The Poison Plot

by Frances Watts

  Tommy turned to Lil in despair. ‘What do we do now?’ she asked. She kicked a flagstone in frustration. ‘If only I was still a kitchen girl,’ she muttered. ‘Then I could have found a reason to enter the banqueting hall.’ She thought about this for a minute. ‘It’s worth a try,’ she declared.

  Tommy ran through the kitchen door. ‘Mrs Moon,’ she said, ‘I have to get into the banqueting hall to speak to Sir Benedict. It’s urgent!’

  The cook was ladling soup into large wooden bowls. ‘You leave Sir Benedict alone, Thomasina. He’s a very important man.’

  ‘Please, Mrs Moon,’ Tommy begged. ‘It’s a matter of life and death.’

  Something in her voice must have convinced the cook, because she stopped what she was doing and looked Tommy in the eye.

  ‘Are you sure about that, Thomasina?’ she asked.

  Tommy nodded. ‘The fate of Flamant Castle depends on me getting a message to Sir Benedict.’

  ‘Very well,’ Mrs Moon decided. ‘When the girls are serving the soup, you can take Sir Benedict’s bowl.’ She looked Tommy up and down. ‘But you can’t go into the banqueting hall dressed like that.’

  Tommy never would have thought she’d be glad to exchange her tunic and leggings for her old kitchen-girl dress, but tonight she was glad to put the dress on. She presented herself for Mrs Moon’s inspection.

  ‘Dear me, haven’t you mended that tear in your dress yet?’ The cook clucked her tongue then untied her own apron and slipped it over Tommy’s head. It reached almost to Tommy’s ankles, but at least it covered her torn dress. ‘That’ll have to do,’ said Mrs Moon. ‘Now go join the other girls.’

  The banqueting hall was noisy and crowded when Tommy entered, carrying a bowl of soup. With four hundred knights crammed around dozens of tables, it was hard to recognise anyone. She just hoped her plan had worked and that Sir Benedict would be able to find a knight with an orange nose. The physician had said that the orange would fade after a couple of days.

  She scanned the room until she saw who she was looking for, then squeezed between the tables to where Sir Benedict sat.

  ‘Your soup, sir.’ Tommy put the steaming bowl down in front of the knight.

  He looked at her in surprise. ‘Tommy? What are you doing dressed as a serving girl?’

  ‘Sir, there’s a plot to poison Sir Walter,’ Tommy whispered urgently. ‘You have to stop it.’

  If Sir Benedict was surprised, he didn’t show it. ‘Meet me in the courtyard in five minutes,’ he said calmly.

  ‘Yes, sir.’ Tommy raced back to the kitchen, pausing just long enough to return the cook’s apron. ‘Thank you, Mrs Moon,’ she called over her shoulder. She stopped in her quarters to pull off her dress and slip back into her tunic and leggings, then she hurried out into the courtyard.

  She sat with Lil on the low wall, and when Sir Benedict joined them a few minutes later Tommy and the cat quickly outlined both the plot and Tommy’s plan.

  ‘So I look for the fellow with the orange nose?’ Sir Benedict confirmed. ‘Excellent plan, Tommy. Now here’s what we’re going to do when I find him …’

  CHAPTER 8

  TOMMY STOOD IN the sword chamber, clutching Jasper Swann in one hand. She was so nervous that her hand was shaking, but Jasper said, ‘Relax, Sword Girl. You’ll be fine.’

  His quiet voice gave her confidence. When Sir Benedict entered the sword chamber ten minutes later, Tommy was ready.

  ‘So kind of you to agree to a private chat,’ Sir Benedict was saying. ‘You’ve met our Keeper of the Blades before, I think?’ he asked Sir Blockhead.

  The knight tilted his head to one side, as if he recognised Tommy but couldn’t quite remember where he had seen her before. Then his hand flew to his nose. ‘You’re the girl with the cure,’ he said. ‘You fixed my cold, but I can’t get rid of the orange stain.’

  ‘That was the idea,’ Tommy said. With a steady hand, she raised her sword so it was level with Sir Blockhead’s belly.

