Alice-Miranda nudged her friend. ‘I’m sure they weren’t really going to start a fight.’
‘Darling girl, there’s no need to shield me from the truth,’ Aunty Gee said with a sigh. ‘They are just about the worst-behaved children in the world, and I blame myself for that.’
‘But it can’t be your fault that the twins are naughty,’ Alice-Miranda replied.
‘I’m afraid it is. You see, Leopold and I indulged their father, letting him get away with far too much, and now he’s utterly hopeless with his own brood. The girls are thoroughly spoilt and the twins are horrid. Of course I still love them, even though they drive me to distraction whenever they’re about. I can only hope that they may grow out if it at some stage.’
‘Of course they will, Aunty Gee. Freddy didn’t turn out too bad, did he?’ Hugh said.
Just as the man spoke, a loud shout rang out from the other side of the lawn.
‘I need my sunglasses, Elsa,’ Freddy spat. ‘How am I supposed to play properly without them? The glare is in my eyes.’
Millie thought he sounded like a spoilt five-year-old, not the man who was next in line to the throne.
Queen Georgiana sighed and shook her head. ‘What were you saying, Hugh?’
‘His heart’s in the right place, Gee. He just needs to toughen up a bit and take some more responsibility.’
‘Perhaps you’re right. I haven’t really given him a chance to show what he can do,’ Gee replied. ‘I probably should think about retiring sometime soon. I don’t want to be forgetting things and spilling my tea, like I did all over the American President last time he popped in for a visit. Poor President Grayson was terribly gracious about it, but I felt a right clod. At least if I’m still alive when Freddy becomes King I can have a guiding influence for a while.’
‘I don’t think you need to give up the reins anytime soon, Aunty Gee. Why don’t you try delegating Freddy a project or two?’ Hugh suggested.
Aunty Gee nodded. ‘You may be onto something, dear. Why don’t you do the honours and roll the jack?’
‘Don’t we have an umpire?’ Millie asked, looking around.
‘We should have. I wonder who’s meant to be with us.’ The Queen waved to a bald man standing a little way off.
The man hurried over. ‘Yes, Ma’am,’ he said uncertainly.
‘Right, you can umpire, Mr …?’ Queen Georgiana wondered if she was losing her marbles. She knew all of her staff by name and was horrified to be drawing a blank on this man.
‘Bunyan, Ma’am,’ the fellow replied quietly. ‘Frank Bunyan.’
Her Majesty sighed. ‘Oh, that’s a relief. Jolly good.’
Alice-Miranda recognised him as the man she’d seen leaving the grotto earlier.
‘Okay, teams, this is Bunyan and he’s our umpire for the match,’ Queen Georgiana hastily introduced the man.
At the mention of the fellow’s name Millie began to giggle.
As always, Jacinta was much less subtle. ‘Bunyan!’ she blurted. ‘Is that really your name?’
‘Jacinta!’ Alice-Miranda admonished.
‘Sorry,’ Jacinta said, suddenly sheepish. ‘It’s just that I’ve never heard anyone called that before and it made me think of Granny’s feet.’
Hugh and Lawrence looked at each other and bit back grins.
‘Charming,’ Frank Bunyan said tightly. The man turned his attention back to Her Majesty and cleared his throat. ‘Excuse me, Ma’am, have you decided which team is going first?’
‘Hugh was about to roll the jack,’ Her Majesty replied.
‘And I presume everyone is familiar with the rules,’ Bunyan said.
The group nodded.
‘Well, may the best team win,’ Bunyan said with a twitch of his nose.
Hugh picked up the small red ball and bowled it underarm down the pitch. Jacinta waited until it came to a halt, then lined up with a silver ball and readied herself to roll it towards the little red jack.
No one noticed the twins and Caprice hiding behind a large statue of the Venus de Milo on the edge of the lawn.
‘I thought you said we were going to play some games,’ Caprice whined.
‘Who’d want to play boring old boules?’ Edgar said.
‘Me!’ Caprice retorted.
‘We’ve got something much more fun than that,’ Louis said.
‘Yeah, watch this,’ Edgar said with a grin. He had hold of a remote control unit which looked as if it operated a toy helicopter.
‘What are you doing?’ Caprice asked, poking her head out and looking across the lawn to where the games were taking place.
