Philippa Fisher and the Dream-Maker's Daughter by Liz Kessler Read Free Book Online

missed you so much,” I said when we’d finally calmed down. I sat on the bed, and Daisy perched on the edge of it. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
    “I did, too. It’s very unusual to see a client twice.”
    “A client?” I said, my heart plummeting in my chest. Was that how she saw me? After everything we’d gone through together, I was still just a job to her?
    “I didn’t mean it like that!” she said quickly. “I just mean that once you’ve done an assignment with someone, that’s usually it. You never see them again.”
    “So how come you’re here, then?” I asked. “Is it for another assignment?” I couldn’t hide my disappointment that she might be here for work, not because she wanted to see me.
    Daisy shifted uncomfortably. “It doesn’t matter why I’m here, or why you’re here, or anything, does it? Surely all that matters is that we get to see each other again!”
    “So you
are
here for a job?”
    Daisy ran a hand through her hair and lowered her voice. “Look, I can’t talk about it. It’s kind of — well, let’s just say I managed to mix business with pleasure!”
    I couldn’t help feeling let down. I didn’t want to be “business.” I wanted her to be here just because she was my friend. I wanted to hang out together and catch up on everything that had been going on in the last few months.
    “I’m in a new department now,” Daisy went on. “They’re being really strict with me, so I have to be careful.” She scurried over to the window and looked out before closing it behind her. “I’m taking a huge risk just by being here — but I had to see you!”
    “Really?”
    “Of course, really! You’re my best friend, and I haven’t seen you for months. I’ve missed you like crazy.”
    Daisy had called me her best friend! I tried to conceal a smile, but I don’t think I did it very well. The disappointment melted away. “I’ve missed you, too!” I said.
    Daisy smiled, and her cheeks turned pink. “Tell me things!” she said. “What have you been doing? How have you been? I want to know everything!”
    I thought about the last few months. I hadn’t really done much at all that felt worth reporting. “Been to school, done some magic in the tree house — that’s about it,” I said, adding silently,
and had no one to share any of it with.
    “How are the tricks going?” she asked.
    I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about my magic tricks. I wanted to know about her. “What have
you
been doing?” I asked. “I’m sure it’s been much more interesting than my boring old life!”
    “Well, I’ve got this new job,” she said. “But I really can’t talk about it.” She made a face. “I wish I could. I’ve been wanting to tell you all about it.”
    “How long have you been in the new department?”
    “Just since the summer,” she said. “As soon as I got the job, I wanted to tell you. I wanted to see you. I’d been trying to work out a way for ages — and then something came up without me even planning it!”
    “What do you mean? What happened?”
    Daisy looked over her shoulder, as though checking that no one was there — even though she’d closed the window. She lowered her voice. “I shouldn’t tell you,” she said. “You know my assignments are top secret. And this one is even more so. But I want to share everything with you!”
    “I won’t tell anyone,” I promised, lowering my voice to a whisper like hers.
    She paused, as if she was weighing whether or not to tell me. Then she said, “I came to your house once. It was a special mission.”
    “Really? When? I never saw you!”
    Daisy shook her head. “You wouldn’t have recognized me. I wasn’t like this.”
    “As a fairy?” I asked.
    She shook her head again. “You know how every time I start a new assignment, I begin as something from nature; like last time, I was a daisy?”
    “Yes. So you mean you’re something different now?”
    She looked over her shoulder