After a few moments, the door opened and a tall, thin man with a pointy brown beard and black-framed glasses looked at Clemmie. He had curly brown hair and wore checked pants and a dark-blue waistcoat over a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

‘Hello,’ he said, glancing from Clementine to her mother.

‘Hello, I’m Clarissa Appleby and this is my daughter Clementine Rose. We live just up the road in –’

‘Penberthy House,’ the fellow finished. He had a huge grin on his face.

‘Yes,’ Clarissa said, smiling. ‘Welcome to Penberthy Floss.’

‘We’re thrilled to be here,’ the man said, nodding. ‘And we’re thrilled to meet you.’

Clementine pointed at the box in her mother’s hands. ‘We made a cake.’

‘You must come in and have tea,’ he said.

‘We don’t want to interrupt,’ Lady Clarissa said. ‘You must be terribly busy unpacking.’

Clementine frowned. ‘But Mummy, you said that we couldn’t come yesterday because they would be unpacking and that’s why we had to wait until today.’ She feared that her mother was going to turn around and head home. Clementine was dying to find out if there were any children in the house.

‘No, we’re glad to have a reason to stop.’ He turned and called into the house, ‘Ana, darling, put the kettle on. We have guests.’

Lady Clarissa and Clementine followed the man down the hallway. They skirted around packing boxes piled high, past a staircase, and through another door at the end of the passageway.

They stopped in a beautiful kitchen and family room. It was surrounded by windows with a view of the back garden.

‘Ana,’ the man said. A tall woman spun around from the sink with a kettle in her hand.

‘Hello there,’ she said, smiling.

Clementine thought she was one of the prettiest ladies she’d ever seen. Her blue eyes sparkled and her dark hair was pulled back into a sleek bun.

‘Hello,’ Lady Clarissa said.

‘Oh my heavens, I haven’t even told you my name.’ The man hit the heel of his hand against his forehead. ‘You must think me a real twit.’

‘Of course not,’ Lady Clarissa said. ‘I can understand why you’d be distracted.’

‘I’m Basil Hobbs and this is my wife Anastasia,’ he said with an embarrassed grin.

‘Please, everyone calls me Ana.’ The woman switched on the kettle and lined up several mugs on the stone bench.

‘It’s lovely to meet you. I’m Clarissa Appleby and this is my daughter Clementine Rose,’ Clarissa replied.

‘We made you a cake,’ Clementine said as her mother handed the box to Ana.

The woman lifted the lid. ‘Oh, it looks delicious. The children are going to love this.’

Clementine’s blue eyes widened. ‘What children?’

‘We have three, Clementine,’ the woman replied.

An excited tingle ran down Clementine’s spine.

‘Our eldest, Araminta, is almost eleven, and the twins, Tilda and Teddy, are about to turn six.’

Clementine beamed. ‘That’s the same as me.’

‘Actually, Basil, it’s awfully quiet. Do you know where they are?’ Ana asked.

‘I think they’ve gone to see what Flash thinks of the creek,’ he replied. ‘I’ll give them a shout.’

‘Who’s Flash?’ Clementine asked.

‘He’s the twins’ tortoise,’ Ana said. ‘He’s an adorable little creature. I must admit I never thought a tortoise would be affectionate or interesting but he’s both.’

Basil opened a glass door that led out onto a deck. ‘Mintie, Tilda, Teddy,’ he called. ‘Come out, come out, wherever you are. We have guests and they brought cake!’

‘The house is beautiful,’ said Clarissa as she looked around the room admiringly. ‘And this kitchen is gorgeous. What a dream.’

‘Thank you. We’re very pleased with how it all came up, especially as we weren’t here for the renovation.’ Ana noticed the puzzled look on Clarissa’s face. ‘We’ve been away for months. Basil was making a documentary in France so we decided we’d take the chance to travel with the children. It won’t be long until Araminta is off to boarding school.’

‘How wonderful,’ Clarissa said. ‘The travel, not that your daughter’s going to boarding school.’

‘Oh, she can’t wait. We’ve got her a place at the new secondary school at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale but she has another year in primary first. The children are all off to Ellery Prep this year.’

‘The same as me,’ Clementine said with a big smile.

Basil walked back across the deck. ‘They’re coming now.’

