Giggleswick: The Amadán Map

Chapter Seventeen: A Last Will and Testament

“That’s very odd,” said Mr. Bisby before taking a bite of French toast and furrowing his brow in thought. “Why, we never even met Lefty’s father!”  

Elliot, on the other hand, was dumbfounded and wondered what Humphrey could have found so important about Poppy’s will that it had to be taken care of today, of all days, just after Giggleswick’s largest secret was possibly exposed to the outside world. 

“I said we’d be there, of course,” said Mrs. Bisby.

“Yes,” Mr. Bisby agreed. “Suppose we’ll find out soon enough what this is all about.” 

Elliot frowned. “Soon enough” wasn’t quite the way he would have put it. Two o’clock felt like an awful long time to wait to stifle his curiosity, and he hadn’t a clue how he was going to pass the time.  

After helping his mother to clear away breakfast, Elliot dragged himself back up the stairs to his bedroom where he sat at his desk. His assignment book was staring back at him, reminding him that he had a paper due the next week on the validity of Constable Winifred Wyatt’s decision to end the use of exotic bird feathers in ladies apparel and headwear. With little else to do, he grabbed his pen and notebook and was in the process of trying to compose a first paragraph when he heard the doorbell ring downstairs, followed by a familiar dog bark.   

“Elliot,” his mother called up to him. “Eliza’s here. Should I send her up?” 

Glad for the distraction, Elliot closed his notebook and shouted “Yes!” and then heard his mother fussing over Eliza: “Oh dear, your poor hands –– do they hurt too badly? And how are you, Bert? Aren’t you cute! Yes you are ... Yes you are,” she cooed obnoxiously, as many were prone to do around the Noodles’ floppy-eared basset hound.  

A moment later, Elliot heard Eliza and Bert bounding up the stairs, and the dog ran to greet him, his tail wagging so enthusiastically that Elliot’s homework flew from his desk and began to whip around the room. 

He scratched Bert’s ears and glanced up to find Eliza in the doorway looking much better than she had the night before, though her hands were now bandaged.

“Mind if I distract you?” said Eliza, taking a seat cross-legged on Elliot’s bed. “I’m not in much of a homework mood today.” 

“Are you ever really, though?” he answered. 

Eliza scowled at him momentarily. “Very funny,” she replied. “Were your parents awfully mad when you got home last night?” she said, petting Bert who’d curled up at her feet. “Mine were positively livid! They’ll probably be calling your mother any minute to make sure we haven’t gone off somewhere.” 

“Wow,” said Elliot, “mine weren’t so bad. Said they’d been looking all over for me, but after Lefty called and explained to them what happened, they were rather nice actually. Didn’t Lefty call your parents?” 

“Yes, but they reckon I shouldn’t have gone anyway,” she explained. “Said it wasn’t my job to go saving Giggleswick.” Eliza rolled her eyes.    

“And I suppose you told them it was all my idea, did you?” 

“Of course I did!” said Eliza unashamedly, “but it didn’t help. They went on and on about me being twelve-years-old and needing to know better and all that sort of business. I just stopped listening after while –– I had such a headache!”   

“Are they mad at me indefinitely, then?” asked Elliot. 

Eliza smiled. “They’ll get over it. But hey –– guess what?!”