The Golden Circlet Read online

  She pushed the regret away as Kes said, ‘Arhans told us you were coming. Mother’s waiting in the cove. Did you go to the aquarium?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Lizzy. ‘Tullor’s there, and it’s all right — he’s in a glass tank and he can’t possibly escape.’

  Arhans made a chittering sound that seemed to express satisfaction, and Kes blew out his breath. ‘I’m glad to hear that! Mother will be too. Come on, let’s go to her. She’s longing to see you.’

  The two dolphins kept pace beside the twins as they swam towards the cliffs. The inlet was hard to spot at first, but Kes led the way unerringly to a narrow opening between rocks, and they swam through and into the cove.

  Morvyr was waiting for them, seated on a rock with her mass of golden hair flowing over her shoulders. Her face lit when she saw Lizzy, and she hugged her tightly. ‘Lizzy! Oh, how wonderful to see you!’ Lizzy hugged her back and she went on eagerly, ‘And your father – how is he?’

  ‘He’s gone to sea with Mr Treleaven,’ Lizzy told her. ‘I haven’t heard from him yet, but he should be back in another day or two.’ She settled on the rock beside Morvyr, and climbed out of the water to join them. ‘How are things here? Have you got any news?’

  ‘No,’ said Morvyr. ‘Everything’s fine.’

  ‘Sort of,’ Kes added.

  Lizzy turned and looked at him curiously. ‘Sort of? What do you mean? What’s wrong?’

  Kes hesitated, nibbling at his own lower lip. Then he said, ‘Nothing’s wrong. But that’s what’s bothering me. Everything’s a bit too right.’

  Lizzy looked blank and he continued, ‘Mother and I are being very careful, in case Taran tries to kidnap us again to make Father give her the black pearl. That’s why the dolphins are always on guard and we don’t go anywhere without them to protect us. But it seems like there’s nothing to protect us from. No one’s heard anything about Taran since Tullor was caught, and none of her servants are around, either. It’s all gone totally quiet.’

  Lizzy began to see what he was getting at. ‘And you don’t trust it?’ she asked.

  ‘Too right, I don’t! I think she’s up to something. Trouble is, I don’t know what.’

  Lizzy looked questioningly at Morvyr, who nodded. ‘I agree with Kes, and so do the dolphins.’ Her face was thoughtful. ‘It’s almost as if Taran has admitted defeat, but I know her better than that. She wants the black pearl, and she’ll do anything to get it. Absolutely anything.’

  ‘So you think she’s got some new plan that she’s working on, and that’s why she’s leaving you alone?’

  ‘Yes. But as Kes said, we don’t know what.’

  ‘Well, at least she hasn’t got Tullor to help her any more,’ Lizzy said, trying to be reassuring. ‘I saw him yesterday at the Sealife Centre. He’s in a tank, and there’s no way he can get out. And he was the worst of her henchmen, wasn’t he?’

  ‘Of course!’ said Kes. ‘I hadn’t thought of that. Tullor did all her dirty work for her, didn’t he? She used her magic to give him special powers. Perhaps that’s why she’s so quiet – she relied on him too much, and now she’s stuck without him!’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Morvyr mused. ‘Certainly her other servants are nowhere near as dangerous as Tullor was. But there could be another reason, and that’s what worries me.’ The twins looked at her curiously, and she lowered her voice and whispered, ‘Karwynna.’

  There was a sharp silence as Lizzy and Kes realized what she was getting at. This was the thing Lizzy had not told Rose, the secret that was known only to her sea family and the dolphins. Karwynna was the daughter of the old mermaid Queen, Kara, and thus the true heir to her crown. When Taran killed Kara and usurped the throne, Karwynna had disappeared, and for years the undersea people had believed she, too, must be dead. But when Morvyr had been held hostage in Taran’s lair she had overheard Taran boasting to Tullor, and realized that Karwynna was still alive. Taran was holding her prisoner, but Morvyr did not know where. And that could be dangerous.

  Morvyr voiced what they were all thinking. ‘If Taran can’t use us to get hold of the black pearl,’ she said, ‘then maybe she will try to use Karwynna.’

