Chapter Nine. Bottoms Up

Felicity's door is unlocked. Having knocked twice Amelia and Granny P slowly push the door open and enter the cottage. It is dark, empty and unnervingly quiet.
'Felicity,' calls Granny P 'are you there my darling?'
There is no reply, Amelia pulls a candle from her silver clutch bag and gently lights it. It spits, glows furiously before slowly settling to illuminate the room. Beneath their feet sits a gigantic pile of bubble wrap, distressed and worn. The room feels somehow sad. Granny P heads for the door leading to the stairs and living room. Amelia follows close behind, glad to be with Granny P and not Florence. Granny P pushes open the old slatted wooden door to the living room. Everything in the room looks as it has been untouched for years, a little like stepping into a museum for lost souls. The door creaks behind them. The old Grandfather clock in the corner ticks rhythmically in the corner, the deep rich sound seem to fill the otherwise silent room. Amelia shivers.
'Felicity' coos Granny P.
She turns back towards the door and begins to climb the steep and narrow staircase. The stairs creek with each step. Amelia follows behind holding the candle higher ensuring Granny P has enough light. Although Granny P may be old, she is most certainly not frail, far too busy and curious to be frail. At the top of the stairs there are two doors, one to the right another to the left. Granny P knocks lightly on both doors and again calls out to Felicity. Nothing. Slowly the two women venture into the rooms hoping to find Felicity curled up quite unawares of the concern she is causing, but the rooms are empty.
'Good Lord' Granny P looks positively perplexed, 'where on earth could she be? How was she when you last saw her Amelia dear?'
'Well when I think about it she did look rather dazed.'
'Dazed?'
'Well yes, sort of a bit dishevelled and vacant really. Oh and her hair was covered in tiny little plastic bubbles, I remember thinking she looked most odd, but, well...I didn't really think too much about it I was rather busy.'
'Mmm. Very strange, I mean Felicity isn't the most, well... balanced of people I know, always seems to have something on her mind that one. Well it doesn't look like she is here, lets go and give Phoebe a little knock shall we?' Granny P begins to descend the staircase.
'Don't you think its a little late for that? I mean its gone two in the morning we can't possibly be waking Phoebe now, you know how fragile she is.'
'Oh nonsense, you know perfectly well that Phoebe loves a drama as much as you my dear, now come on.'
Amelia blushes, heart pounding like a small child who has been found out and follows Granny P reluctantly through the kitchen and out of the cottage. The two women follow the footpath leading to Phoebe's cottage. the moon glows brightly above and there is a light scent of smoke in the air. Eerie sounds seem to fill the skies and and an odd sensation that they are being watched sends shivers down Amelia's spine. On the approach to Phoebe's cottage the two women are surprised to find it glowing in candle light. Phoebe answers the door so soon after the first knock that Amelia almost jumps right out of her skin.
'Hello,' say Phoebe brightly 'I thought you would come.'
'Did you!' Granny P yelps quite startled.
'Do come in I''ll put the kettle on for a nice cup of tea, would you like a muffin ladies?'
Amelia and Granny P look at one another in disbelief.
'But Phoebe it's two in the morning darling what the devil are you doing up anyway?'
'Ah ha! Well do I have a surprise for you?' Phoebe giggles, wanting to keep Granny P and Amelia in suspense for much longer, and if it was any other time of day she would, without question, be keeping hold of this little gem of a secret until she was begged to reveal all. Looking at the pleading and exhausted little faces before her, she weakens, and with a wry smile she signals for them to follow. The two women tentatively follow Phoebe through to her dimly lit living room and there, splayed on the sofa, sleeping soundly, lies Bob.
'Good Lord!' Whispers Granny P.
'How long has he been here?' Amelia cries a little to shrill for such an hour. She turns to Phoebe who is now simply glowing with delight, and Amelia can feel her jealousy rise within her and at that moment she loathes Phoebe Frost, from deep within her she is in loathing for the woman Bob turned to in his need.
'Oh well, let me see, it must have been about twenty minutes ago. I was just about to retire having spoken with a very disturbed Clive Crookshank, you see he had got wind of Bob's disappearance and, well, poor man, it brought all that abduction business back to him, anyway where was I, oh yes, I had just put the receiver down and pottering around clearing and sorting as you do, when the door went. 'Whoever is that' I thought. You can imagine my absolute delight when I saw dear Bob standing there can you not?' Amelia looked over at Granny P who did not appear irritated in the slightest by Phoebe's ramblings which engendered even more bad feelings within Amelia.
'So I bring him in,' Phoebe continues, undeterred by Amelia's bitter glare, ...'guide him to the sofa, have to guide him see, because, well, lets just say he was in a bit of a trance really, poor man, whatever happened to him must have really shaken up. So I put the kettle on and go to warm some muffins and when I go though to the lounge he's asleep! Can you believe it?' Phoebe is positively gloating, even Granny P is amusing in noticing this. Bob stirs quite oblivious to preying eyes upon him, gives a little snort and repositions himself.
'Well, doesn't look like we'll get much sense out of this one tonight!' chuckles Granny P. Amelia has heard quite enough. Her mouth puckers, eyes narrow and after a deep intake of breath informs the two women that she must be getting back, she has, after all, responsibilities, she then flounces dramatically towards the door banging it on her way out just enough to show her contempt at Phoebe Frost and her wicked ways. Granny P and Phoebe look at one another, both attempting to bite back their amusement before losing themselves in to a wave of hysteria.
'Oh that Amelia, always wanting to be centre stage does that one!' cries Phoebe through her tears.
'I should say!' Granny P now quite hysterical looks towards Bob on the sofa where he stirs as if on cue, repositioning himself a tad too vigorously he slowly slides from the sofa landing in the most precarious heap on the floor where he continues to sleep. The women shriek in naughty delight, it has been quite a wonderful ending to an otherwise dramatic day.
'Now all we need to do is to find Felicity, but first we must sleep. Would you mind awfully if I took to your armchair Phoebe darling, only I don't think I have the energy to get up let alone wander home?'
'Of course my dear.' Phoebe fetches two blankets, positions one over Granny P and one over Bob who looks rather endearing with his bottom high in the air and his head rested on his folded arms.
'Goodnight dearies.' whispers Phoebe to an already sleeping Granny P and a sculptured looking Bob. Gently snubbing out the candles she closes the door and slowly climbs the steep and creaky stairs making way for her long awaited bed.