The Golden Circlet

by Unknown

  If sharing a room with Lizzy was going to make Rose’s plans difficult, Rose showed no sign of it. When both the girls were in bed, she reached to switch off the light, then suddenly paused and said, ‘Your locket’s safe, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, of course it is,’ Lizzy replied.

  ‘And the black pearl’s still in there?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Lizzy sounded casual. ‘I checked.’

  ‘Great.’ Rose flicked the light switch, added, ‘Night’, and turned over, pulling her duvet up around her ears. Lizzy lay still, watching the cool silver light reflecting from the sea and wondering if Rose was really going to sleep or pretending. She had sent a text message to Jack but he had not replied yet. She wondered where he was. And Kes and Morvyr – were they here? She had no way of knowing.

  For a while there were small noises below, then Lizzy heard the creak of the stairs as Mum and Dad came up to their bedroom. Their low voices murmured for a few more minutes, then everything was quiet. Lizzy waited. And after another half hour, her patience was rewarded when Rose slid out of bed.

  Peeking through half-closed eyelids, Lizzy watched as her sister padded across the room. Rose bent to her bag and took out Lizzy’s shell. She turned to look at Lizzy, and quickly Lizzy shut her eyes completely. Then she heard the faint click of the old-fashioned door latch lifting, and opened her eyes again just in time to see Rose tiptoeing out of the room.

  She sat upright. Dared she follow? Reluctantly she decided it was safer not to. If Rose should see her, it would ruin everything. So instead she got out of bed and went to the window. The cottage had a front door and a side door, and if Rose went out of either, Lizzy would be able to see her.

  Sure enough, a few moments later the side door opened and Rose appeared. She glanced up at the window – Lizzy dodged back behind the curtain – then hurried down the short front-garden path to the gate. The sea beyond was steeped in moonlight, and Rose’s figure showed clearly against the silvery background. She walked a few steps clear of the garden, then put the shell to her ear.

  From this distance Lizzy could not hear what Rose said, but she had no doubt that she was talking to Taran. So it was really beginning… Her heart gave an uncomfortable lurch of nervous excitement, then as Rose lowered the shell and turned back towards the cottage, she hurried to bed once more.

  When Rose crept upstairs and got into her own bed, Lizzy’s eyes were closed and she was breathing steadily. Rose wriggled under the duvet and was soon fast asleep.

  But Lizzy lay awake for a long time, wondering what would happen tomorrow.

  Chapter Seven

  It was only just getting light when Lizzy woke the next morning. Rose was still sleeping, and she dressed quickly and quietly then hurried downstairs. Sometime during the night she thought she had heard a muffled signal from her mobile phone, which was under her pillow, telling her that a text message had come in, and she wanted to be alone to read it in case it was from Jack.

  In the kitchen, though, she found that Dad was up before her.

  ‘Hello, you’re an early riser!’ Dad was pouring milk on a bowl of cereal.

  ‘Oh —hi, Dad. Yes, I woke up, and it’s such a lovely day I didn’t want to waste any of it.’ Lizzy glanced surreptitiously at her phone, and saw Jack’s name on the display screen. Her heart skipped.

  ‘Good for you. Want some of this?’ Dad waved the cereal packet.

  ‘Er… yes, please. Could you do it for me? I’ve just got to check something.’ Lizzy turned her back and touched buttons. Jack’s text message was very short.

  Will b at jetty early. See u there. J.

  ‘Got a message?’ Dad asked.

  ‘Just —um —one of my friends,’ said Lizzy vaguely. Did Jack mean he was coming to St Agnes? How would he get here? And what did he call early? She looked at her watch and saw that it wasn’t even six thirty. He surely wouldn’t be here yet; and anyway, he would wait for her. She just had to make sure that she got out of the cottage and away before Rose woke up.

  ‘There you go.’ Dad put her cereal on the table and plonked a spoon beside it. Lizzy ate quickly, then said, ‘I think I’ll go for a walk. Won’t be very long.’

  ‘OK.’ Dad was trying to decide between jam and marmalade to put on his toast. ‘Don’t get lost, or we’ll have to send out a search party!’

  They both laughed, and Lizzy hurried out.

