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He cocked an eyebrow at Ruby.
    â€˜Oh, no,’ she said, cottoning on. ‘That sounds dreadful. If only there was some way we could have something else. Something delicious.’ She cast a meaningful glance at the housekeeper.
    Sam’s eyes lit up and he blurted out, ‘Make us some dinner, Mrs Rutherford? Please?’
    Ruby threw her hands in the air. ‘Sam! Honestly. You’re as subtle as a shark attack.’
    A smile creased Mrs Rutherford’s face. ‘Master Sam, you are my biggest fan. I’m sure I can throw a little something together for you.’ With an extra bounce in her step, the housekeeper excused herself and set off for the kitchen.
    Gerald closed the heavy oak door and pushed the bolt home.
    â€˜Have a look at this,’ he said, and crossed to his bed. He took out the gemstone and the piece of paper.
    Ruby sat on the mattress and flattened the page across the bedspread. It revealed an intricate sketch of a medieval castle atop soaring cliffs with waves pounding at their rocky base.
    â€˜I remember you drawing this,’ she said to Gerald. ‘In Alisha’s house in Delhi.’
    Gerald brushed his fingertips across the surface of the page, as if reading it in Braille.
    â€˜I’m not likely to forget it,’ he said.
    â€˜I wonder what Alisha and Kali are up to,’ Sam said. ‘All that seems ages ago now.’
    â€˜Alisha is due back in England the week after next for the start of school,’ Gerald said. ‘Miss Turner is escorting her. And the last I heard Kali and her mum were going to join Mr Hoskins at his bookshop in Glastonbury.’
    Ruby emitted a short hrumph . ‘Both Alisha and Kali are coming to England? Won’t that be nice for you.’
    Gerald looked at Ruby through half-closed eyes. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
    â€˜It means whatever you want it to mean,’ Ruby said. She stood and marched back to the armchair under the window and sat down. Gerald stared after her, clueless. He looked to Sam for help but his friend just shrugged. ‘I gave up trying to understand years ago,’ he said. ‘So this castle is in France someplace?’
    Gerald nodded. ‘That’s what Miss Turner said. Somewhere off the coast of Normandy.’
    Sam took the ruby from Gerald’s hand, then wedged it into his eye socket like a monocle. He bent low over the page. ‘Hey! This makes everything look pink.’
    Ruby watched her brother as he made hoots of delight. ‘To think we’re twins,’ she muttered.
    Gerald clamped his lips together to smother a laugh. He slid his hand between the sketch and Sam’s face and plucked the gem from Sam’s eye socket. The moment it fell into Gerald’s palm, the ruby flared up like a lantern.
    Sam’s head bucked back. ‘Holy cow!’ he said. ‘Look at that!’
    Gerald stared at the stone—it seemed as if a fire had been lit deep in its heart. He lifted it closer to his face.
    â€˜The light’s fading,’ Ruby said, crossing back to the bed. ‘Move it over the sketch again.’ She took Gerald’s wrist and pulled his hand down until it was just above the castle. The gem flared; a surge of energy pulsed from its core. Fingers of red light stabbed across the paper, colouring the waves and the sheer rock walls.
    â€˜Let me have a go,’ Sam said. He grabbed the gem from Gerald’s hand. The light vanished instantly. Sam let out another hoot of surprise. He dropped the stone back into Gerald’s palm.
    The ruby flared as bright as ever.
    The three friends looked at each other.
    â€˜Gerald,’ Ruby said. ‘Do you get the feeling the third casket wants to be found? And found by you?’
    Gerald’s mouth had gone very dry. He swallowed. ‘We don’t need to find it,’ he said. ‘My family, the Fraternity in India, spent two thousand years trying to keep secret whatever