Free Ghostsitters by Angie Sage Page A

pikestaffs, and fierce hunting dogs. Edmund and I fought but we were outnumbered. We escaped to the grotto beneath my castle. I was sure we would be safe there, but in our haste we sprang our own portcullis trap and trapped ourselves.”
    â€œI bet it was Edmund who sprang it,” I whispered to Wanda.
    â€œShh!” said Wanda sharply. “That is not nice, Araminta.”
    â€œTrapped in our own grotto…” Sir Horace’s head moaned. “I was struck down by the dastardly Jasper FitzMaurice, the leader of the gang. As I lay injured, he laughed and told his gang to pile up the rocks to stop our escape and to leave us to drown. He said my castle was his now. But I told him that if he took my castle he would be not only a murderer but a thief. Sohe took off his ring and threw it at me, saying he would buy my hovel—as he called it.”
    â€œOoh,” gasped Wanda. “That was so rude.”
    â€œIndeed, Miss Wizzard,” sighed the head on the bat poo sack. “The FitzMaurices have never had any manners.”
    â€œSo what happened then ?” asked Wanda.
    â€œI threw the ring back because in those days you could offer a ring for anything.”
    â€œEven a rubbish old ring?” asked Wanda.
    â€œYes. Its value did not matter. If you put the ring on your finger, it meant that you agreed to the deal. I told Jasper FitzMaurice that his worthless junk would not buy one brick of my castle. That is the last thing I remember. Now, Edmund—”
    Edmund jumped up and stood to attention. “Yes, Sir Horace,” he squeaked.
    â€œWhat happened next? Tell me.”
    Edmund coughed. “Um…the big FitzMaurice, he, um, picked up the ring. He took off your gauntlet and pushed the ring onto your little finger and, um…he said: ‘I am no thief. This is payment. The castle is mine.’”
    â€œOoh!” gasped Wanda. “That is so naughty.”
    â€œIt was very naughty, Wanda,” said Edmund dolefully. “Then the big FitzMaurice, he climbed up the rocks, and his men rolled the last one in place…and we were trapped, and after that it was really scary and the water kept coming in and, Sir Horace, you wouldn’t wake up, so I stayed with you and…”
    â€œOh, Edmund, don’t cry,” said Wanda, trying to put her arm around him—which is not possible with a ghost. “How horrible. You were so brave.”
    â€œThank you, Wanda,” sniffed Edmund. “You are very nice.”
    â€œEdmund was brave,” said Sir Horace’s head. “And he was loyal. But he did not tell me about the ring.”
    Edmund stared at his feet like he had done something wrong—which he had. Aunt Tabby says that not telling about something is as bad as telling a lie.
    â€œAll these years I have thought I owned my own castle and I did not.” Sir Horace’s head let out another groan. “It is a terrible shock.”
    I stared at my finger. So this was the horrible Jasper FitzMaurice’s ring? Yuck. I wasn’t so sure that I liked it anymore.
    Wanda was staring at my finger too. “So how come Araminta has the ring?” she asked, sounding a little bit jealous, I thought. “Never mind that,” I told her. “The point is that Sir Horace does own his castle. He never accepted the ring—Jasper FitzMaurice pushed it onto his finger. That is totally different. Now, excuse me, Sir Horace, Wanda and I are just going to get your castle back for you.”
    â€œAre we?” said Wanda.
    â€œYes, Wanda,” I said, “we are .”
    Sir Horace stood up and put his head back on. “Tonight there is a full moon,” he said. “Who knows what may be out there? You will not go alone, Miss Spookie.”

12
GHOST BATTLE
    S ir Horace was right. When we crept out of the keep night had fallen and a full moon was rising. The castle ruins cast long, creepy shadows in the silvery