‘More like overconfidence,’ Caprice replied. ‘I know it’s not a very attractive trait – yes, Alice-Miranda, I did listen to what you said to me the other day.’

  Millie turned to Alice-Miranda and raised her eyebrows.

  ‘She really is trying, isn’t she?’ Millie whispered and Alice-Miranda gave a nod.

  Sep was using one of the piping bags to try and stick his roof back on. ‘You never know – I could win the most interesting, which I’m sure must be code for the ugliest,’ the boy said.

  Lucas was eating his third musk stick.

  ‘You’ll have nothing left for the decorations, Master Lucas,’ Dolly admonished as he reached for a fourth.

  ‘Sorry,’ the boy said, taking his hand back. ‘They’re just so delicious I can’t help myself.’

  The group chatted amiably as the houses began to take shape.

  ‘Mine’s super wonky,’ Jacinta complained as her walls began to collapse again. To everyone’s surprise, it was Caprice who came to her rescue.

  The girl stood up and walked around to show her how to angle things so that there was enough time for the icing to set.

  ‘Thank you,’ Jacinta said with a smile. Across the table, Lucas gave her a wink.

  ‘I saw that, Lucas,’ Caprice said. ‘You know I’m not always as horrible as you think.’

  The others grinned.

  A knock on the back door startled everyone.

  Dolly Oliver bustled away to open it and was surprised to see a young lad.

  ‘I have a delivery for Miss Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones,’ he said.

  On hearing her name, the girl slid out of her seat and ran to the door, where he passed over a large white envelope embossed in the most beautiful red and green edging and tied with a giant red ribbon.

  ‘I wonder what it is,’ Dolly said and walked back to help Neville, who was in a world of bother with his house.

  ‘Thank you,’ Alice-Miranda said with a smile. ‘I hope you haven’t had to travel far in this awful weather.’

  ‘I’ve been running some errands for Mr Turner,’ the young man replied. ‘You’re the last on my list. I’m off home now. My mum’s got soup on the stove.’

  Alice-Miranda held her hand up. ‘Please wait a moment,’ she said and ran back into the larder off the kitchen, returning a minute later with a brown paper bag. ‘Please take some of Mrs Oliver’s homemade bread rolls. She’s baked dozens and they’ll go well with your soup.’

  ‘Thank you, miss,’ the lad said. ‘Much appreciated. Merry Christmas.’

  Alice-Miranda waved him off and took the envelope back to the table, where she slid her nail under the flap and pulled out the most beautiful invitation.

  ‘What is it?’ Millie asked to a chorus echoing her words.

  She scanned the text and smiled.

  ‘It’s an invitation – for all of us. To Mr Turner’s Christmas party. Mummy and Daddy are already going, aren’t they?’

  ‘Oh, yes, your parents wouldn’t miss it. It’s one of the social highlights of the year,’ Dolly replied.

  ‘Can you read it out?’ Jacinta asked.

  Mr Elliot Turner would be delighted to have the company of Miss Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and her friends, Millie, Jacinta, Chessie, Britt, Sloane, Caprice, Lucas, Sep and Neville at his annual Christmas party to be held on Saturday, 21 December, at Hoxton Manor. Dress up and sparkle as we celebrate the magic of the season.

  ‘How did he know our names?’ Caprice asked.

  Alice-Miranda looked at Mrs Oliver, who shook her head. ‘He must have called your mother, I imagine.’

  ‘But what are we going to wear?’ Jacinta asked. ‘We’re all too big to raid Alice-Miranda’s wardrobe.’

  ‘Speak for yourself,’ Millie said with a grin.

  Alice-Miranda tapped her cheek. ‘I have some ideas,’ she said coyly. You could almost see her brain ticking over.

  Cecelia Highton-Smith arrived in the room only to be greeted by a flood of excitement about the upcoming party.

  Alice-Miranda showed her the invitation and whispered something to her mother, which caused a smile to spread across the woman’s face.

  ‘What are you two conspiring about?’ Jacinta asked. But the pair simply shook their heads. She had an idea, though. Cecelia had come to their rescue once before and her choices had been perfect.

