Ribblestrop Forever! by Andy Mulligan Read Free Book Online Page B

face was pink and weathered. ‘Sorry to bother you,’ said Sanchez, ‘but —’
    ‘I know what you’re going to say,’ she interrupted. ‘I was told the same thing yesterday. By a little crowd of joggers and your wretched teacher.’
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘You may as well save your breath.’
    ‘Yes,’ said Sanchez.
    ‘Why it’s any of your business,’ she cried, ‘I just don’t know. I’m on a historic bridleway and I have every right to be here.’
    Sanchez swallowed. ‘I see. We were just wondering—’
    ‘Apart from that, I’m doing absolutely no harm – so why you children can’t live and let live is quite beyond me. I do not recognise your school’s jurisdiction over
trade routes that have existed for five thousand years, so I suggest you clear off.’
    The children stared from the woman back to Sanchez and waited for him to reply.
    ‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Thank you very much.’
    ‘We’re actually looking for a telephone box,’ said Ruskin. ‘So we can phone someone.’
    ‘Do you know the significance of this stone?’ said the woman. ‘I bet you’re not even interested.’
    Miles spoke up. ‘We didn’t want to bother you, honestly. It’s just that we’re a bit lost and getting quite hungry.’
    ‘Then I suggest you go back to school!’
    ‘Er . . . that’s what we’re trying to do. But not this one.’
    The woman put her hands on her hips, and looked harder at the children. ‘You’re not from The Priory?’ she said, slowly.
    ‘No,’ said Millie.
    ‘Oh. I thought you were another bunch of those snotty-faced little snobs. Sorry, I rather jumped to that conclusion because . . . well, there’s so many of you, and I . . . No, your
uniform is totally different – I’m so sorry.’
    ‘We’re from Ribblestrop Towers,’ said Ruskin, showing a damp blazer badge. ‘Though we’re not from there, as such. We’re trying to go there.’
    ‘We’ve just come down the river,’ said Anjoli. ‘We had some accidents.’
    ‘Ribblestrop?’ said the woman. ‘Ribblestrop town, formerly the settlement known as Volara? Gateway to the silver and tin mines of Ribblemoor? Market town, granted its first
charter in 1302, but a thriving Iron Age trading post on account of the minerals? I was there last week, at the museum.’ She swallowed. ‘I got the wrong end of the stick, my dears. That
seems to be something I do rather a lot, so people say. I’m Ellie Mold, by the way – Doctor Ellie is what people call me. You want the nearest road, right? That will mean following the
bridleway I mentioned back to the school’s main entrance. Or you can take the shortcut I took and hop over the gate. Rather depends where you want to get to.’
    ‘We’re trying to find some shops, and a phone box, and—’
    ‘We’re starving,’ said Israel. ‘We got lost and we haven’t eaten for about a day.’
    ‘Anjoli!’ said Asilah, sharply. ‘Don’t touch it!’
    Everyone swung round in time to see Anjoli step back abruptly from the fallen tripod. For the first time, the woman smiled.
    ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ she said. ‘You won’t damage it. I’ve knocked seven bells out of it over the years and it’s pretty much indestructible. Rather like
me. You can have a look through it, if you want. I was about to pack up now the light’s going. It’s part of a project I’m working on – decoding the stones. Ribblestrop
Towers, though . . .’ She thought hard. ‘Doesn’t that belong to the Vyner family? You say it’s a school?’
    ‘It’s a kind of school,’ said Miles. ‘It’s a pretty strange place.’
    ‘So you’re a kind of schoolboy, are you? You do look a bit unusual, you know. The Priory children dress rather more smartly.’
    Miles grinned. His shirt was more torn than usual and the tails came almost to his knees. ‘They have to,’ he said.
    ‘So why are you taking so many pictures?’ said Oli. ‘Are you an archaeologist?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Doctor Ellie. ‘I don’t want to