excitement of turning into a sneaky little thief, but Tressa wanted to come with us. I thought she was on the snoop, in case I gave her anything else to tell on me for. But as it turned out, she had a different reason for coming.
Matt bought some icing sugar and a packet of chocolate buttons, plus a tube of coloured sprinkles which we found out when we got home were four years over the date stamp. Then he stood around chatting to the shopkeeper while I had a look through the books and games on the shelves by the door.
Instead of looking through them with me, Tressa stayed beside Matt, pretending to be interested in what he was saying. It was odd. I mean, being politeand doing what youâre told was one thing, but there was absolutely nothing in the rules that said you had to suck up.
I was wondering what she was up to when I saw her hand drop down from inside her coat cuff, scoop up a carrot from the sack on the floor and pull it up inside her sleeve. Matt noticed the movement, but didnât see what sheâd done.
âYou look a bit flushed, Tress,â he said.
She hates it when he calls her that.
âItâs being out in all this lovely weather!â said the shopkeeper, smiling.
There were only a few spots of rain as we walked back up to the house, and the sky was looking brighter. Matt asked us what was the most amazing place the island children had shown us, because he was going to have to get out the big guns if he was going to persuade Mum that she wanted to stay.
âThe beach with the seals,â Tressa said, without hesitation. âWe can show you on the map.â
She did that when we got home. There she was, chatting to Matt, as if all this creeping around being good and pretending had magically made her really like him.
Me and Mum decorated the cake and when weâd finished I found Tressa lurking in the hallway, waiting for a chance to get in and peel her stolen carrot, chop it up and put the pieces in a sandwich bag.
But after all our distractions, by lunchtime they were back at it again. Matt mentioned the seal beach and Mum told him that the queen of the seals herself, all dressed up in diamonds and furs, could not entice her outside in this filthy weather.
âEnoughâs enough,â she said. âWeâre leaving.â
Matt looked at her. Then he glanced at each of us.
âOK, if thatâs what you want,â he said. âBut I think, if itâs all right with you, Iâll stay on.â
Chapter 7
Hidden things
âIâm not going home!â Milo said, through a mouthful of beans.
Tressa shot him a warning look. You could see she didnât want to go either, but we had to do what our parents told us, that was the rule. I know Duncan said Matt counted as a parent, but if they didnât agree about what we should do, surely Mum would count more?
Before the birds, I would definitely have wanted to stay, too. The bothy, the candles, the sea-pool, the beach, the Bindingâit was weird and exciting andyou just wanted to keep going back. But now, it didnât feel safe. At any moment, you could think you were doing the right thing and find yourself out in the cold, waiting for your punishment. You could think, âWalking across a fieldâthatâs no punishment!â and find yourself down on your knees in the mud, with everyone laughing at you.
âWill you be all right here on your own?â Mum asked Matt.
I suddenly imagined itâall of us getting on the boat except Matt, and him waving to us from the beach. If that happened, it might be the beginning of the end for him and Mum, and although Tressa made such a fuss about it, the fact was that things had been much better since he had moved in. Whatever we decided about staying or going, the most important thing was that we all did it together.
Milo abandoned his beans and got down, which weâre not normally allowed to do without asking, but Mum didnât
Matt bought some icing sugar and a packet of chocolate buttons, plus a tube of coloured sprinkles which we found out when we got home were four years over the date stamp. Then he stood around chatting to the shopkeeper while I had a look through the books and games on the shelves by the door.
Instead of looking through them with me, Tressa stayed beside Matt, pretending to be interested in what he was saying. It was odd. I mean, being politeand doing what youâre told was one thing, but there was absolutely nothing in the rules that said you had to suck up.
I was wondering what she was up to when I saw her hand drop down from inside her coat cuff, scoop up a carrot from the sack on the floor and pull it up inside her sleeve. Matt noticed the movement, but didnât see what sheâd done.
âYou look a bit flushed, Tress,â he said.
She hates it when he calls her that.
âItâs being out in all this lovely weather!â said the shopkeeper, smiling.
There were only a few spots of rain as we walked back up to the house, and the sky was looking brighter. Matt asked us what was the most amazing place the island children had shown us, because he was going to have to get out the big guns if he was going to persuade Mum that she wanted to stay.
âThe beach with the seals,â Tressa said, without hesitation. âWe can show you on the map.â
She did that when we got home. There she was, chatting to Matt, as if all this creeping around being good and pretending had magically made her really like him.
Me and Mum decorated the cake and when weâd finished I found Tressa lurking in the hallway, waiting for a chance to get in and peel her stolen carrot, chop it up and put the pieces in a sandwich bag.
But after all our distractions, by lunchtime they were back at it again. Matt mentioned the seal beach and Mum told him that the queen of the seals herself, all dressed up in diamonds and furs, could not entice her outside in this filthy weather.
âEnoughâs enough,â she said. âWeâre leaving.â
Matt looked at her. Then he glanced at each of us.
âOK, if thatâs what you want,â he said. âBut I think, if itâs all right with you, Iâll stay on.â
Chapter 7
Hidden things
âIâm not going home!â Milo said, through a mouthful of beans.
Tressa shot him a warning look. You could see she didnât want to go either, but we had to do what our parents told us, that was the rule. I know Duncan said Matt counted as a parent, but if they didnât agree about what we should do, surely Mum would count more?
Before the birds, I would definitely have wanted to stay, too. The bothy, the candles, the sea-pool, the beach, the Bindingâit was weird and exciting andyou just wanted to keep going back. But now, it didnât feel safe. At any moment, you could think you were doing the right thing and find yourself out in the cold, waiting for your punishment. You could think, âWalking across a fieldâthatâs no punishment!â and find yourself down on your knees in the mud, with everyone laughing at you.
âWill you be all right here on your own?â Mum asked Matt.
I suddenly imagined itâall of us getting on the boat except Matt, and him waving to us from the beach. If that happened, it might be the beginning of the end for him and Mum, and although Tressa made such a fuss about it, the fact was that things had been much better since he had moved in. Whatever we decided about staying or going, the most important thing was that we all did it together.
Milo abandoned his beans and got down, which weâre not normally allowed to do without asking, but Mum didnât
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