Grimsdon Read Online Free Page B

ever met,’ Raffy said.
    â€˜And the nicest,’ Bea added.
    Fly slid her arm around his shoulder and nodded.
    Isabella watched Xavier choose a book and flop onto a deep lounge. ‘We can kick him out now or give him one chance. He makes one wrong move and he’s gone. Who votes he leaves?’
    Griffin’s hand shot into the air. Xavier’s eyes looked up for an instant before turning back to his book.
    Griffin slowly lowered his arm.
    â€˜He has one chance, Griffin,’ Isabella said. ‘I promise. He so much as moves without my permission and he’s out.’

CHAPTER FIVE
An Invitation and a Warning
    Isabella led the way to the library. She opened the door and the others piled in after her. The last being Griffin, who slumped, cross-armed, against a bookshelf.
    Xavier jumped to his feet and held the book tightly across his chest.
    â€˜You can stay,’ Isabella said.
    Xavier’s face spread into a smile and he held his arms out wide. ‘Who wouldn’t want me?’
    Isabella plucked the knife from her ankle boot. ‘But you do exactly as we say.’
    His smile wavered. ‘Absolutely.’
    â€˜She’s fought against bigger thieves than you and won,’ Raffy boasted.
    â€˜I bet she has,’ Xavier said.
    â€˜Should we show him the house?’ Bea looked to Isabella, who gave a single nod.
    They grabbed one hand each and dragged him out of the library and down the long stretch of the dining room. Isabella followed and Griffin stayed behind – until he felt a small hand in his.
    â€˜I know, Fly. We took a vote and I have to accept that, but there’s something about his story I don’t believe.’
    Fly leant her head against his arm.
    â€˜Come on,’ he sighed, ‘let’s join the tour.’
    The dining room led to a wide corridor with rooms on either side. They each had king-sized four-poster beds, bright curtains and wardrobes bulging with clothes and shoes.
    â€˜This is our bedroom,’ Bea announced at one of the doors.
    â€˜We’re lucky.’ Raffy bounced on the bed. ‘The people who lived here must have had kids our age. There are loads of clothes that fit perfectly.’ He hoisted up his Batman pyjamas. ‘Almost.’
    At the end of the room was a low door that opened onto a playroom. There was a yellow brick road painted on the floor that meandered between giant papier-mâché boulders and trees. A wooden cubbyhouse was surrounded by giant sunflowers. The ceiling was painted blue with bulging clouds, and on the far wall the Emerald City sparkled.
    â€˜Watch this.’ Raffy placed his hands on one of the boulders and opened it like a chest. ‘Toy boxes.’
    Bea ran to an enormous wardrobe. ‘And this is full of costumes. We can be royalty or knights and fair maidens fighting dragons.’ She swung a wooden sword through the air.
    â€˜But wait until you see what’s next.’ Raffy sped past him and into another room.
    Xavier poked his head inside to see a series of stands with targets. Arrow holders and bows hung from the walls.
    â€˜This used to be another dining room,’ said Bea. ‘But we already have one of those, so we cleared everything out and turned it into an archery and knife-throwing room. Isabella’s aim is by far the best.’
    â€˜She was also the fencing champion at her school,’ Raffy added.
    â€˜Who would have guessed?’ Xavier said. ‘What are you practising for? An enemy invasion?’
    â€˜We’ve had trouble with thieving adults; we had to make sure they never came back,’ Isabella said.
    Raffy then led them to a set of frosted-glass doors at the end of the corridor. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the greenhouse.’
    He opened the doors onto a thick garden nestled in a room made of glass. Scattered around were more statues, this time of two old gardeners, giant lady beetles and a birdbath shaped like