Braxton Balfour had been beavering away in the silver room for hours. He glanced up at the clock and gave the last of the dinner forks a vigorous rub, then placed it back into the red-velvet-lined canteen. It seemed he might finally get his chance to see Lydie again. Vincent Langley had blustered into the room half an hour beforehand sputtering and frothing about an unexpected entourage of prime-ministerial guests.

At the time, Braxton’s heart sank as he waited for another long inventory of palace-bound duties, but Vincent had instead handed him a shopping list. Braxton was to pick up an order at the farm shop once he’d finished polishing and had organised to have the small dining room set for Her Majesty’s evening meal.

He picked up the dirty cloths and was on his way to the utility room when Frank Bunyan walked downstairs.

‘Hello,’ Braxton said.

‘Afternoon,’ Bunyan replied stiffly.

‘Langley’s not here.’

‘I was just after some supplies for a picnic,’ Bunyan said, looking lost.

Braxton nodded his head towards the main kitchen. ‘One of the chefs should be able to help you find what you need.’

Bunyan began to walk past when Braxton couldn’t help himself.

‘So where is it that you’ve come from?’ he asked. Although the man was utterly useless, he was still a potential threat and Braxton wanted to know exactly who he was dealing with.

Bunyan hesitated, itching the back of his neck. ‘Sorry, I don’t have time to chat. The children are keen to get going,’ he mumbled before scurrying away.

Braxton rolled his eyes. If the fellow couldn’t even hold a civilised conversation about his work experience, perhaps he had nothing to worry about at all.

‘Is everyone ready to go?’ Alice-Miranda asked as the group gathered in the rear entrance foyer. The children had agreed to change back into their play clothes and keep the dress-ups in their rooms for later on. Perhaps they would wear them to dinner instead.

Frank Bunyan walked towards the children with three bulging daypacks.

‘Oh, thank you, Mr Bunyan,’ Alice-Miranda enthused.

Lucas, Jacinta and Millie took the bags from him.

‘This feels like enough food for a week,’ Lucas remarked. He slung the heavy pack onto his shoulders.

‘Chef thought you might get hungry, and there are drink bottles too,’ Bunyan replied. He hadn’t actually been able to locate any of the chefs but there was a basket of food that looked just perfect with sandwiches, quiches, cakes, scones and the like.

‘Have you got your camera, Millie?’ Jacinta asked.

Millie reached into her jacket pocket and felt around but it wasn’t there. ‘That’s strange,’ she said. ‘I must have left it when we were having lunch. I’ll be back in a minute.’

‘No!’ Bunyan cried, grabbing hold of the girl’s sleeve.

‘What are you doing?’ Millie demanded, wrangling her arm free of his grasp.

Bunyan softened. ‘I’ll get your camera, miss. You can stay here with your friends.’

‘Okay,’ Millie said. ‘Keep your hair on.’ She didn’t see why he had to be so pushy about it.

‘There is something weird about that guy,’ Sloane said as she watched the butler disappear down the hallway.

Alice-Miranda couldn’t help thinking the same thing.

A few minutes later he reappeared and handed Millie the camera.

‘Thank you,’ the girl said.

Bunyan gave a bow. ‘My pleasure.’

Just at that moment, Marian Marmalade walked through from the front hall.

‘Hello Mrs Marmalade. Is the visit going well?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Oh, quite,’ the woman replied. ‘Her Majesty and the Prime Minister seem to have bonded over a mutual love of dogs. The man is besotted with Archie and Petunia.’

Bunyan was glad to hear it. He wasn’t keen to see the pesky beagles anytime soon.

‘We’re going exploring,’ Alice-Miranda informed the woman.

Mrs Marmalade nodded. ‘Enjoy yourselves, and make sure you’re back before dark.’

‘You know, she’s not as crusty as I thought she was,’ Millie whispered. ‘Maybe she’s better at home, in her own surroundings.’

Jacinta grinned. ‘Most people usually are.’

Mrs Marmalade turned and shot the girls a stare. ‘I heard that,’ she said.

Jacinta and Millie grimaced at one another. Alice-Miranda giggled.

‘Come on. Let’s go,’ Caprice said, impatient to show off her knowledge of the hunting tower.

The children scurried out the back doors with Frank Bunyan behind them.

‘You’re not coming,’ Caprice snapped when she realised that the man was still part of their group.

‘Of course not,’ he replied amiably. ‘I’ll just see you to the edge of the garden.’ He looked back at the palace windows to see if anyone was watching.

‘We’re not babies, you know,’ Caprice said.

‘No, clearly not,’ Bunyan replied dryly. ‘You seem to know just about everything.’

‘Thank you,’ Caprice said with a smarmy smile.

Jacinta and Sloane stifled grins. For someone allegedly as smart as Caprice, she wasn’t very good at picking up on sarcasm.

Alice-Miranda dropped back to walk beside the man. ‘Mr Bunyan, just so you know, we’re going to explore the hunting tower,’ she said. ‘Caprice says that she knows how to get in.’

Frank Bunyan exhaled through gritted teeth. ‘Thank you so much for telling me.’

But that’s not what he was thinking at all.