘But it’s a huge field,’ I protested. ‘The man could build his house anywhere else, and the tree could stay. Why does he have to build on this exact spot?’
The man shrugged.
‘I don’t know, do I? I don’t ask questions. Ijust do my job.’
‘Well it’s a
horrible
job,’ said Kate sulkily.
The man laughed, but not in a mean way.
‘Look girls,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry you’re upset, but do yourselves a big favour and don’t be here when I get back. OK?’
Neither of us answered, so he gave a big sigh, climbed back into his jeep, and drove off with a loud rev of his engine.
‘Now what?’ asked Kate.
If Kate wanted to know about cool dance moves, or where to buy totally great jeans, and stuff like that, I was her girl.
When had I become the expert on saving trees from being cut down?
But then I looked more closely at Kate. Her face was pale, and her eyes were rimmed with red. She looked like her whole world, and not just a tree, was about to come tumbling down.
And she had no one else to call on. She had no friends, and her only family was an old grannywho never seemed to venture outside her own front door.
So, even though I totally didn’t want to be involved, I knew it was already much, much too late for that.
‘Don’t worry, Kate,’ I said. ‘Leave it to me. I’ll think of something.’
I sat on the rug and thought for ages.
‘You should be good at this sort of thing,’ said Kate after a while. ‘Didn’t you say that you helped heaps of people before, when you were trying to do what Madame Margarita said?’
‘That was sooo different,’ I
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