As the plane bumped down on the runway, Mrs Tang nudged her sleeping daughter.
âMilly, Milly,â she whispered. âWake up â weâre in England!â
Milly blinked and yawned.
âIt feels like the middle of the night,â she muttered, still half asleep. â
It is the middle of the night â in Australia!â laughed her father, Mr Tang. âHere in Newcastle itâs midday. Come on,â he added excitedly. âItâs time to meet your Aunt Nancy!â
Millyâs stomach lifted with excitement. Aunt Nancy was Dadâs youngest sister, who sheâd never met. A few months ago sheâd sent Milly a beautiful bride doll, the very one she was now holding in her arms. With it had come a letter asking Milly to be a bridesmaid at her wedding in a strange, faraway place called Northumberland, in the north of England. Milly had been astonished! Sheâd always dreamed of being a bridesmaid, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined sheâd be a bridesmaid in England. Sheâd immediately written back to Aunt Nancy: âYES! YES! YES! Iâd love to be your bridesmaid!â
Aunt Nancy had phoned them in Sydney several times, asking for Millyâs measurements, from her shoe size to the size of her head! She even knew exactly how long Millyâs silky black hair was.
âWhy does Aunt Nancy need to know everything about me?â Milly asked her mother.
âSheâs having a bridesmaid dress made for you so she needs to know your exact measurements,â Mrs Tang explained.
âBut what if I grow and the dress doesnât fit me?â cried Milly.
âAunt Nancy has thought of that,â Mrs Tang assured her. âSheâs arranged for your final dress fitting to be in December, a few days before the wedding.â
âDecember will be boiling hot,â said Milly, thinking of their Australian summer where temperatures were very high.
âNo it wonât, it will be freezing cold!â laughed Mr Tang. âItâs slap-bang in the middle of the English winter which is always damp and chilly.â
âHow can you get married when itâs damp and cold?â puzzled Milly.
âYou wear the right kind of clothes,â Mum explained. âAunt Nancyâs having a velvet dress made for you. Itâs soft and silky but itâs also very warm.â
Millyâs mouth fell wide open as she gazed in disbelief at her mother.
âVelvet!â she gasped. âIsnât that what you cover sofas with?â
Mr and Mrs Tang laughed at their clothes-mad daughter.
Aunt Nancy and her fiancé Leo were waiting for them in the arrivals hall. Mr Tang spotted his sister first.
âNancy!â he cried, as he lifted her high in the air and swung her round like a little girl. âHi, baby sister,â he said, as put her safely back down on the ground.
âHi, big brother!â she replied, as she hugged him tight. âAh-ha!â she cried, as she spotted Milly beside Mrs Tang. âThereâs my little bridesmaid! Welcome to Newcastle.â
Milly gazed up at her beautiful Aunt Nancy.
âHello,â she said, then shivered from top to toe as a blast of cold wind zipped through the arrivals hall. âBrrrr! Iâm freezing!â
It was even colder outside the airport.
âQuick, get into the car,â urged Leo. âThe windâs bitterly cold.â
Milly dived into the back seat of the car and snuggled up close to her Aunt Nancy. Sheâd never been this cold in her life!
âWhen will it get warm?â she asked.
Aunt Nancy burst out laughing.
âNot for months!â she replied. âIn fact, according to the weather forecast it might even get colder.â
âColder!â gasped Milly, shivering in her flimsy Australian clothes. âWhat am I going to wear?â
âWeâve got heaps of warm clothes at my house,â Aunt Nancy assured her. âIâve been collecting them for months now.â
âIf it gets any colder it will surely snow,â said Leo.
âWow! You mean, it might snow for your wedding?â cried Milly.
âOur weddingâs on the 21>st December,â Leo replied. âIt often snows in these parts after Christmas but it rarely snows before.â
âOh, I hope it snows!â sighed Milly, whoâd never seen snow in her life.
âSo do I,â laughed Aunt Nancy. âThen you can be my Snowy Bridesmaid!â
They drove into Newcastle over a high metal bridge. Milly gazed in amazement at the churning grey water below the bridge.
âLook!â she cried excitedly.
âThatâs the River Tyne,â Leo told her. âThe city takes its name from the river, itâs really called Newcastle upon Tyne.â
After about quarter of an hour they were on the outskirts of the city, heading out across the rolling Northumberland hills to Giggleswick Green, the busy market town where Aunt Nancy and Leo lived.
âGiggleswick Green is a funny name!â chuckled Milly, as Aunt Nancy pointed out where they were going on the road map.
âItâs a lovely old town set in the middle of the hills. We love it,â her aunt told her.
âWhy do you live here in England and not in Sydney with us?â Milly asked.