Free Edie Amelia and the Runcible River Fever by Sophie Lee Page B

married.’

A Renewal of Vowels

    A s a surprise to everyone, including themselves, Arabella Stuart and Adam Halloween had decided to get married. An even bigger surprise was that it wouldn’t be the first time. They had been married before, but after only a few months Arabella had fled, taking with her Major Wiggins,the cat. Her reason? Neither the Major nor Arabella could put up with the untidiness of the Blank Marauder’s shed.
    When Arabella heard through the grapevine that the little detective next door had tidied Adam’s shed, and that he was now running a profitable enterprise in pleather goods, she had invited him to come and see her at the vet surgery to talk things over. This was when things got messy. During his visit, Arabella was called away by a hoax caller (Hogmanay) to a non-existent emergency. Confused and angry about the items found missing from her storeroom upon her return, she paid the Blank Marauder a visit, but was scared off when she spied a nutty Scotsman (Hogmanay again) taking a large box of what looked like stolen goods from her ex-husband.
    In an attempt to smooth things over at the hospital, Cheesy had repeated to Adam and Arabella what she’d heard in the hangar: that it was her father, Hogmanay, not Adam, who had taken the goods from the surgery. Cheesy confirmed that Adamhad asked Hogmanay to lock up the vet clinic, not to help himself to the stores. Edie’s thorough detective report, including the discovery of a length of Hogmanay’s auburn hair at the vet’s surgery, was filed the day after and further cleared the air. Why had Hogmanay been at the surgery? It seemed the Blank Marauder had confided in him about there being a possibility for reconciliation with his ex-wife. Sadly Hogmanay, under the effects of his severe pleather allergy, had seen this as an opportunity to source materials for his balloon repair.
    Fortunately, all had been forgiven. Arabella and Adam were able to resolve their differences and fall in love all over again, and Mister Pants was offered complimentary veterinary consultations in perpetuity (which is a fancy way of saying forever after).

    Not long after Hogmanay Chompster was discharged from hospital, an invitationarrived in the Sparkses’ letterbox. Edie ran into the kitchen with it, Mister Pants at her heels with his tongue hanging out.
    â€˜Could you open it, dear?’ said Cinnamon, who was up to her elbows in buckwheat pancake batter. Edie pulled her Swiss army knife from her detective kit, carefully sliced open the back flap of the envelope and withdrew a card. Round the edge were forget-me-nots and thunderbolts, and the writing upon it read:
    Dear Michaelmas, Cinnamon, Edie
    Amelia and Mister Pants (Sparks),
    Please join Arabella and Adam
    to celebrate a renewal of vows
    In their shed.
    Tomorrow at noon.
    Bring a plate, if you wouldn’t mind. Your cooking is second to none and we can’t cook to save ourselves.
    â€˜Mum,’ said Edie, looking up at Cinnamon. ‘Can you make them a batch of those pancakes with quince jelly?’
    Meanwhile, Edie’s dad was so thankful that she had survived the balloon disaster that he had stayed up all the previous night making the dumb-waiter doggy-lifter fully operational. Only when satisfied it was completely safe did he invite Edie to launch it at a small family ceremony. A bottle of Cinnamon’s elderflower cordial had been sprinkled over the harness (rather than a champagne bottle being smashed to bits, as is the tradition when launching a great ship on its maiden voyage). Edie helped Mister Pants into the cradle, fastened the buckleand turned the lifter handle; then they all watched him ascend to the upper floor of The Pride of the Green, snorting contentedly and licking the sticky cordial off the harness.

    Edie had never seen the Blank Marauder look as happy as he did on the day of his ‘vowel renewal’ (as Cheesy kept calling it for her own