Scarlet and Ivy 3-book Collection Volume 2

“They didn’t have a choice?” Ariadne asked, sounding a little horrified.

“No,” he said. “They weren’t given one. They had been bought and sold. The valley was to be flooded to make a reservoir. Not even for the locals, no. The water was all going to be pumped away.” I could hear a scratching noise then, and I wondered if he was scratching the rock or grinding his teeth. “So they started constructing the dam. A huge, ugly thing that squatted over the valley. People died, they did, building that thing, and they said it was cursed. But they carried on anyway. And soon, the water was rising and rising and the village was under water. Lost forever.”

A question was burning on my tongue, and I couldn’t hold it any longer. “What happened to the people?”

There was another moment of silence before Bob answered.

“The city men built them new houses, over the hill. But those places are nothing but brick shells, row after row. Their old homes had been destroyed before the lake had even been filled, to make sure they couldn’t go back to them. Most of the young folk moved away south. There’s barely a man left now.”

I shuddered. Those poor people. How could anyone do this?

He took a deep breath. “But it didn’t end there. Because all the souls of Seren were buried in the churchyard, all those people who’d had the hills in their bones. And now their bones were trapped under gallons of water, and they couldn’t reach the heavens.”

His words swirled around us in the darkness, and I felt shivers go down my spine.

“The souls couldn’t rest, see. Now they were troubled. And they say … they say that the ghosts of those who are buried haunt the valley. They say,” he said, and his voice got even quieter so we had to lean in even closer, “that if you pay close attention late at night … you can hear the ringing of the church bells, and feel the chill of the souls as they pass you by, and see the lights under the lake …”

More moments passed in silence, and I could tell everyone was holding their breath. Then, almost at the edge of hearing, a voice whispered: “Save us …”

“Oh my word,” Ivy said, and she gripped my hand even tighter.

“Did you hear that?” So much for breathing calmly – now I was sucking huge, cold gulps of air into my lungs.

“I think I heard it,” said Ariadne.

And suddenly everyone was talking at once, everyone asking everyone else if they’d heard the voice, and debating what it had said.

“Quiet!” Miss Bowler snapped eventually. “Shut up, the lot of you! Are you quite finished scaring the knickers off them with your mumbo-jumbo ghost stories, Mr Owens?” She flicked her torch back on, and the sudden bright light hurt my eyes, though I was relieved to be able to see again.

“Hmmph,” said Bob, but he seemed to be smiling beneath his annoyance.

“Weren’t you scared, Miss?” asked Nadia cheekily.

“Not one bit. What a load of tosh.” Miss Bowler’s hand was shaking. Nobody mentioned it. “Let’s get back down.”

Once we’d climbed out of the Devil’s Basin, which was easier said than done, Bob wanted to go on a little further. “There’s one more chamber this way,” he said, relighting his torch. “And it’s a good one.”

Miss Bowler was still in a grump, but she reluctantly agreed. “Then we must get back,” she said.

Where had that voice come from? It had sounded so otherworldly and strange. I rubbed my arms, trying to make the goosebumps go away.

We pressed on to the next cave, through a long tunnel that was much less of a squeeze than the way in had been. As we got nearer, I heard a whispering, rushing sound.

“What is that?” Ivy whispered.

But when the tunnel opened out … everyone gasped.

This cave was big and wide, and there were two waterfalls tumbling down from the roof into a pool that stretched out towards the back of the cave, further than I could see.

“Worth it, eh?” said Bob with a grin.

Everyone agreed. Even Rose nodded enthusiastically.

“Lovely,” said Miss Bowler, in a way that implied she saw sights like this every day and was thoroughly sick and tired of them. “Right, all, time to head back! Quick sharp! No lollygagging!”

It was easier leaving the cave than getting in, but I still didn’t enjoy crawling through the horrible small space. My hands were black with dirt and my clothes were soaked through.

“Thanks, then, Mr … Bob,” said Miss Bowler when we were safely out in the open again. She pumped his hand vigorously.

“It’s Owens,” he said politely, brushing his hands on his overalls.

