Jackie French - The Vanishing at the Very Small Castle

To Miles thank you for your help!

To Jack and Tom, too.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Angus&Robertson

An imprint of HarperCollinsChildrensBooks, Australia

HarperCollinsPublishers

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First published in Australia in 2021

by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited

ABN 36 009 913 517

harpercollins.com.au

Copyright Jackie French and E French 2021

The right of Jackie French to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978 1 4607 5773 4 (paperback)

ISBN 978 1 4607 1141 5 (ebook)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.

Cover design by HarperCollins Design Studio

Cover illustration David G. Fors

CONTENTS

Aaaaaaaaaaagghh!

The scream echoed through the Almost Great Hall, along the Quite Big Hall, finally reaching the Not Big at All Dining Room of the Very Small Castle where the family usually had breakfast. Outside the winter wind screamed too, with a faint ghostly moan from Howlers Beach below.

Aunt Elephant looked up from her plate piled high with apple pancakes, more apple pancakes, fried eggs and sausages. What on earth...? she began, as Gwen, the housemaid, appeared at the dining room door.

Theres a monster! shrieked Gwen.

A monster what? asked Butter, carefully hiding the rest of his scrambled eggs under a piece of toast. The Aunts always gave him too much breakfast.

A monster rat? asked Olive, passing a piece of toast to Woofer under the table.

Woof? said Woofer. He knew the word rat. It sounded much more interesting than toast.

A monster rabbit, suggested Tish, and giggled.

Gwen glared at them. Its no laughing matter! Theres a horrible big monster at the front door and hes going to murder us in our beds.

But were not in our beds, Butter pointed out. Hed have to murder us at the breakfast table.

Auntie Cake stood up. Mind your manners, Butter. Come on, my dears, she added to Butters other aunts. Wed better find out whats going on. Gwen, you go to the kitchen and have a nice cup of tea and a gingernut biscuit. Youll feel better after that.

But what about the monster? quavered Gwen.

Well take care of the monster, Aunt Elephant informed her, heaving up all of her five feet eighteen inches of muscles and white tennis dress. You stay here, she added to Butter, Olive and Tish.

But I want to see the monster! squealed Tish indignantly. She wriggled off her chair and ducked out of the dining room before the Aunts could stop her. Woofer barked happily at her heels, limping as fast as his three legs could carry him.

The Aunts followed them. Auntie Cake smelled of butter and wore a twin set and pearls. Aunt Elephants fragrance was sand and sea from her physical jerks at dawn down on Howlers Beach. She still wore her loose white exercise tunic. Aunt Peculiars smock was splattered in paint with an odour of turpentine. But all the Aunts were as curious as seagulls at a picnic.

Butter and Olive ran after them.

I wish there really was a monster, thought Butter, as he and Olive jogged along the Quite Big Hall. Life was boring now the school term had begun, and Dad had taken Gil to the rehabilitation centre up in the Blue Mountains for new exercises to help Gils legs work better after the polio. But Gwens monster was probably just a big dog that had run up from the susso camp past the headland, where some of the Depressions unemployed had built shacks for their families to live in till better times came.

He and Olive turned into the Quite Big Hall, ran past the Mildly Green Drawing Room, the Very Pink Studio where Aunt Peculiar painted her tiny beetles or ants on giant canvases, then turned into the Almost Great Hall and slid to a stop, as Tish gazed up at the biggest creature Butter had ever seen in his life.

The monster stood at the Castles front door. Its shaggy black hair almost touched the ceiling. Its face was long and thin but white as ash, except for its eyes, which were sunk in dark black circles, and its mouth a thin blood-red slash. It was dressed in a long ragged black gown tied at the waist with a rope.

The worst was the stitch marks around the monsters neck and wrists. Even his skinny hands were strange: only two fingers on one stark white hand, and two fingers and a thumb on the other.

Butter gasped, staring at the stitches, stark black against the dead white skin. Even Dad wasnt a good enough doctor to sew a head back on. The Aunts stopped, speechless, behind him.

Tish, come back here at once! whispered Olive.

Tish ignored her. She smiled at the monster and held up her small hand to the monsters giant maimed one. Hello. Im Tish Andrews. We live here at the Castle with the OBryans because our mummy and daddy died and the Castle has lots of rooms. Would you like some breakfast? Theres always six big dishes full and we can help ourselves! Ive grown two whole inches since we came to live at the Castle, she added proudly.

The monster stared at her. Who gives a monster breakfast? he demanded. His voice was hoarse and breathless.

They like feeding people here, said Tish.

The monster gazed at the Aunts and Butter and Olive, all staring at him from the back of the hall. They wont want to feed a monster. He gazed down at Tish. Monsters eat little girls, he hissed.

How dare you! Aunt Elephant stepped forward. Dont you dare try to scare a child!

Im not a little girl, said Tish indignantly. Im seven years old! Im not scared either. Why would you want to eat little girls when theres sausages and scrambled eggs?

Graaaahhhhhh! screamed the monster in his strange growly voice. But it didnt step any closer to Tish.

Butter peered at him. I dont think youre a monster at all, he said flatly. Those stitch marks are make-up, and youre wearing a wig.

The monster bent down and grinned at him evilly. Think youre clever, dont you? he whispered. But under the make-up Im still a monster.

I think youre being silly, said Tish firmly. She grabbed the monsters massive white hand in her small brown one. Come and have breakfast.

The monster gazed down at her. Graaaaah! he yelled again.

Oh, stop it, ordered Aunt Elephant. Youre not scaring us but you terrified poor Gwen, the housemaid. Now, are you coming to have breakfast or not?

You may be big but you are far too thin, agreed Auntie Cake.

Have you ever thought of purple make-up instead of white? asked Aunt Peculiar. If youre trying to terrify people, purple would look much more monstrous.

The monster blinked at them all. Are you really asking a monster to breakfast? he croaked.

Certainly, said Auntie Cake firmly, her love of feeding people overcoming even the sight of a monster in the hallway. Wont you step this way, Mr, er...

Monster, breathed the monster helpfully.

Er, come this way, Mr... Monster, said Auntie Cake. Tish was already leading the monster by the hand.

Butter glanced uncertainly at Aunt Elephant. She bent down and whispered in his ear, Dont forget I won the 1932 Ladies Judo Championships in January. Ive been the Club Heavyweight Boxing Champion ever since I persuaded the president to let a woman enter the competition. I can deal with any monster.