Quirky Times at Quagmire Castle by Karen Wallace

Author:Karen Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 2003-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

‘See?’ muttered Norman to his sister. ‘What did I tellya?’ He looked at the hall. ‘Dumb and boring.’ He blew a bubble of gum that burst with a horrible wet pop.

Jack and Emily stared at each other. They had never seen such disgusting children in their lives. Even Aunt Tabitha seemed taken aback.

‘Welcome to Quagmire Castle!’ cried Delicia, spinning on her feet. Suddenly her tray held two cups of tea and two strawberry milkshakes. ‘May I offer you some refreshment?’

Norman and Trixie elbowed their parents out of the way and made a grab for the milkshakes. But as soon as their fingers touched the glass, they jumped back as if the glasses were electrified.

‘Perhaps your parents might like theirs first,’ said Delicia smoothly.

Mr and Mrs Breadsop picked up the teacups with trembling hands. ‘Why not visit the maze,’ suggested Delicia, fixing them with her sapphire eyes. ‘A little peace and quiet after your journey will do you the world of good.’

Sybil and Simon Breadsop gave Delicia a look of pure gratitude and stumbled out of the house and into the garden like a pair of shell-shocked rabbits.

‘What about us?’ Norman gulped his milkshake and slammed the glass down on the table. ‘It’s our holiday, too.’

‘Yeah,’ said Trixie. ‘And you don’t even have a swimming pool.’

‘We have a wonderful lake,’ said Emily politely. ‘I’ll show it to you if you want.’

‘Who wants to look at a smelly old lake?’ Trixie kicked at the tassels on the Persian carpet.

‘Would a playground suit you?’ asked Delicia in a suspiciously helpful-sounding voice.

‘Maybe.’

‘Fabulous!’ said Delicia. ‘Aunt Tabitha will sign you in and Jack will take your cases to your rooms.’ She smiled like a cat. ‘And I will show you the playground.’

‘It better be good,’ said Norman rudely.

‘It’s out of this world,’ replied Delicia.

Emily was about to ask what playground when the front door opened again and Cynthia Swipe click-clacked into the hall on her high-heeled shoes. Eddy oozed in behind her. As soon as Emily saw Cynthia’s pale piggy eyes, she knew immediately that these were the people Dudley had warned them about.

‘Nice spot you’ve got here,’ said Eddy. He picked up a vase on the mantelpiece and turned it upside down to see where it was made and put it back again.

Cynthia Swipe held out her hand. ‘Cynthia Swipe and this is my husband, Eddy.’

Aunt Tabitha shook hands and forced a smile. There was something peculiar about these people but she wasn’t sure what. It was almost as if she had met them before – or the woman, anyway.

‘Mind if we tour your facilities?’ asked Eddy. ‘There’s a maze, I believe and a lake?’

Delicia stepped forward and fixed Eddy with a piercing stare. ‘Allow me to guide you.’ She turned to Trixie and Norman. ‘I was about to show our younger guests the custom-built outdoor activity centre.’

‘She means playground,’ said Trixie in a sour voice.

‘Do I?’ asked Delicia sweetly. She turned to where Cynthia was standing, staring at Trixie and Norman. Usually Cynthia didn’t like children but there was something about these two that was strangely appealing.

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