“Right, right. Come on, then, girls, back to the hotel.” Miss Bowler was striding off before we had a chance to protest. Quickly, everyone thanked Mr Owens before following her. I turned back and saw him standing there, his hands in his pockets, just staring off into the forest.

“I’ve just realised something,” said Ariadne as we walked down towards the hotel. We were up on the hillside, and you could glimpse the lake through the trees. She’d stopped for a moment, and was staring at it. “I think I saw those lights under the lake. On the way here.”

“I remember that.” I shuddered a little. Near the tower, she’d said.

“But there’s something else.” She frowned, and bit her lip.

“What?” said Ivy.

“Those things that appeared in the hotel, that Mr and Mrs Rudge seemed really scared of …” She trailed off.

“A gold cross?” I said. “And a candlestick?”

She nodded, and her eyes skimmed over the lake. I thought about the drowned village, and suddenly I realised what Ariadne was thinking.

“Don’t they …” she whispered. “Don’t they seem like the sort of things you would find in a church?”

Chapter Fifteen

IVY

wasn’t sure what to think about Ariadne’s theory. Were they really items from a church? And if Mr Owens’s story was true, and there really was a village under the lake … could it be that items from that church were appearing at the hotel? The thought made my skin prickle, but I wasn’t sure I believed it.

We’d only been back in our rooms for a short time when I heard someone yelling in the corridor. I went over and peered out.

“Someone’s taken my suitcase, Miss!” It was Elsie, and she was flapping desperately at Miss Bowler. “It’s just disappeared!”

“You’ve probably just pushed it too far under the bed, girl,” snapped Miss Bowler. She shoved open the prefects’ door and ushered Elsie back inside. “It’ll turn up!”

I retreated into our room again. “Elsie’s suitcase has disappeared, apparently,” I said.

“Nobody cares,” said Scarlet, who was changing into clean clothes behind the curtains of the four-poster.

“I know, but isn’t it weird? There’s things going missing, and things appearing that shouldn’t be there …” I’d never been one to believe in hauntings, but there was something going on here, and I had no idea what it was.

“It is spectacularly odd,” Ariadne agreed. “I think we need to investigate further—”

She was interrupted by the sound of Rose snoring. As soon as we’d got in, Rose had collapsed on their bed. She’d seemed exhausted from all the walking, and clambering about in caves. I supposed she hadn’t walked far in a long time.

We didn’t have the heart to wake her for lunch, so we decided we’d bring her up some food. This time the dining hall was actually open, and we all helped ourselves to cheese and ham sandwiches.

Not long afterwards, Phyllis Moss walked in and spotted us at our table. She hurried over. “Oh, girls! Just the three of you again?”

We nodded. “Our friend is sleeping,” I said. “I think she’s too tired from all the walking.”

“I got her a sandwich,” said Ariadne, waving said sandwich in the air.

Phyllis smiled. “Ah,” she said. “Well. I was just going to speak to your headmistress again. If the rest of you aren’t too tired, Julian has offered to take you all for a spot of birdwatching. Won’t that be jolly?”

“Jolly boring,” Scarlet muttered, but thankfully Phyllis didn’t seem to hear her.

“Sounds wonderful,” said Ariadne, a good deal louder.

I just smiled, and carried on munching my sandwich. I was a little tired too, and I hoped I would feel better once I’d eaten.

“See you later,” Phyllis said. Her smile was so cheerful that it was infectious. Soon she was off to chat to Mrs Knight once again.

After lunch, we all gathered in the reception area. Mr Rudge was there for a moment, but he looked almost appalled at the sight of us standing around and soon he had disappeared through the door at the back of the room.

“Looks like we have another activity for this afternoon, everyone!” Mrs Knight called out, wringing her hands together. “We’ll be going for a spot of birdwatching with the lovely Mr Moss, as soon as he arrives!”

She said this as if she expected us to jump for joy, although with the possible exception of Ariadne, it was quite the opposite. There was a lot of quiet groaning.

Personally, I was worried about Rose. I didn’t want her to wake up and think that we’d abandoned her. We’d left her a sandwich on a tray by the bed, but I decided we ought to tell Mrs Knight she was asleep. I pushed forward through the crowd.