There was a flash of brunette hair and gangly limbs. Three children tumbled into the kitchen. They regained their composure and looked at the visitors.

‘Hello,’ the older girl said. ‘I’m Mintie. It’s short for Araminta.’

Clementine smiled at her. She had long chocolate-brown hair and blue eyes like her mother’s. She was tall like her parents too.

‘My friend Sophie has a cat called Mintie,’ Clementine said.

‘Good choice,’ the girl said with a smile.

The twins were about the same height as Clemmie and had dark hair too. The girl’s hair was tied up in two pigtails and the boy’s was short and wavy but not curly like his father’s. They both had brown eyes.

‘I’m Tilda and he’s Teddy,’ the younger girl said, looking at her brother.

‘But my real name’s Edward,’ the boy explained.

Clementine was wondering if the girl had a different name too. She must have read Clementine’s mind.

‘And my name really is Tilda and I don’t like anything else.’ She nodded decisively.

‘You look the same,’ Clementine said. ‘Except for your hair.’

‘I’m five minutes older,’ Teddy said proudly. ‘So she’s the baby of the family.’

‘Everyone knows the youngest is the cutest.’ Tilda grinned.

Araminta wrinkled her nose. ‘Says who?’

‘Says your apparently very cute little sister,’ Basil said, rolling his eyes playfully.

Clementine liked the family already. She looked at the patterned shell in Tilda’s hands. It was about the size of a bread and butter plate.

‘This is Flash. He’s a bit shy sometimes,’ said Tilda. Clementine could just see the curve of the tortoise’s neck hidden inside his portable home. ‘He’s still getting used to things but he’ll come out when he’s ready.’

Tilda put Flash into a basket on the floor in the corner of the kitchen. ‘That’s not his real house. We’ve got to find it. We don’t know where the men from the truck put it.’

‘This is Clarissa Appleby and Clementine Rose,’ Basil said. ‘They’re our neighbours.’

‘Hello everyone,’ Clarissa said. ‘It’s lovely to meet you all.’

‘Do you live in that massive house near the corner?’ Araminta asked.

Clementine nodded.

‘Wow!’ the twins said in unison. ‘That’s a mansion.’

‘Are there ghosts?’ Teddy asked.

‘I don’t think so,’ Lady Clarissa replied.

Tilda’s eyes widened. ‘What about in the attic?’

Lady Clarissa shook her head. ‘I’m afraid not.’

‘Really?’ The girl wrinkled her lip. ‘I thought all old houses had ghosts.’

‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ Lady Clarissa said.

‘I’m not disappointed.’ Araminta shuddered. She wasn’t keen on anything spooky. Tilda and Teddy knew it and loved trying to scare their big sister.

‘Sometimes I think Granny and Grandpa are like ghosts,’ Clementine said. ‘I imagine that they fly down from their portraits and take tea in the sitting room. Grandpa loves poetry and Granny is always smiling.’

The twins looked at each other. ‘Cool!’ they said at the same time.

Araminta shook her head. ‘Not cool.’ But she couldn’t help thinking that Clementine was just about the cutest girl she’d ever met.

Basil opened the cake box and lifted the chocolate confection onto a plate.

Tilda licked her lips when she saw it. ‘Yum.’

The group settled around the table with cups of tea for the adults and lemonade for the children.

‘How did you ever come to buy this place?’ Lady Clarissa asked, before taking a sip of her tea.

‘We’ve been looking for a home in the country for quite a while now. A friend told us he’d seen a little cottage for sale in Penberthy Floss,’ said Basil. A sheepish look settled on the man’s face. ‘I have to admit I knew the village because of your house.’

‘Our house?’ Lady Clarissa asked in surprise.

‘I make documentaries about grand homes, and Penberthy House has been on my list for ages, along with Highton Hall and Lord Tavistock’s pile.’

Lady Clarissa laughed. ‘I’m afraid our place is nothing like either of those mansions.’

‘Perhaps not, but I’m sure that it has just as fascinating a history.’

‘You’re probably right about that,’ said Lady Clarissa, nodding.

The adults continued chatting about the house while the children drank their lemonade and tucked into their cake.

‘This is good!’ Teddy said as crumbs sputtered from his mouth.

