Bookweirder by Paul Glennon Read Free Book Online

the top of the stairs was nearly empty. Wide and tall, with marble tile on the floor and stone columns supporting its decorated ceiling, the office spoke of wealth and power. A dozen imposing oak desks were spread evenly across the floor. Only one was occupied. Its occupant looked up as George entered.
    “Ah, young Master Kelmsworth. What a surprise.”
    The smug grin on Mr. Todd’s face made him look anything but surprised. His mutton-chop sideburns merely twitched in amusement.
    “You ought to have rung. What brings you to the city?” The lawyer twisted a fountain pen gingerly at the end of his long fingers, as if afraid the ink might stain his pristine white cuffs. He was elegantly dressed in a dark grey suit and a high white collar that obscured his neck completely.
    George was not intimidated. He stretched himself to his full height and pushed out his chest. “I’ve come about the gamekeeper,” he began haughtily, taking the tone he expected to take with employees who were not doing their job correctly. “The grounds at Kelmsworth are not being looked after properly. I came across a poacher myself the other day. We absolutely must have a proper gamekeeper back on the estate.”
    Mr. Todd frowned and did his best to ignore the scuffling sounds of Pippa and Gordon Cook sneaking up the stairs. “Well, I’m afraid there’s not much we can do on that account at this point. While we put together the appeal, the grounds are under the jurisdiction of Administrator Hepplewaithe. We’ll sort it all out in the end, of course. You know that. But I’m afraid that in the meantime, it is out of our hands.”
    The lawyer put down his pen and held out his hands. He suppressed a small smirk as, out of the corner of his eye, he spied Pippa and Gordon ducking beneath a nearby desk.
    “But I nearly caught the poacher myself,” George protested. “He was on the lawn. He likely also broke into the kitchen several nights ago. Administrator Hepplewaithe is incompetent.”
    Todd’s superior tone elevated once more. “That may well be, but you, my boy”—he pointed at George with the end of hispen—“should not be stalking the woods looking for poachers.”
    Pippa’s high-pitched scream interrupted them.
    A dozen small white mice burst from beneath the desk where Gordon had set them free. They looked tiny and insignificant on the floor of the vast office. Their white coats blended with the marble tile, camouflaging them perfectly. They all darted immediately under the legs of desks or towards the walls, where they began disappearing into cracks in the wainscotting. There was a sort of stunned silence as Todd and the three children stared at the floor. The lawyer made a show of craning his neck about looking for stragglers.
    Pippa screamed again, but it was an unconvincing scream that trailed off to a whispering sort of high note and left her blushing with embarrassment. This was not the chaos that they had intended to provoke.
    Mr. Todd remained where he was at his desk, his expression one of quiet amusement. The slim smile on his face widened ever so slightly as a large ginger cat padded out from behind one of the stone columns. A stunned white mouse dangled from the cat’s satisfied maw. It dropped the poor creature on the floor and placed a massive ginger paw on its catch. The cat scanned the floor for more of the same, but the rest of the rodents had scattered and could not be seen.
    “Oh, dear,” said Mr. Todd, sounding rather bored. “I do hope that wasn’t a special mouse. I doubt that Vilnius will be persuaded to give it up now.” As if to make his point, the orange cat began licking his wide chops.
    George, Pippa and Gordon stood and looked on in stunned silence. This was not how this was supposed to work at all.
    Norman put the book down carefully on his windowsill and closed his eyes. What was he supposed to make of this? Vilnius was not a common name. In fact, Norman had never seen or heard his father’s