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'I wonder,' said Katie, who had hidden her hair beneath her hat once more, 'if they deliberately describe it as a cottage so the people of Shobble won't feel jealous.'
The sleigh came to a stop at an imposing entrance, with wide red-carpeted stairs leading up to huge oak doors. Instantly the doors were flung open and a man appeared, followed by three smiling fluffy-haired Shobblings.
The man was wearing a long, royal blue velvet jacket with gold trimming. He had a thin, white face and his hair was long, straight and shining brown, falling to his waist in a thick ponytail. It was like a beautiful horse's tail.
Shimlara nudged Katie. 'Another "hairity" like you.'
'The wonderful . . . the extraordinary . . . Space Brigade!' cried the man, and Nicola immediately recognised his deep, honeyed voice. 'What a pleasure! What an honour!'
Silent Fred passed his board to Nicola. It said, Enrico Aloisio, our wonderful, extraordinary Commander-in-Chief. Nicola noticed he'd carefully drawn a little box and smiley faces around Katie's signograph.
As Enrico hurried forward to meet them, Silent Fred helped them out of the sleigh. Nicola's feet had pins and needles from the long journey. She tried to get rid of them by discreetly stamping her feet.
Enrico stopped and stamped his own feet in imitation of Nicola. 'This is the way you greet people on your planet, is it? How charming!'
'Um,' began Nicola, but Sean - grinning widely - was already enthusiastically stomping his feet, so all the other members of the Space Brigade had no choice but to do the same. 'For heaven's sake!' muttered Greta.
As Enrico neared them his smile faded slightly. 'My goodness. You're all a lot more . . . youthful . . . than I expected.'
'What we lack in age we more than make up for in experience,' said Nicola. This was a line she'd read once in a book, so it rolled smoothly off her tongue.
Shimlara began to giggle but had to pretend she was having a coughing fit when Enrico looked at her with kind concern. 'I hope you haven't caught colds on your journey. Quickly! Please! Come inside and you can freshen up in your rooms.' They all turned to pick up their bags. 'Oh, no, don't concern yourselves - my people will take care of your luggage!' Enrico snapped his fingers and two of the Shobblings who had been hovering behind him immediately ran towards the bags.
The Space Brigade followed Enrico into a magnificent entrance hall where they were enveloped in such a delicious warmth they all sighed with relief. Nicola looked up and saw dozens of glittering chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Along the walls were oil paintings in heavy gold frames. Many were portraits of Enrico, wearing various elegant outfits and tossing back his hair, while others showed him with a woman and two children, all three of whom were smiling at him adoringly. There were also pictures of Enrico with larger groups of people: dancing at balls, laughing at picnics, ice-skating on the frozen sea. Every man, woman and child depicted had long brown hair.
At that moment, Katie took off her hat and Enrico caught sight of her hair. He arched his eyebrows. 'A fellow hairity, I see,' he said, taking her hand and kissing it. 'No doubt the fans waiting outside my gates were delighted to catch a glimpse of you. I hope they weren't a bother. All the fuss can be tiresome.'
Katie looked uncomfortable. 'Why do people think long brown hair is so special?' she asked.
'People think that anything so rare is precious. Every time I do an interview I try to explain that I'm just a normal man who likes doing normal things, but they neve
r believe it! What can you do?' Enrico shrugged charmingly and sighed.
He gestured to the lady standing respectfully beside him. 'This is my butler, Joy. She'll show you to your rooms. I'll look forward to seeing you at dinner time, when we can discuss the somewhat challenging little task I need you to attend to - although I'm sure it won't be a challenge for professionals like yourselves!'
'Thank you, Enrico,' said Nicola. She watched him leave the room, his velvet jacket swirling elegantly.
'Please follow me,' said Joy. She had fluffy yellow hair like a baby chick and the sweetest smile Nicola had ever seen.
As they followed her up the stairs Joy lowered her voice and said, 'I think Silent Fred picked you up from the SpacePort? How did he seem to you? Healthy?'
'He seemed fine,' said Nicola. 'Is he a friend of yours?'
'He's my husband.' Joy's eyes darted about nervously as if she didn't want anyone to hear. 'I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you notice if he was coughing? He gets such a bad cough this time of year and he refuses to take his vitamins!'
'He didn't cough once,' Nicola assured her.
As they reached the top of the staircase, Shimlara said, 'Has Silent Fred always been, um, silent?'
'Oh!' Joy suddenly looked flustered. 'I'm so sorry, I shouldn't be wasting your time talking about such trivial matters! Now if you'll just step this way, you'll see there is a room for each of you.'
It seemed Silent Fred's silence was going to remain a mystery.
Joy led them along a corridor with a series of opened doors. Their bags had been carefully placed just inside each door.
'Dinner will be served at 6 pm. You'll hear the bells,' said Joy. 'So that gives you plenty of time to have a warm bubble bath if you choose. Would any of you like me to run your bath?'
They all stared at her. They were perfectly capable of running their own baths.
