The missing mortals, p.4
The Missing Mortals, page 4
“I won’t touch a thing,” Sebastian promised as if Doug’s comment had been directed solely at him.
Martha raised her eyebrows in disbelief but wisely said nothing. They all knew from experience what a klutz Sebastian could be at times. He meant well, but sometimes his hands and feet just wouldn’t follow the directions they were receiving from his brain. Considering that he’d just grown two inches over the summer, it was very likely that he would be clumsier than ever—at least until his body adjusted to its new dimensions.
“I know you won’t, Sebastian,” Doug said kindly. It always warmed Emma’s heart to see how patient Doug was with Sebastian. No matter how irritating Sebastian could be, Doug never lost his temper with him. Doug had a maturity beyond his thirteen years, and it was particularly evident in his relationship with Sebastian. Sebastian was lucky to have a friend like Doug. Of course, when Emma thought about it, Doug was also fortunate to have a friend like Sebastian. Sebastian was extremely loyal and not at all bothered by the fact that Doug didn’t come from a rich family. There were some, namely Bobby Wilcox, who hated Doug for that very reason. Emma had always suspected that Bobby was also jealous of Doug because he was good looking and athletic. Last year at the October Fest, Doug’s relay team had beaten Bobby’s. Bobby had taken the defeat pretty hard and had vowed to get even. Things had just gotten worse from there. Emma hoped Doug would steer clear of Bobby once school started.
Emma was startled from her thoughts by a nudge from Martha. “Come on. I don’t want to spend all day in this library. It’s much too nice outside.” A glance out one of the windows on the second floor confirmed that Martha was right; it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The storms of the previous evening had gone and left behind a vibrantly green and freshly washed landscape.
Nodding her agreement, Emma headed down one of the many aisles. The narrow aisle was bordered on each side by bookcases that seemed to reach all the way to the ceiling. As she proceeded along the towering shelves, the aisle seemed to grow longer and narrower, and she began to feel as if the bookcases were closing in on her. Emma realized that she was experiencing a bout of claustrophobia. Moving more quickly now, she scanned both sides of shelves for the section marked Family History, her breath coming in short gasps. When she didn’t find it, she turned and hastily retraced her steps, eager to get out of the small confines. She was just coming out of her row when she heard Sebastian shout, “I found it! I found it!”
Forgetting her claustrophobia for the moment, Emma raced off in the direction of Sebastian’s voice. She found him three aisles to the right of the one she had just searched. Martha and Doug were already standing beside Sebastian.
“Where are they?” Emma asked when she reached the others.
“Right here!” Sebastian answered, proudly pointing to a shelf containing a row of books, all with red bindings. There were ten altogether; each was about the size of an eleven by fourteen picture and a couple of inches thick. They all just stood there for a moment—afraid to touch the journals for fear of damaging them.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Martha finally blurted out in exasperation. “We’re going to have to touch them if we want to find any clues.”
“She’s right,” Sebastian said with a nod, but still he waited. He wanted to see how the others were going to handle the precious journals before deciding if he should attempt it. Lately, he’d been clumsier than usual. His mom had told him that it was because of his recent growth spurt and that it would soon pass. He sure hoped so. What good was it to be tall if you couldn’t hang on to a basketball?
“I think we should each take one,” Martha suggested, causing Sebastian to frown in consternation. “The journals are probably arranged in chronological order, so we should probably start with the first four.” Martha looked around, and seeing that the others were still hesitant, she reached up and carefully pulled the first journal from the shelf.
When the book didn’t disintegrate in her hands as they had feared, the others followed suit. As soon as everyone had a journal, they made their way to one of the study tables on the second floor and eagerly began looking through them. As Martha had guessed, the books were arranged by date. Martha’s journal covered the first year of Rebecca’s marriage to Darius. In it, Rebecca described all of the traveling she and Darius did after leaving Ireland. Although, it was undoubtedly fascinating reading, it couldn’t contain the information they were looking for. The other sculptures were most likely hidden somewhere in the vicinity of the castle.