The boy waggled his eyebrows. ‘You’ll see.’
Jacinta lunged forward and rolled the first silver ball. It curved inwards and stopped about a metre from the red jack.
Her Majesty clapped. ‘Well done, dear.’
Jacinta spun around and grinned widely.
‘Great work,’ Lucas and his father both said at the same time. ‘Snap!’
The handsome pair smiled and sent hearts fluttering all over the garden.
It was Alice-Miranda’s turn next. Her ball headed right for the jack when, all of a sudden, the little red orb seemed to develop a mind of its own and rolled off to the left, away from the target.
Millie squinted. ‘I didn’t think you hit that.’
Alice-Miranda shrugged. ‘I must have.’
Frank Bunyan, who was keeping a close eye on the proceedings, scratched his head.
Lawrence Ridley was up next. ‘Aunty Gee, I know you have high expectations but I’m not an expert at this,’ the man said as he leaned forward and released the ball.
It wobbled down the pitch and came to rest between Jacinta and Alice-Miranda’s balls. Just as Hugh was about to congratulate his brother-in-law on a good first effort, the jack rolled away to the right.
‘What?’ Hugh frowned. ‘How did that happen?’
Lawrence grinned. ‘The pitch must have some run on it.’
‘I’d be surprised about that. Mr Budd prides himself on his level lawns,’ Aunty Gee said.
A loud snort of laughter rang out from somewhere close by.
‘Aunty Gee, it’s your turn,’ Alice-Miranda said, but Her Majesty seemed lost in her own thoughts. ‘Aunty Gee?’
The old woman jerked back to reality. ‘Sorry, dear, what’s that?’
‘Are you all right, Aunty Gee? You look a bit pale,’ Cecelia said with concern. ‘Would you like me to organise a cup of tea?’
‘Sorry, dear,’ the Queen replied. ‘There’s something I wanted to ask you.’
‘Of course, what is it?’ Cecelia said.
‘I’ve been thinking it’s a little bit … stingy of me to invite the children to stay for less than two days. There’s so much more to see and do, so if I may, I’d love to keep them for another week. Perhaps longer?’
The girls’ eyes grew wide.
‘Oh, Aunty Gee, that’s terribly kind but we don’t want to put you out,’ Cecelia said, glancing uncertainly at Hugh. This all seemed rather out of the blue. ‘And I’m not sure what everyone has planned for the holidays.’
‘Nothing!’ Millie piped up. ‘Nothing at all. Daddy’s busy on the farm and Mummy’s got loads of work to do, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if we stayed another week.’
Alice-Miranda jigged up and down on the spot. ‘I’d love to stay if it’s all right with Mummy and Daddy.’
‘Are you sure, Aunty Gee?’ Hugh asked. ‘You do realise that you could end up with all six of them here with you?’
‘Hugh, look at the place. I wouldn’t mind if I had an extra sixty people here,’ Her Majesty replied. ‘Besides, we have excellent security and loads of helpers to look out for the children.’
‘Security?’ Hugh repeated. ‘Is there a problem, Aunty Gee?’
‘Oh, silly me. I meant to say “staff” – like Bunyan here. I’m afraid I don’t know where my brain is today,’ Her Majesty said, shaking her head.
Frank Bunyan’s lip twitched and he gave Her Majesty the slightest of nods.
‘We’ll have to call the children’s parents,’ Cecelia said, ‘but I can’t imagine they’d say no.’
Alice-Miranda leapt into the air and hugged Millie tightly. ‘We’ll get to see the hunting tower after all!’
‘Well, that’s settled.’ Queen Georgiana breathed a loud sigh and her cheeks took on a rosy glow. ‘Why don’t you go and check with Ambrosia and call Sloane and Sep’s parents so I can have everything sorted?’
‘Would it be all right if we finished the game first?’ Cecelia asked. She wondered why Aunty Gee was in such a rush.
‘Of course, Cee. Pass me that ball, please, Alice-Miranda.’ Her Majesty rubbed her hands together and performed a couple of lunges before sweeping her arms up over her head and stretching from side to side.
Cecelia and Hugh frowned at each other. The woman had perked up remarkably in the past couple of minutes.
Alice-Miranda picked up a shiny silver ball and passed it to Her Majesty, who closed one eye and lined up the jack. With expert precision, Queen Georgiana rolled the ball down the pitch.
