Free The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth Page B

kitchen was dark and cavernous, with pots and pans and ladles still hanging over the long scarred table, and dried bunches of herbs spun all round with cobwebs. More cobwebs hung from the ceiling, furred with dust, and they saw spiders scuttling away from their light. Luka shuddered. He hated spiders.
    Beyond the kitchen was a corridor, furnished with a long narrow table crowded with jugs and bottles set on trays. Then they came into the front hall. Portraits of long-dead people hung on the walls. It made Emilia shiver, seeing those eyes staring down at her from the walls. She pressed close to Luka, who was pretending to be brave, striding out and laughing at the strange things stuck all over the walls. There were antlers and shields with swords crossed above them, and a huge stuffed fish in a glass case, and a grandfather clock with suns and moons painted on its face.
    Zizi jumped down from Luka’s shoulder and scampered about, leaving little monkey tracks in the thick dust on the floor. Glancing back, Emilia saw the trail of their footprints behind them. Uneasily, she scuffled her bare foot back and forth, wiping her last few steps out, then lifted the sole of her foot. It was grey.
    Zizi had pushed open a door to one side and scampered inside, and the two children followed her, Luka casting his lantern from side to side so they could see. The ray of light fell upon a huge pale shape floating in the gloom. Emilia screamed. Luka fell back a step, and they pressed together, shivering, too frightened to move. Then Zizi leapt on top of the dreadful white lump and gibbered in terror as it suddenly slithered away under her paws. She slid with it, shrieking, and landed with a bang on the floor. Immediately she bounded to the safety of Luka’s shoulder, even as he went forward a step, opening the shutter of the lantern so he could see more clearly.
    â€˜Look, it’s just a couch,’ he said, ‘covered in some kind of cloth.’
    Emilia pressed her hand to her hammering heart. ‘I thought it was a ghost for sure.’
    â€˜Me too,’ Luka admitted. He moved around the room, pulling more dustsheets off the furniture. Clouds of dust rose into the air, making Emilia cough and Zizi sneeze.
    â€˜Stop it!’ she cried. ‘I can’t breathe.’
    â€˜I just wanted to see what was underneath,’ Luka said. ‘Look, they’re not too dusty under those sheets. We could sit on them.’
    He had uncovered several tall wooden chairs with hard backs and spiralling posts, and a long settle made of oak by the fire, as well as two big chairs upholstered in a stiff floral fabric. With a tired sigh, Emilia sat in one of the chairs, pulling her legs up under her damp, muddy skirts and wrapping the material about her icy feet. She looked about her, trying not to shiver, as Luka kept on banging about. Then he cried out with joy as he found some firewood in a chest against one wall. Within minutes he had a fire kindled in the hearth.
    â€˜I’ll go and see if I can find a pan or something in that kitchen, to cook the fish in, and then I’ll bring Alida and Sweetheart in,’ he said. ‘Will you be all right here?’
    Emilia nodded, even though she would have much preferred not to be left alone. She was too tired to move, though, and the warmth of the dancing flames was comforting. She rested her head on her arm, curling her legs up beneath her, and wondered how Beatrice and Noah were. Tears rose in her eyes and she sniffed them back, determined not to cry anymore.

Bolts, Bars and Doors
    B eatrice sat on the hard floor, stroking back Mimi’s long dark curls. The little girl had fallen asleep with her head in Beatrice’s lap and although she was stiff and uncomfortable, she dared not move in case she woke her cousin.
    Light struck in through the bars from the corridor, illuminating the dark humps of the sleeping women. Silvia lay with her arm about Lena, while Maggie sat