Mason - The Twins, the Ghost and the Castle

For Joan and David

You can see Tipus Tiger in the V&A Museum in London. It really is a clever thing.

For those of you who dont know, a crank is a mechanical handle you can use to start an engine. It is also a rude way of calling someone a bit of an oddball. Funnily enough, both of these suited Mrs Crank. She was both cold and mechanical, and had bizarre ideas and plans. And you will soon learn what these were.

Yes, Garra rufa fish are real, and people pay money to have the little nippers eat the dead skin off their feet. Fun for the people, and a lovely snack for the Garra rufa fish.

Stand aside, little people! I am here on official business!

Copyright 2013 A & C Black
Text copyright 2013 Paul Mason
Illustrations copyright 2013 Mike Phillips

First published 2013 by A & C Black,
an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square
London WC1B 3DP
www.bloomsbury.com

This electronic edition published in January 2013 by Bloomsbury Publishing

The right of Paul Mason and Mike Phillips to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.

eISBN 978-1-4081-8078-5 (e-book)

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On the outskirts of a seaside town, right next to the beach, there is a mighty castle facing the sea. On a clear day if you stand at the waters edge, you can see the shadow of the continent in the distance. It really is that close, which is probably why Henry the Eighth built the castle there in the first place to keep out any nasty invaders. (If there was anyone being nasty in England, thought Henry, then it was going to be him alone.)

So, for nearly five hundred years the castle has been guarding the beach, and its grey stone ramparts are as strong and solid as the day it was first built. It has a deep moat lined with high, mossy walls, cannons bristling in all sorts of directions, and a tall white pole on which flutters a proud flag. Around the castle there are acres and acres of the most wonderful gardens and woods. If you hover above the fortress in a helicopter (and you wont catch me in one of those things), it looks like a Tudor rose: made up of four half-circle towers around a circular keep in the middle. (A keep is the stronghold of the castle, right in the centre. And in the bottom of the keep is the castle well which gives you some idea just how important it is to have water to drink.) To get in you have to clomp across a heavy, wooden drawbridge and pass through the gatehouse.

The heroes of this story, however, werent anywhere near the drawbridge. They were hiding in the bushes by the gardens looking for a way to sneak in. To buy an entrance ticket costs money, and Stella and Tom didnt have any money. In fact the twins had nothing at all to their name except the clothes on their backs, and those were grey and scratchy and joyless.

Stella and Tom were totally alone in the world without anyone to look after them. We shant discuss how they came to be so alone and without their parents, and why they were running away, as that would be completely grim, and this is meant to be a happy story.

Perhaps...

The castle towered above them, immense and cold, and, peeking through the bushes, they both felt very small and insignificant.

Do you really think we ought to? asked Stella. I mean, sneak in round the back. She looked worried.

Tom gave his sister a hug. Stella was a bright and clever girl, who drew the most amazing pictures of imaginary underground kingdoms, and Tom loved her more than anything else in the world. It broke his heart to see her unhappy.

He smiled at her. It is a bit naughty, but we shant cause any trouble, and perhaps we could help by picking up some litter or something. Besides we wont be staying for long.

I cant wait to see what it looks like inside. Do you think theres a dungeon?

Probably loads, said Tom. You know what kings are like, always clapping prisoners in irons and throwing them into jail.

If we get found out, do you reckon wed get thrown in the dungeon?

Nah, Tom chuckled. Anyway, theyll have to catch us first.

He lifted up a bit of the thin wire fence, making a gap. Come on, in you go.

The twins managed to get through the fence, and found themselves on the edge of the kitchen gardens, between the greenhouse and the cabbage patch. Not far away was a little cottage, probably the caretakers.

The twins hid inside the greenhouse amongst the palm trees and waited to see if anyone was coming. When they were sure they were alone, they crept out and headed down the path towards the castle.

We should walk slowly, said Stella with a smile, that way we dont look suspicious. And if anyone asks, we just tell them our parents are in the garden.

Tom grinned at her. Was Stella getting her spark back?

They walked down the garden path and over the bridge that crossed the moat at the back of the castle. There was a courtyard in the middle of the fortress and they found some stairs leading up to the battlements.

Lets go up there, said Stella. I have to climb on one of those cannons! And from up high we can get a good look.

The castle was everything they had hoped it would be. Sitting on top of one of the big guns in the sun, you could see across the moat to the great gardens, the sea, and even France in the distance. Behind them were sets of windows and glass doors leading to the stately rooms. Though the inside of the castle looked inviting, as it was such a lovely day Stella and Tom decided to go back and explore the grounds first.

They ran around the main garden with its giant trees and long, grassy meadows. Some families had laid out picnic blankets and were lounging in the sun. Next to the lawn was another garden that had a big, rectangular pond running down the centre of it. The pond was full of carp whose scales flashed in the light. They tried counting them, but there were too many, and the fish kept hiding under lily pads.

The twins were feeling hungry by this point, and went to the kitchen gardens. Earlier they had passed some apple trees heavy with fruit the ground below was piled high with them. The label on one of the trees said Newton Wonders.

I wonder if these are the sort that fell on his head, asked Stella in between mouthfuls.

Whose head?

Sir Isaac Newton the man who discovered gravity when an apple dropped on his nut.

Oh yeah, I knew that.

You dont know anything, Stella teased.