Lawrence smiled. ‘You’re on target, Aunty Gee. I think you’ve got it.’
He clenched his fists in anticipation while the rest of the group held their breath. They watched the ball roll closer and closer until, just as it was about to touch the jack, the little red sphere veered wildly to the left, then to the right before it shot into the air towards the group.
‘What on earth?’ Queen Georgiana squawked as she leapt out of the way.
The jack whizzed past her and across the lawn, hitting Lord Tavistock hard on the shin as he was in the middle of a hotly contested game of badminton against Thornton Thripp.
‘Ow! Ow! Ow!’ The man hopped about on one foot. ‘Who threw that?’ he yelled, glaring at Queen Georgiana.
‘Don’t look at me, Tavistock. It was the best bowl of the game so far,’ Her Majesty huffed, folding her arms.
Millie heard someone giggling not far away and turned to scan the grounds. ‘Over there!’ she yelled, pointing at the statue of the Venus de Milo. A mop of curly hair could be seen poking out from under one of the marble woman’s missing arms.
Millie grabbed Alice-Miranda’s hand and, together with Lucas and Jacinta, they shot off towards the statue.
‘Who’s there?’ Aunty Gee squinted into the distance. ‘Well, don’t just stand there, Bunyan. Off you go!’
Frank Bunyan sighed and jogged after the children.
‘We know you’re up to something,’ Millie yelled out as they neared the statue.
The twins tumbled out and made a dash for the edge of the garden, running for the cover of the woodland.
‘Hey, don’t leave me here!’ Caprice called after them, but it was too late. The twins were gone.
Alice-Miranda spotted the girl and stopped while the others charged on ahead, chasing after the twins. ‘Caprice? What are you doing here?’
Caprice blinked innocently. ‘The twins said we were going to play a game. I promise I had no idea what they were up to.’
Alice-Miranda wondered if the girl was telling the truth. She didn’t exactly have a good track record. ‘I suppose they did leave you here,’ Alice-Miranda conceded. ‘That wasn’t especially gallant of them.’
‘That’s what I thought,’ Caprice said, emerging from her hiding spot.
‘You’d better come with me,’ Alice-Miranda said.
Caprice reluctantly followed the girl back towards the games. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realised that Queen Georgiana was standing there with her hands on her hips.
‘Who do we have here?’ the Queen demanded.
The girl gulped. ‘I was playing with your grandsons. I didn’t know what they were doing, I swear. I thought they had a remote-controlled helicopter or something.’
‘The speed that jack came at me, I’m surprised I didn’t lose a leg. As it is, Tavistock is going to have a bruise the size of Belgium. Wait until I get my hands on those two,’ Queen Georgiana harrumphed. ‘Anyway, who are you?’
‘My mother is in the kitchens,’ Caprice began.
‘If your mother works in my kitchens, why don’t I know you? I pride myself on knowing all the offspring of my staff by name.’ Aunty Gee’s brow had begun to resemble a furrowed field.
‘Her mother is Venetia Baldini,’ Alice-Miranda volunteered.
Her Majesty nodded. ‘Ah, very clever woman, your mother.’ She looked at the girl closely. ‘Are you sure I haven’t seen you before?’
Caprice glanced at Alice-Miranda, waiting for the girl to remind Her Majesty that they’d met at the children’s school camp earlier in the term.
‘This is Caprice,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘She started at school with us a little while ago.’
Aunty Gee’s frown lines disappeared. ‘Oh, hello. I suppose I have met rather a lot of children lately.’
‘I’d better go and see if my mother needs any more help,’ the child said, eager to leave before the Queen’s memory sharpened up.
Hugh had retrieved the jack from the middle of the badminton court and brought it back to the group for examination. He gave the red orb a twist and it came apart in two sections, revealing a tiny motor inside.
‘You know, this is remarkably clever,’ Hugh said. ‘If the boys put this together themselves I see a big future in engineering.’
‘At the moment the only future I see for them is breaking rocks in the far field,’ Her Majesty replied.
‘Why don’t we get some tea?’ Cecelia suggested.
Aunty Gee nodded. ‘Yes, I think I could do with a cup.’
‘Lawrence and I will give you a hand, Cee,’ Hugh said, patting his brother-in-law on the back.