“Mrs Knight?” I tugged gently on her sleeve. She was saying something to Phyllis, who was waiting there, looking at her watch – presumably wondering where her husband had got to.

“Yes, Ivy?” the headmistress said, looking around. I smiled a little, pleased that she’d got the right twin.

“Rose is tired,” I said. “She’s still asleep, back in the room.”

“Ah,” said Mrs Knight. Her brow furrowed. “I’m not sure we should leave her on her own.”

Phyllis looked up. “I was going to stay here anyway,” she said. “Birds are much more Julian’s thing than mine. Shall I keep an eye out for her?”

“Oh, would you?” Mrs Knight’s expression brightened. “That would be very kind.” I smiled gratefully. At least someone would be there if Rose woke up.

“Don’t mention it,” Phyllis grinned. “I’ll just be rattling about,” she continued as I headed back over to Scarlet and Ariadne. “Ah, Julian!”

Mr Moss had walked in, bearing binoculars. He looked a little flustered, and there were leaves in his hair. “Hello, all!” he said with a nervous wave. “Sorry, dear,” he said to his wife. “I thought I spotted a merlin and I wanted to sketch it.”

Phyllis gave him a withering look, but I could tell she was just pretending. “All right, have fun, you lot …” She strode off towards the corridor.

Julian ran a hand through his dark hair, brushing out some of the leaves. We all stood and watched him expectantly. But for a moment he didn’t say a word.

Mrs Knight peered at him. She’d gone a little red in the face. “Mr Moss? The girls are all so excited for your trip today!”

Scarlet yawned.

Julian blinked shyly. “Ah, yes.” He smiled. “Sorry. I’m rather more used to birds than people. Let’s be off, then, shall we?”

He led us out of the hotel and down the driveway, and then off on a winding path through the trees.

“Where are we going?” I heard someone ask from near the front.

“The bird hide,” he explained. “Mr Rudge had it built a few years back. Lots of the guests like to go for a spot of birdwatching, not just myself.”

We traipsed through the forest until the path eventually opened out at a wooden hut that was camouflaged with branches and leaves. Julian came to a halt in front of it. “All right,” he said. “I’ll take a few of you inside at a time. The rest of you, see what you can spot out here.” His eyes twinkled and he put a finger to his lips. “And stay quiet. We don’t want to scare anything off.”

While he took a small group inside, the rest of us waited. Mrs Knight had got a pair of binoculars from somewhere too, and was staring up into the trees and smiling. Miss Bowler was shuffling her feet, looking like she’d much rather be going for a jog.

I crouched down, trying to rest my legs for a moment but not quite wanting to sit on the muddy forest floor. Suddenly someone prodded me with a boot and I nearly toppled forward, but managed to regain my balance.

“Oi!” Scarlet said, forgetting the order to be quiet. “Leave my sister alone!”

I climbed back to my feet and turned to see Cassandra and Elsie, both pulling innocent expressions. I wasn’t sure which one of them was responsible, so I just glared at them both.

“Where’s your little friend, by the way?” Cassandra asked with a sneer.

“None of your—” Scarlet started, but Ariadne was already answering.

“Back at the hotel,” she said.

Cassandra and Elsie shared a look. “So you’ve left her unattended with all our things?” Cassandra said.

“She’s not a thief, Cassandra,” I said. “Whatever you may think.”

“Of course,” Elsie simpered. Then they both giggled and walked away.

Ariadne seemed unbothered by what had just happened. “I still can’t see any birds,” she said in a low voice, staring around through the viewfinder of her camera. “Well, I might have seen a pigeon.”

“I think I just saw a pair of harpies,” Scarlet muttered, and I tried not to laugh.

Soon it was our turn to go into the bird hide. It was fairly dark inside, with a couple of benches and a big long slit across one wall, letting in a small amount of light. Julian stood in the corner with his binoculars, peering out. “All right, come and have a look,” he said, waving us over.

I sat down on the bench, being careful to avoid any splinters or nails – it was a little crudely made. But then I peered out of the window, and gasped.