The journal Emma had looked a little more promising. In the first entry, Rebecca spoke of coming to a new land. Carefully, Emma turned the yellowed pages, noting the flowing lines of Rebecca’s neat and precise handwriting. Something on one of the pages caught Emma’s eye. Rebecca had drawn a picture of a daisy in the top right-hand corner. In the left-hand corner was the date April 21, 1712. Her curiosity piqued, Emma began to read the entry.
Darius and I had the most wonderful day. The grass is a rich green from the recent rains, and the dogwood and redbud trees are in bloom. Everything is coming alive, and we felt like we just had to be a part of it, so we decided to take a picnic lunch and ride up into the mountains. It was a clear day with the sun shining brightly overhead, and the sky as blue as I’ve ever seen it. A short distance up the mountain, we found a sparkling stream. The snow high up on the mountains has started to melt and fill the streambeds. The water was crystal clear and so cold it nearly took my breath away when I stooped to take a drink. We stopped for a while to water the horses and then continued up the mountain. A while later, we came to a meadow carpeted with a multitude of yellow daisies. I have never seen anything so beautiful, and I said as much to Darius. As we ate our lunch, Darius and I decided that the meadow was the perfect location for our new home.
After she had finished reading, Emma realized that Dinswood Castle stood in the very meadow Rebecca had been describing. Rebecca’s entry explained why the meadow was special to Darius and Rebecca and why Darius would have buried one of the sculptures in it. Quickly, she shared what she had discovered with the others.
Doug had found something of interest as well. As soon as Emma finished speaking, he began reading from a page in his journal.
Darius gave me the most wonderful gift today for our third anniversary—a beautiful marble sculpture of Ruth of the Bible. It was sculpted by the famous artist Luciano Marnatti. Darius said he chose Ruth because I am like her in many ways. Out of loyalty and love for her mother-in-law, Ruth left her family and everything she knew. She followed Naomi to her homeland and took care of her. Darius says that I demonstrated my love for him in much the same way. If he only knew how much I love him, he would realize that leaving my family and homeland was no sacrifice at all. I am touched, amazed, and perplexed all at the same time by the nature of his gift. Every time I try to share my faith with him, he refuses to listen, but he obviously has some knowledge of the Bible. How else could he know the story of Ruth? I think it would take a thousand lifetimes to fully understand my husband, but I’ll settle for one.
All was silent for a moment after Doug finished reading. It was sad to think that Rebecca hadn’t gotten the lifetime with Darius she had desired. At least they had uncovered the story behind the sculpture of Ruth.
They continued to look through the journals until Sebastian sighed loudly and looked pointedly at the clock. “Hey, it’s almost time for lunch,” he stated as if up until that moment he had been totally unaware of the time. The truth was that he had been getting more and more fidgety as the morning had passed, and for the last hour, he had been looking at the clock every few minutes. He wasn’t really all that hungry, but he was tired of sitting in the library. He wanted to spend at least part of the day outside enjoying the sunshine. Lunch was just an excuse to get them all out of the library for a while.
“I’m tired of sitting in here, too, Sebastian,” Martha said, not at all fooled by Sebastian’s ruse. “I think we could all use a break.”
Doug and Emma nodded their agreement. Then Doug said, “Why don’t we go outside after lunch and play some badminton. Dad and I set up a net on the front lawn a couple of weeks ago. We can spend some more time going through the journals tonight.”
“Sounds great!” Sebastian agreed enthusiastically.
“Sounds good to me too,” Emma chimed in as she closed the journal she’d been reading.
With everything decided, they quickly put the journals away and exited the library. As there were no other students currently in residence, Doug left the gate to Lord Dinswood’s personal collection and the door to the library unlocked. After a brief discussion in the hall, they split up to go to their dorm rooms and wash up for lunch, agreeing to meet in the dining hall in a few minutes.
Later when Emma and Martha entered the dining hall, they saw that Doug and Sebastian had made it there before them. As they were taking their seats on the bench opposite the boys, Sebastian drew their attention to the teachers’ table and said, “The new librarian’s here.”