  In fact Lizzy did get lost. Taking what she thought was a short cut to the jetty, she chose the wrong path and ended up beside a large, almost circular pool, beyond which a rocky finger of land with what looked like ruined walls on it reached out into the sea. From here she couldn’t work out where the jetty was, and she wasted more time dithering over which path to try. At last, though, a holidaymaking couple taking their dog for an early walk pointed her in the right direction, and she ran all the way, finally arriving hot and breathless.

  A small motor launch was moored beside the jetty, and, shading her eyes against the early sun, Lizzy saw a familiar figure sitting in it.

  ‘Jack!’ Relief filled her and she ran down the slope to the boat.

  ‘You got my message!’ Jack grinned at her. ‘I wasn’t sure if I’d done it properly; I’m not used to texting yet!’

  ‘When did you get here?’ Lizzy asked. ‘And have you seen Kes and Morvyr? Or the dolphins?’

  ‘Yesterday, no and yes.’ His grin broadened. ‘I’m staying on St Mary’s, and I’ve hired this boat.’ He patted the steering wheel in front of him. ‘It’s got an inboard engine and it’s much faster than a sailing-boat. Perfect for what we want. Now, I saw Arhans yesterday, just before it got dark. She came on ahead of the other dolphins —they were escorting Kes and Morvyr and travelling overnight, so they’re probably here by now. What about you? Has anything happened?’

  Lizzy described how Rose had taken the shell and crept outside last night. Jack nodded. ‘So Taran knows she’s here. And Rose definitely thinks you’ve got the black pearl?’

  Lizzy nodded. ‘She asked me about it again before we went to sleep.’

  ‘Good. Taran’s very impatient —I don’t think we’ll have to wait long before they make their move.’

  In the distance there was a ripple on the sea, and a sleek grey fin broke the surface and came speeding towards them. Whistling a greeting, Arhans swam up to the launch, and Lizzy leaned down to stroke her smooth head.

  ‘Arhans! Are the others here?’

  Arhans whistled again, and Jack said, ‘She says they’re waiting not far away. Come on, Lizzy —jump in, and she’ll take us to them.’

  Lizzy scrambled down into the boat. Jack started the engine, and they followed Arhans as she swam away from the jetty and out to open water. Bearing away to the right, she led them round the Gugh until they reached a large inlet on the far side of the sand causeway.

  ‘I came here yesterday, when I was exploring,’ Lizzy told Jack. ‘I think it’s a pretty likely place for Taran to meet Rose, don’t you?’

  ‘I’m not so sure,’ said Jack. ‘If I know Taran, I think she’ll pick somewhere a bit more remote. But we’ll have to wait and see. Ah —look! There they are!’

  Kes was waving from the beach at the far end of the sandbar. In the water a few metres out they could see the pale gold of Morvyr’s hair. Jack swung the boat towards the bar, and within a minute Lizzy was jumping out into the shallows and running to greet her mother and brother.

  ‘That was some swim from the mainland!’ Kes said, grinning at her. ‘But the dolphins helped us. Is there any news?’

  Lizzy repeated what she had already told Jack.

  ‘Good,’ said Morvyr. ‘So now we must wait for Taran. No one’s seen her yet, but Kes and I had better keep out of sight until we know exactly where she is. You too, Jack —if she realizes that you’re here, she’ll be suspicious.’

  Jack nodded. ‘I’ll go back to St Mary’s. It wouldn’t do for Rose to see me, either. The dolphins will keep us in touch with one another, and I can contac
t Lizzy by phone as soon as anything happens.’ Now he turned to Lizzy. ‘In some ways, Lizzy, yours is the hardest task. You’ve got to stick around with Rose and act as though everything’s perfectly normal. Can you do that?’

  ‘I’m sure I can,’ Lizzy said, then added more honestly, ‘I’ll do my very best, anyway.’

  ‘That’s the girl! So, we’ll all go our separate ways now, and wait.’

  ‘How long do you think we’ll have to wait, Father?’ Kes asked. ‘When do you think Taran will make her move?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Jack replied. ‘But I wouldn’t mind betting it’ll be tonight …’

  Chapter Eight

  Rose was very jumpy that evening. Mum and Dad didn’t seem to notice, but Lizzy did. Rose kept glancing at her when she thought no one was looking, and Lizzy noticed the way her sister’s eyes always fixed on the locket round her neck. It told her all she needed to know. Rose was trying to work out a way of persuading Lizzy to take the locket off so that she could get hold of it, and she was getting more and more agitated. That could mean only one thing —she and Taran planned to meet tonight.

