The Adventurers and the Cursed Castle by Jemma Hatt

Author:Jemma Hatt [Hatt, Jemma]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Elmside Publishing

17

Making Plans

Mrs Burt had prepared another appetising dinner that evening. The shepherd’s pie was delicious, served with roasted vegetables and warm freshly baked bread with creamy butter.

Once again Rufus seemed to consume the entire meal at lightning speed, before eagerly passing his plate to Mrs Burt for seconds. Just when he thought he was so stuffed he couldn’t eat another bite, Mrs Burt brought a warm, thick chocolate pudding out of the oven, the mouth-watering smell filling the kitchen immediately.

“I’ll have some of that, Mrs B,” he said, rubbing his stomach as if to free up some room.

“I don’t know how you eat so much and stay so little,” observed Lara, who had been passing small handfuls of mincemeat to Barney, who gratefully licked her hands under the table. “It’s as if there’s a fat person trapped inside a skinny boy’s body.”

“I don’t know how you talk so much and stay so boring,” quipped Rufus. “It’s as if there’s an old long-winded person trapped inside a kid’s body.” Mrs Burt had gone out of the kitchen door to collect the dry washing from the line, and Tom seized the opportunity to change the subject before another argument erupted between the two cousins.

“We’re probably not going to get to the graveyard tonight,” said Tom. “How early can you be up tomorrow? I think it’s best if we leave before Bunce and Karim are awake and poking about in our business.”

“Well I can get up at any time, Lara will be too busy snoring,” said Rufus, pouring cream on his dessert.

“Very funny, not,” she said. “I can get up. What time does the sun come up?”

“About five o’clock,” said Tom. “How about I meet you at five-thirty by the front entrance gates?”

“Fine, we’ll be there,” said Lara.

“You’d better take the box and clue with you, Tom,” said Rufus. “With Bunce and Karim here, you never know when they’re going to come snooping.”

Rufus put the note of paper back inside the box and handed it to Tom, who placed it in his pocket. Lara looked up just after the box had been concealed and gasped, seeing Karim’s face at the glass panel of the kitchen door that led to the hallway. He quickly swung the door open and stepped inside to three startled faces.

“Er, hello, I just came in to get some water,” he said.

There was an awkward pause of a few moments.

“There’s some glasses in the cupboard over the sink,” replied Tom.

“Right,” said Karim, shuffling towards the sink, taking what seemed like a long time to look at each glass in the cupboard before selecting one.

“What was that shop you said we should go to tomorrow?” asked Lara, winking at the two boys behind Karim’s back. “I really would like to buy a postcard and some fudge for my friend Daisy.”

“The post office has loads of postcards, and they sell some fudge as well,” responded Tom, following Lara’s lead. “After we can go to the yacht club and take a look at the boats.

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