“They find a young noblewoman aboard, Honorata Willerman, the Duchess of Weltrendrem. She is taken captive to Tortuga where she is to await payment of her ransom.”
“On the way home I wondered if this was not some trick of his, returning to the house, but his last words drove all my doubts away. As we had to go back to the village next day to see the mayor, it was certain that Barberin had not accepted Vitalis’ terms.”
“I’m going out again tomorrow,′ he told the other engines that night in the Shed. ‘What do you think of that?’ But he didn’t hear what they thought, for he was to tired and happy that he fell asleep at once.”
“Orphaned young, they have lived with their rather strict grandmother for some years, repeatedly told that their father’s side of the family are unpleasant people who dislike them.”
“The house is named Merlyns and it has been in the family for many generations. It is said to be cursed, and the story of the curse is bound up in the loss of an ivory horn.”
“The story is about eleven-year-old twins who are sent to stay with their aunt and uncle in an old country house called Merylns. It’s a lovely place, but not a happy one; their uncle suffered a terrible tragedy, and their Aunt is disabled.”
“Jack spends most of the year in school; Gill slowly settles in, and gets to know an eclectic mixture of local people, as well as learning about the history of the house, which includes a missing horn and a strange curse...”
“All of a sudden Olle began to sneeze. He felt that his feet were wet, and noticed that the hoarfrost in his coat had melted away, and at the same time he saw a strange little old woman trudging through the woods.”