Roles and responsibilities

"The boss? My gran? But she's...she's...my gran," stammered Adam.

"Careful there," chuckled Margaret. "You almost said 'just my gran', didn't you."

"But what does it mean, being the boss of your Granny Knot thing? Is she like the Grand High Granny or Chief Busybody or something?"

"No need to be rude about it, lad," interrupted Alice. "I know this is a lot for you to take in all at once, but I'll thank you to keep a civil tongue, if you please. We don't go in for titles and things in The Sisterhood; your grandmother is the leader because we all know she's the best woman for the job. It's as simple as that."

"Alright then, I'll play along with you. My gran's your leader, and you go round sticking your noses into things. Is that about right?" Adam deliberately ignored Alice's huffing and puffing at his lack of respect, and pressed on; "but what exactly does that mean?"

Margaret replied, "well, for one thing, it means that she keeps this safe." And she placed the clock-winding key on the table.

Before Adam could point out that this wasn't really clarifying matters, there was a loud knock at the door.

The look that passed between Margaret and Alice told him they weren't expecting anyone.



Story starts here.