  ‘You mean, bargain her in exchange for the pearl?’ Lizzy’s face had paled. ‘Oh, no… what would we do?’

  ‘Karwynna is our rightful Queen.’ Morvyr spread her hands helplessly. ‘If it would save Karwynna’s life, what could we do except give Taran the pearl?’

  ‘But, Mother, would it save her?’ Kes asked urgently. ‘If Taran had the black pearl, her crown would be complete and she’d have total power! She wouldn’t keep her side of the bargain, and there’d be nothing anyone could do about it!’

  There was silence again as they all thought bleakly about what Kes had said. Then at last Morvyr spoke.

  ‘Kes, my son, I’m afraid that what you say is true. Taran would not set Karwynna free. Why should she? She would have everything she ever wanted.’

  ‘Then whatever happens, we have to make sure that she doesn’t get the black pearl!’ said Lizzy fiercely.

  ‘You’re right, Lizzy. So we must wait for your father to return, and when he does, we must all meet again and decide what to do.’

  Arhans whistled forceful agreement, and Lizzy said uneasily, ‘But what can we do?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Morvyr shivered. ‘But there must be a way to outwit her. We mustn’t let her win. We mustn’t!’

  They talked for a while longer before Lizzy said that she ought to get back to the beach in case anyone went looking for her. She promised Morvyr that as soon as the Regard, Mr Treleaven’s trawler, came home, she would contact Jack and arrange for them all to meet again.

  Arhans was ready to escort her to shore, and Morvyr gave Kes permission to go too. As they swam back, Lizzy was thinking about Taran and what she might be planning. And then she remembered something.

  ‘Kes …’ She stopped, treading water and back-finning with her hands to stay in place. ‘I didn’t tell you before, but – something a bit strange happened at the aquarium.’

  ‘Oh?’ Kes frowned. ‘What?’

  She told him about the dizzy spell Rose had had while she was looking at Tullor. ‘Mum and Dad thought it was because of the weird light in there, and the enclosed space and that sort of thing. But… well, it isn’t like Rose to do that.’

  Kes considered, while Arhans swam in lazy circles around them. Then he said, ‘I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Like your parents said: weird light, and all closed in—’ He shuddered. ‘I’d hate that. It must be really horrible, and I’m not surprised Rose went funny.’

  ‘Then you don’t think Tullor might have had anything to do with it?’

  He shook his head. ‘Nah. How could he have done?’

  Lizzy was relieved. She hadn’t really thought, herself, that there was anything suspicious about it. But all the same it was reassuring to know that Kes agreed.

  The beach was soon in sight. Kes didn’t want to come too close to shore in case anyone saw him in his merboy form, so he and Lizzy said goodbye and he headed back for the cove with Arhans. Lizzy picked a quiet spot to wade out of the sea – she didn’t want the lifeguards to see her – and was glad to find that Rose was nowhere around. However, she discovered her beach bag on a rock clear of the tide, and changed her wetsuit for shorts and T-shirt before walking slowly home.

  She wasn’t worried about the incident at the Sealife Centre. It was just one of those things, she was sure. But something else was bothering her. Rose had started to ask more questions than usual. Mostly they were just trivial things, like today when she had wanted to know exactly where Lizzy was meeting Kes and Morvyr. But it didn’t seem quite natural.

  Or was she imagining it? Lizzy didn’t know. But she felt slightly uneasy, and decided that it might be a good idea to take more notice of what Rose said or did. Just in case.

  Chapter Four

  There was no doubt about it, Lizzy soon realized: the intensity of Rose’s sudd
en interest wasn’t quite natural. OK, it was understandable that she should want to know what was happening, but this was getting crazy. She was asking so many questions. And she no longer became huffy or annoyed when Lizzy refused to tell her something. Instead, she just let the subject drop for a while, then asked again in a slightly different way. She was very, very persistent.

  Two days later the Regard was still not back, and Lizzy was growing impatient. She needed to talk to Jack and she wanted to ask his advice. Kes had told her not to worry about Rose, but Lizzy knew her sister very well, and she was convinced there was more to this than met the eye.

  Then, for no apparent reason, Rose mentioned the Isles of Scilly.