  ‘Where’s Daddy?’ Alice-Miranda asked her mother. ‘He’s usually the first one to make his gingerbread house and you’re late as well.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but your father’s a bit busy at the moment,’ Cecelia replied.

  Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘Is there more stock missing?’

  Cecelia nodded. ‘Unfortunately, yes, and apparently, it’s not just us who’ve been losing things. Your father’s been speaking to the owners of several other supermarket chains and they’re having problems, too. Though it sounds like they’ve had small amounts of things going missing for months on end – and lots of small quantities add up to large quantities for everyone.’

  ‘Surely there’s a way to track the goods when they leave the warehouse?’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘I know you can track the lorries,’ Sep said. ‘We were watching a program at school for one of our technology classes and it was all about one of the freight companies and how they keep account of their vehicles. It was sort of like air traffic control except for heavy transport.’

  ‘I’m never going to run my own business – it’s a nightmare,’ Caprice said, absently, while she was gluing mint leaves to the roof of her house to look like shingles.

  The others looked over at the girl who continued with her job, not missing a beat.

  ‘Why do you say that, Caprice?’ Jacinta asked.

  The girl stopped what she was doing and looked up, as if realising that she’d almost said too much.

  ‘Are your parents having a hard time with their business?’ Neville asked.

  Caprice shook her head. ‘No, of course not. Sweet Things is as popular as ever and the restaurants are packed every night. Mummy says they’re booked out for months and months.’

  ‘So why wouldn’t you want to have your own business then – it sounds like your parents are doing fantastically well?’ Sep asked.

  ‘Who wants to do all that paperwork?’ Caprice said and turned her attention back to the gingerbread house.

  ‘Yes, well, you’re right about there being a lot of it, Caprice,’ Cecelia said with a tight smile. ‘Anyway, I’m sure that Hugh will sort out the Kennington’s problems. He is nothing if not determined.’

  But Alice-Miranda was still concerned. ‘Has the company lost a lot of money?’ she asked.

  Cecelia shook her head though from the look on her face, Alice-Miranda wasn’t convinced her mother was being entirely honest.

  ‘Anyway, that’s quite enough talk of business,’ Cecelia said. ‘We’ve got gingerbread houses to make. And aren’t they looking fabulous?’ The woman cast her eyes across the table. Fabulous probably wasn’t the right word for all of them, but encouragement was important in her books.

  Alice-Miranda grabbed a handful of chocolate buttons and picked up the piping bag. They would make perfect wall decorations. But even though she was trying hard to concentrate on what she was doing, she couldn’t help thinking about Ellie and the donations box and what was happening with her father. Life was never quite as straightforward as one might hope – not even at Christmas.

  The gingerbread houses had been a triumph – despite some wonky rooves, angled walls and missing sweets. (When Lucas declared he had a stomach-ache, absolutely no one was surprised.) As predicted, Mrs Greening had chosen Caprice’s as the most beautiful (it truly was), while Neville’s was the most interesting and Chessie’s was judged the tastiest (to look at – they wouldn’t know for sure until after the houses had done their job as centrepieces and then they’d be eaten). The trio unwrapped their prizes of ugly Christmas sweaters – Neville’s with reindeer antlers, Caprice’s with a Christmas tree with real lights and Chessie’s had a huge gold bow around a present. Alice-Miranda had a feeling they’d all have one before the weekend was out.

  The group was sitting in the playroom, having eaten yet another hearty breakfast – this time it was American-style pancakes with maple syrup and crispy bacon. Though Millie and Caprice had both enjoyed theirs with lemon and sugar instead.

  Sep and Neville were in the middle of an intense game of chequers, while Chessie was knitting a scarf for her stepfather for Christmas. She’d only started it a week ago and everyone was impressed by how fancy it was – a Fair Isle in lovely shades of blue and cream. The girl’s former housemistress at Bodlington, Mrs Fairbanks, had taught her how to knit and Chessie had used the activity as a distraction from Madagascar and her incessant bullying. Caprice, Sloane and Millie were playing cards without so much as a cross word – yet.

  Caprice’s face was looking a bit worse today with the bruises going through a green and yellow phase, although Alice-Miranda had told her that probably meant she’d turned a corner and would be much improved by the end of the week. Caprice was worried about the party on Saturday night at Mr Turner’s place, but Cecelia promised that she’d help her cover any residual colour with makeup.

