History Keepers: Nightship to China Read Online Free PDF Page B

like me.’
    ‘What? No, of course she likes you,’ Jake replied hurriedly, his cheeks flushing at the lie.
    ‘I don’t mind, Jake,’ she said softly, before putting on her English accent again. ‘As you say in jolly old England, I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. Anyway, let’s find you something to wear.’ She had just gone to his chest of drawers and started riffling through it, when there was a knock at the door.
    Jake froze and Felson pricked up his ears.
    ‘Are you awake, darling?’ his mother called.
    Panic engulfed Jake; he looked round at Yoyo. ‘Not really,’ he called back.
    ‘We’d love to have a word . . .’ Miriam cooed.
    We?
Jake thought. His dad was there . . . even worse. He turned to Yoyo. She was hiding under his bedcovers. ‘Not there,’ he hissed.
    But it was too late.
    ‘What was that, darling?’ Miriam answered, coming into the room with Jake’s father. Felson bounded over as Jake sat down on the bed, leaning back to mask the lump under the blankets. His dog started barking excitedly, jumped up, and rammed his nose into the bulge where Yoyo was.
    ‘Back to bed,’ Jake commanded, rather more harshly than usual, making Felson’s ears droop as he sidled back to his basket.
    ‘We won’t be long, darling,’ said Miriam, pulling up a chair and sitting down. ‘We just wanted to check you were all right.’
    ‘Today is not a happy day for any of us,’ Alan added, putting his hand on his son’s shoulder.
    ‘I’m fine,’ Jake replied hastily. ‘I’m sad, obviously. But, you know . . . I’m used to it.’
    His parents exchanged a look, mistaking the source of his anxiety.
    ‘You know we’re leaving tomorrow?’ Miriam continued.
    ‘Of course – you’ve been talking about it nonstop for weeks.’ Again Jake realized he sounded sullen.
Where did it come from?
He tried to soften things by adding, ‘I’ll miss you.’
    ‘Well, before we go, there was something else we wanted to talk about . . .’
    ‘It’s a matter of some gravity,’ added Alan in the voice he only used on very serious occasions. He had an ancient-looking book under his arm, which he put down on the chair. Jake noticed a picture of the Egyptian pyramids on the cover.
    ‘Do you remember that on your way back from Rome,’ Alan began, ‘Rose told you a secret . . . that you had travelled to history before, as an infant?’
    ‘Of course I remember,’ Jake replied. How could he forget? He had spent a year trying in vain to find out more.
    ‘You see, the thing is,’ Miriam carried on carefully, ‘we’ve kept another secret from you, and we think it’s time now that you were told.’
    ‘Told? Told
what
?’ Jake replied. He felt Yoyo shift under the covers, obviously cocking an ear to hear whatever secret was coming.
    His parents looked at each other.
    ‘Well, that wasn’t the first time you went back in history.’ Alan sat down on the bed and a muffled cry went up: fifteen stone had landed on Yoyo’s foot.
    Miriam peeled back the covers to reveal . . .

4 T HE L AST W ALTZ
    ‘ EVENING, MR AND Mrs Djones,’ Yoyo mumbled with a timid smile. She got up and straightened her clothes. ‘Jake and I were just . . . It’s Midsummer Eve!’ she added for no particular reason.
    Miriam bristled with anger. ‘I think you had better go back to your room, Miss Yuting. Immediately.’
    ‘Mum, don’t be so embarrassing.’
    ‘Embarrassing? You’re fourteen, Jake.’
    ‘Fifteen. I’m fifteen. I have been for three months.’
    ‘Well, you’re just a boy,’ she snapped. ‘You’re far too young for . . . for . . .’ Unable to produce the word, she waved her hand at Yoyo.
    This only threw Jake into a fury. ‘We were
talking
!’ he fumed, raising his voice. ‘Is that against the law?’
    ‘I wouldn’t speak to your mum like that,’ Alan chipped in. ‘Not a good idea.’
    ‘Well, I’m sorry if I’m
so
embarrassing,’ Miriam continued, ‘but I have a duty of care to Miss Yuting’s