She held her mother’s hand and rushed back onto the driveway where Mr Greening had already begun to unload the suitcases.

  ‘You know everyone, Mummy, but Caprice and Britt – this is Mrs Greening and Mrs Oliver and Mrs Shillingsworth,’ the child said to the girls.

  ‘Lovely to meet you,’ Mrs Oliver said. Her thoughts were echoed by the others who were impressed with both girls’ manners.

  ‘I’ve got fresh banana bread just out of the oven and hot chocolate for your afternoon tea, so come along, everyone – let’s get in out of the cold,’ Dolly Oliver decreed to much excitement from the young guests.

  Millie was keeping an eye on Caprice. So far, apart from her rather extensive list of Christmas wants and slightly snobby attitude towards the run-down houses, the girl hadn’t put a foot wrong. Unfortunately, Millie also knew that there was still time.

  ‘Where’s Daddy?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  Cecelia Highton-Smith’s brow tightened. ‘He’s on a work call. He won’t be long.’

  But there was something about the look on her mother’s face that didn’t sit well with the girl. She’d seen if before and it usually meant trouble.

  Wednesday

  Travel home by minivan with Mr Greening

  Settle in

  Surprise activities

  Thursday

  Decorate Christmas tree

  Gingerbread-house building

  Christmas charades and other games

  Visit Poppy and Jasper – decorate the cubby for Christmas

  Friday

  Shopping

  Gift-wrapping

  Make Christmas stockings

  Hide-and-seek

  Village Christmas light ceremony

  Saturday

  Build snow families (snow permitting)

  Sledding (snow permitting)

  Ice-skating

  Baking

  Sunday

  Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Lawrence, Imogen and Marcus arrive

  Granny Valentina arrives

  Family day of games and exchanging presents

  Monday

  Guests travel home for Christmas

  Following a delicious afternoon tea, the children were soon settled into their allocated bedrooms along the hallway from Alice-Miranda, who was sharing her room with Millie. The girls often slept beside each other in Alice-Miranda’s giant four-poster bed and this week would be no different.

  The guest rooms at Highton Hall were all beautifully appointed with antique furniture and rare artwork. Alice-Miranda’s was one of the most stunning though, with its huge doll’s house – an exact replica of Highton Hall that had been made by Mr Greening’s father for Cecelia and her sister Charlotte when they were girls. Surprisingly, it wasn’t only to be looked at – Alice-Miranda had always been encouraged to use her imagination and play with it and thankfully so, as it helped her and Millie locate Aunty Gee after the woman had been kidnapped and held hostage a few years back.

  Another favourite piece was a giant white rocking horse, which had also seen plenty of action over the years. Hugh and Cecelia knew that while in many ways Highton Hall resembled a museum, they never wanted it to feel like one. It was first and foremost their home, so there was no point being precious about things – even if many of the things in it were quite precious.

  ‘Do you think everyone will have finished unpacking by now?’ Alice-Miranda asked Millie, who had just hung the last of her clothes in the wardrobe.

  ‘Why? What have you got planned?’ the girl asked.

  Alice-Miranda had a glint in her eye. ‘I asked Shilly if she could set up the banister challenge.’

  ‘Yes!’ Millie clenched her fists and shouted. ‘I’m in!’

  ‘Shall we get the others?’ Alice-Miranda said. Sloane and Chessie were next door with direct access to a Jack-and-Jill-style bathroom with Alice-Miranda’s room. Jacinta volunteered to be with Caprice and Britt in the Blue Room down the hall. Since it was largely her idea to bring Caprice along in the first place, she thought it only fair that she bunk in with the girl. Besides, Britt was so much like Alice-Miranda, Jacinta thought she’d know all the right things to say if Caprice started to go off the rails. Not that there had been any signs of trouble yet.

  The boys were sharing the Yellow Room together. Cecelia had reconfigured it with three single beds, so it was perfect for the lads.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Millie said as the pair charged out of Alice-Miranda’s room and along the hall, knocking and calling for the others to hurry up.

  ‘What’s happening?’ Lucas asked as he opened the door.

