Lewis listened absent-mindedly to Neil’s excited remarks as they walked back along the country road that led to Glenmorven House, turning over everything Hughie had said in his mind. Chuck was in the castle … Chuck was involved in all this … but why?
“What gives, Lewis?” Neil sounded exasperated. “I don’t think you’ve heard a word I’ve said.”
“Sorry,” Lewis admitted, coming to a quick decision. “I’ve been thinking and … well, there’s something I have to tell you, Neil.”
Neil looked at him in surprise. “Shoot,” he said, wondering what it was that had brought such a serious look to Lewis’s face.
“Remember when I fell off the stone in the secret tunnel?”
“Yeah … I nearly fell off it as well when I saw the ghosts,” Neil grinned.
“It wasn’t the ghosts that gave me the fright — although they were scary enough.”
Neil looked at him. “What was it then?”
“I recognized one of the Americans,” Lewis admitted. “The one with the spiky haircut.”
“I saw him,” Neil answered. “He looked … well … a bit out of place, somehow …”
“Don’t let the haircut fool you,” Lewis said seriously. “According to my dad, he’s got an absolutely brilliant brain. His name’s Chuck and my mum and dad knew him when he was in the Middle East. His company was building an Earth Satellite Station or some such thing.”
“That would fit in with what Hughie was talking about.”
“I just can’t believe he’s involved in all this,” Lewis muttered, shaking his head. “I hero-worshipped him! I was a kid at the time but he wasn’t too grand to get down on his hands and knees and help me with my Meccano set.”
“So?” Neil queried.
“Well, according to the ghosts,” Lewis pointed out, “Chuck is on his own in the castle just now. The others have all gone out hunting giants … so, I was thinking that it might be …”
“… a good time to pay a visit?” Neil finished the sentence for him.
“Yeah! What do you think? How about it?”
Neil frowned. “Shona said that they keep the castle gates closed.”
“Yes, but I don’t think they’ll be locked. There’s no one around here that would pinch anything and to actually lock the gates would cause comment. I mean, people would wonder what they had to hide.”
As it happened, the gates weren’t locked and as the two boys slipped through warily, they fervently hoped that Shane and the others had already left the castle grounds. Lewis, certainly, didn’t fancy meeting them in such a lonely spot for the curving driveway was a secretive, gloomy place. Aware that they were on someone else’s land they kept guiltily to the trees at side of the road where banks of snowdrops and daffodils sagged limply in the rain.
It was only when they scrunched across the gravel to the massive main entrance that Neil wondered how they were going to attract attention.
“There doesn’t seem to be a bell,” he whispered.
“I’ll knock,” Lewis said, thumping loudly on the heavy door. Nothing happened and they were just about to repeat the process when the door opened and Chuck stood there in a heavy sweater and a pair of disreputable jeans.
“Chuck!” Lewis beamed delightedly. It was as though all the pleasant memories of childhood had returned in a single swoop. He forgot about the satellite, Morven and Firestar in his delight at seeing an old friend.
His pleasure was totally disarming and no one, least of all Chuck, could doubt that it was real.
Chuck stared at him and then recognition dawned. “It’s Lewis, isn’t it,” he grinned. “Well, well, who would have thought it — after all this time! You’ve grown a bit since I last saw you.”
“This is my friend, Neil MacLean,” Chuck introduced him. Neil shook Chuck’s hand and saw puzzlement flare in his eyes. He’s wondering how we knew he was here, Neil thought and wished that they had talked things through before embarking on this somewhat dangerous escapade.
“Come in,” Chuck ushered them inside. He really had to, thought Lewis. He couldn’t keep them standing outside in the cold without seeming rude.
The hall of the castle was pleasantly warm and they headed automatically for the fireplace where a huge fire blazed up the chimney.
“I know it’s a bit early in the day to light a fire,” Chuck said, “but castles aren’t famous for their central heating.”
The two boys smiled politely but their faces changed as they saw the ghosts. Chuck noticed and wondered what was wrong. As far as he could see, their eyes seemed focused on a display of swords, cutlasses, claymores and other weapons of war that decorated one of the walls, but why they should exchange worried glances was beyond him.
It so happened that both Lewis and Neil had forgotten all about the ghosts and the knowledge that every word of their conversation would be sent back to the Lords of the North, wasn’t lost on them.
“Have a cola?” Chuck offered, producing two cans and a couple of glasses. “Sorry, things are a bit basic here.”
They accepted the drinks and for a few moments there was an awkward silence broken only by the gurgle of cola splashing into their glasses, the gentle hiss of flames and the odd crackle from the burning logs.