Clementine smiled.

‘Do you have any pets?’ Araminta asked. ‘Daddy said that we’re going to get a dog now that we live in the country.’

Clementine stiffened. She hoped it wasn’t a dog that liked to leave messages. Aunt Violet would definitely have something to say about that.

‘I have a teacup pig,’ said Clementine. ‘Her name is Lavender and she’s at home with Pharaoh. He’s Aunt Violet’s cat.’

‘A teacup pig!’ Tilda and Teddy said at exactly the same time.

Araminta looked at the twins and shook her head. ‘They always do that,’ she explained to Clementine. ‘You’ll get used to it even though it can be a bit weird.’

The children fired a volley of questions at Clementine about where she went to school and what sort of things there were to do in the village and if she had a pony. They’d soon finished their afternoon tea and asked if they could take her on a tour of the house and garden.

‘Yes, of course,’ said Lady Clarissa. ‘But we can’t stay too long.’

‘Aunt Violet will grumble if dinner is late,’ Clementine said.

‘Who’s Aunt Violet?’ Araminta asked.

‘She’s Grandpa’s sister and she complains a lot,’ Clementine explained.

‘Clemmie, she’s not that bad,’ her mother said.

‘Well, she was when she first came to stay and now she’s never going to leave,’ Clementine said. ‘But I suppose we’re used to her.’

The children scooted into the hallway and up the stairs, leaving Basil and Ana frowning and Lady Clarissa with a rueful smile on her face.

The children delighted in showing off every nook and cranny of the house, including a wonderful space in the attic with a whole lot of mirrors.

Clementine pointed to a long bar running along the mirrored wall. ‘What’s that for?’

‘That’s Mummy’s, so she can practise,’ Tilda said.

‘Practise what?’ Clementine asked.

‘Ballet. She’s going to start a ballet school in the village hall,’ Araminta explained.

Clementine’s eyes widened. ‘I love ballet.’

‘Maybe you can join Mummy’s school. She’s very good at it. I helped her choose the tutus that the girls will have to wear. They’re red,’ said Tilda.

‘Do you learn?’ she asked the children.

Araminta shook her head. ‘I used to but I didn’t really like it.’

‘We do,’ the twins said together.

Clementine’s tummy fluttered. The twins shared a room and Araminta had her own with a bathroom between them. There was another room, which their father was planning to use as a study, and their parents’ bedroom, which had a smart white ensuite with a beautiful big bath. Clementine thought Aunt Violet would have liked that a lot.

The foursome darted back downstairs and took Clementine into the garden. A lush lawn rolled down to a little creek. The children passed the raised garden beds, which were for a new vegetable patch.

‘Uncle Felix said that he’s going to build us a tree house up there.’ Tilda pointed into the fork of an ancient oak. ‘Daddy can’t build anything but Uncle Felix can build everything. He fixed the house.’

‘That would be amazing,’ Clementine said. She loved the idea of having a tree house to play in.

A little while later, Basil called out that it was time for Clementine to go. The children were inspecting the newly constructed chicken coop, which was waiting for some residents. They raced back to the house.

‘Mummy, there’s a chicken house and their uncle is going to build a tree house and there’s a play room in the attic, with a bar and mirrors for ballet,’ Clementine said excitedly. ‘Can they come and play tomorrow?’ She looked at her mother, her blue eyes pleading.

‘Of course, darling, if it’s all right with Basil and Ana,’ Clarissa replied.

‘How about I walk them up after lunch?’ Basil suggested.

‘I can give you a tour of the house if you like?’ Clarissa said.

Basil rubbed his pointy little beard and grinned. ‘Oh, that would be splendid.’

‘Why don’t you all come for afternoon tea?’ Clarissa said. ‘Say, two o’clock.’

‘You can meet Aunt Violet,’ said Clementine, wrinkling her nose. ‘And Uncle Digby. He’s lovely.’

‘Is he married to Aunt Violet?’ Ana asked.

Clementine began to giggle. ‘No way. Uncle Digby’s much too smart for that.’

Lady Clarissa quickly explained who Uncle Digby was.

‘Well, see you tomorrow,’ Clarissa said as she and Clementine set off.

‘See you tomorrow,’ the children and their parents called back.