‘Good morning, sleepyheads.’ Cecelia Highton-Smith breezed into the girls’ bedroom just after nine.

Alice-Miranda had been awake for a little while, reading. In the bed beside her, Millie stretched her arms and yawned. Caprice was still fast asleep in the foldaway under the windows, her breaths punctuated by gentle snores.

‘Hello Mummy.’ Alice-Miranda sat up as her mother perched beside her. ‘Wasn’t the party wonderful?’

Cecelia smiled and stroked the top of her daughter’s head. ‘Yes, it was. Although, I think your father pulled a muscle from all that dancing.’

Millie rolled over and sat up too. ‘Aunty Gee was hilarious! Who would’ve thought that she and Mrs Marmalade would have that funny dance all choreographed? I could hardly believe it when the rest of the palace staff joined in. I should have taken more photographs.’

‘Aunty Gee knows how to have fun, that’s for sure,’ Cecelia agreed.

‘And even Freddy got up and danced, but Elsa looked as if she’d swallowed a fly,’ Millie said with a giggle.

‘Yes, it was good to see Freddy and his mother getting on,’ Cecelia said. ‘I don’t think that’s been the case for quite some time. Anyway, girls, why don’t you get up and have a shower? Then we’ll head out to brunch.’

Alice-Miranda pushed back the covers and scurried off to the bathroom.

Caprice’s eyes fluttered before she yawned and pushed herself up onto her pillows.

‘Good morning, Caprice,’ Cecelia said as she pulled back the curtains and the sunshine streamed through. She took a seat on the end of the girl’s bed. ‘I spoke to your mother a little while ago and she said she’d like you to join her today.’

Caprice’s bottom lip began to tremble. ‘But  I don’t want to see Nonno when he’s sick, and Aunty Gee said I could stay.’ Fat tears threatened to spill.

Millie was watching from her bed, wondering when the girl was going to win her first Academy Award.

‘Why don’t I phone your mother again?’ Cecelia suggested, surprised at the girl’s reaction. ‘Perhaps you can stay another day and then we can reassess.’

Caprice nodded. Her long wet lashes framed her sparkling sapphire-blue eyes.

Millie rolled her eyes. It was so unfair that the brat looked beautiful even when she cried.

‘All right, we’ll be leaving for the picnic brunch in about twenty minutes,’ Cecelia said as she got up and walked to the door. ‘It’s a bit of a trek across the field to get there but it’s a gorgeous day.’

‘You should go to your mother,’ Millie said after Cecelia had left.

‘Why should you get to have all the fun?’ Caprice retorted. ‘Besides, I don’t want to be near anyone who’s dying.’

‘Your grandpa might not die, you know, Caprice,’ Millie said.

‘Then I’ll see him when he gets better,’ the girl sniffed. ‘Bags having the next shower.’

Caprice gathered up her things and ran off to the bathroom, leaving Millie shaking her head.

Aunty Gee’s brunch was never going to be your average family picnic. A huge blue-and-white striped marquee had sprung up by the stream and there were pretty folding chairs and small tables dotted across a stretch of freshly mown grass.

Inside the tent, a long oak table heaved under the weight of breakfast treats. There were all manner of pastries, cereals, fruit and yoghurt, and a row of silver chafing dishes with little lamps burning beneath them to keep the bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, tomatoes and pancakes warm. Over in one corner stood a counter with three chefs making eggs to order.

‘Good morning, my darlings,’ Granny Valentina greeted Alice-Miranda and her friends as they gambolled across the field to join the festivities. Lucas and Sep had taken charge of the twins in their buggy while Jacinta couldn’t resist doing some tumble turns in the long grass. Caprice hovered behind the boys walking beside Sloane, who was doing her best to ignore the girl.

‘Hello Granny.’ Alice-Miranda ran towards the woman and gave her a tight squeeze around the middle. ‘Have you already had your breakfast?’

Millie skipped in beside her friend and Valentina gave her a hug too.

‘Yes, Gee and I came down a little while ago. Good thing too, because she’s been called back to the palace to sort out some official business. I tell you, that woman works far too hard. She was supposed to be taking it easy this weekend,’ Valentina Highton-Smith tutted.

‘Aunty Gee is amazing,’ Millie said. The girl checked herself and shook her head.

‘What’s wrong, Millie?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I still can’t believe I get to call Her Majesty “Aunty Gee” and that I’m here at the palace and now I’ll be staying for a whole week. If someone had told me a year ago that this would happen, I’d have said that they were completely bonkers.’

Alice-Miranda and her grandmother smiled at the girl.

‘Well, Millie, I’ve known Gee since we were toddlers and I have to say that the woman hasn’t changed a bit. She’s still the same generous, kindhearted girl I’ve always known,’ Valentina said. ‘So you make sure that you enjoy every minute and don’t be afraid to tell everyone exactly what she’s like. I think far too many people form views about someone when they don’t know the person at all.’

‘What do you mean, Granny?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

Valentina sighed. ‘There are certain members of society who’d be very happy to see Gee give up the crown. In fact, there are plenty of people who’d be happy to see the whole monarchy crumble,’ she explained.

Alice-Miranda’s brow creased. ‘I thought everyone loved Aunty Gee.’

‘Lots do, of course. It’s just that there are individuals who would love to see her gone. But not in my lifetime if I have anything to say about it,’ Valentina said.

Lloyd Lancaster-Brown had been standing nearby drinking his tea when he overheard their conversation. ‘What are you talking about, Valentina?’ he asked.

‘I was just telling the girls that there are people who’d like to see Gee give up the throne,’ the woman explained.

‘Surely not.’ Lloyd frowned. ‘The woman’s a brick. Her son, on the other hand …’

Valentina playfully smacked him on the arm. ‘I’m sure that Freddy will do a fine job when his turn comes.’

‘I can’t imagine Aunty Gee not being the Queen,’ Alice-Miranda said.

‘Me either,’ Millie said. ‘She’s like the stars, really.’

Alice-Miranda and her grandmother looked at the child quizzically.

‘You might not see them every night but you know they’ll always be there,’ Millie explained.

‘What a lovely way to look at it,’ Valentina said with a nod.

‘That buffet looks amazing.’ Millie had been eyeing the plump croissants ever since they’d arrived in the marquee.

‘Off you go, girls.’ Valentina smiled at the children and waved them off. ‘Get in there while there’s still something left. I can see Edgar and Louis coming now, and you know what teenage boys are like when it comes to food!’