  Alice-Miranda and Britt were playing gin rummy while Lucas was sitting on the couch with Jacinta in front of him on the floor while he brushed her hair.

  ‘So who’s up for a spot of Christmas shopping this morning?’ Alice-Miranda asked. She’d been hoping to do some yesterday, but they’d only made it as far as the grocery shop for sweets.

  There was a cacophony of yeses from her guests.

  ‘I’ve still got to get a present for my grandpa and dad,’ Millie said. ‘Though what to get either of them is a complete mystery.’

  ‘I haven’t bought anything yet,’ Sloane said. ‘If anyone has ideas for what I can get my mother, please feel free to share. But don’t worry about Sep – he never buys me anything.’

  ‘Not true, little sister,’ the boy replied. ‘For your information I have a present for you, and you know Mum always loves makeup or a magazine subscription. I’ve got Dad a book – he was banging on about some old fellow from the television who’s written a biography he was keen on.’

  ‘I knew I should have ordered that when he mentioned it,’ Sloane said. ‘Now you’ll be his favourite again.’

  ‘You can come in with me,’ Sep said. ‘I don’t mind.’

  ‘Really?’ Sloane asked.

  ‘Yeah, of course,’ Sep said. ‘As long as you promise not to randomly hit me anymore.’

  ‘I’ll try,’ Sloane replied.

  The others chuckled. Sep had always been the sweetest boy, but Sloane could be prickly. It was nice to see the siblings getting on better these days.

  The weather had improved considerably since the previous afternoon’s downpour. With it confirmed that everyone was keen to head to the village, the group decided to leave at half ten. The shops would all be open by then. Alice-Miranda had a list to get through, but there were a few people she was still struggling to think what to get. Dolly being one of them. Shilly had mentioned something about a new sewing case.

  ‘And what are we going to wear to the party on Saturday night?’ Caprice asked. ‘Do we need to look for something while we’re out?’

  Cecelia Highton-Smith had just poked her head in the doorway. ‘No, Caprice,’ the woman said. ‘I’ve got some things being sent up this afternoon for you all to try. The last thing any of your parents need is the expense of new party dresses and suits at Christmas time. And especially not when I have access to rather a lot of things at Highton’s.’

  ‘Wow!’ Chessie’s eyes lit up. ‘That’s fantastic.’

  ‘I knew it,’ Jacinta said. ‘Though I didn’t want to be presumptuous, I saw you and Alice-Miranda whispering last night.’

  Cecelia smiled. ‘It’ll be fun – we can have a fashion parade and see what everyone likes best.’

  ‘I can’t believe that Mr Turner invited us all to his party,’ Alice-Miranda said. She jumped up. ‘Oh, that reminds me, I have to RSVP. Should I write to him, or would it be better if I call?’

  ‘I think at this late stage it might be better if you phone and let Miss Wickham know,’ the woman said. ‘She’s Elliot’s housekeeper and a lovely woman at that.’

  Alice-Miranda nodded and scampered off to the kitchen where she’d left the invitation sitting on the sideboard. She’d call from the pantry.

  ‘Thank goodness she’s gone,’ Caprice said, garnering some surprised stares from her fellow guests. ‘Oh, don’t look at me like that, Neville – you know as well as I do that we’ve been trying to get Cecelia on her own to talk about what we get little Miss Prim for Christmas.’

  Jacinta and Millie both raised their eyebrows.

  ‘Come on – I’m kidding,’ Caprice said. ‘Cecelia, you know I’m joking, right?’

  Cecelia smiled. ‘You wouldn’t be the first person to refer to my daughter in that way and I’m sure you won’t be the last.’

  ‘See?’ Caprice said. ‘Anyway, forget that I said it. We have a question, Cecelia. We all want to pool our funds and buy something special for Alice-Miranda for Christmas. It wasn’t my idea – it was Millie’s – but we have to take the bull by the horns and organise something or else it won’t happen.’

  Millie nodded.

