‘I don’t ever want to leave this place,’ Millie said as her family and friends sat on a long table outside a restaurant perched high above the village and the lake. The children had spent the morning with Gunter while their parents, Mrs Shillingsworth and Mrs Oliver had enjoyed some time together on the slopes – all except Hugh. Cecelia had made apologies for her husband’s absence, citing some urgent business.

When Alice-Miranda and her father had returned to the hotel the previous night, Cecelia had been shocked to learn of the Baron’s predicament. Hugh had immediately scanned the contract and sent it to his lawyers to review. There was no mistake: the financiers were poised to seize the Grand Hotel Von Zwicky as soon as Florian signed the papers and there would have been nothing he could do to stop them. The Baron had been stunned at the news. In his desperation to raise the funds to keep his hotel running, he’d allowed himself to be enticed by crooks. After some research, they’d found the loan company didn’t even exist and it was impossible to trace who was behind it.

Despite the Baron’s protests, Hugh and Cecelia arranged to lend him the funds to carry the hotel through the next few months. Hugh had also insisted on going with Florian to Zermatt to try to get to the bottom of things. There was just so much that didn’t add up. Why they had no guests was the biggest mystery of all.

Hamish stared out across the glistening ski field. ‘I agree, Millie. This place is breathtaking.’

‘How are the legs, Shilly?’ Cecelia asked. The woman had surprised them all by taking the lead on several runs.

Mrs Shillingsworth rubbed the tops of her thighs. ‘Well, I’m bound to be sore, but it’s nothing that a soak in that gorgeous pool won’t fix,’ she replied with a smile.

‘What about you, Mrs Oliver?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘Did you have fun out there?’

‘Goodness, dear, I can hardly believe I remembered how to ski. I’ll leave you all to it this afternoon and go and spend some time with Cyril,’ Dolly Oliver replied. ‘I don’t want him to think we’ve abandoned him.’

‘We made him a card,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘It’s on the coffee table in our suite. Lucas drew the Cresta Run and Jacinta added Cyril flying up into the air. It’s a really good drawing.’

‘We wrote a funny poem too,’ Millie added.

Dolly chuckled. ‘I’m sure he’ll appreciate being reminded of the reason he’s spending the next week in bed.’

‘Have you decided what we’ll do about getting home, ma’am?’ Shilly asked.

‘No, and we might have a slight change of plans if everyone’s agreeable,’ Cecelia replied. She shot Alice-Miranda a knowing look.

Hamish took a sip of his drink. ‘What do you have in mind, Cee?’

‘Well, Hugh saw our dear friend Baron von Zwicky last night and it seems the hotel in Zermatt has some rooms available after all. So, we were thinking of catching the Glacier Express and heading over there for another week until Cyril is ready to fly again,’ Cecelia explained. ‘Sloane, Sep, I’ve called your parents and they’re happy for you to stay on with us.’

‘Really?’ Sloane said in surprise.

‘Your mother is fine with it too, Jacinta,’ Cecelia added. ‘She was hoping to be home from New York to meet us when we got back but a wonderful opportunity has come up for her to spend a week behind the scenes with Christian Fontaine in Paris, so she’s flying directly there. She was worried you’d be upset.’

Jacinta shook her head. ‘That’s a great scoop. Mummy’s not that keen on the cold, anyway, and she’s so much happier now that she’s working.’

Millie grinned at the girl.

‘What are you looking at me like that for?’ Jacinta asked.

‘Sometimes I wonder what happened to you. It’s like you suddenly grew up and now you’re the most understanding daughter in the world,’ Millie said.

Jacinta shrugged. ‘I’m really proud of Mummy. She’s changed completely and I know she’d rather be with me, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices if you’re going to succeed in life.’

The adults laughed.

‘It’s going to be so much fun in Zermatt,’ Alice-Miranda said dreamily. ‘I can’t wait for you all to see it. I think it’s even prettier than St Moritz.’

‘Isn’t that near where Caprice skis with her family?’ Sloane asked.

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘I think she said her family has a lodge in Cervinia, which is just over the border in Italy.’

‘Thankfully, she’s staying home these holidays,’ Millie said. ‘She wouldn’t stop bragging about taping some episodes for the next season of Sweet Things.’

Sloane rolled her eyes. ‘What doesn’t that girl brag about?’

‘So, what does everyone think about a few more days away?’ Cecelia asked. ‘I hope getting back a bit later than we planned isn’t a problem for anyone.’

‘It’s fine by us,’ Pippa said cheerfully. ‘We were thinking of having a weekend in the caravan but I’m just starting to feel my ski legs and I’d love to stay longer.’

Hamish nodded. ‘Absolutely. I haven’t had this much fun in years.’

‘Well,’ Dolly began, ‘Shilly and I were just saying yesterday that we’d have loved to have time to visit Zurich and perhaps even get to Geneva too.’

‘The Large Hadron Collider isn’t far from Geneva,’ Alice-Miranda piped up. ‘I remember in the laboratory one day you told me how much you’d like to see that, Mrs Oliver.’

Dolly nodded eagerly. ‘I wouldn’t want to bore Shilly to death with it, but perhaps I could take a side trip there on my own.’

Cecelia clapped her hands together. ‘Oh, yes, you must. What a wonderful idea.’

‘We’ll miss you, of course,’ Alice-Miranda chimed in.

‘Dear girl, you’ll be so busy you won’t give us two oldies a second thought,’ Shilly teased.

‘That’s not true and you know it.’ Alice-Miranda slipped off her chair and wrapped her arms around the woman.

‘I’m glad you’re not too big for hugs yet,’ Shilly said and pecked Alice-Miranda’s cheek.

‘Never,’ Alice-Miranda replied, giving Shilly another squeeze.

‘Will Hugh be joining us this afternoon?’ Hamish asked. He had enjoyed their skiing yesterday and was keen to tackle a few of the more challenging runs with him.

‘Actually, Hugh’s already gone over to Zermatt this morning,’ Cecelia replied. ‘We’ll meet him again on Monday.’

‘Oh,’ Hamish said, ‘I’m sorry he had to go.’

‘Yes, it’s a pity Daddy won’t get to see the racing,’ Alice-Miranda said.

‘I’ll take loads of photographs.’ Millie whipped her camera out of her jacket pocket as proof.

‘All right then, who wants to hit a couple of red runs with me?’ Hamish asked.

‘Me! Me! Me!’ the children shouted over the top of one another.

‘Can we find some black trails too?’ Lucas asked.

Sloane grimaced. ‘I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.’

‘How about we manage a couple of reds and then see how everyone feels?’ Hamish suggested.

‘It’s all right,’ Alice-Miranda said to Sloane. ‘If you don’t want to go on the black runs, I’ll come back down here with you. But after Gunter took us on that mogul course this morning, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have any trouble handling it at all.’

‘Yeah, you were amazing,’ Jacinta agreed. ‘And you beat your brother, remember.’

The boy wrinkled his nose. ‘Don’t remind me.’

‘Okay, I’ll give it a try,’ Sloane said, perking up considerably. ‘But if I die, I’m never speaking to any of you ever again.’

Everyone laughed.

‘Well, der!’ Millie said.

‘You know what I mean!’ Sloane jammed her helmet on her head and snapped her goggles on over the top as she and her friends charged off to get their skis.