The Legend of the Irish Castle by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Is that a woman?” Violet asked.

  “I can’t tell,” Benny said. “She has a hood pulled up on her head.”

  “A hood!” Jessie said, remembering her book on fairy legends. Just then, even though the window was tightly closed, the Aldens heard the wailing sound again. There was only one Irish fairy creature that appeared as a woman with a hood, and made a wailing sound—a banshee!

  CHAPTER 3

  New Guests

  In the morning, the Aldens felt groggy after their night of interrupted sleep. Jessie had finally convinced Benny and Violet that they were safe in their room from whoever had been out in the meadow, and the children went back to sleep. As they all entered the dining room for breakfast, Jessie filled Henry in on what they had seen while he was sleeping.

  “And you couldn’t see a face?” Henry whispered as they sat down in the high-back chairs.

  “No,” Jessie said. “But it was definitely someone older because of the way the person walked.” She hunched her shoulders forward to demonstrate.

  Henry nodded. “Well, we know one thing for sure—it can’t be a banshee because they aren’t real.”

  “Actually,” Violet whispered, “we don’t know that for sure. Erin seems to believe in banshees, and she said a lot of other people in Ireland do too.” She nudged Benny and pointed to the napkin beside his plate. The children all placed their napkins in their laps.

  Jessie shook her head. “I still think there has to be another explanation. Remember how we saw one door closed upstairs yesterday? There are other guests here. Maybe one of them was out taking a walk last night.”

  Just then, a couple the Aldens hadn’t seen before came into the dining room. The man was wearing a gray jacket and had a neatly trimmed beard. The woman had on a frilly yellow dress and a scarf tied in her hair.

  “Well, look, dear!” the woman said, clasping her hands at her chest. “There are children here! Aren’t they just adorable!”

  Jessie didn’t like it when adults talked this way, but she smiled politely. “Good morning,” she said. “My name’s Jessie.”

  “Mrs. Arthur Davison,” she said, holding out her hand and wiggling her fingers to show off a sparkling diamond ring. “We just got married last week!”

  “Congratulations!” Violet said. “You must be on your honeymoon.”

  “Pleased to meet you, kids,” her husband said. “And, yes, we are. We plan to travel all over Ireland this week. In fact, we’re checking out of the castle this morning to head off to Galway.”

  “Some honeymoon,” Mrs. Davison said with a pout. “I had no idea an old castle would be so boring. There is absolutely nothing going on here, and nothing to do but watch the birds. We should have gone to London instead.”

  Mr. Davison smiled. Violet noticed that he seemed like a pretty patient man, unlike his wife. How could anyone think there was nothing to do in such an interesting place? “Mrs. Davison likes restaurants and concerts, but I for one like bird-watching,” he said with a wink.

  Mr. and Mrs. Davison were both very tall and slim, and stood up straight. Jessie realized that probably meant neither of them could be the mysterious figure. Still, she thought it couldn’t hurt to ask whether they had been in the meadow yesterday. “Have you spotted any interesting birds late at night?” Jessie asked.

  Henry realized why Jessie was asking, and added, “You’d probably need a lantern if you were out there in the dark.”

  Mr. Davison gave Henry and Jessie a funny look. “It’s best to bird-watch during the day. Owls are the only nocturnal bird around here. And though I do usually take evening walks back at home, so far I’ve stuck to early mornings on this visit.”

  “We’ve been reading our novels and going to bed early every night. It has been quite dull!” Mrs. Davison said.

  The figure the Aldens had seen couldn’t have been one of the Davisons, Jessie knew. But maybe they could give the children some clues to use in their investigation. “Did you happen to notice anything strange out your window around two in the morning?” Jessie asked.

  “If only!” Mrs. Davison said. Suddenly, she looked intrigued. “Why—did you see anything strange? That sounds exciting!”

  “Just a person taking a walk,” Jessie said carefully. If Mrs. Davison was the kind of person who treated children like babies, she probably wouldn’t take their investigation very seriously either.