  ‘Oh, gosh, that’s hard,’ Cecelia said. ‘Her father and I can never think of what to get her. Even when she was little, she never asked for anything for herself. We used to wonder if there was something wrong with her.’

  ‘Of course, there is,’ Caprice said. ‘She’s not like a normal child. I mean, I used to take the toy catalogue when I went for my Santa photo and I had everything circled that I wanted – sometimes it ran to more than twenty pages.’

  Jacinta grinned. ‘Oh, I did that too.’

  ‘Guilty,’ Sloane said, raising her hand.

  ‘Well, I didn’t take a catalogue, but I had a list as long as my arm,’ Millie said.

  The boys all confessed to some sort of strategy as well.

  ‘So, given Alice-Miranda is a total weirdo, we’d like to do something really special for her,’ Caprice said.

  The others were more than a little surprised. Who knew that Caprice could be so generous? Especially given that the trip hadn’t exactly started off well.

  ‘All right, I’ll have a good think,’ Cecelia said.

  ‘She mentioned something about wanting a book,’ Millie said. ‘When we were on the bus. Do you have any idea what sort of book she was thinking about? Is there a first edition of something that she loves – I know she’s a huge fan of Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden.’

  Cecelia bit her lip and frowned. ‘She’s got copies of those.’

  Britt hadn’t said anything and had been thinking hard. ‘Perhaps it’s a modern book that she’s after. Does she have any favourites?’

  The children all thought for a moment.

  ‘She loves those spy stories,’ Jacinta said. ‘Remember when we were in the outback, we watched that movie about Kensy and Max? Alice-Miranda is totally addicted. Maybe we could get in touch with the author and she could send us a note to put inside the collection.’

  ‘That’s pretty late notice,’ Lucas said. ‘She’s probably busy.’

  Alice-Miranda appeared in the doorway. Everyone stopped speaking immediately.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ the group chorused.

  The girl frowned and clearly didn’t believe them.

  ‘I spoke to Miss Wickham. You’re right, Mummy, she’s lovely. She said that she’d let Mr Turner know that we’re all very excited to be coming to his party,’ Alice-Miranda said. She glanced at the clock on the mantel. ‘We’d better get moving if we’re going to get our shopping done.’

  Cecelia nodded and the others did too – though a sly wink from Neville probably didn’t go anywhere to helping keep the surprise present situation under wraps.

  The children decided to split up to do their shopping then meet back at the cafe at Kennington’s at one o’clock.

  The village was a hive of activity with people dashing about, in and out of stores, laden with parcels.

  ‘We’ll see you all soon,’ Alice-Miranda said and hurried off with Millie, who was on a mission to find something for her grandfather first.

  ‘What about socks?’ Alice-Miranda suggested.

  Millie shook her head. ‘Boring.’

  ‘A book?’ the girl tried again.

  ‘Grandpa’s eyesight isn’t what it used to be, so he mostly listens to audio books now,’ Millie said. The pair walked along the high street past Kennington’s, which seemed a lot busier than usual. There was a menswear shop a little further along. Millie wondered if a hat might be a good idea.

  Across the road they could see Lucas, Neville and Sep lurking outside the antique shop. Lucas was pointing at something in the window before the boys disappeared inside.

  Further along, Britt, Chessie and Caprice had just gone into the newsagency, which also had a bookshop at the back, and Jacinta and Sloane were outside the gift shop.

  Over the course of the next hour, the group crossed paths a number of times. Going by the shopping bags they were all carrying, it seemed that the expedition was proving successful.

  Alice-Miranda had almost checked everyone off her list – except for Mrs Oliver. That is until she spotted the perfect present in the window of the charity shop. She also spied someone she recognised inside behind the counter.

  ‘Come on, Millie,’ the girl said and grabbed her friend’s hand.

  The bell tinged as they entered. The woman looked up. She was wearing a beautiful yellow silk blouse with a pussybow at her neck and tailored grey trousers. Alice-Miranda couldn’t see her shoes, but she imagined they were stylish too. Her bobbed silver hair was trimmed to perfection, and she wore large pearls in her ears.

  ‘Hello, Miss Appleby,’ Alice-Miranda said with a beaming smile. ‘Or should I say Mrs Pertwhistle?’