‘You mean they’ve moved here?’ Flappy was appalled. ‘They’re here to stay?’
‘I believe so. They spent a long time talking to the vicar.’
‘Did they, indeed?’
‘They need to be told,’ whispered Hedda. ‘They can’t swan in here as if they own the place and sit in the front row! Who do they think they are?’
‘You’re right, they need to be told,’ Flappy agreed.
‘There’s a pecking order in this town and they can’t jump straight to the top of it.’
‘You’re so right.’
‘But we must do it subtly.’
‘Absolutely. You’re so right, Hedda.’ If there was one thing Flappy was good at, it was knowing when to be subtle.
‘Come for tea this afternoon so we can discuss it.’
‘I will. It’s a matter of some urgency.’
‘I’d say it most certainly is.’
‘How dare they.’
‘How dare they, indeed.’
Acknowledgements
I had such fun writing about Flappy Scott-Booth in my novel The Temptation of Gracie that I was inspired to give her a book of her own. In the wake of publication, I received so many emails about her, for she seemed to give my readers a lot of pleasure even though she’s a very small character, that I itched to give her a bigger role and really expand the character. However, this wasn’t possible because I just didn’t have the time to write my usual annual novel, which takes at least six months, the Royal Rabbits children’s series, which I write with my husband, Sebag, and a Flappy book. Still, I longed to write it, not least because I was keen to try something different and write a comedy for a change. It would be nice not to make people cry for once! It was only when the country was sent into Lockdown because of the dreaded Covid-19 that I decided, rather than spend the time feeling anxious, I might as well channel my energy into something positive and creative. Hence Flappy Entertains was finally written.
I have dedicated this book to five of my best girlfriends. We’re a book club, a travel club, a lunch and dinner club but above all a group of friends who are in for the long haul, through both good times and bad. They keep me entertained. They keep me sane. But above all I know that when the chips are down, which they inevitably are sometimes, they’re there to restore my spirit with compassion, understanding and laughter. Thank you, Tiff Beilby, Lisa Carter, Brigitte Dowsett, Wendy Knatchbull and Clare Rutherford.
I also want to thank my agent, Sheila Crowley, and my editor, Suzanne Baboneau, for being so enthusiastic about this new direction I’m taking. They embraced Flappy immediately and were as excited as I am about embarking on a comedy series. In the face of uncertainty and growing anxiety, we really do need to laugh!
I am also grateful to my film agent, Luke Speed, and to all those at Curtis Brown who work on my behalf: Alice Lutyens, Enrichetta Frezzato, Katie McGowan, Claire Nozierers and Callum Mollison. A huge thank you to Ian Chapman, my boss at Simon & Schuster, and his brilliant team who work so diligently and sensitively on my manuscripts: Sara-Jade Virtue, Gill Richardson, Dominic Brendon, Polly Osborn, Rich Vlietstra and Alice Rodgers.
I also thank my daughter Lily, my sister-in-law Sarah and my mother Patty Palmer-Tomkinson for reading the first draft and getting Flappy’s point. It was a new direction for me and they gave me the encouragement I needed to keep at it. Creating a character who is at once pretty dreadful but loveable is quite a challenge!
Thank you to the rest of my family for making Lockdown the very special time it was: Sasha Sebag-Montefiore, Simon Sebag-Montefiore, Charlie Palmer-Tomkinson, James Palmer-Tomkinson, Honor Palmer-Tomkinson, India Palmer-Tomkinson, Sam Palmer-Tomkinson, Wilf Palmer-Tomkinson and Naomi Dawson.
I hope this will be a series of many Flappy adventures. I haven’t had so much fun writing in a long time! And I think Flappy deserves a series. She’d pretend she was honoured and perhaps a teeny bit embarrassed to be the focus of so much attention, and she’d tell everyone that she’s so so lucky to be the subject of a novel, but in reality, she’d consider it her due. After all, it must be acknowledged, she is awfully fascinating!
More from the Author
The Distant Shores
Here and Now
The Secret Hours
The Temptation of Gracie
The Last Secret of the Deverills
The Gypsy Madonna
Also by Santa Montefiore
Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree
The Butterfly Box
The Forget-Me-Not Sonata
The Swallow and the Hummingbird
The Last Voyage of the Valentina
The Gypsy Madonna
Sea of Lost Love
The French Gardener
The Italian Matchmaker
The House by the Sea
The Summer House
Secrets of the Lighthouse
A Mother’s Love
The Beekeeper’s Daughter
The Temptation of Gracie
The Secret Hours
Here and Now
The Deverill Chronicles
Songs of Love and War
Daughters of Castle Deverill
The Last Secret of the Deverills
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First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2021
Copyright © Santa Montefiore, 2021
The right of Santa Montefiore to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-3985-0033-4
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-3985-0034-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-3985-0035-8
eAudio ISBN: 978-1-3985-0195-9
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.