  Fergus came into the dining room then and poured himself a cup of coffee from the silver urn sitting on the buffet table. He sat down a few chairs away from Henry and nodded to the guests.

  “Good morning, Fergus,” Benny said, sitting up a little straighter and folding his hands in his lap. He still felt bad about putting his shoes on the table up in the guest room the day before. He wanted to make sure Fergus knew that the Alden children usually had very nice manners.

  “Morning,” Fergus said. “Tell me—what have you children learned about Ireland so far?”

  Jessie was glad to see that Fergus was in a brighter mood. “Well,” she said. “We learned about the lighthouse at Howth.”

  “And fish and chips!” Benny said.

  Fergus laughed. His face looked very different and much kinder when he smiled, but it was a rare occurrence. “Well, if you behave yourselves, I’ll play my fiddle for you sometime. Then you can hear some authentic Irish music too.”

  “We’d like that!” Henry said.

  “Fergus,” Violet said. “We were just talking with Mr. and Mrs. Davison about someone we saw walking out in the meadow in the middle of the night. Do you know of anyone around here who does that?”

  Fergus tightened his jaw and stood up, his mood totally changed. “There’s no one else living around this land. You won’t find anyone if you go looking—so don’t bother trying!” He stormed out, leaving his half-full coffee cup sitting on the table.

  “I thought he was happier today, but now he seems angry again,” Benny said. “He doesn’t like it when we ask questions.”

  Henry nodded. “Remember, Erin told us that he is having a hard time adjusting. Maybe he’s just having a bad day.”

  The Davisons went over to the table to refill their coffees on the other side of the room. “Well,” Jessie whispered so they couldn’t hear. “If it wasn’t the other guests, and there isn’t anyone else staying in the hotel or living around the property, maybe it was Erin we saw out walking.”

  “She doesn’t really slouch, though,” Violet said quietly.

  “That’s true,” Jessie said. “If it was her, she may not like it that we noticed, and if it wasn’t her, she may be worried about who it could be. Either way, it’s probably best if we don’t say anything.”

  “I agree,” Henry said. “Let’s look out again tonight—I’ll stay awake this time too. Maybe we’ll see the figure again.”

  Grandfather joined them in the dining room just as Erin came in carrying a large tray of food. Her foot caught on the edge of the rug and she started to lose her balance. Grandfather helped steady her, and Henry rushed over to take the tray. He brought it over to the table and Erin passed the plates around. The Davisons sat back down in their chairs with their steaming cups of coffee.

  “Well, that was bad luck!” Grandfather said.

  “Or good luck,” Henry said, “since you almost fell, but didn’t.”

  Erin took a deep breath. She seemed a little shaken up, especially when she heard the word “luck.” Soon, though, she regained her composure and gestured to the food. “This is a what we call a ‘full breakfast’ in Ireland,” Erin said. “Eggs, rashers—that’s what we call bacon—toast, black pudding, and a fried tomato. I hope you like it!”

  “It smells delicious,” Grandfather said, digging in.

  “What’s black pudding?” Benny asked, poking it with his fork. “Does it have chocolate in it?”

  Erin smiled. “No, it’s not a dessert. It’s kind of like sausage. But traditional Irish pudding is made with pigs’ blood. That’s what turns it b
lack.”

  The children’s eyes went wide. Jessie tried hard to keep her manners. “Well. That sounds…very interesting.”

  Erin laughed. “It’s okay if you don’t want to eat that part.”

  The guests ate their breakfasts, and Erin bustled around the table pouring orange juice. “How did everyone sleep?” she asked.

  “Pretty well,” Benny said. “Except for when we saw the banshee. I wonder if we’ll see it again tonight.”

  “Benny!” Jessie said. She sometimes forgot that Benny was still pretty little, and blurted things out when he shouldn’t. She hadn’t wanted to worry Erin with talk of a banshee.

  “Oops,” Benny said.

