
Me: Why is Harriet gazing out to sea in a desperate way?
Nell: He’s taken little Roary.
Me: Who has?
Nell: Lionel King. We all tried to stop him. Rupert was particularly reasonable and David even offered him some of Poppy’s scones.
Me: Did he take one?
Nell: Nobody refuses Poppy’s scones but he ate it in a carelessly rushed manner with no jam or cream.
Me: How rude. Poppy’s scones are meant to be savoured.
Nell: Exactly.
Me: What about Beauregard?
Nell: Lionel refused to listen to him and he finally lost his temper and snarled.
Me: Gosh. He must have been cross.
Nell: Yes, Beauregard rarely shows his teeth.
Me: Was Lionel scared?
Nell: No. He just kept roaring ‘Bring me my boy!’
Me: Where was Roary?
Nell: Hiding with Oliver in the treehouse.
Me: So, how did Lionel find him?
Nell: The Beefies gave them away. The horrible hooligans started shouting ‘He’s up here! He’s up here!’
Me: The villains.
Nell: Yes. Lionel was up the tree before anyone could stop him and grabbed Roary in his mouth.
Me: How frightening. Oliver must have been startled.
Nell: He played dead which was the wisest move in this sort of situation.
Me: Yes. An opossum has no chance against a lion.
Nell: We chased Lionel down to the beach but he had a boat waiting and we could only watch them sailing away.
Me: Did you see where they went?
Nell: They were heading towards Burgh Island.
Me: So, they’re probably staying at the hotel.
Nell: Yes.
Me: Can’t we rescue Roary from there?
Nell: Lionel is Roary’s father. I’m not sure there’s anything we can do.
Me: What about Roary’s mother?
Nell: We don’t even know who she is, let alone where she is.
Me: Yes. Sorry.