Emma and Martha turned as one to get a look. Emma hoped he didn’t resemble Dracula like Mr. Hodges had. Her eyes traveled down the teachers’ table until she came to a face she didn’t recognize. Emma let out a little gasp in surprise. The only thing the old and new librarian had in common was that they were both men. The new librarian was a handsome younger man with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. Because he was sitting down, it was hard to tell how tall he was, but in the light blue polo shirt he was wearing, he looked lean and fit. Emma wouldn’t have picked him as a librarian in a million years; he just didn’t look the part. Of course, as school hadn’t started yet, he was dressed more casually and thus didn’t look much like a teacher either. When school started in a few weeks, Emma was sure that the new librarian would be attired in the dress shirt and tie worn by the rest of Dinswood’s male faculty. Emma heard Martha’s indrawn breath a second later. Apparently, she was just as surprised as Emma at the new librarian’s appearance.
“What’s his name?” Martha asked, her admiration obvious.
“Good grief, Martha. He’s an old man,” Sebastian said in disgust.
“I didn’t say I wanted to date him. I simply asked his name.”
“His name’s Mr. Criderman,” Doug answered before Sebastian could reply.
It didn’t take a genius to see that Sebastian was experiencing a bit of jealousy. Emma decided to see if she could elicit a similar response from Doug. “How old is he?” she all but gushed. She was rewarded by a frown from Doug before he responded.
“I don’t really know, but he must be in his thirties.” This was stated in a tone that suggested that someone in their thirties was ancient.
Emma gave Martha a quick glance and, when she was sure the boys weren’t looking, a conspiratorial wink. Catching on to what Emma was doing, Martha grinned and said, “Oh, he’s really young then.”
“Is he married?” Emma asked eagerly, trying her best not to laugh.
Both boys frowned this time. Doug was just trying to formulate a suitable response when Emma couldn’t stand it any longer. She burst out laughing and was quickly joined by Martha. Realizing that the girls had just been having fun with them, the boys’ frowns deepened.
“Very funny!” Sebastian said sourly.
“Honestly, Sebastian, did you really think I’d be interested in a teacher? He’s probably more than twice my age,” Martha said once she was able to talk again.
Sebastian continued to look angry but wisely said nothing. Doug, on the other hand, was trying to figure out a way to get even. It wasn’t long until an idea came to him. Trying to hide his own smile now, he looked directly at Emma and said in a serious tone, “Emma, I can introduce you right now if you’d like to meet him. I’m sure he won’t mind us interrupting his lunch when I tell him how eager you are to meet him. Then you can ask him if he’s married yourself.” Before Emma could reply, Doug stood up like he was going to go over to Mr. Criderman.
Emma stopped laughing abruptly and said more loudly than she’d intended, “Don’t you dare! I was just kidding.”
“Okay, if you’re sure you don’t want to meet him,” Doug said, slowly taking his seat.
Emma didn’t relax until Doug was completely seated. Things had not gone as she had planned, but she had learned a valuable lesson. Douglas Harwood was not someone to toy with.
The rest of lunch was accomplished with little conversation. They quickly downed their meal of pizza and salad and headed outdoors for some fresh air. When they stepped outside the castle, Emma felt as if she had stepped into a sauna. The temperature had risen to the upper eighties, and the humidity was equally high. The air seemed suffocating and close, especially after the conditioned air of the castle.
“Wow, it’s hot out here!” Sebastian exclaimed.
“It sure is,” Doug agreed. “Do you guys still want to play badminton?”
Emma had to admit that she no longer felt like playing badminton or any other game that required physical exertion. The afternoon heat seemed to have sapped all of her strength. She looked over at Martha who was already shaking her head in the negative. “I don’t. It’s too hot out here.”
“What are we gonna do then?” Sebastian whined. “I don’t want to sit in that dusty old library all afternoon.”
“Stop whining, Sebastian,” Martha said with a groan. “None of the rest of us wants to sit in the library either.”
“Why don’t we go swimming?” Doug asked, surprising them all.
“Where are we going to go swimming?” Sebastian asked. “In case you hadn’t noticed, the pool’s not done yet.”
Patiently, Doug explained. “We can go swimming in the stream. I know where there are some pretty good swimming holes.”