  ‘What are you doing?’ the knight blustered. ‘Really, Sir Benedict, I must protest—’

  ‘Hold your tongue,’ Sir Benedict ordered. He searched the knight’s pockets. ‘Aha!’ He withdrew a pill. ‘Is this the pill you were going to use to poison Sir Walter?’

  Sir Blockhead turned pale. ‘It wasn’t my idea!’ he cried. ‘It was Sir Silas, from Malice Castle.’

  ‘And where is Sir Silas hiding?’ Sir Benedict demanded.

  ‘In the bushes by the western wall of the castle,’ Sir Blockhead gulped.

  ‘Tommy, watch him,’ Sir Benedict ordered. ‘If he tries anything, you know what to do.’

  Tommy tightened her grip on her sword. ‘Yes, Sir Benedict,’ she said.

  And then Tommy was left alone with the culprit.

  The knight looked from Tommy to her sword and back again. ‘You’re just a girl,’ he sneered. ‘What would you know about handling a sword?’ He strode towards the door.

  Tommy’s heart was racing, but she didn’t falter. ‘Get back!’ she said, thrusting her blade at him.

  Sir Blockhead retreated, muttering angrily, only to spin around suddenly and rush at Tommy.

  ‘Out of my way, girl,’ he cried. ‘I’m warning you!’

  As he drew near, Tommy gripped the sword tight and swung it with all her might.

  With a yelp, Sir Blockhead leaped back, only narrowly avoiding the slash of sharpened steel. ‘You could have hurt me!’ he protested.

  He moved off to sulk in the corner while Tommy patrolled the doorway, wishing Sir Benedict would hurry up.

  ‘Well done, Sword Girl,’ she heard someone say in a low voice. It was Jasper.

  ‘Thanks,’ she whispered back.

  When at last Sir Benedict returned, he was accompanied by a very grumpy-looking Sir Silas, and Sir Hugh, another of Flamant Castle’s knights. Sir Hugh had the point of his sword pressed into Sir Silas’s back.

  Sir Silas and the knights of Flamant Castle were followed into the sword chamber by Sir Walter, Sir Percy and two of the knights from Roses Castle.

  Sir Percy stepped forward and glared at the traitor. ‘You’re in big trouble, Blockhead,’ he said, then boffed the cowering knight on the head. ‘Take him back to Roses Castle and throw him in the dungeon,’ he instructed his men.

  ‘And you can throw Sir Silas into our own dungeon, Sir Hugh,’ Sir Walter added.

  ‘It’s a good thing Sir Benedict uncovered the plot,’ Sir Percy said to Sir Walter as the knights and their captives left the room. ‘Or we might have been at war by sunrise tomorrow. But now I intend to send a message to Sir Malcolm the Mean: if he tries to invade Flamant Castle, he’ll have to fight the knights of Roses Castle too.’

  When Sir Percy had left the sword chamber, Sir Benedict turned to Sir Walter. ‘Actually, sir,’ he said, ‘it wasn’t me who uncovered the plot. It was Tommy.’ He put his hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

  ‘Is that right?’ said Sir Walter. ‘Well, well, Sword Girl, you certainly deserve a reward for your excellent efforts. What shall it be?’

  Tommy hesitated. Should she reveal her secret dream? She took a deep breath and said, ‘When I’m old enough, sir, I would like to become a squire and train to be a knight.’

  Sir Walter raised his eyebrows. ‘A girl squire, eh? Hmm. It’s not the normal way of things. But you keep up the good work, Sword Girl, and we’ll see what we can do. Now, Sir Benedict, let’s return to the banquet before all the venison pies are gone.’

  Sir Benedict winked at Tommy, and followed Sir Walter from the room.

  Although she was exhausted and longing for bed, Tommy remained behind to polish Jasper Swann.

  Tommy had just replaced Jasper in the rack alongside the other Old Wrecks when she heard a cough. She turned to see a serving girl almost staggering under the weight of an enormous tray.

  ‘Excuse me, miss,’ said the girl. ‘I’ve come from the banquet hall. Sir Benedict told me to bring this tray to the sword girl, with his compliments.�
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  ‘For … for me?’ Tommy sat on the floor and the serving girl placed the tray in front of her. ‘Thank you,’ she called as the girl slipped from the room.

