Alice-Miranda and her friends gathered outside their rooms, dressed as if they were on a summer holiday. Although it was below freezing outside, the temperature was almost balmy inside the hotel.

‘Daddy had a few calls to make and told us to go ahead without him,’ Alice-Miranda said.

Millie nodded her head. ‘Same with my dad, though, knowing him he’ll probably have a nap. He was yawning a lot.’

The children made their way down to the hotel spa. Lucas pushed open the heavy glass door into the humid room. The boy dumped his towel on a lounge chair and quickly stripped off his T-shirt and shoes and raced to the water’s edge.

‘Last one in’s a rotten egg,’ he called out as he leapt high into the air and tucked his legs beneath him, showering water all over the place.

The others followed, diving into the steaming pool like missiles.

‘Oh, that chlorine’s strong,’ Alice-Miranda said as she came up for air, her eyes stinging.

‘Do you want to play Marco Polo?’ Jacinta asked.

‘Yes!’ Millie replied. ‘You’re in.’

Jacinta pouted. ‘Why do I have to be in? It was my idea.’

‘That’s why you’re in,’ Millie said with a nod before swimming away.

‘Whatever,’ Jacinta huffed. The girl stood at the shallow end of the pool with her eyes closed, then spun around five times. She could hear the water sploshing and splashing and sensed that one of her friends was near. ‘Marco,’ she called, pushing away from the edge.

‘Polo,’ the children chorused.

Jacinta dove all over the place trying to find them. She came close to catching Sep but the boy was like a seal and zoomed to the bottom just in time.

‘Where is everyone?’ she moaned after a while. ‘You’re all being way too tricky.’

‘Stop cheating,’ Sloane called.

Jacinta grinned. Her plan had worked – she now knew that her friends had all swum to the other end of the massive pool. She plunged under the water and swam as far as she could in one breath.

Just as she did, Otto Fanger arrived dressed in a long white robe and matching slippers. He already had on his white swimming cap and red goggles and was carrying Gertie, who was dressed identically, down to the cap and goggles, although hers were pink and looked to be dotted with diamonds.

Millie had to duck under the water to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Otto took off his robe to reveal a much-too-tiny pair of red-and-white striped swimming trunks and a thicket of wiry chest hair that would have put an old English sheepdog to shame. He set Gertie down on a sun lounger with her towel laid out, then took off her robe to reveal a one-piece swimsuit in the exact same fabric.

‘He can’t be serious,’ Sep whispered to Lucas.

‘Stay there, my princess, and watch Papa perform his aquarobics,’ he instructed before padding over to the deep end.

Otto dipped his toe into the water and pulled it out again, mumbling to himself about the perfect temperature. Then he took several steps backwards, before he began a run-up towards the pool. The hairs on the man’s chest parted down the middle as he propelled himself into the air, like an oversized squirrel in mid-flight. All the children, except for Jacinta, winced in anticipation. Their fears were answered when the man’s enormous belly slapped hard against the surface, creating a tsunami.

‘Ooooh!’ The children cringed in unison, diving under to avoid the rolling wave.

At that moment, Jacinta came up for air and copped a mouthful of chlorine. The girl sputtered and coughed, trying to catch her breath. ‘Where are you?’ she whined. ‘I’ve been in for ages. It’s not fair.’

She lunged towards Millie and missed, then sank under the water again.

Herr Fanger paddled to the shallow end of the pool, where he stood up and fiddled with his swimming cap. From somewhere underneath it he pulled out two earphones. Music blared into his ears and he began to wave his arms in the air and stretch from side to side.

Jacinta burst through the surface. ‘Marco!’

‘Polo,’ the children shouted.

Jacinta pushed off the bottom of the pool and pounced, grabbing hold of something huge and hairy.

Otto squealed.

‘Eew! What’s that?’ Jacinta screamed, opening her eyes to see she was clutching the hotelier’s hairy arm. She immediately let go, her face flushing the same colour as the man’s goggles. ‘S-sorry, Herr Fanger, I didn’t realise you were here.’

‘It is all right, Miss Jacinta,’ the man replied. ‘I am just doing my exercises.’

Millie and Sloane were treading water in the middle of the pool, biting their fists to stop themselves from howling with laughter.

‘Does Gertie go in the water?’ Alice-Miranda asked, swimming over to the man. She gestured to the dog, who was now stretched out full-length on the sun lounger, fast asleep.

‘Oh, goodness no,’ Otto replied. ‘She does not like to get wet at all but she loves to dress up.’

Millie rolled her eyes, imagining what the dog’s groomers must go through.

‘Does Frau Doerflinger enjoy swimming?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

‘My poor Delphine never has time to relax. She is so busy with the hotel and the chocolate factory and soon we will have another … Oops!’ The man tittered and covered his mouth. ‘Anyway, soon we will celebrate.’

Alice-Miranda frowned, wondering what Herr Fanger was talking about.

‘Your eyes are really red,’ Millie said, looking at her friend. ‘Do they hurt?’

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘They are stinging a bit. I’ll go upstairs and find my goggles and see where Daddy has got to,’ she replied, swimming over to the pool’s edge and climbing out of the water. ‘Bye, Herr Fanger.’

The man waved goodbye and put his earphones back in. He thrust his arms into the air and began to sing along with the music, perfectly executing every move to ‘YMCA’.