  “Banshee?” Erin asked. Her face went pale and she sank down into an empty chair, holding the pitcher of orange juice in her lap. Mrs. Davison perked up. “Oh, I knew these little ones were keeping a secret!” She turned to her husband. “This changes everything, darling. We have to see if the castle is really haunted. Let’s stay another night.”

  Erin perked up. “Well, we’d be glad to have you!” she said.

  Jessie nodded at Henry, remembering how they’d wondered whether the hotel was getting enough business.

  “Except,” Erin said, frowning, “your room is already booked for tonight, by some new guests arriving today. The only doubleoccupancy room we have left is the other large suite. But it’s quite a bit more expensive.”

  Mrs. Davison clutched her husband’s arm. “Well, it is a special occasion,” she said to him.

  Mr. Davison smiled. “That’s true. We only have one honeymoon. We’ll take it!”

  “Wonderful,” Erin said. “I’ll go get it straightened up for you right away.” She set down the pitcher on the buffet table and hurried out of the dining room. The Davisons left to gather their things as well.

  As the Aldens finished their breakfast, Violet noticed that once again it had started to rain. “I guess we won’t be going outside this morning,” she said.

  “Well, there’s lots more of the castle to explore,” said Henry.

  “Good idea,” Jessie said. She cleared the dishes from their places and put them back on the tray, and the children went out into the hallway. They walked in the opposite direction of the staircase, to another wing of the castle that held the kitchen. Past that, they entered a narrow hallway that led to a dimly lit room. Inside they saw that all four walls were lined with shelves that went all the way up to the ceiling. In the center of the room were two leather sofas and a low table between them.

  “A library!” Violet said. “This is the perfect place to spend a rainy morning.”

  A tall ladder with wheels that ran on a track halfway up made it possible to reach books on the highest shelf anywhere in the room. Benny couldn’t resist climbing up it.

  “Careful, Benny,” Henry said. “That ladder looks pretty old.” He went over to help his brother down and noticed a large photo on the desk by the window.

  “Hey,” Henry said, “look at this.”

  The picture showed a black-and-white image of a young man wearing a fisherman’s sweater.

  “I wonder how old this picture is,” Jessie said. “Something about that man looks very familiar.”

  “Yes, it does,” said Violet, squinting at it. Then she said, “I know—he looks like Erin!”

  Benny picked up the frame and walked toward the door. “Maybe we could ask Erin who this is.”

  “She wouldn’t keep his picture on display if he was a secret,” Violet pointed out.

  Just as Benny was about to go into the hallway, he noticed Fergus down at the end opening a cupboard door. He didn’t know anyone was watching him. After a quick glance over his shoulder, Fergus took something out of a box and slipped it into his pocket.

  Then Fergus closed the cupboard and walked toward the library. Benny scurried back in, eager to stay out of Fergus’s way.

  But Henry was convinced that Fergus was just having a bad day, and he tried again to be friendly. “Good morning again,” Henry called with a smile, and Fergus stepped into the library.

  “Reading, eh?” Fergus said grumpily.

  “Yes, and wondering about the history of this place,” Henry said. He held up the picture frame. “Do you know if this is a picture of Erin’s father?”

  Fergus set his mouth into a line and stared at them. “It’s best if you don’t ask,” he said. “You kids need to find something to do, and stop asking so many questions!” He left the room.

  The children looked at each other with wide eyes. “It definitely seems like Fergus is hiding something,” Jessie said.

  “Fergus is hiding something,” Benny said. “In his pocket.” He described how he had seen Fergus take something out of the hallway cupboard.

  Henry nodded. “Something strange is happening around here.”

  CHAPTER 4

  An Unwelcome Gift

  By afternoon the rain had finally stopped, and Grandfather found the children sitting in the library looking through old books. Violet had found a botanical guide full of drawings of the different kinds of flowers that could be found growing in this part of Ireland. Jessie was curled up in a chair by the window with Irish Fairy Legends. She had almost finished it.

  “Down the road a little way is an old manor house that has a traditional walled garden,” Grandfather said. “Would you like to come with me to see it?”