  Tommy gazed at the tray in wonder. She saw a whole venison pie on one plate, and a huge wedge of cheese on another. There was a big slice of bread pudding, studded with raisins and dates. There was an apple tart smelling of cinnamon, and a steaming mug of hot apple cider. A bowl of plums stewed in rosewater sat next to a dish of strawberries and cream. There was another dish filled only with cream alongside a plate of sardines. These, Tommy guessed, were for Lil.

  As Lil picked daintily at the fish, Tommy pushed her fork through the crust of the venison pie to release a delicious aroma of nutmeg and cloves. ‘Yum!’ she exclaimed. ‘Wasn’t it nice of Sir Benedict to think of us?’

  Lil lifted her head from her dish. ‘It’s because you’re a hero, Tommy.’

  Nursie spoke up. ‘Did you hear what Sir Walter said? He might let our sword girl become a squire! I told you she’d be the first-ever girl squire.’ She cackled with glee. ‘Didn’t I tell you, Bevan Brumm?’

  ‘You were not wrong,’ said Bevan Brumm in a dignified voice. ‘And it is an honour richly deserved.’

  ‘An honour richly deserved?’ said Nursie.

  ‘What does that mean when it’s at home?’

  Jasper Swann spoke up. ‘I think Bevan Brumm means that Tommy is the best sword girl ever.’

  And on that they all agreed.

  CHAPTER 1

  ‘THOMASINA?’

  Tommy ignored the voice calling her. ‘Go, Sir Benedict!’ she whispered.

  ‘Thomasina!’

  Tommy knew it would be Mrs Moon, the cook, angry because she wasn’t standing at the long table peeling mountains of potatoes with the other kitchen girls. Instead, Tommy was standing at the kitchen doorway, watching the knights practising in the great courtyard.

  Clank, clank. The courtyard rang with the sound of sword against armour.

  Sir Benedict and another knight, Sir Hugh, were teaching the squires how to fight.

  ‘Now I thrust,’ Sir Benedict called. He lunged forward with his sword.

  Sir Hugh then drove his sword at Sir Benedict.

  ‘Now I parry,’ Sir Benedict explained, as he blocked the blow with his own sword.

  The squires, who were boys training to be knights, copied Sir Benedict’s moves with their wooden practice swords. So did Tommy, with the small paring knife she was meant to be using on the potatoes.

  ‘Hooray!’ Tommy cheered softly as Sir Benedict, Flamant Castle’s bravest knight, raised his sword to signal the end of practice. The sun glinted off the steel blade, and for a moment Tommy imagined that she was the one holding her sword aloft. That she was the castle’s most daring knight, its most skilled sword fighter.

  ‘Ouch!’ Tommy cried, as a hand grasped her ear and twisted it hard.

  ‘So there you are, Thomasina,’ Mrs Moon scolded. ‘I should have known you’d be watching the knights again. You’re meant to be peeling potatoes, not dreaming in doorways.’

  ‘Sorry, Mrs Moon,’ Tommy murmured. She turned to follow the cook back into the gloomy kitchen with its smoke-blackened stone walls.

  But Mrs Moon blocked her way. ‘Not so fast, girl. I’ve got another job for you. Since you clearly prefer the courtyard to the kitchen, you can sweep it.’ She thrust a broom at Tommy.

  Tommy gaped at the cook in astonishment. ‘Sweep the whole courtyard? But the courtyard is huge! It will take me forever!’

  ‘You’d best get started then,’ Mrs Moon said.

  With a sigh, Tommy took the broom. As the knights led the squires away, she trudged across the flagstones to the far side of the courtyard. The castle walls and towers reared high above her, and she could just see the guards keeping lookout from the battlements.

  ‘I bet those guards don’t care whether the courtyard is dusty,’ Tommy grumbled to herself as she began to sweep. ‘And I bet the knights don’t either. They’re worried about more important things, like keeping Sir Walter’s castle and lands safe.’ Flamant Castle belonged to Sir Walter the Bald and his wife, Lady Beatrix the Bored.

  Tommy was so busy grumbling that she didn’t notice what was going on nearby until she heard an indignant yowl.

  Looking up, she saw a stocky boy with bright red hair. Tommy had seen him before, though she had never spoken to him. He was one of the boys who worked in the armoury, where all the weapons and armour were repaired and stored.

