I’ve had my eye on the Markel Cup ever since my mother made me join the Guides six years ago. Nonetheless, his voice is comforting, and I follow his instructions now by returning my attention to the left of the stage, where the Markel Cup sits, a giant gold chalice etched with the Girl Guides’ clover symbol.

Intellectually, I know it’s not truly my father, that my brain is just playing tricks on me because I miss him so much. My throat tightens at the familiar sound of my father’s voice in my ear. We’d reserved the seats months ago, before my father’s disappearance on a sudden trip to the Arabian Peninsula.ĭon’t worry about that now. My chest tightens at the empty seat beside her. Automatically, I glance over to where my mother is sitting, her posture so perfectly upright that her shoulder bones barely skim the back of the chair. “Mathematics! How very ambitious of you! Your parents must be very proud.” “Currently, I’m working for the government until the war is over, and then I plan on specializing in mathematics at the University of London.” Smiling brightly, I give the answer I’d been rehearsing. “Now that you’re graduating from the Girl Guides, what are your plans for the future?” Every year, Dame Richards asks the final three girls about themselves to increase the excitement of the competition. Like marionettes, the three of us bob our heads and smile blindly at the people in the front row. “How are you girls doing? Ready for the challenge?” Since girls certainly couldn’t join the boys-at least according to the powers that be-a group was created just for us.įrom the solemn look on Dame Richards’s face, she takes her job very seriously. The Girl Guides are England’s answer to all the exclusionary boys’ clubs popping up all over Britain. To my left is painfully shy Evangeline Green, who has already had a book of poetry published.ĭame Richards, the leader of England’s Girl Guides, paces in front of us, a sheaf of papers in her hand. To my right is pretty, droll Sarah Wheeler, whose dimples hide a sharp mind.

The Lenard Auditorium, which is more a dingy neighborhood dance hall than an actual auditorium, is filled mostly with Girl Guides and their parents. I stand at the podium, ramrod straight, awaiting the challenge questions. Talent Spotter: Someone who brings potential agents to the attention of recruiters. This book is for my children, Ethan and Megan, who always believed in me,Īnd my hubby, Alan, who has both my heart and my back.

Born of Illusion by Teri Brown