Aunty Gee and Alice-Miranda watched as Millie, Jacinta and Lucas jogged back across the lawn. There was no sign of the twins, or Bunyan for that matter.
‘We lost them in the woods and then we thought we were probably going to get lost too,’ Millie puffed. ‘So we came back.’
‘Never mind,’ Aunty Gee said. ‘They won’t get away with it.’
‘What happened to you?’ Jacinta asked Alice-Miranda.
‘Oh, she found a friend of yours from school that my grandsons had been leading astray,’ Aunty Gee said. ‘She was a very pretty thing. What was her name again?’
‘Caprice,’ Alice-Miranda replied.
Millie looked as if she’d just stepped in something particularly unpleasant. ‘What’s she doing here?’
‘Her mother is preparing our meal for this evening and she’s been helping down in the kitchens,’ Aunty Gee explained.
‘She was probably the ringleader,’ Millie muttered.
‘What did you say, dear?’ Queen Georgiana asked. Her hearing wasn’t what it used to be.
Alice-Miranda looked at her friend and shook her head.
‘Nothing, Aunty Gee,’ Millie said, forcing a smile.
‘Oh, well, I think that’s the end of boules for us today.’ Queen Georgiana spotted Cecelia balancing two cups of tea and walked over to meet her. Hugh and Lawrence were a little way behind with some plates of food and drinks for the children.
‘Is Caprice staying here?’ Millie asked.
‘The dinner will run late, so I suppose so,’ Alice-Miranda said.
Millie made a face. ‘She’d better be gone by tomorrow. We don’t need her lurking around and messing things up.’
‘That’s for sure,’ Jacinta chimed in.
‘Don’t worry about her, Millie,’ Lucas said reassuringly. ‘She won’t try anything. Not after what happened at camp.’
‘We probably won’t even see her,’ Alice-Miranda added. ‘It sounds as if her mother is keeping her busy.’
‘Good,’ Millie said with a nod. She hoped Venetia Baldini would run Caprice ragged.
‘Marjorie,’ Queen Georgiana called as she approached the badminton courts, ‘may I have a word?’
Marj
orie and Lloyd were in the middle of beating the socks off Elsa and Freddy. Freddy was storming around the court while Elsa was doing her best to placate him. At that moment, Marjorie slammed the shuttlecock. It flew over the net and bounced off Freddy’s balding crown.
‘Ow!’ the man whimpered. ‘That wasn’t very sporting.’
‘Sorry, Freddy, you’ll just have to learn to move faster.’ Marjorie winked at him, then ran over to the sideline.
‘Good shot, Marjorie!’ Her Majesty exclaimed.
Marjorie grinned. ‘Thank you, Ma’am.’
‘I just wanted to let you know that I’ve lined up those ducks,’ Queen Georgiana whispered. ‘And I’ve met your man Bunyan too.’
Marjorie gave a small nod. ‘Very good, Ma’am.’
‘Oh, I think my team is about to make a start at French cricket,’ Her Majesty announced loudly. ‘Wish us luck. And those grandsons of mine are in huge trouble when I find them, Freddy. Did you know they tampered with our boules jack? Just wait until I get my hands on them for ruining our game. My team was looking good for the win,’ Her Majesty blustered before heading on her way.
‘What was that about, darling?’ Lloyd Lancaster-Brown asked.
‘Nothing to worry about,’ Marjorie said, patting him on the arm.
‘Are we finishing this game or not?’ Freddy called tetchily from the other end of the court.
‘I’d just as soon not,’ Elsa said, her nerves threadbare. ‘I should look for the boys and work out what they have to do to make amends with their grandmother.’
‘Forget about them, Elsa. Boys will be boys,’ Freddy said, not realising his mother had walked back to retrieve her sunhat.
‘And perhaps,’ Queen Georgiana boomed, ‘fathers should be fathers.’
Freddy leapt into the air. ‘Yes, Mama,’ he said before slinking off the court.
Lloyd looked at Marjorie. ‘Why don’t you have a rest in the marquee for a few minutes? I’ve just realised I need to get one of the butlers to press my pants for tonight, so I’d best go and get that organised.’
‘I’m sure Balfour could arrange it for you, darling,’ Marjorie gestured to Braxton, who was standing beside the giant clock.
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