‘Hello!’ Harry and Charlotte called back. ‘We’ve been looking for you’.
‘For us?’ the two children looked puzzled. ‘How could you be looking for us?’ ‘We saw you yesterday’ Harry explained. ‘Just as you were going down the steps to the beach, but when we got there we couldn’t find you. Did you go round the headland?’ ‘Yes’ said the boy. ‘When we got down we saw the strangest house with a terrace down to the sands and a Turret, we thought maybe it was a private beach so we ran straight round the headland’.
‘It is private’ said Charlotte. ‘It belongs to our Aunty and Uncle’.
‘And the funny house?’ asked the girl, then put her hand over her mouth. ‘Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean a FUNNY house, I meant it’s interesting and, and ....’
Harry and Charlotte laughed. ‘Don’t worry, we know what you mean, it is a funny old house, it’s partly built into a cave’.
The two children gasped ‘A Cave? Some of it is actually built into a Cave?’ They were amazed!
‘Yes’ said Harry, ‘and it has winding stairs and lots of rooms and rooms in the Turret.’ He was enjoying himself describing the house. ‘And there’s a cellar too but it’s cold and damp down there so we never really go down’. He paused, then remembering they hadn’t introduced themselves said ‘I’m Harry, and this is my sister Charlotte. What are your names?’
‘I’m Daniel, but most people call me Dan, and this is my sister Rachel.
‘Hello’ they all said again and then they laughed, it was so good to be with each other.
‘Did smugglers ever live in your house?’ asked Dan. ‘It looks as if they should’.
‘Oh, I expect so’ said Harry.
Charlotte giggled and pushed her brother ‘Oh, Harry you have no idea’ she said, then added ‘But it does look as if something exciting happened there.’
‘Have you ever looked for treasure in the house, hidden treasure where no-one has ever looked before?’ asked Rachel.
‘Every year!’ Harry and Charlotte answered together. ‘We look every year but have never found anything’ Harry added.
‘Could we help you look?’ Dan asked, his eyes shining with excitement.
‘We would have to ask our Aunty’ Charlotte said. ‘We could tell you this afternoon, will you come down to the beach?’
‘We’ll ask Mum and Dad, here they are’ and Rachel pointed to a couple walking towards them.
‘Can we come back to the beach this afternoon please?’ Rachel asked as she ran towards them. ‘We’ve found some new friends, Harry and Charlotte’.
‘Hello’ said Mum and Dad. ‘Do you live near here?’
‘In that house, it’s in a cave, and look at its Turret!’ Dan pointed excitedly to the cave house.
‘It’s very unusual’ said their Mum.
‘And we might be able to explore’ Rachel was as excited as her brother.
‘You can’t go knocking on people’s walls and prowling round their houses!’ it was their Dad who was appalled at the very idea.
‘Of course we wont, Harry and Charlotte are going to ask their Aunty and Uncle at lunch-time, isn’t that right?’ and Dan turned to Harry.
‘Yes, we are going to ask first’ Harry assured them.
‘So can we come back this afternoon?’ Dan persisted.
Mum and Dad looked at each other ‘All right’ they agreed . Do you want to play on the beach now, or come for a walk with us?’
‘The Beach!!’ they both shouted.
‘All right, we’ll be back for you at 12.30 p.m. Don’t be late‘ and Mum and Dad walked down the path.
Come on then, I’ll race you to the beach steps’ cried Harry and the four of them raced off.
They played on the beach, in the sea and then Aunty brought them biscuits and juice to eat on the terrace. It was whilst they were munching their biscuits that Rachel said ‘You are very quiet, Charlotte, what are you thinking about?’
‘My school project’ Charlotte answered.
‘What! Thinking of school when you are on holiday!!’ Dan couldn’t believe it. ‘What is it about?’ Rachel asked.
‘The Millennium, we each have to contribute something to our school’s Millennium Project, and I’m not sure what to do, apart from the fact that it will have to be about Jesus’.
‘Jesus - Why?’ Dan asked in surprise.
‘Because that’s what the Millennium is all about. Our calendar starts from the day Jesus was born’ Harry explained’.
‘Without Jesus there would be no Millennium to celebrate’ added Charlotte.
‘Oh, I don’t believe in all that stuff’ Dan said. ‘I want to enjoy myself, not spend time in Church thinking about God’.
Charlotte sat up straight in her chair ‘We go to Church, AND we enjoy ourselves’ she began.
Rachel could see how this could easily develop into an argument so she quickly said ‘We haven’t been to the cave yet. Can we explore it now if everyone has finished their juice?’
‘Good idea’ said a relieved Harry, and led the way down the terrace steps and on to the beach. The first cave was explored thoroughly, walls were tapped and pushed, the floor was examined, stamped on and felt - nothing! Everything was solid. The children were at first disappointed but ran into the second cave, quite sure a secret passage would be found there and, as Dan said, ‘there is always the house to explore if we don’t find anything in the caves - if we are allowed’ - he added hastily.
Harry looked at his watch ‘12.15p.m’ he said. ‘We had better make our way back to the house.’
‘You can walk up the winding stairs and meet your Mum and Dad at the top’ Charlotte said.
‘By the time we get there they should be waiting.’
The four children went into the house and asked permission to walk up the stairs to the turret room.
Permission given, the children walked to the foot of the stairs. Dan and Rachel had never seen anything like them before and were thrilled at the way it twisted and turned and the strange pattern of the wrought iron work. They kept pausing to look at the stairs, the rails and the pictures on the walls. It was fascinating.
‘Come on’ laughed Harry. ‘Your parents will be wondering where you are. We’ll see you after lunch you know.’
Yes, it was going to be great fun exploring the house and so they ran up the remaining stairs through the turret room and out through the garden door and there were Mum and Dad waiting for them.
‘Good-bye’s’ were said and they all looked forward to being together that afternoon. Harry and Charlotte finished lunch quickly, cleared away, then went up to the garden to wait for their friends.
‘You can do some weeding whilst you wait’ Aunty had said, so they pulled a few weeds and watched the road, and watched the road and, oh yes! they remembered to pull a few more weeds out.
A car drew up and Dan and Rachel got out. Dan ran straight into the garden shouting ‘Well, can we explore?’
Harry and Charlotte pretended not to understand. ‘Explore what?’ they asked innocently.
‘The house, the house’ shouted Dan. ‘Can we explore the house?’
‘Oh, the house’ they laughed. ‘Yes we can explore the next rainy day’.
They laughed and cheered. ‘We’ll definitely find something exciting’ Dan said. ‘Definitely!’
‘Don’t be too sure’ Charlotte warned. ‘Remember we’ve both searched for years, there isn’t anywhere we haven’t searched.’
‘I know’ said Dan. ‘But I just feel sure that this time we WILL find something, we shall discover Treasure!
They all laughed at Dan, he was so sure, but as it turned out he was right. Although the Treasure was nothing like he had expected!
Elizabeth Aynsley 1995 ©