Doug was referring to the stream that ran along the west side of the castle. In the spring, it filled to overflowing as the snows at the higher elevations melted, but at this time of year, the water flow would be at its lowest. There were still, however, areas where the stream would be plenty deep. Last year, when they’d been looking for the treasure, Sebastian had nearly fallen in such a spot.
“Sounds great, but we’re not allowed off school grounds unless a teacher goes with us,” Martha reminded Doug.
“I’m sure Dad will okay it if I ask him,” Doug replied. Before anyone could say anything else, he turned and reentered the castle.
A swim certainly sounded good to Emma. She had already begun to perspire just standing there on the castle steps. Her only concern was that she hadn’t thought to bring a bathing suit. There had never been a need for one until today. “Do you have a bathing suit?” she asked Martha.
Martha shook her head in the negative. “No. I’m just going to wear my shorts and a sleeveless shirt.”
“I guess that will have to do,” Emma replied.
Before long, Doug reappeared. “Dad said it was okay. Why don’t you guys go change, and we’ll meet back here in a few minutes.”
His good humor restored at the thought of a swim, Sebastian grinned happily and held the door for everyone as they entered the castle. “Can you swim?” he asked Martha as she passed him.
“Of course I can swim,” Martha replied quickly.
“How about you, Emma?” Doug thought to ask.
“Yeah,” Emma said nodding. “I took some free lessons from the YWCA a couple of summers ago.”
“Good.” Doug knew that Sebastian could swim from past experience. Doug was a good swimmer as well. His dad had insisted that he learn how to swim when he was just a boy, and last summer on vacation in the Bahamas, he and his dad had even done some scuba diving. Doug loved the water and just wished there were more opportunities for swimming and diving around the academy. Thanks to the treasure Lord Dinswood had graciously donated, they would be doing a lot of swimming next year when the pool was completed.
The afternoon went much too quickly as far as Emma was concerned. True to his word, Doug led them to several spots along the stream that were deep enough for swimming. They would walk along the gravel beds that flanked both sides of the stream for a while and then swim when they got hot. The water was refreshingly cool and crystal clear. Other than the oppressive heat, it was a beautiful day. The sun sparkled brightly off the surface of the water as it bumped and bubbled over the stream’s gravel bottom on its way to the river. Tall trees lined both sides of the stream bank and, in some places, formed a canopy over the water. Every now and then, the foursome would stop to rest in one of these shady areas and drink some of the bottled water they’d brought along.
All too soon, it was time to return to the castle and get cleaned up for supper. They didn’t have time to stop and swim on the way back, so by the time they reached the castle, they were miserably hot once again.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m looking forward to a nice cold shower,” Sebastian said as they climbed the steps to the castle’s main entrance.
The others simply nodded their agreement. They were too hot and tired to summon up the energy required for a reply.
Later in the dining hall, there was little conversation as the four of them hungrily downed their supper of meatloaf, green beans, and mashed potatoes. When they had each eaten their fill, they disposed of their trays. Emma assumed that they would now return to the library to continue looking through Rebecca’s journals, but Sebastian had other ideas.
“Do we really have to go back to the library now?” he asked of the group in general. “I hate to waste daylight.”
“What’d you have in mind?” Doug asked.
“I was thinking we could play a little badminton. The net’s in the shade now, and it’s cooled down a little bit.”
Doug thought this over for a moment and then turned to the girls. “Well, what do you think? We can play for a while and then go to the library after it gets dark.”
Emma and Martha nodded their agreement to the plan, so after Doug had retrieved rackets and a couple of birdies from the storage closet, they headed outside. Although, as Sebastian had predicted it was cooler outside than it had been that afternoon, it was still plenty warm. Several games later, hot and thirsty, they returned to the castle to get some water and cool off. They sat in the lounge and sipped their water for a while. When they felt sufficiently cooled and hydrated, they headed to the library. Emma began to feel a little guilty. Lord Dinswood had brought them all back to the academy early to help find the other sculptures, and they had spent the majority of the day entertaining themselves outside. The others must have been feeling the same way because once they’d retrieved the journals they’d been looking through that morning, there was little conversation as they sat down at one of the study tables and began to read with renewed focus and determination.
