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Message for Marcia

Stanley soon had an expectant audience gathered around him He hobbled stiffly off the cushion, stood up and took a deep breath Then he said in a shaky voice, "First Ito the name of Marcia Overstrand?"

"You know there is," said Marcia impatiently

"I still have to ask, Your Honor Part of the procedure," said the Message Rat He continued "I ae to Marcia Overstrand, ex-ExtraOrdinary Wizard - "

"What?" gasped Marcia "Ex? What does that idiot rat mean, ex-ExtraOrdinary Wizard?"

"Calm down, Marcia," said Aunt Zelda "Wait and see what he has to say"

Stanley carried on, "The " The rat paused to work out just how o it had been sent As a true professional, Stanley had kept a record of his ti a line for each day on one of the bars He knew he had done thirty-nine days with Mad Jack, but he had no idea how many days he had spent delirious in front of the fire in Keeper&039;s Cottage, "era long ti in the Castle - "

"What&039;s proxy mean?" asked Nicko

Stanley tapped his foot impatiently He didn&039;t like interruptions, especially when the e was so old that he was afraid he hed iins:

Dear Marcia,

I hope you are keeping well I arateful if you would meet me outside the Palace as soon as possible There has been a developht, until your arrival

Looking forward to seeing you,

With best wishes,

Silas Heap

"Message ends"

Stanley sat back down on his cushion and breathed a sigh of relief Job done He e Rat had ever taken to deliver a e, but he&039;d done it He allowed hih he was still on duty

There was silence for a moment, and then Marcia exploded "Typical, just typical! He doesn&039;t evenFreeze, then, when he finally does get around to sending a e, he doesn&039;t bother to even one myself"

"But what about Simon?" asked Jenna anxiously "And why hasn&039;t Dad sent a e to us too?"

"Doesn&039;t sound reed Marcia "It was far too polite"

"Well, I suppose it was by proxy," said Aunt Zelda uncertainly

"What does proxy ain