  Alice-Miranda could see around him inside the room and was surprised that everything had been put away and Neville and Sep were laying on their beds reading. She wondered if they were always so neat.

  ‘Are you boys up for the banister challenge?’ she asked.

  Lucas’s eyes were wide. ‘Yes!’ he shouted. ‘I was disappointed not to see that on the program, but I knew you’d have some surprises up your sleeve.’

  ‘Meet us at the top of the stairs in five minutes,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Millie had already told the girls, who were excited too – though Britt and Caprice weren’t exactly sure about the details.

  Alice-Miranda ran along the hallway to the top of the giant staircase.

  At the bottom, Mr Greening had just finished strategically placing several large gym mats while Shilly was madly polishing the banister rail.

  ‘Extra slick,’ the child said. ‘Exactly the way I like it.’

  ‘Well, I knew you’d want to give everyone a flying chance,’ Shilly said with a grin.

  Riding the Highton Hall rollercoaster had been a family tradition for years. And while most parents would fret about their tiny child throwing themselves backwards down a sweeping staircase rather much larger and longer than you’d find in your average home, in the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones household it was a regular event.

  ‘Have you got your stopwatch, Shilly?’ the girl asked.

  The woman trotted down the stairs and put the polish onto one of the side tables before picking up a clipboard.

  ‘Very official,’ Millie said as the other children appeared at the top of the landing.

  ‘The banister record is a hotly contested sport in this family,’ Shilly said. ‘Now make sure that none of you fall off, please, as we really don’t want any trips to the hospital before Christmas.’

  Millie frowned and bit her lip. She wished the woman hadn’t said anything about accidents.

  ‘So, who’s up first?’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘I’ll go,’ Lucas offered. He was keen to improve on his last time of just over nine seconds. Since he’d joined the family, the times had steadily got faster and faster. The boy threw his leg over the rail and rubbed his hands together before wriggling his bottom.

  ‘I’ll count you down, Lucas,’ Mrs Shillingsworth said. She had always been the official timer for these events and revelled in her role as the keeper of the clock.

  ‘On your mark, get set, go!’ Shilly clicked the stopwatch and the children cheered as Lucas sped down the rail as if he was on a rollercoaster.

  He leapt off at the bottom and fell backwards onto the mats that Mr Greening had brought in.

  ‘Whoa, that was awesome,’ he said, dusting himself off and getting to his feet.

  Mrs Shillingsworth arched her eyebrow at the lad. ‘Not bad, Master Lucas, not bad.’

  ‘What was my time?’ he asked.

  ‘I think I’m going to keep that a secret until everyone has had their turn,’ the woman replied to the others’ groans.

  ‘Please don’t, Shilly – it’s more fun knowing the time to beat,’ Millie said.

  Upstairs on the top landing, Britt was leaping about excitedly, volunteering to go next. Caprice, on the other hand, was strangely silent.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Millie asked.

  Caprice nodded. ‘Fine.’

  But Millie wasn’t convinced. ‘You know you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,’ the girl said.

  ‘Who said I didn’t want to?’ Caprice snapped.

  ‘You just look a bit . . . I don’t know . . . nervous,’ Millie said. ‘I don’t blame you. It’s a big staircase. I was a bit terrified the first time I did it too.’

  ‘I’m not scared,’ Caprice said, rolling her eyes.

  Mrs Shillingsworth tapped her clipboard and looked up at the children. ‘Millie, you’re next and the time to beat is 8.5 seconds, which I do believe, Master Lucas, is a new household record.’

  Lucas punched the air and gave a yelp of excitement.

  ‘Calm down, Lucas,’ Millie said. ‘You haven’t seen me in action yet.’

  ‘Okay, Millie – whatever,’ Lucas replied with a grin.

  The girl climbed onto the rail and got into position. Millie had an idea. She was going to start like the runners in the bobsled races to give herself some extra propulsion. As Mrs Shillingsworth counted her down, Millie pushed herself up and down the banister trying to gain some extra oomph. On the shout of ‘go’, the girl flew down the polished timber rail, leaping off at the bottom and somehow managing to stay on her feet.