  ‘Don’t know what he’s got to yowl about,’ Tommy muttered. ‘He gets to spend all day with the swords and bows while I’m scrubbing pots in the scullery and chopping vegetables in the kitchen.’

  Her thoughts were interrupted by another yowl, and then a low hiss.

  Tommy pushed her mop of hair out of her eyes and looked at the boy again. This time she noticed that he was holding one of the wooden practice swords. He was jabbing the tip of the sword at a black and white cat he’d trapped in a corner, and it was the cat who was yowling.

  ‘Hey!’ Tommy called. ‘You leave that cat alone.’

  The red-haired boy turned around. ‘Who’s going to make me?’ he sneered. ‘You?’ He jabbed the cat again.

  This time the cat mewed pitifully and Tommy, who loved animals, ran towards the pair.

  ‘Stop!’ she cried. ‘You’re hurting it.’

  The boy spun around and pointed the sword at Tommy. ‘Who are you?’ he demanded.

  ‘I’m – I’m Tommy. I work in the kitchen.’

  ‘A kitchen girl?’ said the boy. He laughed rudely. ‘Well I don’t take orders from kitchen girls – I’m Keeper of the Bows. I’m in charge of all the castle’s crossbows and longbows. What are you in charge of?’ His gaze fell on the broom

  Tommy was still holding in one hand. ‘Ha! I know – you’re Keeper of the Brooms!’ He snorted with laughter at his own joke, then said, ‘Go away, kitchen girl, I’m practising my sword fighting.’

  He turned and lunged towards the cat. Tommy sprang forward and with her free hand grabbed the hem of his tunic.

  With an angry shout the boy pushed Tommy away roughly. ‘Would you rather I practise on you?’ he said.

  ‘At least it would be a fair fight,’ Tommy snapped.

  ‘A fair fight?’ scoffed the boy. ‘How dare you presume to be my equal! Get lost, kitchen girl.’ And then he lifted his sword above his head and spun on his heel.

  As the wooden blade tore through the air towards the cat cowering against the stones, Tommy leaped forward. Flinging herself between the boy and the cat, she halted the sword’s arc with the broomstick.

  ‘I warned you!’ he snarled, before swinging his arm back and driving his blade straight at Tommy.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  FRANCES WATTS was born in the medieval city of Lausanne, in Switzerland, and moved to Australia when she was three. After studying literature at university she began working as an editor. Her bestselling picture books include Kisses for Daddy and the 2008 Children’s Book Council of Australia award-winner, Parsley Rabbit’s Book about Books (both illustrated by David Legge). Frances is also the author of a series about two very unlikely superheroes, Extraordinary Ernie and Marvellous Maud, and the highly acclaimed children’s fantasy/adventure series, the Gerander Trilogy.

  Frances lives in Sydney’s inner west, and divides her time between writing and editing. Her cat doesn’t talk.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  GREGORY ROGERS has always loved art and drawing so it’s no surprise he became an illustrator. He was the first Australian to win the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal. The first of his popular wordless picture book series, The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard, was selected as one of the Ten Best Illustrated Picture Books of 2004 by the New York Times and short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award in 2005. The third book, The Hero of Little Street, won the CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 2010. Gregory loves movies and mu
sic, and is a collector of books, antiques and anything odd and unusual.

  He lives in Brisbane above a bookshop cafe with his cat Sybil.

  ‘I want you to fight in the tournament, Tommy.’

  Flamant Castle is having a tournament! But when one of the squires is injured during practice, Sir Benedict asks Tommy to take his place. He even offers her one of his own horses to ride. It’s a dream come true for Tommy. There’s just one problem: she has never ridden a horse before – and every time she tries to ride Bess, the horse throws her off! Time is running out … How will Tommy be able to compete?

  COMINGIN SEPTEMBER 2012

  ‘We’re under siege!’

  When Sir Walter, Sir Benedict and the other knights go to nearby Roses Castle for a tournament, the enemy knights from Malice attack Flamant. The only hope of rescue lies in getting a message to Sir Benedict, a day’s ride away. But the castle is surrounded and there’s no way out! With the help of her friends, Tommy devises a daring plan. Can she save Flamant Castle before it’s too late?

  COMINGIN SEPTEMBER 2012