Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle (4 page)

BOOK: Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle
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“May I?” She knelt down and held the disc. Alfie noticed that her fingers were adorned with beautiful, delicate silver rings. “It is many things: a key to at least one door that should never be opened and a lens that can reveal secrets and focus energy. It is also a protective talisman. A very valuable gift from Orin Hopcraft.”

“Caspian kept saying that name. Who is he?”

“The Great Druid. The last time I saw him was right here in this office many years ago. You met him too, on the day you were born. This talisman was to be a gift on your twelfth birthday. As you're moving to the castle now, we thought you should start wearing it early, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

Emily tucked the talisman into his shirt and patted his shoulder. “I don't mean to scare you, but better safe than sad. Or is it sorry? I forget. You'll have a wonderful time exploring the castle – it has been empty for so long.” She handed Alfie a folder. “I put together some news clippings about it and made copies of the plans for you. I'm sure there are plenty of wonderful things that aren't marked, but at least you can decide which bedroom is going to be yours.”

Alfie took the folder and hugged it tightly to his chest, visions of thrones, dungeons and secret passages swimming through his head.

“Right, busy-busy. Sorry to chase you, things to do, people to see.”

“Miss Fortune, can you tell us where we are?” asked Alfie as Emily placed a dainty hand on each of their backs and hustled them through the door. He had been puzzling over the lack of address on the appointment letter and the journey had been pretty weird, to say the least.

“Ah, now I need to be as mysterious as Mr Bone. The whereabouts of our offices must remain forever secret due to the nature of the items we hold. There is nowhere more secure than here, but that doesn't mean we should advertise our location. Now, take care, I'm sure we'll meet again, and please, call me Emily.”

With that she gave a little wave and closed the door, leaving them back in the coach house where the carriage waited to take them home.

 

The next couple of days were spent in a flurry of activity. Aunt Grace had insisted they move to Hexbridge immediately when Alfie's dad had called to tell her the news. She had invited them to stay on the farm until the castle was ready. Alfie could hardly wait. He bundled his meagre possessions into boxes in no time and then started helping to dismantle and pack his dad's devices. He didn't know what half of them actually did and had a sneaking suspicion his dad wasn't sure either.

As they packed, he couldn't keep his mind off the mysteries surrounding the move. His life had taken a very strange turn over the last few days. He almost expected to be told that it was a mistake, and that Emily had contacted the wrong Alfie Bloom. He kept trying to pressure his dad into telling him about Orin Hopcraft and why a stranger would leave him a castle, but he remained frustratingly tight-lipped, promising to reveal all once they were in Hexbridge Castle. Alfie couldn't understand why he was being so secretive. What on earth had happened on the day he was born?

Mrs Craddock the landlady had waived the three-month notice period, and Alfie thought she seemed relieved they were leaving. He suspected it had something to do with all the explosions she must have heard from the flat. Finally, when everything was neatly boxed and labelled, he escaped to visit Amy.

 

“Alfie Bloom, king of his own castle.” Amy shook her head incredulously for the fifth time as she took a swig from her bottle of Coke. “Crazy.”

Amy lived with her gran in the flat above her tea shop. Her parents had disappeared without trace on a trip to Edinburgh when she was just five years old. When Alfie's mum died, the other children didn't seem to know what to say and avoided talking to him. Amy was the only person to understand how he felt. He would have been alone at school if it weren't for her.

Alfie had filled her in on everything that had happened since school while they munched cakes in the tea shop. Hardly anything ever surprised Amy, so he was delighted to see her speechless for once.

“Don't you dare start thinking you can lord it over me now, Your Majesty,” she warned Alfie as his dad arrived to pick him up in his wood-framed green Morris Minor.

“I wouldn't dream of it, peasant,” grinned Alfie as he climbed into the overloaded car and carefully balanced Galileo's travel cage on his knees. “Promise you'll visit as soon as you can?”

“Promise!” Amy reached her fist through the car window and they bumped knuckles. “Take care of yourself, Al.”

“You too, Siu.”

Alfie waved to Amy all the way down the street, trying to swallow the large lump that suddenly filled his throat as he left his best friend behind.

“Say goodbye to the flat!” shouted his dad as they drove down Abernathy Terrace for the last time. Alfie waved goodbye. Goodbye to the mouldy little flat, goodbye to the city, goodbye to his boring old life. His heart soared. It was as though he was waking up to find that an amazing dream had come true.

