“Perhaps there is someone with a pair of binoculars over there in the woods, laughing away at us right now,” he whispered to James.
“Let’s carry on for ten more minutes,” said Poppy’s dad. “It would be a shame to give up now.”
Just then Poppy’s spade hit something hard. She didn’t like to say anything immediately in case it was only a stone, so she dug a little deeper. She had definitely found something – she began to smooth away the earth to see what it was.
“I think I’ve got something here,” she told the others.
Everyone came close. Daniel and Arthur dug a little more around the edges of Poppy’s find. They tried to lift the object out of the ground. It was a solid stone block with something engraved on it, but because it was so filthy they couldn’t make anything out clearly.
“Let’s put it in the wheelbarrow and take it up to the castle courtyard,” suggested Arthur. “We can wash it with the hose there and see what it says.”
Poppy was thrilled that she had found the clue. She and Honey couldn’t wait to find out what secrets it revealed.
Chapter Seven
POPPY AND HONEY hosed down the stone tablet. The words on it were in medieval English, so Daniel got out his library book. Before long they had managed to decipher the letters and found a message.
The princess is a bird in a cage: her knight with sword and shield doth forge into battle. But she awaits him like a delicate rose that will not wither with time.
“Now, Daniel, tell us the rest of the riddle,” said Arthur.
Daniel reached into his pocket. “It says, What you find here is a missing piece. Find where it fits, but do not cease.”
“Right, so this tablet must fit into a pattern of similar stones,” concluded Arthur. “Now, I’m sure I’ve seen stones like this in the castle somewhere.”
He scratched his head for a long time, picturing every room in the castle, and then seemed to be struck by inspiration. “Follow me and bring the tablet with you! Oh, and you’ll need the hard hats. We’re going into the old castle again.”
Arthur led them into the ancient chapel once more. When they reached the altar, they all looked up at the painting of St Stephen. But Arthur pointed down to his feet. “No! Look below!” he said.
They saw that the ground beneath them was made up of stone tablets. All had engravings on them except one, which was totally plain.
“Aha!” said Daniel. “Our tablet must have been moved from here and replaced with this plain one. There must be something hidden under it. Let’s lift it out. Maybe the Mallières set up this quest.”
“Do you have a tool we could lever the tablet up with, Arthur?” asked Poppy’s dad.
“Yes, I’ll be back in a minute,” said Arthur, who couldn’t quite believe what was happening in the usually sleepy castle.
Poppy and Honey were very impatient to see what was under the floor.
“What do you think we’ll find?” asked Honey. “I hope it’s not something spooky!”
“I think it will be Princess Alyssa’s jewels!” Poppy replied, with her fingers crossed.
When Arthur returned a few moments later, he and Daniel carefully levered up the tablet. It came away surprisingly easily.
“It’s not heavy stone!” said Arthur. “It’s much lighter – how strange. This must have been someone’s hidey-hole.”
Daniel nodded. “I’m not sure why they hid the real one under the tree though. It seems like a lot of effort. Maybe whoever did this planned to replace it one day.”
Once the tablet was up, they shone the torch down into the gap and saw a vault beneath them.
“Can we get down there?” asked James.
“We have to. I’m certainly not stopping now,” said Daniel as he tried to lower himself through the space. He almost got wedged in the narrow gap. “Too many of Mum’s delicious cakes, I’m afraid!” he joked. “I’m never going to squeeze through.”
“I’ll go!” offered Poppy. “I’ll fit through.”
It was true that her small body would slide more easily through the space left by the tablet, but none of them liked the idea of sending Poppy into a deep, dark vault – especially since they didn’t know what was down there.
“What would Mum say?” said Dad as Poppy begged him to let her go.
“We don’t have to tell her,” suggested Poppy.
“Poppy, you know we don’t keep secrets in our family!”
“Please, Dad, we have to find out what’s down there,” said Poppy.
Her dad thought through the situation again and curiosity soon got the better of him. “Well, the only way I’ll let you go down is if we tie a rope around your waist so that you can let us know whenever you want to come back up,” he said.
“Sounds like good idea,” said Daniel, but Honey looked concerned.
“I’m staying out of it,” said Arthur. “I know what her grandpa, my friend Joseph Mellow, would say if he was here!”
Honey thought Poppy was being incredibly brave – she could think of nothing worse than being pushed down a small hole into the dark, creepy vaults of a medieval castle, but her friend was far too excited to feel afraid.
Poppy got rigged up with a rope and was given instructions on how to pull on it if she wanted to come back up or needed more slack.
“Poppy, if you need to be lifted up, tug three times,” said her dad. “If you need to walk on further, pull once, sharply. Do you understand? And of course you can shout up to us too.”
“OK, Dad. I just hope I find something cool,” she said, imagining the wonderful jewellery glinting in the dark.
“Good luck!” said Honey.
