was about to explain further but in the corner of the room one of the girls began to wail in her sleep.

“Oh, my,” said Madam Dimbleby as she got gingerly to her feet. “Another nightmare. Get some sleep, Ian.” She stood to leave. “We’ll talk more in the morning.” She softly swept his hair and regarded him with kind eyes before hurrying over to calm the crying girl.

Ian knew that eventually he’d have to set the record straight. He wondered with great remorse if, after he told everyone the truth about the beast and the tunnel, Madam Dimbleby would lose that look of motherly gentleness she always had whenever she glanced his way.

The next morning Ian blinked blearily as he awoke. His shoulder throbbed terribly and the rest of his body felt bruised and stiff. Theo was already up and helping with some of the younger children who were also awake. “How are you feeling?” she asked when she noticed that he’d opened his eyes.

“Awful,” he said, rubbing his shoulder. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a train.”

“The earl has gone to Castle Dover to get more motor-cars. He’s moving us all to the castle!” she said excitedly. “I’ve never stayed at Castle Dover before.”

Ian nodded dully. He felt tired, achy, and out of sorts, and he wasn’t quite sure if he was hungry. “I spent several nights there once,” he said. Although he was a frequent visitor to the castle’s library, overnight visits were rare. “The fourth year I was here, one of the pipes burst upstairs and we all spent Christmas there.”

“What was it like?” Theo asked.

“Big,” Ian said. “And you can’t touch anything.”

Theo gave him a quizzical look, but before she could ask him more questions, they heard the growing rumble of several engines charging toward the keep. The earl’s personal fleet of motorcars came up the drive and pulled to a stop in front of the demolished door.

Most of the children had heard the approaching vehicles and were now rushing to the doorway, chattering with excitement. After a moment the earl waded through the mob of excited children into the front hallway, patting several small heads on his way to the foot of the stairwell.

“Good morning, ladies,” he said to Madams Dimbleby and Scargill, who had emerged from the kitchen at his arrival.

The headmistresses each gave a small curtsy before turning their attention to the children. “Everyone please settle down,” instructed Madam Scargill. “The earl has an announcement.”

By this time, Ian and Theo had joined the rest of the crowd and stood anxiously by the banister of the stairway. Carl, who’d been near the door when the earl had entered, squeezed his way over to stand next to them.

When everyone had settled into silence, the earl began in his booming voice. “Children of Delphi Keep, we will be shuttling you to Castle Dover, where you will be served a warm breakfast this morning and have the opportunity to nap if you were unable to get a good night’s rest last evening. Our plan is to house you at my estate until we can return the keep to an inhabitable state. You will be quite comfortable at Castle Dover, so not to worry.

“I am asking that in the next ten minutes you gather yourselves and whatever small personal articles you’ve managed to recover from this wreckage and proceed into the courtyard, where I’d like you to queue up according to height. We will be chauffeuring the smallest children to the estate first, the older ones next.” The earl finished by smiling winningly When no one moved, he said, “Off you go, then!”

Immediately, the group began to scurry about, grabbing the few possessions they could find. Ian was ready to bolt up-stairs and look through the boys’ dormitory for some article of clothing or other that might have survived when he caught the dejected faces of Carl and Theo. “There’s nothing left of mine,” Theo said sadly.

“I’m wearing the only belongings I have,” said Carl, looking at the ground and shuffling his feet.

Ian’s heart panged with guilt. “I’m sure there’s nothing left in my room either,” he said, thinking that he’d already lost his most valuable possessions—the knife, the compass, and the pocket torch—back in the beast’s tunnel. “I suppose it’s best not to look if I don’t want to be disappointed.”

Theo eyed him skeptically. “You sure?” she asked. “I mean, isn’t there anything you might want to nab while you’ve got the chance?”

Ian realized that Theo