  All right, Lizzy thought, then she would make things easier for Rose. Dinner that evening was a simple pizza and salad, and afterwards Mum and Dad decided to stroll to the pub, where they could sit outside and watch the sunset. When they asked the girls if they would like to come, Rose said she wanted to text a load of her friends, and Lizzy faked a yawn and announced that she would have a shower and another early night.

  Their parents left, and Rose sprawled on the sofa with her mobile. But she wasn’t concentrating on text messages. Lizzy could almost feel herself being watched every time she turned her back, and at last she said, ‘I’m going to have my shower then go to bed. Don’t wake me when you come up, OK?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Rose carelessly. ‘Night.’

  Lizzy showered and then went to their shared room. Usually she wore her locket at night. Now, though, she deliberately left it on the table between her own and Rose’s bed. Then she settled down under the duvet with a book. She heard Mum and Dad come back, and soon afterwards there was the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Quickly Lizzy switched the light off, and when Rose came in she was pretending to be asleep. There was a pause while Rose’s eyes got used to the dark, before the door closed softly and she padded across the room. Lizzy guessed she was standing looking down at her, and resisted an enormous temptation to peek and make sure. Then Rose’s bed creaked as she got in, and after that everything was quiet.

  Waiting was almost unbearable. Mum and Dad seemed to be taking ages to go to bed tonight, and Lizzy was terrified that she herself might fall asleep. At last, though, the cottage was dark and silent… and a short while later Lizzy heard Rose get up. Feet shuffled on the carpet, then there was the tiniest clink from the direction of the bedside table, followed by the sound of someone tiptoeing out of the room.

  Lizzy counted to ten before she opened her eyes and sat up. Rose had gone —and so had the locket.

  Scrambling out of bed, Lizzy put on her wetsuit, pulled a jumper and jeans over it and shoved her feet into her most comfortable trainers. Her mobile and a torch went into a small shoulder bag, and, as fast as she could without making a noise, she went downstairs.

  There was no sign of Rose, but the back door was unlocked. Lizzy opened it and moved cautiously outside, half afraid that she would run into her sister. She didn’t, and after a few seconds she summoned up the courage to hurry to the gate.

  The sky was clear and full of stars. Their light was so bright that she could just make out the face of her watch, which read a quarter past twelve. The sea hissed and murmured, white wave crests shining in the starlight as they broke on the rocks, and the air was cool and fresh with a strong salty tang. From the shelter of a tall, straggly bush by the back gate Lizzy peered around, but there was no sign of a hastening figure against the skyline. Which way had Rose gone? Lizzy realized with dismay that she had been too cautious. She should have followed more quickly —Rose could have taken any of several paths, and it was no use trying to guess which the right one was.

  Grabbing her mobile from the bag, she called Jack’s number. To her relief he answered at once.

  ‘Jack, it’s me,’ Lizzy said breathlessly, keeping her voice down. ‘Rose has gone, and she’s taken my locket. She must be on her way to meet Taran —but I’ve lost her. I don’t know which way she went!’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Jack. ‘I’m on the launch, and Morvyr and Kes are here too. We can be at the island in a few minutes, and we’ll start searching for her. Where are you?’

  ‘Near the cottage.’

  ‘Right. Go to the sandbar where we were this morning. I don’t think Rose will meet Taran there, but it’s worth checking. Call me if you see her, and I’ll do the same.’

  He cut the connection, and thankfully Lizzy set off. She didn’t dare switch on her torch in case Rose was nearby and might see it, but the glow from the sky was enough to show her the way. This time she didn’t get lost, and soon the dark bulk of the Gugh appeared ahead of her, with the causeway showing like a pale ribbon. At the top of the sandy path she stopped and stared around. There was no one in sight, but the dark shadows of the rocks could easily hide Rose. Lizzy started down the path to the causeway, moving cautiously and crouching low so that her silhouette wouldn’t show against the skyline. The sea made a sighing noise as small waves flowed on to the sandbar and drew back again, and the night glow made the water silvery. But there was no sign of Rose.