The bird hide looked out over a dip in the landscape, just as filled with trees as where we’d come from. But there was something different – someone had strung up bowls filled with seed and sticks of corn. And they were covered with birds, of all shapes and sizes. There was even a guilty-looking squirrel hanging from one of the bowls.

“See how many different birds you can spot,” Julian whispered. He pointed out robins and nuthatches and greenfinches as he moved along beside the bench. There was a bright yellow bird I didn’t think I’d ever seen before, called a siskin. Ariadne looked fascinated, wordlessly snapping away with her camera.

Julian crouched beside me, and I asked him what I was wondering: “Did you put all this up?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No,” he said. “This was all Mr Rudge as well. I think he enjoys birdwatching more than he lets on.”

That was a funny thought – I wasn’t sure I could imagine the humourless hotel owner enjoying anything. “What about your wife – Mrs Moss, I mean?”

There was a flicker of something in his calm expression. “She’s never understood, really. But we both love the great outdoors, so that’s something we can share.”

Ariadne leant over. “It was very kind of her to stay and look after our friend Rose,” she said.

Julian nodded slowly. “Does Rose often stay behind?” He paused, his eyes tracking a blackbird that was hopping through the trees, and then carried on quietly. “Because she wasn’t with you at breakfast when I met you, was she?”

I thought about it. “Rose is a bit of a tricky one, I suppose. She does what she likes, really. She doesn’t talk much.”

Julian put the binoculars to his eyes. “Isn’t that a little … strange?”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I looked across at Scarlet and Ariadne, who merely shrugged.

“How does she get on at school, if she doesn’t talk?” he asked, lowering the binoculars and looking back at me. His eyes were big and blue. “I mean, I had a frightful time at my boarding school just for being different. Old Bird Brain, they used to call me.” He shook his head sadly.

“Well, some people pick on her, I suppose.”

“And the rest of us,” Scarlet added. Which was true, really. People like Penny and Elsie didn’t usually discriminate in their horribleness.

“She’s not really from our school. She just stays with us,” I said.

“Oh,” he said, looking puzzled. “Where is she from, then?”

Again I looked at the others, but this time it was because I didn’t have an answer at all. “I don’t actually know,” I said finally. “I don’t know anything about her past.”

“Hmm,” he said, his expression now thoughtful. “That’s very odd, isn’t it? Haven’t there been some thefts and things at the hotel? I mean … do you trust her?”

“Of course,” we all said, without even thinking.

But I started to realise that he was right. We didn’t really know anything about Rose, or who she was, or where she came from.

And just like that, a tiny speck of doubt crept in.

Chapter Sixteen

SCARLET

wasn’t the biggest fan of birdwatching. Birds were pretty, of course, but they didn’t do much besides eat and squawk. People-watching was much more interesting.

I watched Elsie and Cassandra as they walked back, holding hands and whispering to each other, throwing snide glances at everyone else.

I watched Julian chatting with Mrs Knight and saw her blushing – he was quite handsome, really, and that fact apparently hadn’t escaped her.

I watched Nadia and Ethel having a contest to see who could carry the most pine cones (Ethel, but she balanced some of them on her head, which was definitely cheating).

Ariadne had taken a picture of all of us, and then tried to sneakily take one of Miss Bowler, who was now telling her off and threatening to snap the camera in half.

We were trekking back through the forest, and Ivy turned to me, her eyes worried. “Scarlet … what do you think about what he said? About Rose?”

I shrugged. “She’s harmless, isn’t she? She’s sweet and quiet and she loves pony books. If anyone’s not trustworthy, it’s those two.” I waved at the harpies.

“I suppose,” said Ivy. “She is our friend. But he’s right that we don’t know anything about her. Have we ever even asked?”

I thought about it – I felt sure that I had, but I couldn’t think when it had been. “We only know what Violet told us. That she was in the asylum and that her family had her locked up in there because they didn’t want her getting the inheritance.” I stared down for a moment at the mat of pine needles and twigs that crunched beneath my feet. “Though I don’t know if I trust anything that comes out of Violet’s mouth,” I added.