  Benny was the first to leap up and put his book on the shelf. He was restless after being stuck inside all morning, and ready to get outside for some fresh air. “Let’s go!” he said.

  The children changed into boots Erin called “Wellies” that she kept on hand for guests in a variety of sizes. They were bright yellow with handles on the sides, and would keep the children from getting too muddy as they tromped around in the fields. Violet brought her camera along, and Grandfather took an umbrella just in case.

  They walked about half a mile down the winding lane to the manor house. Beside it were tall stone walls that looked like they’d been standing for hundreds of years. You couldn’t see what was beyond them. The caretaker of the property let the Aldens in through a door in the wall using an old skeleton key. The children gasped at what was inside—the most beautiful garden they’d ever seen!

  A narrow stone path curved through fruit trees and lavender and thorny roses. Off in one corner were peony bushes taller than Benny, in pink and white. Birds hopped from branch to branch.

  Violet sat down on a stone bench beside a fountain in the shape of a fish that spit water into a mossy pond. She snapped pictures of the big goldfish swimming in circles in the water.

  “Look, Violet,” Benny said, “violets!” He pointed at a large planter full of purple flowers.

  Violet smiled. “This is my favorite place in Ireland so far,” she said.

  “Are the walls to keep people out?” Jessie asked Grandfather.

  “Or maybe animals that would eat the plants?” Henry wondered.

  “Actually, the walls keep the plants warmer, and protect them from the wind,” Grandfather said. He pointed to an opening in one of the walls that was charred black around the edges. “This wall is hollow,” he said, “so the gardener can build a fire inside it and warm up the garden. That way, he can grow grapes and peaches and other things that normally wouldn’t survive in this colder climate.”

  “Peaches?” Benny asked, his eyes wide.

  “Well, it’s too early in the season for them to be ripe, I’m afraid,” Grandfather said. “But the trees are very beautiful!”

  The children explored the garden for a while longer, until Jessie noticed it was getting late and they decided to walk home. As they came up the road toward the castle near dusk, Benny noticed a lilac bush growing along the fence at the edge of the castle’s property.

  “Look, Violet,” he said, “more purple flowers!”

  Grandfather told the children he was going inside to read the newspaper. “Being out of the country is no excuse to skip the crossword p
uzzle,” he said cheerfully.

  The children said they’d see him inside, and lingered by the fence. Jessie knelt down and smelled the lilacs.

  “Wow, these smell so pretty,” Jessie said.

  “Let’s take some inside to Erin,” suggested Benny. “She can put them in a vase of water on the front desk.”

  “Yes, great idea,” Henry said as he broke off a branch. Benny carried the lilacs proudly up the lane to the door of the castle.

  But just as they were about to go inside, Fergus appeared and put his arm across the door.

  “What are you trying to do? You can’t bring those in here!” Fergus barked, looking at the lilacs.

  Jessie felt her stomach drop. She realized maybe they had been wrong to pick the flowers without asking permission. “We’re sorry, Fergus,” she said.

  He shook his head and stalked off.

  “Uh-oh,” Violet said. “I think we made a mistake.”

  “Let’s put the branch back where we found it,” said Henry. “And when we get back inside, we’ll apologize to Erin too.” The other Aldens nodded their agreement.

  Back near the fence, they set the branch on the ground beside the lilac bush. Just as they were about to head back inside, Benny froze. “What’s that?” he said, sounding afraid.

  He pointed to the opposite side of the meadow, where the woods began. It was the same spot they had been able to see from their room on the second floor. The tall hedges along the edge of the property were rustling, as if someone or something was moving them.

  “Is someone watching us?” Jessie wondered aloud.

  “Maybe it’s just the wind,” Henry said, glancing around. But none of the other trees were moving as much as that one spot in the hedges.

  Benny looked very worried. “What if it’s a pooka?” he said.

  “It’s not,” Jessie told him. “Pookas are just myths. And anyway, the pooka is the horse that drags its chains. If that was a pooka, we’d be able to hear the chains.”