The Game by Diana Wynne Jones Page B

game.”
    â€œIsn’t that all we need!” Harmony said. She scooped the cards, the markers and the clock into her coloured bag and snapped the table together. “Everyone go andput their stuff in the trophy cabinet. It’ll be open for you. Tollie, you’ll have to leave that egg there and hope Uncle Jolyon doesn’t notice it. Troy, Hayley, come with me. We’d better find Aunt May.”
    Aunt May was hurrying out of the house as they came to it. She let Tollie, followed by the crowd of Tighs and Laxtons, rush indoors past her and stopped Harmony, Troy and Hayley.
    â€œQuick,” she said. “Jolyon’s on his way here already. I wish Mercer wasn’t so damn dutiful, but Jolyon is his father, you know. Jolyon had no idea that Hayley was here with us, and he’s furious. We’ve got to get her away.”
    â€œDoes he know about the game?” Harmony asked.
    â€œNo – if he knew she’d been playing that , he’d go berserk!” Aunt May said distractedly. “But I’d get her away even if she hadn’t been. Hayley, you’re a darling and you saved us from the flood and what’s been done to you is a shame . Harmony, Troy, think what to do, quickly .”
    â€œWe were supposed to be taking her to Mum when we left,” Troy said. “To go to school in Scotland, Pleone said. We could take her now.”
    â€œYes, yes, take her to Ellie. At once,” Aunt May gasped. “Go upstairs and pack your things, all of you.”
    Troy and Harmony wasted no time. They dashed indoors and raced up the stairs in long strides. Aunt May, looking perfectly distracted, with her hair unrolling in long lumps, seized Hayley’s hand and rushed her upstairs in a rattle of necklaces. When they reached Hayley’s room, Aunt May dragged Hayley’s little suitcase from under her bed, shook her head – causing more hair to unroll – and hunted in a cupboard until she found a big duffel bag. Into this she crammed all Hayley’s new old clothes as fast as Hayley could pass them to her. She was just forcing Hayley’s brush and comb in on top of Hayley’s washing things, when Troy and Harmony arrived at a gallop, Troy with a huge backpack and Harmony carrying a bulging airline bag.
    â€œGot everything?” Aunt May said.
    â€œNot quite,” Harmony said. “I had to leave my good dress. Can you hang—?”
    She was interrupted by the crunching of wheels on the driveway outside.
    â€œOh, my God!” gasped Aunt May. “He’s here already!”
    She tore aside the blowing white curtains. They all looked down from Hayley’s window at a taxi drawing up by the front door and at Mercer and Tollie going out to meet it, followed by Aunt Alice, Aunt Geta and Aunt Celia. Somehow they all managed to look like important people coming to meet a visiting president. Mercer actually bowed as the taxi door slammed open and Uncle Jolyon climbed out. Uncle Jolyon’s blue eyes glared and, among his white beard, his mouth was almost a snarl. Hayley had never seen anyone look so thunderously angry. She backed away as Aunt May gently let the curtain fall back across the window.
    â€œI’ll go down and hold him up as long as I can,” Aunt May said. “Do your best, Harmony.” Necklaces clashing, hair flying, she ran out of the room.
    Hayley listened to Aunt May’s slippers thudding away down the stairs and wondered what they could do. At the very least, Uncle Jolyon was going to send her back to Grandma. But now she knew some of thethings Uncle Jolyon had done and could do, she was quite sure she was going to be punished in a worse way than that.
    â€œIt’s too late to get to the back door,” Troy said. “He’ll see us coming downstairs.”

Chapter Ten
    â€œI know what,” Harmony said. “We need a science fiction strand. Find me one, Troy, quickly.”
    â€œThe one I