Ned and Kit Light were packing when they received a telegram asking their parents (Mr Thomas and Mrs Connie Light) to go to Mythika, concerning a lost ancestor and a surprise inheritance. So Ned and Kit moved into the new house alone. The house, Hallows Grange, was damp and chilly, full of fleeting shadows. They received a strange message asking for help and were transported back in time, unfolding a tragic story:
Long ago the house and all the land nearby were owned by the Golightly family. They were fair and respected landowners and the house was famous for its parties and hospitality. However, Ebenezer Hubble sent a phony guide with Lord Thomas Golightly on his botanical exploration trip, arranging for him to be “lost”. He then forged the will of Lord Golightly, leaving himself in charge of the estate until the Lord’s son, Edward reached 21 years of age. Ebenezer then tricked Edward into taking money which he thought his father had left him and accused Edward of stealing. Ebenezer was a judge and he sentenced Edward to seven years of transportation to the colonies. He sailed on The Medusa, which sank off the coast of Mythika in heavy seas. Lady Constanza Golightly died from influenza soon after that.
Quoting Ebenezer’s diary:
September 1st 1791
Through my trickery, Edward is safely out of the way now, never to return to reclaim his inheritance. Hallows Grange is mine and yet… at night when all is quiet I miss them—all of them, especially Thomas. He was my cousin and childhood friend—better than me at everything, always liked, master of Hallows Grange and my benefactor… But when the shadows gather, I am afraid—my guilt weighs heavily. Is it guilt which stops me destroying the real will?
Ebenezer tried to get Catherine (Thomas’s daughter) to marry his son Gervase. She refused and tried to escape. With the help of Ned and Kit, she managed to escape, leaving Gervase to think that she had drowned.
On Ebenezer’s death bed, Kit and Ned ensured that the lawyer read aloud the diary of Ebenezer. Amos Goodfellow, Thomas’s good friend, found the authentic will. Catherine returned as Lady Golightly-Smarte, together with her husband Henry.
It turned out that Edward did survive, although he had lost his memory. He was eventually nursed back to health.
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