Disclaimer: This is not my story, everything belongs to Diana Wynne Jones. Please don't sue, I'm broke. Anyways, here is House Of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
Chapter One
I N which CHARMAIN
i s VOLUNTEERED TO LOOK A F T E R
A W I Z A R D ' S HOUSE
"Charmain must do it," said Aunt Sempronia. "We
can't leave Great-Uncle William to face this on his
own."
"Your Great-Uncle William?" said Mrs. Baker.
"Isn't he-" She coughed and lowered her voice
because this, to her mind, was not quite nice. "Isn't
he a wizard?"
"Of course," said Aunt Sempronia. "But he
has-" Here she too lowered her voice. "He has a
growth, you know, on his insides, and only the elves
can help him. They have to carry him off in order to
1
cure him, you see, and someone has to look after his
house. Spells, you know, escape if there's no one
there to watch them. And I am far too busy to do it.
My stray dogs' charity alone-"
"Me too. We're up to our ears in wedding cake
orders this month," Mrs. Baker said hastily. "Sam
was saying only this morning-"
"Then it has to be Charmain," Aunt Sempronia
decreed. "Surely she's old enough now."
" E r - " said Mrs. Baker.
They both looked across the parlor to where
Mrs. Baker's daughter sat, deep in a book, as usual,
with her long, thin body bent into what sunlight
came in past Mrs. Baker's geraniums, her red hair
pinned up in a sort of birds' nest, and her glasses
perched on the end of her nose. She held one of her
father's huge juicy pasties in one hand and munched
it as she read. Crumbs kept falling on her book, and
she brushed them off with the pasty when they fell
on the page she was reading.
"Er . . . did you hear us, dear?" Mrs. Baker said
anxiously.
" N o , " Charmain said with her mouth full.
"What?"
"That's settled, then," Aunt Sempronia said.
"I'll leave it to you to explain to her, Berenice,
dear." She stood up, majestically shaking out the
folds of her stiff silk dress and then of her silk parasol.
"I'll be back to fetch her tomorrow morning,"
she said. "Now I'd better go and tell poor Great-
Uncle William that Charmain will be taking care of