  The muffled shrill of her mobile made her jump, and she grabbed for it, almost dropping it in her hurry to answer. ‘Hello?’ she whispered eagerly.

  ‘Lizzy, it’s me,’ said Jack’s voice in her ear. ‘I think we’ve found her! Are you at the causeway yet?’

  ‘Yes!’ Lizzy’s heart seemed to stop beating for a moment then start again much faster.

  ‘Good —wait there, and I’ll pick you up.’ He rang off.

  Not caring now whether anyone saw her, Lizzy ran on down the path to the sandbar. She was halfway across the causeway when she heard the faint sound of an engine. It quickly grew louder, then the dark outline of Jack’s motor launch came round the headland, white water churning behind it. Lizzy splashed into the sea and waded to meet it, and Jack helped her to scramble over the gunwale.

  ‘We’re not totally sure that it is Rose,’ he told her as he turned the boat and headed out to sea again, ‘but there’s someone with a torch hurrying along a path towards the south side of the island. Kes stayed behind to see where she goes.’

  ‘What about Taran?’ Lizzy asked. ‘Is there any sign of her?’

  Jack shook his head. ‘The dolphins are keeping watch but she hasn’t made any move yet. Now, I’m going to stand well off from the shore till we get to the far side, then move in slowly. The last thing we want is for Rose to hear us coming.’

  They were both silent as the boat chugged away and turned southwards. Lizzy gazed across the water at the dim, low-lying shapes of the other islands in the distance. Everything was so quiet. No lights showed anywhere and it was hard to believe that in daytime the place was alive with summer visitors. Now, it was like another world. What would the holidaymakers think, she wondered, if they knew of the strange things that were happening here while they slept?

  Jack was steering the launch round a jutting spur of rock when Lizzy suddenly grasped his arm. ‘Look!’ she hissed, pointing.

  A torch beam was bobbing along on the crest of the island, crossing a stretch of open, turfy land known as Wingletang Down. Lizzy could just make out the silhouette of a person holding the torch, but from here, and in the darkness, it was impossible to tell whether or not it was Rose.

  Jack slowed the launch and the sound of the engine dropped to a gentle burble. Together they watched the hurrying figure, then there was a swirl in the water behind them and Kes surfaced.

  ‘It is her,’ he said, swimming to the gunwale and hooking his arms ove
r it. ‘I went in close and got a good look. There’s a fair-sized beach on the south-east side; I think she might be heading there.’

  Jack nodded. ‘It’s a likely place for Taran to choose, if she’s coming from further out to sea,’ he agreed. ‘We’ll need to find somewhere to anchor the boat without giving ourselves away. Any ideas, Kes?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Kes. ‘There’s a rock outcrop at this end of the beach. It’s high enough to hide the boat behind, and you can look over the top and see what’s going on.’

  ‘Great! Then we’d better get ourselves in place before Rose arrives. Lead the way.’

  Moving the launch very slowly, so that the engine wouldn’t be heard by anyone on shore, Jack followed Kes further on round the island until a tumble of large rocks appeared ahead. Kes pointed, and the boat nosed quietly into a tiny inlet in the shelter of the outcrop. The sea rose and fell, but it was calm tonight, the waves so small that they were barely breaking. Jack switched off the engine and dropped the anchor over the stern. It caught almost at once, and he tied the painter to a rock spur so that the boat was secure and wouldn’t drift. Standing up, he peered cautiously over the rocks, then turned to Lizzy.

  ‘The beach is just on the other side,’ he said. ‘And I can see Rose’s torch. She’s coming this way. There’s a ledge here, just above the gunwale. If you stand on that you’ll be able to watch too. But keep very still. We can’t run the risk of being seen.’

  Lizzy climbed up beside him and found that the ledge was just high enough to allow her to look over the rocks to the beach beyond. The beach wasn’t sandy but was covered with smooth, rounded pebbles, some so big that Lizzy would have needed two hands to pick them up. They looked pale and strange in the starlight, like the landscape of an alien planet. Behind the beach was a shallow bank that led to a grassy path. The small circle of torchlight was bobbing along the path towards them —and a few moments later, Rose’s figure showed clearly against the lighter sky.