Chapter 6: Georgie - The Golden Hours

Georgie was absolutely not going to church. He gathered Rivers Two, a shaggy Bouvier des Flandres named after his beloved childhood pet rat of sacred memory, and headed up and up, towards the attics. The adults could never be bothered to look far, and he believed they had probably never even been to half the little rooms right at the top (even if you don’t count the towers). And if this is what it takes for a chap to prove his right to atheism, then so be it. Or perhaps agnosticism. He wasn’t sure. But certainly a chap had the right not to go to church on Christmas Day. He’d forgotten that Christmas Day was the best day of all to go to church, because you got the best music, and he liked music.

As a result of his absconding, he missed the bacon and eggs and was late for the present-opening, which was a pity as he liked bacon and eggs, and he very much liked presents. He was quietly hoping that his present might be being allowed to go and live with Louise, near the Zoo. But he knew it wouldn’t happen. Grown-ups! All the power and so little understanding.