Right, I have begun my epic tragedy. It’s called, The Daughter of Fang.

I haven’t used my own name.

Morag ate a cup of cold fat for her supper that night. She had been saving it, along with a potato that she had wrestled from a pig when she had first escaped from Fang’s lair on Grimbottom.

As she passed a rock pool, she saw her own face reflected in the cold water. She noticed her green eyes staring back at her, surrounded by glossy black hair. As she looked farther down her reflection, she saw the bumps of womanhood poking the sack she was wearing. “Oh oh,” she—

I was interrupted by some pebbles rattling against my windowpane. I pushed up the window and Ruby was jumping up and down on the wall below me. Bobbing around in her bobbly hat. She was shouting, “Guess what, guess what!!!! Guess what’s happened. Guess!!! Go on, go on, guesss!!”

I said, “I—”

“Go on, you’ll nivver, nivver guess!!!”

“I—”

“Nivver ever in a million squillion years. Nivver!!!!”

“I—”

“Hahahahahahaha, nivver, I told you, I told you.”

This was stupid. I stashed away my diary and put my coat and hat on.

I went downstairs and outside. Matilda had a knitted beanie hat on with ear holes, and her ears poking out.

Ruby was still shouting up at my window and dancing around on the wall. “You can’t guess, can you!!!! That’s because you will nivver guess!!!!”

I got hold of her around her waist and said, “Ruby, TELL me what I will never guess.”

She puffed, “Cain Hinchcliff has done it … this … time. He has dumped Beverley … AGAIN and … Mrs. Bottomly is … after him with … a … GUN!!!!”

After Ruby went off for her tea, I was sitting on the wall thinking about the Cain thing. Well, well, well. So life can be fair. Finally he gets what he deserves. You can’t just go around licking people’s noses and destroying outdoor lavatories without paying the price.

I wonder where he is?

Hiding out in the undergrowth like the animal he is. Maybe he’s with Fang up on Grimbottom, in the dog basket of life. Unlikely though since Fang doesn’t exist except in Flossie’s head. (And in my new bestselling novel about the daughter of Fang.)

There is an enormous moon hanging over Grimbottom. Dibdobs said it is a “hunter’s moon” tonight. It’s called a hunter’s moon because it’s big and red. And it gives enough light to hunt by. I wonder if it gives enough light for Mrs. Bottomly to hunt Cain?

Spooky. She might be out there now, stalking him like a dog. The moon is gleaming on a dusting of frost and there is a sparkle on the trees like fairy dust.

It’s a night for romance. If you had someone to be romantic with. And all the Tree Sisters have, apart from me.

Flossie says she is going to track Seth Hinchcliff down and use her snogging techniques on him.