Wow. Mathilda had done it again! She had talked Old Morris into doing exactly what we wanted just like she did with Nurse Watkins. Wanda, Mathilda, and I walked back to Spookie House by moonlight. Wanda was so excited that she was gabbing nonstop: ". . . And when he saw your ring Araminta that was amazing and then he said where did you get that and you said it's none of your business and he said yes it is it is my long lost family heirloom and it is worth a fortune and you said " "Wanda, my ears are aching, " Mathilda complained. But for once I was enjoying listening to Wanda because what had just happened was incredible. Mathilda had had a brilliant idea and it had worked. She figured the ring was worth about as much as Sir Horace's old castle. Wanda and I could hardly believe it, but Mathilda knows stuff about rings and she was right. So when Old Morris saw his long lost fam ily heirloom ring on my finger I told him that I would swap it for his horrible Water Wonderland and he agreed at once! He rushed off and found the auctioneer who was hiding in the old gatehouse and we signed all the papers.
Well,actually, Mathilda signed. She had to sign for Sir Horace because Sir Horace is officially dead and I am too young to sign anything, which is stupid but that is how it is. But it was me who got to give the papers to Sir Horace and tell him that his castle really did belong to him once more! That was the best moment ever. He rattled so much that I thought he was going to fall to pieces from shock but he didn't. He just said, "Thank you, Miss Spookie, " in a husky voice and sat down very suddenly. I felt really happy. But now, as we turned the bend in Spookie Lane and saw dark Spookie House silhouetted against the moonlight, I did not feel so great. We were going home to an empty house a house with no ghosts.
We didn't even have Ned and Jed because they were staying with Sir Horace at the castle to keep the nasty FitzMaurice ghosts away forever. I was also sad because I had not even had time to say good bye to Sir Horace or any of the castle ghosts because Mathilda had sud denly become very bossy. She said something to Sir Horace and the ghosts had disappeared really fast. And now, as we walked past the gate stuck on top of the hedge and up the garden path to a dark Spookie House, I felt as gloomy as Uncle Drac. I was thinking that my birthday had been a very small lettuce sandwich hiding a huge, squishy slug because in the end we had lost all our ghosts. Spookie House was dark and quiet when we pushed open the front door.
As soon as we got in Mathilda lit the big candle by the door and started whispering something in Wanda's ear. Wanda giggled and looked very excited. But I felt really miserable. It is not funny when your cousin and your so called best friend whisper things and do not let you in on the secret especially if it is your birthday. Wanda and Mathilda must have realized they were being rotten because they began to sing "Happy Birthday to You" very loudly so that I would not say anything, while Wanda kept looking around with big excited eyes like a goldfish with too much fish food in her bowl. And then the loveliest thing happened. Halfway through "Happy Birthday to You, " Sir Horace walked out of the cellar door under the stairs with a huge bunch of bal loons and Edmund and Fang. Then the most amazing thing happened all the castle ghosts followed them!
It was wonderful. Mathilda banged the gong and yelled, "Surprise, surprise! Happy Birthday, Araminta!" and she and Wanda threw a whole storm of streamers. It was great! Wanda told me that Mathilda had arranged for all the ghosts except for Ned and Jed, who were on guard at the castle to rush over to Spookie House before we got home and hide in the cellar. The ghosts had to wait until they heard Wanda and Mathilda singing "Happy Birthday to You!" and then come out. I thought that was such a wonderful idea. And there was even party food. That was what Wanda and Mathilda had been hiding in the first kitchen-on the right just before the laundry room and that was why they went shopping together.
We had a ton of cheese and onion chips, candies, Coke, ice cream, popcorn, Jell-O, nuts and crackers, a birthday cake with a ghost on it and Mathilda had even made some lettuce sand wiches because she thought that I liked them. I felt a bit sad when I saw them because they reminded me of Uncle Drac, but I soon for got when Mathilda gave me my birthday pres ent. It was squashy like Uncle Drac's present but much bigger. I probably broke the record for opening birthday presents. I tore off the black and red wrapping paper and pulled out the most fan tastic hat I have ever seen. It was just like Mathilda's only better! It was soft and black with tiny red spots all over the brim and black lace hanging from it like little curtains.
The whole hat was drizzled with silvery spiderwebs and it was covered in weird things. There were silver charms, a tiny dried mouse, two dried toads, a small squashed frog, a minute lizard, and a baby bat. Mathilda said they were from her special collection and that she had decorated the hat h e r s e l f t h at was what she had been doing in her room. It was the best present ever. I put it on right away and I did not take my birthday hat off all night.
It was such a great birthday party. I didn't miss Uncle Drac and Aunt Tabby one tiny bit well, maybe I missed Uncle Drac a little. But just as we were starting another game of ghost bumps you close your eyes and run around the room and try to bump into as many ghosts as possible the phone rang. The phone in Spookie House has a weird, ghostly ring to it, like a bell underwater. All the castle ghosts gathered around the phone and looked at it like it was some kind of strange animal. Mathilda picked it up. "Spookie House!" she said, still giggling at something one of the more handsome pages had said.
I could hear Aunt Tabby's voice from the other side of the hall. "Who's that?" squawked the phone. "Mathilda Spookie. " "Oh, hello, Mathilda. I would like to speak to Emilene, please, dear, " said the phone. "Um, she's not here at the moment. " "Where is she?" The voice on the phone sounded suspicious. Well, as soon as Aunt Tabby realized that Great aunt Emilene was not here at all and it was Mathilda who was looking after us, the squawks got so loud I reckon you could have heard them at the top of the house. Eventually Mathilda put the phone down. She looked flustered. "Aunt Tabby's coming back, " she said. "Now. " "Now?" I gasped.
"Well, in about an hour. They are at the air port. " "At the airport?" "Yes. They flew back this morning. It was all a disaster. Brenda was allergic to the bats and has developed a horrible rash. Drac got sunburned on the way to the caves and Barry was bitten on the nose by a giant bat. " I laughed, but Wanda said angrily, "That's not funny, Araminta. Poor Dad. And poor Mom. " "Is Aunt Tabby all right?" I asked. "Oh, she's fine, " said Mathilda. "I don't think anything attacked her. " It wouldn't dare, I thought. Mathilda looked around in a panic. So did I. Spookie House looked a little different from when Aunt Tabby had left.