“We ought to ask her,” Ivy said. “If she wants to talk about it, I mean.”

“Hmm,” I said. “I’d be surprised.”

A bigger surprise was waiting in the hotel. We opened the door to our room to find Rose sitting, open-mouthed, in the middle of chaos.

Our luggage had been tipped out, our clothes strewn all over the floor, Ariadne’s camera equipment scattered and Ivy’s pearl necklace left hanging from the bed. The curtains were ripped and even the pillows had been tossed across the room, one of them spilling feathers.

I stood in the doorway, the others trying to peer round me. “What on earth?”

Rose turned to look at me, her expression horrified. She shook her head. “I didn’t …” she whispered.

I walked in so the others could get past. Ariadne gasped. “Oh, Rose! What happened?”

Rose’s mouth flapped open and shut. She just couldn’t find the words. For once, I knew how she felt.

“Did someone do this while you were here?” Ivy asked her. “Did you see anything?”

But she simply shook her head, and then sat down heavily on the bed.

“You were asleep when we left,” said Ariadne gently, tiptoeing over the spilt rolls of film and putting her camera on the bedside table. “Did you wake up and go somewhere?”

This time Rose nodded. She looked ashamed. Ariadne put an arm round her shoulders.

I just wandered around hopelessly. I picked up my bag and hugged it to my chest. Why would anyone do this? I thought. I hated the idea of someone touching my things, just throwing them around as if they didn’t matter. And then I thought of Bob’s story, and a small voice in the back of my mind said: What if it wasn’t a person?

“We need to tell Mrs Knight,” Ivy said, grabbing my arm before my train of thought could go any further. Reluctantly, I put my bag back down on the floor and followed her out into the corridor.

“You don’t think …” she whispered as we hurried along. “That maybe Rose did that?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Why would she?”

Ivy frowned. “I don’t know. But she was alone in the room. What if she sleepwalks or something?”

That was a possibility, I had to admit it. But then other people had had their bags rifled through, and that couldn’t have been her … could it?

We found Mrs Knight downstairs and told her what had happened.

“Goodness, girls,” she said, shaking her head. “Not again. Just tidy everything up and make sure nothing’s missing. I’ll have to go and tell Mr Rudge.” She sighed.

“This isn’t right, Miss,” Ivy said. “Maybe we should go home? Get a refund?”

At that moment, Julian walked by, flashing Mrs Knight a bright smile. She brushed her hands on her dress, looking flustered. “Well, perhaps not just yet, eh? But I’m not sure what else I can do. We’ll just have to keep an eye out for any more strange behaviour.”

“I think there’s a strange behaviour epidemic in this hotel,” I said. “And I thought Phyllis was going to keep an eye out for Rose?”

But Mrs Knight ignored me, her eyes still following Julian down the corridor. “Don’t worry yourselves, girls. Dinner is at seven, so make sure you’re all ready for then,” she said. “Off you go!” She waved us off with a little smile.

“Why is she acting like that?” asked Ivy crossly. I could tell she’d hoped that Mrs Knight might actually do something this time.

“She’s mooning over Julian,” I said. “He makes her giggle like a schoolgirl.”

“Ugh,” said Ivy. She sounded just like me, and I couldn’t help but smile.

We began tidying up the room, Rose doing her best to assist. She still didn’t say a word, but she managed to seem apologetic the whole time as she rushed back and forth picking things up.

I watched her closely. What if Ivy was right? What if Rose was somehow doing strange things without knowing it? She had been in the asylum, after all.

So have you, my mind snapped at me. I sighed, and tried to forget about it.

Moments later, I heard a snort of laughter, and Cassandra was standing in the doorway, arms folded. “I told you so,” she said. She smiled at Rose. “She’s crazy and a thief.”

“Oh, go away, Cassie,” I said sarcastically as Rose started quivering with nerves. “You’re not helping.”

“Why don’t you ask her where she got that necklace?” Cassandra hissed through her teeth. “Or where she came from? Or why she doesn’t talk?” She narrowed her eyes, just like a snake. “Don’t come crying to me when she’s murdered you all in your sleep.” She strode away, her footsteps echoing off the walls.