The Legend of the Irish Castle Read Online Free PDF Page A

comforting
hand on Benny’s shoulder. “There’s no reason
to be scared, Benny. Remember, banshees are
just part of old stories.”
    “Then why would Erin say she believes the
castle is haunted?” Violet asked.
    “This morning, Mr. and Mrs. Davison were
about to check out, remember?” Henry said.
“But then when they heard about the banshee,
Mrs. Davison wanted to stay for another night.
Erin is talking about the banshee because a
haunted castle is good for business!”
    Jessie nodded. “Now, that makes sense.”
She thought for a moment and an idea came
to her. “Do you think Erin is pretending to
be the banshee? Dressing up in the hood and
walking around at night, wailing?”
    Henry snapped his fingers. “That could
explain why Fergus doesn’t want us exploring
the property. If we uncover what she’s doing,
then the guests will know that the castle isn’t
haunted after all and they might take their
business somewhere else.”
    “I don’t know,” Violet said. “Erin seems
like such a kind person. I don’t think she
would lie to us.”
    “Either way, we have to find out,” Jessie said.
    “We can watch out the window again
tonight,” suggested Benny. “And maybe we’ll
be able to see if the banshee is really Erin.”
    “But we need a way to be able to see for
sure,” Jessie said. “Last time, we couldn’t see
the figure’s face because he or she was too far
away.”
    Henry noticed a pair of binoculars guests
used for bird-watching sitting on the desk
beside the window. “We could borrow these,”
he said, picking them up. “Maybe then we
could get a better look at the figure’s face.”
    The children took the binoculars up to
their room and set them on the windowsill,
then returned to the library to read. Soon,
Grandfather joined them with his newspaper.
Erin built a fire in the library fireplace, and
the Aldens tried to concentrate on their books.
Even though they appeared relaxed on the
outside, they were impatient for the evening
to pass. They couldn’t wait for it to get dark,
and for bedtime to come, so they could start
watching the meadow behind the castle. They
didn’t want to raise anyone’s suspicions by
going to bed early. If Erin was pretending to
be the banshee, she might stay home if she
thought the children were planning to watch.
    Finally all four Alden children had brushed
their teeth and put their pajamas on. Sitting
on the beds in their room, they made a plan.
    “Violet and I will take the first shift,”
Jessie said, writing down the schedule on
a piece of paper in her notebook. “I’ll take
notes on anything odd we see. At midnight,
we’ll wake Benny and Henry up to take over
while we sleep.”
    Henry nodded. He went over to the door
that opened onto a small balcony on the same
side of the room as the window where they’d
seen the mysterious figure the night before.
“You might be able to get a better look from
out here,” Henry said.
    Henry and Benny got into bed, and the
girls stepped out into the night air. On the
balcony, they could hear crickets chirping in
the tall grass and watched an owl dive from a
tree branch to catch a brown mouse.
    Violet looked at the side of the castle that
was visible from where they stood. Many of
the hotel’s guest rooms remained unfilled
and the windows were dark. But there were
a few lights on. Violet noticed that one of the
windows lit by a lamp had a butterfly shape
hanging on the pane.
    She pointed it out to Jessie. “That’s Erin’s
room,” Violet said.
    Jessie nodded. “That’s right—I remember
the butterfly sun catcher.”
    “If her light’s on, that probably means she’s
in her room,” Violet said nervously.
    Jessie had to agree. “I don’t think she would
leave the light on if she was going out,” Jessie
said. “She probably can’t afford to waste
electricity with all the other expenses she has
running this place.”
    “And if she’s in her room,” Violet said, “that
means she can’t be the one