Uncle Digby managed to get an appointment first thing. So, just before half past eight, Clarissa and Clementine set off to Highton Mill, where the doctor had his surgery. There was no one else waiting when they arrived.

‘Good morning, Lady Appleby,’ the receptionist said and then looked at Clementine. ‘Hello, you must be Clementine Rose. I’m Daisy.’ The pretty young woman smiled at the child. Clementine said hello but didn’t smile back. ‘How old are you?’

‘I’m five,’ Clementine replied.

‘Have you started school yet?’ the lady asked.

Clementine nodded. She hadn’t seen this woman before. Usually Mrs Minchin sat in the big chair behind the tall desk.

‘Hello, Daisy is it? It was her first day yesterday,’ Lady Clarissa volunteered. ‘How long have you been working here?’

‘Not long. I’m just relieving while Mrs Minchin’s on holidays. I usually work over at Highton Hall.’

Clementine walked towards the box of toys in the corner. She could hear her mother and the lady talking but she didn’t want to listen.

Dr Everingham’s door opened and a tall man with a thick head of grey hair appeared at the entrance.

‘Good morning, Lady Clarissa.’ He walked into the reception area and looked around. ‘Hello Clementine.’

Clemmie looked up from where she was examining a rather dog-eared book.

‘You’d better come through so we can see what the matter is,’ the doctor said with a friendly smile.

Clementine dropped the book back in the box and stood beside Clarissa. She slipped her hand into her mother’s.

Inside the doctor’s office was an examination table with a small stool to climb up on, a giant desk and three chairs – one for the doctor and two for patients.

Lady Clarissa and Clementine walked in and sat down.

Dr Everingham closed the door and sat down heavily in his leather office chair. He pushed back and swivelled around to face Clementine. He looked at her intently.

‘Now tell me, what seems to be the matter?’

‘My tummy hurts,’ Clementine replied.

‘I see. Can you show me where?’

Clementine touched her stomach in the middle and then on the side and further up.

‘Is anything else the matter?’ he said as he studied her face for clues.

Clementine shook her head.

‘And when did it start to hurt?’ he asked.

‘At school,’ she replied.

‘And you only started school yesterday, isn’t that right?’ he asked.

Clementine nodded.

‘I’m afraid, Dr Everingham, that I hardly recognised the little girl I picked up yesterday afternoon,’ said Lady Clarissa, frowning.

‘Ah, I see,’ said the doctor.

Clementine knew that he would understand.

‘So, what was school like, Clementine?’ he asked. ‘Did you have a good day?’

Clementine thought about what she would say. There was a long silence.

‘Dr Everingham asked you a question, sweetheart. It’s polite to answer,’ her mother said encouragingly.

Clementine gulped. She knew that if she told Dr Everingham, he would understand. She had known him since she was a baby – although she couldn’t remember all that way back. He’d always been kind. When she had to have needles he was very gentle and always gave her a lolly at the end for being brave.

‘It was terrible,’ Clementine blurted. ‘I hate it and I’m not going back again.’ A tear started to form in the corner of Clementine’s eye. She brushed it away.

‘Oh dear,’ the doctor replied. ‘That doesn’t sound good. Can you tell me what happened?’

Clementine took a deep breath. She started at the very beginning with Angus saying mean things about her father and Uncle Digby. She told him about Mrs Brown Bottomley and all that silly lining up. Then there was the scribble on the bottom of her stencil and how she hadn’t learned how to read or tell the time. It was as if someone had opened a floodgate: once Clementine started she couldn’t stop.

Her mother sat beside her taking it all in. Now everything made perfect sense.

‘Oh dear, that’s no good at all, Clementine,’ the doctor said when she finally paused. ‘And do you think that’s why you have a tummy ache?’

Clementine nodded. ‘So you need to write a letter to the school telling them that I’m not coming back and I’m going to stay at home and Mummy and Uncle Digby are going to teach me everything instead,’ she said firmly.

The two adults exchanged a secret look.

‘I’m afraid, Clementine, I can’t do that,’ the doctor said seriously. ‘You have to go to school. It’s the law. And besides, I’m sure that things will get better. I’ll bet you’ll be reading and writing in no time flat. And as for that Angus, he’ll have to start behaving himself. His grandmother can’t be that silly. Sooner or later he’ll do something really revolting and she won’t be able to ignore it.’

‘But he wiped snot on my uniform!’ Clementine wondered how much more revolting he could be. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Dr Everingham could fix everything. Why wouldn’t he just write a note and let her stay home forever?

‘I can give you something to help your tummy settle down,’ he said. ‘But you know the best way to feel better is to go back to school.’ He looked at his watch. ‘If you hurry, you could still get there in time.’

‘But I don’t want to go,’ Clementine said.

‘What about we talk to Miss Critchley and see if she can help?’ her mother suggested.

Clementine Rose now knew what that mouse Pharaoh had cornered in the kitchen last week must have felt like. Her mother was on Dr Everingham’s side too.

‘Clementine, I’m sure that your mother is right. Miss Critchley is a very sensible woman. I should know. She’s going to marry my son later this year.’ The doctor’s eyes twinkled.

‘Oh.’ Clementine’s eyes lit up. She liked the idea of Miss Critchley as a bride. ‘Do you think she can really help?’ Clementine asked.

‘I’m sure she can,’ Lady Clarissa agreed. The doctor nodded too.

‘What about my uniform?’ Clementine asked her mother.

‘I packed it into the car just in case,’ Lady Clarissa replied.

There was no getting out of it.

‘Would you like a jellybean?’ The doctor popped the lid off the jar and held it out to Clementine.

She looked at her mother.

‘Go on, Clemmie, it might make you feel better,’ her mother said.

‘And how’s that pig of yours?’ Dr Everingham asked.

‘She’s good. But she’ll be sad because I told her that I wasn’t going back to school any more and that we could stay at home and play. And now she’ll just have Pharaoh and he doesn’t like playing all that much,’ Clementine replied.

‘Can you keep a secret, Clementine?’ asked the doctor.

‘What sort of a secret?’ she asked.

‘Miss Critchley came to dinner with Mrs Everingham and our son Markus last night and she was telling us about something very special that she’s planning for the school,’ the doctor explained.

‘What is it?’ Clementine asked.

‘She’s going to make the announcement to the students this afternoon,’ he said. ‘I can’t tell you all the details but I think it has something to do with pets and a very important lady.’

‘Pets? At school?’ Clementine’s blue eyes widened. ‘So Angus really was telling the truth. He said that we were having a pet competition. But then he wouldn’t tell me any more.’

‘Something like that,’ the doctor said. ‘But you won’t find out if you don’t go to school.’

Surely Dr Everingham wouldn’t be playing a trick on her, Clementine thought. Doctors knew everything. And Angus probably knew too because Mrs Bottomley was his granny and she would have told him.

‘How about I get your uniform, Clementine, and you get changed in Dr Everingham’s spare room?’ her mother suggested.

Clementine looked from her mother to the doctor. The older man nodded. ‘I think that’s a very good idea.’

Clementine took a deep breath.

‘All right, but only if we can go and talk to Miss Critchley straight away,’ she replied.

‘And you have to promise not to tell her what I told you.’ Dr Everingham winked at Clementine. ‘I don’t want to get into trouble with my future daughter-in-law.’

Clementine slipped down from her chair and stood in front of the old man. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I won’t tell.’