Read Clementine Rose and the Famous Friend 7 for Free Online Page B

choose from,’ her mother called after her. ‘They’re hanging on the wardrobe door.’
    Lady Clarissa walked down the back stairs, wondering what on earth was going on.

    Violet Appleby knocked sharply on the door of the Rose Room.
    â€˜Yes,’ a soft voice called from the other side. ‘Come in.’
    Aunt Violet poked her head around. ‘Good heavens, what happened in here? Cyclone in a paper factory?’
    The room was covered in paper from the floor to the bed and just about every surface in between.
    â€˜May I help you?’ Miss Richardson rose from her seat at the small dining table in the corner. Already small and thin, she seemed even smaller and thinner after spending almost a week in her room. Her ice-grey hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck and she wore a grey cardigan and black slacks with a white shirt.
    â€˜I need to clear away some glass,’ Aunt Violet said, giving the woman a cursory glance. ‘And you need some sunlight.’
    Miss Richardson frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
    â€˜You must have heard it shatter,’ said Aunt Violet. ‘You haven’t left the room, have you?’
    â€˜No, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    Violet Appleby picked her way through the paper maze on the floor, careful not to tread on any of the pages. She walked to the desk under the window, which was sprinkled with slivers of glass.
    Miss Richardson followed her. ‘Oh dear, how did that happen?’ she gasped. ‘I thought I heard a tinkling noise when I was in the bathroom.’
    â€˜One usually hears a tinkling noise in the bathroom.’ Aunt Violet smiled at her own joke. ‘But this one could be hazardous to your health.’
    â€˜Let me clear away some of those papers,’ the old woman offered. ‘I suppose it was fortunate I wasn’t sitting there.’
    â€˜No, it’s fine. I’ve got a better idea. I’ve arranged for someone to patch the window this evening. You’ll have to come down and join us for dinner in the dining room,’ Aunt Violet instructed. She hadn’t yet made the call but Miss Richardson didn’t need to know that.
    â€˜But I’d rather not,’ Miss Richardson said. ‘I’m working.’
    â€˜Yes, and I’d rather not have to eat dinner in the dining room with the guests but I don’t have any choice in the matter. It’s beautiful outside at the moment. Why don’t you go for a walk around the garden? You could do with some colour, or we’ll have the other guests thinking there’s a vampire in residence.’
    Miss Richardson’s jaw dropped. ‘Do you always boss your guests around in such a dreadful way?’
    â€˜Only if they need it,’ huffed Aunt Violet. ‘I don’t know what you’re working on but all this being cooped up can’t be good for you. And it’s not as if you’re going to win a Nobel Prize, now, is it? Not for –’ Aunt Violet picked up one of the pages and scanned the words – ‘a book on the history of tractors? Godfathers, I’d be asleep after the first sentence. Off you go. I’ll clear away the glass and the man can come and fix the window while you’re at dinner.’
    Miss Richardson wasn’t used to being spoken to that way at all, but it was clear Violet Appleby was not to be trifled with.
    â€˜Do I need to change for dinner?’ Miss Richard son asked.
    Aunt Violet looked at her. ‘No, you’ll do. Perhaps you could brighten yourself up with a scarf or that brooch there.’ Aunt Violet pointed at a sparkly pin on the dressing table.
    Miss Richardson tied the scarf around her neck and stood near the door. She didn’t know exactly what she was waiting for but she lingered nonetheless.
    â€˜Well, go on.’ Aunt Violet shooed her away and went back to the smashed window.
    Miss Richardson turned and