Poppy had butterflies of excitement and anticipation in her tummy as she was lowered into the dark space. As she descended on the rope, she shone her torch into the vault below. It was filled with elaborate tombs, all inscribed with dates and messages, and smelled of murky old water, which lay in puddles on the uneven floor. As soon as her feet touched the ground she began to regret her bravery and longed to be lifted straight back up to the chapel, but she knew the others were relying on her – and she was absolutely determined to find something connected with the princess.
Poppy’s eyes soon got used to the gloom and she began to take in her surroundings in detail. There were swords and shields as well as rubble and old bottles. After a while she spotted a wooden box lying in one corner of the vault. She tugged for more slack on the rope and went over to have look.
“I’ve found a box,” she called out.
“Bring it up then,” replied her dad. “Let us know when you’re ready to be pulled up, darling.”
Poppy picked up the box, walked back across the vault and pulled three times on the rope. She was sure she had found what they wanted. Soon Poppy and the box were being lifted out.
“Well done, Poppy!” said Arthur. “What a brave girl!”
Her dad hugged her. “I can’t believe I let you do that. You are brilliant!”
Poppy felt very relieved to be back with the others again. Now that it was over, she could hardly believe she’d done it either!
“Well, come on then! Let’s see what’s inside,” said Daniel.
They lifted the lid and the first thing they saw was a magnificent jewel-encrusted cross.
“Look,” said Arthur as he examined it, “there’s an engraving on the back. It says, To AA from GL, 1456.”
“How fascinating!” said Daniel, delighted that the riddle had turned out to be a real clue. “AA has to be Alyssa of Avalon but I wonder what GL stands for. Do you think these are the famous jewels?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Arthur. “The village stories speak of tiaras and necklaces – a whole treasure trove. I think this is another clue to the real treasure.”
Underneath the cross were some faded yellow papers tied together with a deep purple ribbon. Arthur carefully took them out of the box.
“They’re letters. I think they’re letters from Alyssa to he
r knight while he was away at war,” he said. “This is quite a find – well done, everyone.”
“Does that mean he definitely came back to her then?” asked Poppy hopefully. “Otherwise, how could her letters to him be here?”
“I’d like to say that was the case, but someone else could have brought the letters back here. But let’s hope you’re right, Poppy! I’m a sucker for a fairytale ending too!” said Daniel. “I’ll have a proper look at them later – I’m sure they’ll shed some more light on this.”
Poppy had another peek in the box – there was something else there, right at the bottom. “Look!” she said, reaching inside. “There’s a tiny leather Bible in the bottom of this box!”
The others gathered around her again. Poppy gently turned the pages over and found that there was some writing in the back of the Bible.
“Maybe that was where she sat in the chapel,” suggested Arthur. “Let’s have a look.”
They all went over to the pews to try to work out exactly where the princess had sat to worship and gain comfort while her knight was away. Honey went to the third pew back, found the second seat along and started looking around. Before long she had discovered a drawer under-neath the seat.
“There’s a message in here!” she called as she pulled something out of the hidden drawer.
“Do you need any help reading it?” asked Daniel.
“Thanks, Dad, but it’s in normal English – a bit like the riddle you got this morning,” replied Honey, and then read out what it said.
“You were right, Arthur, the jewels are somewhere else,” said Daniel. “Come on, we must go straight into the main castle and look for the golden pillars!”
Poppy was exhausted but dashed along behind the others with Honey, unwilling to give up now. She wanted to be there when they found the jewels!
Chapter Eight
THEY ALL STOOD in the main entrance of the castle and studied the new riddle.
Arthur scratched his head. “But there just aren’t any golden pillars as far as I know,” he said.
“Perhaps there used to be?” suggested Daniel.
“I suppose there could have been. Let’s go to the Archive Room, where we keep sketches and paintings of the castle over the centuries. Maybe that will shed some light on this,” suggested Arthur, who was also dying to work out the riddle and find the legendary jewels.
They followed him into the Archive Room. It was quiet and dark and had cream cotton blinds drawn down over every window.
“Everything is listed in date order. See – here we have artefacts dating from the seventeenth century, here we have the eighteenth, and so on,” explained Arthur.
“Why don’t we each take a century and check through the images of the castle from that period?” suggested Daniel.
Everyone agreed: they put on white cotton gloves to protect the old documents and began searching through hundreds of drawings and documents. It seemed as if this would be a fruitless task, when all of a sudden Honey, who was looking through the nineteenth-century pictures, found something.
“Come and see this!” she called out, brandishing a small picture dated 1865. “Golden pillars!”
The others stopped what they were doing and raced over as though their lives depended on it.
“She’s right! Do you recognize the pillars in the picture, Arthur?” asked Honey’s dad.
Arthur smiled. “Yes, I do. Follow me!”
In a matter of minutes they were back at the front entrance of the castle. When they looked around, they could see three black pillars.
“Oh!” exclaimed Poppy. “Did these used to be gold?”
“Yes, they must have been – clever girl!” replied Arthur. “These are certainly the pillars shown in the picture. The jewels must be hidden around here somewhere – unless this is yet another clue.”
They examined the pillars but could find no secret cubby-holes or any other possible hiding place – until Poppy suddenly glanced down.