After asking about Lewis’s parents and hearing about his new school in Aberdeen, Chuck came straight to the point. “What puzzles me, Lewis, is how you knew I was here at all,” he said, his brown eyes alert. “I haven’t been around a lot since we got here and I haven’t met the Fergusons, the family you’re staying with …”
Lewis looked embarrassed and, to Neil’s amazement, came out with the truth. “We were exploring a secret passage that runs from Glenmorven House to the castle, here,” he said innocently enough. “We were really annoyed the other day because your friends chucked us off Morven and well … we wanted to know why.”
Chuck raised his eyebrows. A secret passage, he thought. Well, it certainly explained the strange noises behind the panelling. Mentally, he scanned his memory, trying to remember what they’d all been talking about at the time.
“You were talking about the giants and blowing up the mountain to get inside it,” Lewis answered the question for him and shooting him a straight glance, asked sharply. “Why are you here, Chuck? Is it anything to do with a satellite?”
Chuck was so surprised that from lounging back comfortably in his chair, he sat up straight. “Satellite?” he queried, his face heavy with suspicion. “What do you know about satellites?”
“I thought that’s what you did?” Lewis pretended to be puzzled. “It’s what you were doing in Kuwait, wasn’t it? I was only young at the time but I remember mum and dad talking about it.”
Chuck relaxed but his eyes were watchful. “I suppose a satellite does come into the picture, but actually at the moment I’m heading a team of geologists. That’s why they’ve been going over the mountain. They’re looking for mineral deposits. There’s no secret about it,” he said casually, “but I’d rather you didn’t mention it to anyone. I mean, Lord Robertson knows about it but I’d really rather keep our work quiet in case we do come across anything. I hope you’ll bear that in mind,” he said pointedly to Lewis. “You can tell your mum and dad, of course. I know they’d keep it to themselves.”
“Oh, I’ve told them already,” Lewis looked surprised. “Dad phoned me from the States the other day and I told them you were here, living in a castle.”
Chuck’s expression didn’t change but a shade of annoyance flickered in his eyes. He knew Bob Grant of old; an astute operator with lots of contacts. If he found out about his involvement with Powerprobe then he’d most certainly wonder why he was suddenly holed up in a castle in the wilds of Scotland.
“This is a fabulous place to live,” Neil said, looking round, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. “Could I have a look at all these swords and things on the wall?”
“Sure,” Chuck got to his feet and they wandered over to the fan-shaped display of weapons. Now thoroughly suspicious, he wondered if Neil had suggested the move to get closer to his computer. Print-outs littered his desk and although they were meaningless to someone his age, they didn’t really look like anything vaguely connected to geology.
Lewis, who had been trained at an early age that it was the height of bad manners to try to read anything on anybody’s desk, was actually wondering much the same thing but, as it turned out, Neil was genuinely interested in the weapons.
“I’d take one down to show you,” Chuck said, glad that the conversation had taken a new direction, “but they’re more or less anchored to the wall. When we first arrived, we wanted to see how heavy the swords were but we couldn’t shift them — short of digging the stanchions out of the wall, that is.
“We read a poem called The Charge of the Light Brigade last term,” Neil admitted shyly, “and there was a fantastic picture of it in the book — the horsemen charging the guns with only swords in their hands.”
“I know the one you mean,” Chuck said, his expression changing. “Most people tend to think of it as a dreadful waste of life but the Light Brigade overran the Russian guns, you know, and changed the course of the war.”
“It must be hard to be really brave,” Lewis said thoughtfully.
Chuck looked at him oddly. “Oh, I think both of you would measure up,” he said with a grin.
Lewis saw the smile and taking advantage of it asked tentatively. “Since you know us, Chuck, do you think we could go on the mountain from time to time? I mean, Shona, the Ferguson’s daughter, really loves Morven and …” Lewis tailed off looking at Chuck hopefully.
So that, thought Chuck with some relief, is why they really came. He softened the blow as much as he could. “I’m sorry, Lewis,” he said, grinning at him ruefully, but sounding serious at the same time, “really sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t give anyone permission to go on the mountain.”
The two ghosts, in all their tartan finery, had been following the conversation for some time but at his words, their expressions changed swiftly from the mildly interested to the totally ferocious. They were, in their own way, very fond of Shona and, as Neil and Lewis watched, they exchanged determined nods before stepping up to Chuck and hugging him fiercely.
Chuck drew in a gasping breath as he shivered convulsively in the blast of cold air that froze him to the marrow but not before he noticed that the two boys were looking, not at him, but at something or someone behind him.