Page 124 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘Yes, when that vicar man Callum stands up to talk to everyone, he stands in front of it.’
I think back to when I was last in the church.
‘Do you mean the lectern?’ I ask. ‘The big wooden thing Callum sometimes stands at?’
Robin lifts his head for a moment. ‘Yeah, that’s the thing. There’s a big eagle carved at the top of it. I always look at it when I’m bored of people talking and reading from that big shiny book.’
‘You know, I think you might be right,’ I say, trying to remember. ‘I think there is an eagle carved there. Wait, why did you describe the book as shiny?’
‘Cos it is,’ Robin says, still turning the pages of the annual. ‘It’s all silvery and the light coming in through the pretty windows sometimes makes coloured patterns on it.’
I grab Mavis’s book of teaching notes from the table and retrieve the wedding photo.
‘Robin,’ I say carefully, not wanting to lead him, ‘you see the book in this photo?’
‘Uh-huh,’ Robin says indifferently.
‘Is this like the book you’ve seen on the eagle in the church?’
Robin looks a little more carefully at the photo.
‘Yeah, that looks like it. Those people areold!’
‘How do you fancy a walk with Merlin in a bit?’ I ask him, my heart pounding. ‘I think we might take a quick trip past the church . . . ’
‘How on earth did you recognise it?’ Callum asks as we hurry towards the church with Robin and Merlin. ‘Did you remember it from Easter Sunday?’
‘I only had eyes for you on Easter Sunday,’ I tell him.
‘My male ego is flattered by that, but my alter ego thinks you should have been listening to what I was saying.’
‘It matters not now. It was Robin that recognised it, actually, wasn’t it, Robin?’
Robin nods. ‘I like to look at the big eagle and the pretty patterns on the book.’
Callum glances at me.
I shake my head. ‘Don’t worry about it. Doyouthink it’s the same one as in the photo?’
‘It looks very much like it. That Bible cover is pretty old; I’m told it would have been what’s called “treasure binding”. It’s lost a lot of its gems over the years, and the clasp on one side of the cover, but the engraving is still visible.’
‘You did say you recognised that engraved piece of metal we found in the wood . . . ’
Callum stops hurrying and turns to look at me. ‘You think that’s what that is, the missing clasp from the cover?’
‘I can’t tell for sure until we get there. But it looks a lot like it.’
We all rush into the church, Robin going along with our excitement, even though I don’t think he entirely understands what’s going on.
‘There’s the big eagle,’ he says, pointing down the aisle of the church.
We all walk towards the lectern at a much calmer pace now we’re inside. Callum lifts the open heavy Bible down from where it rests on top of the eagle lectern and closes its covers.
‘It is the same one,’ I whisper. Not sure if my whispering stems from the fact I’m in total awe at what we’ve discovered, or because I’m inside a church. ‘Here.’ I hold out the engraved clasp.
Callum takes it from me and holds it to the cover. The size, width and pattern of the metal match perfectly to the area the clasp is missing from.
‘The birds wanted you to find this Bible, Ava, that’s for sure. But how do we discover just why they did?’
