Clementine Rose and the Movie Magic 9 by Jacqueline Harvey Page B

take so many times to get it right.’
    Drew looked across at the girl. ‘That’s because Basil is a perfectionist. Not only does he make great movies, he’s like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to sniffing out the facts. If there are any skeletons hidden in the Appleby closet he’s bound to find them,’ Drew said with a wink.
    Aunt Violet shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
    â€˜We have a skeleton,’ Clementine said matter-of-factly, ‘but it’s in the attic, not the closet.’
    The adults grinned. ‘That’s not quite what Basil meant, Clemmie,’ her mother said.
    Basil nodded. ‘I just don’t see the point in doing some thing if you’re not going to give it your best.’
    Clementine bit her lip and wondered if Basil really was happy with her performance that day. Her introduction had been filmed another twelve times before he’d decided he had exactly what he needed. The group had then moved into the sitting room to film a short scene. Even though Clementine hadonly a couple of lines of dialogue, they had done seven takes before Basil was satisfied.
    â€˜And you, my dear girl, gave it your best and more,’ Basil added enthusiastically.
    Clementine beamed and all doubts about her performance disappeared.
    â€˜Can I pour you some more tea, Drew?’ Clarissa offered.
    â€˜That would be lovely, thanks,’ he replied.
    As Drew reached for another plump scone, he accidentally brushed Clarissa’s hand and a spark of static electricity passed between them. The woman jumped, spilling tea all over the tablecloth.
    â€˜Oops!’ Drew grabbed his napkin and mopped up the liquid. He smiled at Clarissa, whose cheeks blushed a fiery red.
    Uncle Digby and Aunt Violet raised their eyebrows at one another. Clementine spotted their funny looks and hoped they weren’t about to start squabbling.
    Basil thumbed through a thick wad of papers in front of him. ‘We’ll start at nine inthe morning, and I’ll need Clementine dressed as her great-great grandmother, Clarissa,’ he said.
    â€˜How exactly is this film going to play out, Basil?’ Violet Appleby asked. She placed her teacup back onto its saucer with a rattle.
    The man looked up from his notes. ‘I have a rough plan. Some of the old family papers have given me ideas, although it would have been wonderful to find a diary and include a few more anecdotes in the film.’
    â€˜I was sure Granny had one,’ Lady Clarissa said, ‘but I’ve searched everywhere and I can’t find a thing.’
    â€˜Never mind,’ Basil said. ‘Having Clementine narrate various sections allows me to introduce the different generations of the Appleby family who have lived in the house. In answer to your question, Aunt Violet, today we filmed Clementine as herself, but tomorrow she’s going to play the role of her great-great grandmother. I think it’s Thursday that she’s pretending to be you, although we’re takingsome poetic licence with that one. It’s a pity there are no photographs of you as a child.’
    â€˜I don’t remember there ever being many. I suspect, being a girl, I wasn’t interesting enough,’ Aunt Violet explained with a flick of her hand.
    Clarissa gave the woman a quizzical look. She’d found plenty of pictures of her father when he was a boy and she couldn’t imagine that her grandparents only took photographs of their son. Though, she had searched the house from top to bottom and had been very disappointed to find just a couple of snaps of Aunt Violet as a baby. It seemed quite odd, really.
    â€˜What did you look like when you were little, Aunt Violet?’ Clementine asked.
    The old woman snorted. ‘How would I know, Clementine? I didn’t spend all day looking at myself, did I?’
    â€˜Really?’ Uncle Digby teased. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you walk past a mirror