  ‘I’d really love to go there,’ she remarked when the family were all together that evening. ‘It’s supposed to be a cool place. There are helicopter day trips, or you can go on the ferry.’

  ‘You’d get seasick,’ said Mum. ‘Anyway, the islands probably aren’t much different to Cornwall. They’re only about thirty miles from Land’s End, after all.’

  ‘What’s with the sudden interest, anyway?’ Dad asked.

  Rose shrugged carelessly. ‘Oh, I was just reading something about it. You know.’

  Lizzy said nothing. But she noticed that Rose just happened to mention the islands several more times that evening. There was something else too. Someone had been moving her shell. She knew because she was supposed to tidy her own room. Tidying included dusting, but Lizzy was so eager to get the chore out of the way and do something more interesting that she usually ‘forgot’. As a result, her shelves gathered a fine film of dust before she guiltily got round to cleaning them. So it was easy to see the tell-tale clean patches that showed where the shell had been picked up and then put down again in a slightly different place.

  If Mum had moved the shell, she would have dusted the shelf and ticked Lizzy off for not doing it herself. So it had to be Rose. But why? Lizzy had never told her how she could use the shell to make contact with the undersea world. So what could Rose possibly want with it? It was baffling.

  She was still puzzling over the mystery when, at breakfast next morning, Dad began grumbling that he needed a break.

  ‘Poor old Dad.’ Rose grinned at him. ‘All that paperwork for the new college year getting to you, is it? Now you know what it’s like for us at school! Doesn’t he, Lizzy?’

  ‘Mmm?’ Lizzy wasn’t really listening.

  ‘Wake up, dreamy! Dad just said he’s fed up with work, so I said—’

  Mum interrupted. ‘Well, I don’t see why he shouldn’t have a break. In fact, why we all shouldn’t. We’ve got enough time before the new term starts, and I could arrange a few days off.’ She looked questioningly at Mr Baxter. ‘What do you reckon? Shall we book ourselves a last-minute holiday somewhere?’

  Horrified, Lizzy was about to protest, but before she could say anything Rose jumped in.

  ‘That’d be brilliant!’ she enthused. ‘And I know the perfect place – the Isles of Scilly!’

  Lizzy froze with her mouth open. Mum and Dad were both looking vaguely interested, and Rose, her eyes alight, went on. ‘It’s ideal, because it’s not far away, and we wouldn’t have to bother about foreign currency or passports; we could just pack some stuff and get on the ferry! Oh, let’s go there!’

  ‘Hang on, hang on!’ said Dad. ‘We don’t know if we’re going anywhere yet!’

  ‘You just said—’

  ‘I know I did, and it’d be great. But wouldn’t you rather pick somewhere more exciting? A city break, maybe; Paris or—’

  Rose shook her head. ‘Who wants to go to Paris in August? It’d be boiling! I’d rather be by the sea.’

  ‘You’re by the sea here,’ Mum pointed out. ‘The Isles of Scilly would be more of the same. And there isn’t much to do there; no big towns or shops.’

  ‘I don’t care,’ said Rose. ‘I vote for Scilly!’

  Mum looked at Dad, who shrugged. ‘If Rose is that keen, why not?’ he said cheerfully. ‘So long as I don’t have to do any work, I don’t mind where we go.’

  ‘It’s still high season, remember,’ said Mum. ‘We don’t know if we’ll be able to get in anywhere at such short notice.’

  Rose wasn’t put off. ‘There must be somewhere,’ she said eagerly. ‘Look, I’ve got some brochures in my room. I’ll get them and we can look on the Internet and see what’s available.’

  Without waiting for an answer she ran out and the others heard her pounding upstairs.

  Dad raised his eyebrows. ‘I’ve never seen Rose so keen!’

  ‘Well, if it’s all right with you, it’s fine with me,’ said Mum. ‘The only thing is, no one’s asked Lizzy what she thinks.’ She looked at Lizzy. ‘Would you like to have a few days on the Isles of Scilly, Lizzy?’

  Lizzy’s pulse was beating fast. Rose was up to something – she was certain of it. And there was a connection with the islands.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I’d love to.’