 

Alfie spent the first half of the four-hour drive trying to get his dad to tell him how someone that must have died hundreds of years ago could have left him a castle. When that failed, they spent the rest of the journey playing guessing games. Alfie couldn't remember the last time he had spent so long talking with his dad. Finally, he began to see the first signs for Hexbridge and counted down the miles as they drew closer and closer.

“There it is, Alfie,” said his dad, at last. “Our new home.”

Alfie looked out of the car window to see Hexbridge Castle,
his
castle, sitting on the edge of a cliff that dropped down to Lake Archelon below. It was incredible. It looked as though someone had taken the best bits of lots of other castles and squished them together into one compact structure with towers, turrets, balconies and battlements galore. A small, fast-moving river flowed down from higher in the hills, circling the castle before cascading off the cliff at either side as two sparkling waterfalls. Alfie stared breathlessly. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. If only he didn't have to wait two whole nights before moving in.

He finally tore his eyes away as they turned into the leafy, sun-dappled lane that led towards the Merryweather farm where his mum and Uncle Herb had grown up. As they turned through an almost invisible gap in the hedgerows, two children yelled with delight and leapt off the gate they were sitting on. The girl had dark blonde hair which looked as though it hadn't seen a brush in days. The boy's hair was the same colour but considerably neater, as were his clothes. Alfie smiled. It always amazed him that his cousins looked so similar, yet so unalike at the same time.

“Alfie!” they shouted, swinging the gate wide open and running alongside the car as it trundled up the lane towards the farmhouse.

“We thought you'd
never
get here!”

“Mum said you're going to live in the castle,” yelled Madeleine through the window, her hair streaming out behind her. “Who gave it to you? Are you rich now?”

Before he had time to answer Robin joined in through the other window, his eyes shining.

“Can we explore it with you? All the castles I've been to are in ruins. It'll be brilliant to see inside one that has been locked up for centuries.”

Alfie laughed to see his cousin's usually serious face lit up with excitement.

“I want to see the dungeons,” added Madeleine, wrenching the door open to pull Alfie out before the car had even rolled to a stop. “I bet there'll be torture devices down there!”

“For goodness' sake, leave the poor boy alone.” called a voice. “He's been travelling all day and I'm sure he'd like something to eat before you start pestering him.”

“Aunt Grace!” yelled Alfie, as a woman with wild curly hair bustled out of the farmhouse towards them. Before he knew it, he had been swept up into a hug so tight he could hardly breathe.

“Hmm, a bit pale and skinny,” she said as she looked him up and down appraisingly. “But nothing fresh air and good food won't put right! And you, William Horatio Bloom!” Aunt Grace span around to inspect Alfie's dad as he lifted Galileo's cat carrier from the car. “We really need to get some meat on those bird bones of yours. Why haven't you been to see us for so long?”

They were ushered into the kitchen where the twins were setting the table. Alfie just had time to realize how hungry he was before a small woman with pure white hair and mischievous eyes rushed over to plant big kisses on both his cheeks. The familiar scent of violet cologne and peppermints wafted around him – he could never smell either of those things without thinking of Granny Merryweather.

“My little Alfie! Look at you, taller than me now. Remember to stop growing when you're tall enough – my Herb forgot and now he has to duck through doors.”

“Dad's sorry he's not here,” said Madeleine, pouring the juice as Alfie was pushed into a seat at the kitchen table. “He's gone to the cattle auction in Muggridge to replace some cows and won't be back till late.”

“Come on, eat up,” encouraged Granny. “Gracie has made a smashing crumble for dessert and you two look as though you haven't eaten in weeks.”

Alfie was glad he was so hungry; he could swear the table was groaning louder than his stomach under the weight of the food. His mouth watered as he saw three types of freshly baked pie, soda bread hot from the oven, buttery new potatoes and a golden roast chicken surrounded by crisp lettuce and tomatoes fresh from the garden. Between the mountain of food and the twins' never-ending questions about the castle, dinner lasted a very long time.

Finally, when no one could eat any more, Aunt Grace swept the plates away and suggested that Alfie and the twins walk Granny home while the adults cleared up and unpacked the car. He didn't need much convincing to get out of doing dishes.

Granny linked his arm as they walked down the lane while Madeleine darted around searching for rabbits hiding in the overgrown ditches.

“Why does Uncle Herb need to replace cows? Did he lose some?”

“Animals are always going missing round here,” called Madeleine, grabbing at a frog that kept slipping through her fingers. “For as long as anyone can remember.”

