Free The Curse of Deadman's Forest by Victoria Laurie Page B

there.
    “It shouldn’t take longer than a fortnight,” he told the schoolmasters. “And Cornwall’s a lovely town. You’ll rather enjoy it, I’m sure.”
    The schoolmasters were quick to agree and take up the charge. Once that was settled, the earl got to the business of protecting the other inhabitants of the keep. “I’ll hire some men from the village to patrol the grounds, day and night. And I must insist that the children stay on the keep’s property for the time being, unless accompanied by Landis or one of my men.” Looking at Ian, Theo, Carl, and the professor, the earl announced, “We’ll be off the day after tomorrow,” which settled the matter for good. The earl got to his feet then. “Thank you, Maggie and Gertrude. I’ll not keep you a moment longer, as I’m sure you have quite a few tired heads to put to bed.”
    It was the headmistresses’ turn to blush, and Ian saw Madam Dimbleby’s eyes move quickly to the clock, which indicated that it was well past the youngest orphan’s bedtime. “Yes, of course!” she said, slightly flustered. “We must get the wee ones to bed at once.”
    The earl gave a slight bow and opened the door to the study, allowing them all to leave. Ian could hardly contain his excitement but realized almost immediately that he needed to wipe the broad smile from his face when he saw the way the other orphans were looking at them as they exited.
    He knew that none of the other children would trade places with either him or Theo, especially given the day’s harrowing events, but all the children at the keep were aware of the special treatment Ian, Theo, Carl, and Jaaved were afforded—especially by the earl. He knew to them it looked like favoritism, and he had to concede that perhaps there was a little truth to that.
    So he made a conscious choice to keep his features neutral while he moved through the crowd on his way to his room. But he couldn’t help overhearing the muttered frustrations of many of the children nearby when Carl announced that he, Ian, and Theo would be going to Spain. Ian pulled Carl by the arm and coaxed him to the stairs. “What’re they all miffed about?” whispered Carl as they moved away from the others.
    “Pay it no attention,” Theo said softly as she came up next to them. “But we’d best keep talk of going to Spain to ourselves until we actually leave.”
    Carl looked dejected. “I thought they’d be happy for us,” he said moodily.
    “Theo’s right, Carl,” Ian told his injured friend. “And I think we should keep all our plans as private as possible from now on. You never know who might be listening.”
    “I quite agree,” Theo said smartly. “After all, we’ve noidea how the sorcerers knew Jaaved and I were at the shore today. I think it best if we tell no one what we’re up to. That way, we can be certain to escape to Spain without anyone being the wiser.”
    Carl lifted his chin and regarded Theo. “You think there might be a spy working for Demogorgon’s lot?”
    Theo sighed and paused on her way up the stairs to gaze at them both soberly. “My intuition is insisting that we should be careful, Carl,” she whispered. “Very,
very
careful about what we tell anyone from now on.”
    Ian couldn’t help looking suspiciously back down the stairs at all the children he’d shared his home with the whole of his life. He hated the niggling feeling of mistrust forming in the pit of his stomach.
    Several hours later a figure clad all in black hurried away from Castle Dover and through the seaside village to a waiting motorcar. The door to the auto opened and the figure climbed inside, then closed the door quickly before speaking to the driver. “They leave the day after tomorrow,” she said.
    “Where?” asked the driver.
    “To Spain.”
    “Spain?”
    “Yes. To Madrid.”
    “What is it they seek in Spain?”
    “The earl’s maidservant didn’t know. All she could say for certain was that the earl’s plans had