  ‘That was incredible!’ Alice-Miranda yelled. Everyone agreed and when Shilly announced that Millie had shaved a tenth of a second off Lucas’s time, no one was surprised. Lucas grumbled and said that he should be allowed to have another go – he wanted to try Millie’s start routine, which he hadn’t thought of himself.

  The fun continued with Sep and Neville both falling slightly short of Millie’s new record. Jacinta, however, was determined she could do it and her run was greeted with rousing applause. Shilly announced that the new time to beat was 8.3 seconds. Britt was fast but careful, as was Chessie, and Alice-Miranda’s time of 8.9 seconds was a new personal best for her. Last up was Caprice.

  ‘Are you sure you want to do it?’ Millie asked.

  ‘Of course, I’m sure,’ the girl retorted.

  ‘You don’t have to if you’d rather not,’ Alice-Miranda called, then sprinted back to the top of the stairs.

  ‘Yeah, you don’t have to,’ Millie echoed.

  ‘And let you lot make me look bad?’ the girl said with a scowl, then swallowed her words. ‘I didn’t mean it to come out like that – but I’m fine – just watch me.’

  ‘Okay, Caprice,’ Mrs Shillingsworth said. ‘On your mark, get set, go!’

  The rest of the children watched from the ground floor as the girl absolutely flew down the banister rail. Perhaps it was the fabric of the pants she was wearing or the fact that the other children had polished the timber even slicker than before, but the rest of them stood with their mouths agape.

  ‘Whoa!’ Lucas gasped.

  Caprice was on track for a new record when suddenly, only a metre or so from the end, she lost her balance and flew over the side hitting the floor with a thud.

  ‘Caprice!’ Alice-Miranda shouted as she ran to her.

  Everyone held their breaths waiting for the inevitable screams, but surprisingly there was just a small gasp.

  ‘Oh, heavens!’ Mrs Shillingsworth declared and hurried over to see what damage had been done. ‘I knew I shouldn’t have made that comment about a hospital trip. Talk about Murphy’s Law. Caprice dear, are you all right?’

  Millie was just thinking the same thing – about Murphy’s Law, that is.

  The girl was lying facedown on one of the large oriental rugs, which thankfully would have cushioned her fall somewhat.

  ‘Caprice, can you hear me?’ Alice-Miranda asked urgently.

  ‘Uh-huh,’ the girl whimpered.

  ‘Where does it hurt?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  A muffled reply sounded like ‘my face’, but it was hard to tell exactly what she’d said.

  The children watched as a pool of blood began to spread out across the silk mat like red ink – it had been hard to see until the liquid escaped the edges of the red flowers in the pattern.

  ‘Look at all that blood!’ Millie exclaimed.

  Sloane gave Millie a nudge and whispered. ‘Don’t say that. She’ll freak out.’

  ‘I think I’m okay,’ Caprice said and rolled over. ‘I’m fine.’

  The others had formed a circle around her.

  ‘Eww!’ they gasped in unison.

  Caprice’s aquiline nose was beginning to swell and was dripping like a tap.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Caprice sat up and felt her face throbbing.

  By now, Jacinta had run to get Mrs Oliver, who had brought the first-aid kit and a huge box of tissues.

  ‘Oh, dear me, I think someone is going to have to take a trip to the A and E,’ Shilly said, garnering a nod from Dolly Oliver.

  ‘I’ll get Mummy,’ Alice-Miranda said and hurried away to find the woman, who was working in her study.

  ‘Have I got a cut?’ Caprice whimpered.

  ‘Don’t worry – I think it’s just a nosebleed,’ Britt said.

  When Mrs Oliver tried to stem the flow, touching Caprice ever so gently, the girl almost hit the roof.

  ‘Ow! Is it broken? I can’t have a broken nose. My nose is lovely. What if I’m not pretty anymore?’ Caprice cried. Fat tears spilled down her cheeks.

  ‘Of course you will be,’ Millie replied, rolling her eyes.

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Caprice demanded. ‘You’ve always been jealous that I’m pretty and you’re not, Millie.’

  Jacinta and Sloane looked at Caprice, eyebrows raised. Caprice had promised no outbursts and this wasn’t a good sign.