  Astonishingly, by lunchtime it was all arranged. Rose had come rushing downstairs again with a sheaf of brochures that she must have picked up at the local Tourist Information offi ce, and it only took a short search on the Internet and a few phone calls to find a self-catering cottage that had just had a last-minute cancellation. Another phone call booked their places on the Scillonian ferry for the coming Thursday, and that was that.

  The cottage was on St Agnes, the smallest of the five inhabited islands. Studying a map that had come with her brochures, Rose said that there were lots of beaches and a separate small island that you could reach by a sandy causeway at low tide. ‘It’s really quiet,’ she said enthusiastically. ‘Perfect!’

  To call a quiet place ‘perfect’ was so unlike Rose that Lizzy’s suspicion deepened. Perfect for what? she wondered. What was going on in Rose’s mind? If only Jack would come back! She needed to tell him about this.

  Halfway through the afternoon Lizzy’s mobile rang and, when she looked at the screen and saw who was calling, her heart gave a jump.

  ‘Jack!’ There was relief and delight in her voice. ‘Where are you?’

  ‘We’ve just put in to port,’ said Jack. ‘How’s things?’

  ‘Fine – well, that is, except …’ But it was impossible to explain over the phone, when her family might overhear. ‘Could I meet you at the harbour?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure, no problem. Give us an hour or so to unload our catch and get the boat sorted, and I’ll be free.’

  ‘Brilliant!’

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Kes turns up as well.’ Jack laughed. ‘Arhans escorted us home, and I think she’s gone to tell him.’

  ‘That’s even better! OK, see you soon.’

  Lizzy couldn’t bear to wait a whole hour and set off for the harbour too early. She was so wrapped up in working out what she needed to tell Jack and how she would say it that she had gone several hundred metres down the road before she realized she had left her purse at home. She wanted something from one of the local shops… Well, she had lots of time before Jack would be finished on the Regard. If she went back and got the purse, her timing should be just right.

  She hurried back home and let herself in. Mum and Dad were both out, but as Lizzy closed the front door she heard Rose’s voice. It was coming from upstairs, and Lizzy’s first thought was that Rose was talking to a friend on her mobile. But then, as she was about to rush noisily up the stairs, Lizzy paused. Who was Rose talking to? There was something strange about her voice. She sounded detached, almost dreamy. People didn’t talk to their friends like that.

  Suddenly Lizzy’s misgivings came back and, instead of running, she crept upstairs on silent feet and stopped on the landing. She could hear Rose more clearly now. And she wasn’t in her own room. She was in Lizzy’s.

  A cold, prickling feeling washed over Lizzy and made her shiver. She tiptoed along the landing and stopped again just before she reached her room. Rose had stopped talking, and Lizzy cautiously leane
d forward until she could peer round the half-open door.

  Rose was standing by the window. She had her back to Lizzy and she was holding the shell to her ear. Her head was on one side, as if she were listening intently, and as Lizzy watched she said, ‘Yes… St Agnes. We’re going on Thursday… that’s in three days.’ She still sounded dreamy, and there was a pause as she listened again. ‘Yes. Yes, I will. I promise. I’ll be there… Yes, I’ll be very careful.’

  She started to lower the shell, and hastily Lizzy backed away. She returned to the stairs, went halfway down, then came up again making as much noise as usual. By the time she reached the top, Rose was on the landing as though she had just emerged from her own room.

  ‘Forgot my purse!’ Lizzy smiled at her, hoping it looked convincing.

  ‘Oh, right.’ Rose headed for the staircase. By the time Lizzy had retrieved her purse she was in the kitchen, apparently busy and humming a tune to herself.

  ‘See you later,’ Lizzy said.

  Rose did not ask where she was going. She just said vaguely, ‘What? Oh – yeah, sure. Have fun,’ and started humming again.

  Lizzy went out into the street. She had proof now. Rose must have spied on her, and had worked out that the shell was a way of communicating with her friends in the sea. But who was she talking to just now? Not Kes or the dolphins, that was for sure. Who, then?

  An awful thought began to dawn in Lizzy’s mind. Could Rose’s mysterious contact be Taran? She told herself that the idea was totally crazy – the mermaid Queen couldn’t possibly have found a way of reaching Rose. She didn’t have any spies on land.

  Except one, said a silent inner voice.