Free Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief by Gabrielle Kent Page B

it a miss,” said Ashford, heading for the kitchen. He was wearing stripy pyjamas with dress shoes and had a cravat tied in a bow around his neck.
    Alfie felt the others giving him a sideways look. Amy nudged him to say something.
    â€œAshford, are you OK?”
    The butler stopped and looked at Alfie, his head tilted quizzically.
    â€œIt’s just that you’re dressed…” he tailed off, unsure of how to say it.
    â€œLike a total weirdo!” finished Madeleine, earning herself a sharp glance from Robin.
    Ashford looked down as though seeing his clothes for the first time.
    â€œAhh, I see what you mean,” he laughed.
    â€œDo you need any, you know … help?” asked Alfie.
    â€œHelp?” repeated Ashford, eyebrows knitted together. “Ohhh,
that
kind of help.” He tapped his finger on the side of his head. “No, I’m as sane as I’ve ever been, thanks.” He grinned and turned to leave, then paused.
    â€œActually, there is something you might be able to help with. You’ve probably noticed that my memory hasn’t been the same since I got back. I’ve lost something quite valuable. For the life of me, I can’t figure out where it is.”
    â€œWe’ll help you look!” said Madeleine immediately. “What is it? Is it metal? I’ve got a metal detector; I’ll go get it!”
    â€œ No, no!” said Ashford quickly as Madeleine rushed for the door. “It’s private. A gift … for Emily. I was only wondering if you have any ideas about where I might have stored it?”
    Alfie was glad that Ashford was going to make things up with Emily. He thought hard. “Maybe you left it in one of the drawers in the kitchens. Or have you tried the undercroft? You store lots of things down there.”
    â€œYes. The undercroft,” said Ashford, beaming. “I’ll start there.” He bounded away into the kitchens.
    â€œHe’s really not quite right, is he?” asked Amy worriedly.
    â€œMaybe he hit his head or something when they shot him,” said Robin. “Or the elves might have drugged him, or brainwashed him; that’s why he’s not even angry at them.”
    â€œHe needs a doctor,” said Alfie, biting his lip at the thought of Ashford being brainwashed. “But I don’t think the one in the village would know what to do. Hopefully Caspian will take him to one of their healers when he comes tomorrow.”
    Alfie led the way up to the tower. The twins spent hours looking through the treasures and trying on costumes and armour.
    The upper floors had gone unexplored after the excitement of the silver sparrow. As they made their way up through the tower, Alfie was disappointed to find out that the rest of the rooms were empty. Chalked on the wooden floorboards of the room above Orin’s treasures was a message.
    â€œ
Do not store anything above this room
,” read Alfie. “That’s weird, I wonder why?”
    Every room above that one was completely empty, even though the rooms below were so full it would have made sense to distribute the contents throughout the tower.
    From the very top they could look down over Hexbridge.
    â€œWhat’s that they’re setting up in the village hall car park?” Alfie asked, squinting down at the unmistakably human shape that was being constructed from long thin strips of wood. A little figure that he assumed was Granny directed from a distance.
    â€œThat’s the wicker man,” said Robin.
    â€œWhat’s it for?”
    â€œWe burn it at sunset. It’s an old tradition, to ensure a good harvest, or something like that. Every year Jimmy Feeney tells everyone that they burned people inside them hundreds of years ago, but I asked Miss Reynard and she said that’s just a load of old rubbish the Romans made up. Me and Madeleine are part of the ceremony this year.”
    â€œWhat are you doing?” asked