“It's true,” said Granny. “Old Ernie Wilmslow says that even his great granddad lost a few animals every year. Always on a new moon too, when it's darkest. I think rustling has become someone's family business.”

“Dad said when he was a kid, he would sneak out with Auntie Jenny to set traps for them.” Robin chimed in. “They never saw anyone though.”

“Your Grandpa put a stop to it in the end,” said Granny. “He got tired of nets dropping over him whenever he went into the cattle shed.”

Alfie tried to imagine his mum and uncle as mischievous children but couldn't picture Uncle Herb ever being young. On the way back to the farmhouse, a brilliant idea hit him.

“Hey, why don't we have a stake-out? Maybe we could catch the rustlers ourselves. Wouldn't that be the best adventure for the summer holidays?”

Madeleine's face lit up at the mention of adventure. “I can't believe we never thought of it. There's no way Dad can say no if he did it himself!”

By the time they got back to the farmhouse their minds were set.

“I'll work out when the next few new moons are,” said Robin as he headed up to bed. “We need to plan carefully though. This could be dangerous.”

Madeleine rolled her eyes at Alfie as she disappeared into her bedroom.

 

It took Alfie a second to remember where he was when he woke up in the top bunk of Robin's bed. He blinked his eyes against the morning sun as he sat up and knocked his head on a wooden airship hanging from the ceiling. The walls were covered with star charts, diagrams of insects and posters of dinosaurs. Robin was sitting at his desk, scribbling in a little notebook as he studied the ant farm in front of him.

“Morning, cuz.” Alfie climbed down from the bed and peered through the large telescope in front of the window. “I see you're still interested in, well, absolutely everything!”

Robin laughed. “Maddie reckons there isn't enough room in my brain for everything I want to know.”

“Only because it's so small you'd need that microscope to find it,” said Madeleine, sticking her head around the door.

“It's a telescope, not a microscope, genius.” Robin span the telescope around and pointed it at Madeleine's ear. “Hey, Alfie, look, you can see straight through!”

“Idiot!”

Alfie ducked as Madeleine slapped the telescope and sent it spinning.

“Anyway, get moving. We've loads to do and Dad wants to see Alfie before we go.”

Alfie spent the whole day adventuring with the twins. He had forgotten just how much he loved spending time with them. While Robin was neat and tidy and seemed to know everything about everything, Madeleine's knees and elbows were always covered in scrapes and scabs, each of which had a great story behind it – even if it wasn't always quite the truth.

After an exhausting day spent exploring the woods, apple picking, skipping stones in Lake Archelon and playing pirates in the twin's rickety tree house, Alfie was ravenous. When Aunt Grace called them in for dinner, he raced his cousins to the kitchen.

A removal van had dropped the full contents of their flat off that afternoon, but with all of his devices still boxed up, Alfie's dad had spent the whole day working on the farm with Uncle Herb. Alfie had to nudge him several times during dinner to stop him falling asleep in his stew and dumplings.

“Hold on a minute!” called Aunt Grace as Alfie and the twins finished their dinner and tried to slip off to play board games.

“I know – dishes!” said Robin as they trooped back into the kitchen.

“Good guess, but not this time,” said Aunt Grace, holding out a carrier bag full of jams and pickles. “I want all of you to take these over to Mrs Emmett and apologize for stealing her apples.”

Alfie's heart sank when he realized whose apples they had picked and eaten that morning. He tried to slide behind the twins as they pulled their best innocent faces.

“Yes, don't think I didn't see you in her trees, and if I saw you, Mrs Emmett did too. So get over there and apologize before she comes knocking. I'll be checking that you did!”

“Aww, they weren't even ripe anyway,” groaned Madeleine, as they traipsed out of the house.

“Tell her I found three of her sheep in our fields yesterday,” Uncle Herb called after them. “They seem a bit jumpy, so I'll bring them over in the morning if they've calmed down.”

“Fine,” said Madeleine gloomily, before muttering under her breath, “So why don't
you
take the jam over tomorrow?”

“What was that?” Uncle Herb called from the kitchen.

“Nothing!”

Alfie's stomach continued to squirm as they trekked down the lane to the neighbouring farm. He had met Mrs Emmett on previous visits and most of his memories were of her chasing him for one reason or another. Once she even chased him out of the post office for opening the door for her. She had shouted down the street asking if he thought she was too feeble to open it herself.

BOOK: Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle
7.87Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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