  ‘I never said you weren’t pretty! Why do you have to be so mean? Seriously, I knew this wouldn’t last – because underneath all that rubbish about being better, well, you’re still YOU!’ Millie shouted, then sprinted away up the stairs and into Alice-Miranda’s bedroom.

  ‘I’ll go after her,’ Britt said.

  The other children stood in silence, staring.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ Caprice said. ‘Millie was being sarcastic – she rolled her eyes. She was being mean to me – not the other way around – and now I’ve got a smashed nose and the only reason I even rode that silly banister is that she made me feel like I had to. This is all her fault.’

  Alice-Miranda arrived with Cecelia in tow. Mr Greening had already brought the car around to the side entrance by the kitchen. A bloody trail of tissues littered the floor and Caprice’s white jumper was streaked red. It looked like a murder scene and could well have been if Millie hadn’t left. Caprice managed to get to her feet, aided by Lucas and Jacinta.

  Cecelia Highton-Smith had an icepack wrapped in a tea towel, which she placed gently on Caprice’s cheek. ‘You poor thing – but don’t worry, Caprice – I’m sure that it looks much worse than it really is,’ Cecelia said. ‘I’ve broken my nose a couple of times and the doctor has always managed to straighten it up. I’ll call your mother on the way to the hospital.’

  ‘No,’ Caprice said, shaking her head. ‘I don’t want her to come. She’s busy.’

  Cecelia frowned. ‘At least let me tell her what’s happened.’

  ‘Afterwards,’ the girl said. ‘Or she’ll be too worried and I’m not sure where she is at the moment. She could be in Siberia for all I know.’

  Cecelia nodded, though she didn’t like it. If it was Alice-Miranda who was injured, she’d want to know right away.

  ‘Where’s Millie?’ Alice-Miranda asked, looking around.

  Sloane motioned towards the second floor.

  ‘Is everything all right?’

  ‘No – Millie was horrible to me,’ Caprice said.

  Alice-Miranda frowned and caught sight of Jacinta, who surreptitiously shook her head. Something had obviously happened when she’d left the room but now was not the time to find out.

  ‘Come on then, let’s go,’ Cecelia said. ‘Could someone let Hugh know what’s happened? I think he’s in his study.’

  Shilly nodded sheepishly. ‘Of course, ma’am, and Dolly and I’ll organise dinner and some board games. I think I must have put too much polish on that rail.’

  ‘No, you didn’t,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘I’m sure that Caprice doesn’t blame you. It was an accident.’

  Caprice began to wail. ‘It’s hurting.’

  ‘Come on, then,’ Cecelia said and wrapped her arm around Caprice’s shoulder. ‘The doctor will give you something for the pain and then I’m sure you’ll feel much better.’

  Minutes later, Caprice was in the car with Alice-Miranda and Cecelia heading for the hospital.

  Griffin Hendrix removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He’d been staring at the screen for the past hour or so and could feel the heat rising up his neck. There were at least seven lorries running way too late. He needed them to get back to the warehouse and stocked up in time to leave first thing in the morning, or the schedule would be impossible. He chewed his blistered bottom lip and tried to think about something other than the message that was on his phone this morning. He’d ignored the call – knowing that in doing so, there would be consequences. He just couldn’t deal with anything else at the moment.

  The door opened silently behind him and a hoarse voice asked, ‘What are those blue blips on there?’

  The question almost startled Griff from his chair. He spun around. ‘Have you ever heard of knocking, Trevor?’

  The man stood behind him, staring at the screen.

  ‘There’s no one else here,’ Trevor said. ‘So what are they?’

  ‘Nothing to do with you,’ Griff replied. ‘Haven’t you got paperwork to collect?’

  Griff pointed towards the bays down below the glass control room where at least twenty lorries were in the process of being loaded. The drivers would be in the break room or taking showers to freshen up before a long night ahead.

  ‘I’ve done it all,’ the man said. ‘I came to ask if you’ve thought anymore about putting my son on.’

  Griff turned around. ‘I told you already – there’s nothing for Dorian at the moment. I’ll let you know as soon as something comes up.’