The Secrets of Winterhouse
Page 25
His last words were muffled as the door closed behind him and Leona. Elizabeth stood shaking her head with pleasure. “I guess I really am staying here.”
“Lucky, lucky,” Freddy said.
“I agree.”
Freddy tugged one of the ropes. “You don’t have to learn this if you don’t want to.”
Elizabeth looked at the disk, then gazed up to the ceiling. “I guess if I’m going to live here, I might as well know as much about everything as possible. Show me where I start.”
Freddy scratched his cheek, looked at the control panel, and then squinted at Elizabeth. “You know what would really help us concentrate right now?”
Elizabeth shook her head.
“A swim in the pool and then a bunch of Flurschen.” He pointed to the door. “Come on.”
It was right as they were closing the door behind them that Elizabeth thought she felt, for a moment, a rumbling from far beneath her. It was just a hint of a tremor, but she was certain she felt something.
Freddy looked at her. “You okay?”
“Did you feel that?” she said. “Like something shook a little?”
“I didn’t.” He shrugged.
She stood listening, waiting to hear more.
One of the women who cleaned the rooms at Winterhouse turned a corner with her cart of supplies and began pushing it down the corridor as the floor rumbled. Freddy looked to it as the woman rounded another corner and disappeared. “That’s probably what you felt. Her cart.”
She was about to agree when a man, maybe forty years old, approached from the near hallway and said, “Do either of you know, is the library on the first or second floor?”
“You’re in luck,” Freddy said, “because this is the assistant librarian here.” He turned to Elizabeth, and the man smiled pleasantly.
“It’s on the second floor,” Elizabeth said. “If you take the elevator down, right when you get off you’ll see a sign pointing the way. You can’t miss it.”
“Wonderful!” the man said. “I’ve heard it’s quite large.”
“Yes, it’s enormous,” Elizabeth said.
“I’m looking for something with stories from King Arthur,” the man said. “Do they have much in that area?”
“Absolutely,” Elizabeth said. “Second level of the library in section O-16.”
The man’s eyes went wide. “You really do know that library, don’t you?” he said. And with a dip of his head he said, “Thank you,” and then departed.
Freddy turned to Elizabeth. He pulled his head back with exaggerated appreciation. “Look at you!” he said. “That was impressive!”
“Hey, what can I say?” Elizabeth said.
“I’m gonna be sorry to leave here tomorrow,” Freddy said, “but maybe I’ll be back in a few months.”
“I hope so, Freddy. That would be the best.”
“You’ll take care of the camera obscura for me?” he said.
“Absolutely.”
Freddy looked in the direction the man had departed. “You really love the library, don’t you?”
“I love this whole place,” Elizabeth said.
“So do I. And I can’t believe everything that happened here again this year. I gotta hand it to you, Elizabeth. You really saved the day. Norbridge and all of them have got to be really happy you’re here.”
Elizabeth was full of too many emotions to consider everything Freddy was saying. New Year’s Eve had come and gone, the strange events of the necklace and the secret passageways had ended, and now her friend—her best friend—was about to leave the next day and she would be starting at a new school. So much had happened; so much was beginning.
“I’m happy I’m here,” she said.
Freddy flashed her a double thumbs-up.
All she wanted to do was go swimming and talk with Freddy and roam the halls of Winterhouse and sit in the huge dining hall for dinner and soak up all the magic of the day ahead. She’d earned it, she wanted it—and she belonged.
“Besides,” Elizabeth said, “Winterhouse is my home.”
END OF BOOK 2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to: Rena Rossner for her committed, steady guidance; Christy Ottaviano for her insightful and devoted collaboration; Chloe Bristol for creating illustrations with such charm and beauty; and Jessica Anderson, Lauren Festa, and Brittany Pearlman for their unfailing professionalism. Above all, thank you to Jacob, Olivia, and Natalie for the care and optimism they bring to all their undertakings; and to Rosalind, for the joyfulness she shares with everyone and the untiring support and inspiration she provides me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ben Guterson is the author of Winterhouse, which was an Indie Next List Pick. He was a high school and middle school teacher in New Mexico and Colorado for a decade before working at Microsoft as a program manager. Ben lives near Seattle in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. benguterson.com, or sign up for email updates here.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Chloe Bristol is an animation artist whose work has been featured on Disney Junior and Cartoon Network, among others. She is also the illustrator of the popular Winterhouse series by Ben Guterson. She lives in Southern California. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Part One: A Return to the North—and the Search Must Start
Chapter 1: An Incident on the Bus Note
Chapter 2: A Conversation Overheard Starve
Chapter 3: Unexpected Revelations Traveled
Chapter 4: A Strange Book Began
Chapter 5: A Cemetery to Avoid Meet
Chapter 6: Friends Reunited Sure
Chapter 7: A Meeting, A Mystery Teaming
Chapter 8: A Very Dark Room Ready
Chapter 9: Strange Talk at Dinner Anger
Chapter 10: A Lecture Concluded Counter
Chapter 11: Mishaps in the Library Pains
Chapter 12: A Surprise in the Journal Inspire
Chapter 13: A Tour of the Candy Kitchen Forth
Chapter 14: A Shocking Attack Taking
Part Two: Christmas Approaches—and the Alarm Chimes
Chapter 15: A Regrettable Meeting Blame
Chapter 16: Something in Place Clap
Chapter 17: Questions—and A Telescope Elated
Chapter 18: A Sinister Discovery Strides
Chapter 19: The Ripplington Silver Corridor Cover
Chapter 20: Trouble on Christmas Eve Smarties
Part Three: Between Two Holidays—and the Magic Harmony Breaks
Chapter 21: The Ninety-Nine-Year-Old Woman World
Chapter 22: The Contents of the Pouch Hope
Chapter 23: A Plan Takes Shape Phase
Chapter 24: An Afternoon in Havenworth Thrown
Chapter 25: The Café and the Scarab Scare
Chapter 26: The Seal Unraveled Reveal
Chapter 27: The View from the Dark Room Method
Chapter 28: Danger at the Cabin Target
Part Four: The Year Ends—and the Far Chamber Calls
Chapter 29: The Final Door Dolor
Chapter 30: Fears—and an Entry Safer
Chapter 31: Journey Through a Maze Entry
Chapter 32: The Secret of Winterhouse Hours
Chapter 33: A Decision Made Domains
Chapter 34: A Final View Alive
Acknowledgments
About the Author and Illustrator
Copyright
Text copyright © 2018 by Ben Guterson
Illustrations copyright © 2018 by Chloe Bristol
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First hardcover edition, 2018
eBook edition, December 2018
eISBN 9781250123916