Free The Glass Castle by Jerry B.; Trisha; Jenkins Priebe

High-back pews were separated by a center aisle, carpeted in crimson, leading to an intricately carved pulpit of dark, rich wood.
    “No one in the royal family uses this chapel,” Kate said, “so some of us who are thirteen use it when we can. You should join us.”
    Avery did not respond. It was difficult to think about worshipping God when so many things were going wrong.
Or maybe,
she thought,
this is the most important time to pray.
    She would consider it.

    The final room they came to was near the center of the castle, filled with every piece of furniture imaginable, buried beneath thick, dusty quilts covered with a fine layer of dust.
    Kate and Avery swatted away cobwebs and began peeking beneath blankets and lifting lids off boxes. At first they were timid, but soon they jumped with joy at each discovery.
    They found ornate paintings and beautiful rugs, a stunning harp and several tall mirrors. They found brass bed frames, ancient vases, and bundles of handwritten letters tied with faded ribbons. They discovered silver candlesticks they suspected were worth more than country houses. They unearthed boxes of jewelry and jeweled hairpieces that made them squeal.
    “These were worn by queens!” Avery said, twirling with a set of ivory combs.
    Avery’s mind raced. Why were they sleeping, working, and playing in rooms virtually bare when all of this existed in storage a few hundred feet from where they lived?
    She would show Tuck.
    Of course, that would mean she would need the courage to actually approach him. Even looking at him made her nervous lately.
    “We should go,” Kate said. “We’ve seen enough for one day.”
    Avery wanted to protest.
Is that even possible?
    The castle contained enough rooms to fill a month of exploring—maybe more.
    And I still need to find the tunnels.
    Avery caught sight of a painting framed in gold leaf and half hidden beneath a blanket. She saw just enough of a woman’s face—smooth and exotic—to compel her to see more. She took a few careful steps over stacks of fragile china and crates of marble then pulled the blanket far enough down to bring the face into view.
    Beautiful eyes, distinct as they could be, one blue and the other brown.
    Impossible.
Avery tried to shove the thought aside.
    One of her mother’s songs came flooding back:
    She walks the endless corridors, she dances through the halls,
    She sings of better days gone by, and laughs at cannonballs,
    She’s known not by the crown that rests upon her golden head,
    But by her eyes, for one is brown; the other’s blue instead.
    “This is the queen,” Avery whispered.
    “What did you say?” Kate asked, coming to stand beside her.
    “This must be the king’s first wife.
She
must be Queen Elizabeth!”
    Kate didn’t respond.
    “I bet everything in this room belonged to her,” Avery continued. “After she died, the king must have moved all of her things into this room.”
    “We really need to go back to our quarters,” Kate said. “Let’s go.”
    The king and Angelina are keeping the first queen’s secrets. What on earth could they be? And what if we could find the answers in this room?
    The treasures in the room whispered for her to stay.
    “You go ahead,” Avery said. “I’ll be right there.”
    “Don’t be long,” Kate said as she left. “I’m sure we’re not supposed to be in here.”
    Avery nodded, never taking her eyes off the painting, the blanket now bunched beneath the woman’s chin. As soon as Kate was out of sight, Avery yanked the blanket entirely away. And when she did, what she saw made her blood go cold.
    The queen was wearing a necklace with a large ruby flower.

Chapter 18

    King versus Queen
    At her first cabinet meeting, Avery found Tuck deep in conversation, appointing kids one at a time to important castle duties.
    “You are now Junior Keeper of the Great Seal,” he said to a boy who beamed.
    Is there truly such a thing?
    The line of kids waiting to talk to Tuck was at