“Look!” she said. “There’s a hatch in the floor here at the bottom of this pillar.” She tried to open it but had no luck.
“I’ll go and get my tool kit from the chapel,” said Arthur.
“What does the riddle say again, Dad?” asked Honey.
“It says, Pillars made from golden blocks conceal a very beautiful box . . .”
“Oooh, this really could be it this time!” squealed Honey.
Arthur returned and used his claw hammer to open the door, then shone his torch into the hole. The girls held their breath.
“It looks like a safe. It’s got a fancy dial on the front,” he said.
The girls jumped up and down with excitement. If the jewels were inside, it would make the whole story complete.
“The only problem,” said Arthur, pulling on the safe door unsuccessfully, “is how to crack the code so that we can open it.”
Daniel tried to pull open the door from every angle, then Poppy’s dad had a go at twisting and turning the dial.
“It’s no use,” he said. “We’re never going to get this open without the code.”
“This is so annoying!” said Poppy. “We’ve got to crack the code! Let me have a closer look.”
“I suggest we call it a day now,” said Arthur. “We’re tired out and not thinking straight. We might have some fresh ideas tomorrow.”
Poppy and Honey were terribly disappointed to be going home without solving the mystery and seeing the jewels, but their dads agreed that they needed some time to think everything through. They went their separate ways, all feeling very frustrated that the last piece of the puzzle was still baffling them.
That night Poppy couldn’t sleep. She was determined to solve the mystery and find the jewels so she switched on her bedside light and took out her notebook.
It wasn’t until she got to the last page that a flash of inspiration came to her. On this page was the code she had copied from the back of the charm book they had found the week before. The caged bird, the crown, the sword and shield and the rose matched the symbols on the dial of the safe. She’d cracked the code!
Poppy ran downstairs to tell her dad. “Look!” she cried. “These symbols are in a certain order. Maybe if we line up the symbols on the dial of the safe into this order, it will open the door! We must go and see – I can’t wait until the morning!”
“Poppy, I like your idea and you may be on to something, but it’s late, darling, and Arthur is the only one with the keys.”
“Pleease, Dad! It’s really important. I won’t sleep a wink until I know what’s in that safe,” begged Poppy.
“Well, I’ll phone round and see what everyone says,” agreed Dad.
When he’d finished talking on the phone, he told her, “We’re meeting at the castle at six a.m. – that’s the best I can do. But everyone thinks your idea is brilliant, Poppy. Now get some rest and I’ll wake you at five thirty.”
Poppy reluctantly returned to bed, and when her dad shook her awake in the early hours, she was up in a flash.
Chapter Nine
THEY MET THE others at the castle entrance just as the sun was rising, and Poppy led the way to the safe. She worked on the combination on the dial, based on the code of the bird, the sword and shield, and the rose. Within minutes, the door fell open to reveal a gold-edged card.
“We’ve found them!” Poppy exclaimed. “The card says so, look!”
Arthur gently pulled a decorated wooden chest out of the safe. It was covered with intricate golden patterns and jewels. “You open it, girls,” he said.
Poppy and Honey took one side of the box each and lifted the lid.
“Wow!” they gasped as they were dazzled by an array of glittering jewels.
“Gosh!” said Arthur. “How beautiful – they’re even more impressive than all the local stories said they were!”
Poppy and Honey were both silent with wonder as they feasted their eyes on the precious jewels. There were sparkling stones of every description – v
ast red rubies, exquisite deep-blue sapphires, clear white diamonds, milky pearls and glittering green emeralds, as well as jaspers and moonstones. There were rings and brooches, necklaces and bracelets, even earrings. As Daniel very gently rummaged in the box, he came across a fabulous tiara, encrusted with diamonds, pearls and deep red rubies.
“Princess Alyssa’s crown!” said Poppy. “Wow! These jewels are amazing. I can’t wait to tell everyone about this in Circle Time tomorrow. Miss Mallow will definitely want to see these. She makes lovely jewellery but it’s not quite like this!”
“I think all the local folk will definitely want to see this treasure,” Arthur agreed.
“I reckon there will be queues all round Honeypot Hill to view these beauties!” said Poppy’s dad.
“Well, fancy that!” said Arthur. “I’ve been walking past this treasure every day for the last thirty years. I can’t believe it. I’d better get ready for a busy few weeks around here.”
“Hey, girls, there’s something at the bottom of the box,” said Daniel.
He slid a piece of paper carefully out of the box, unfolded it and began to read what it said to the rest of the group, referring to the medieval English book when he needed help.
“It’s signed ‘Sir Gawain Laverok’. It must be a poem from the knight to the princess,” he said.
Poppy and Honey could hardly believe what they had found. The knight had wanted Princess Alyssa to lock herself away until his safe return because he loved her so very much and was worried for her safety.
“But did he come back to her?” asked Honey, unable to bear the suspense.
“Of course he did, Honey! Isn’t it wonderful!” said Poppy.
“What do you mean?” asked Daniel. “How can you be sure he returned?”
The Hidden Jewels Page 3
