Clothilde shrugged. “Everyone laughs when I tell them I’m an explorer because all I do is stay at home. And my art is elysian, which no one really understands, and some people even find quite funny. Elysians give pleasure to others, you see, but they also like pleasurable things themselves, and so people worry they’ll become lazy and self-centered, which is obviously a terrible thing. When we were young Rollo said I was useless, and that I’d never be any good as a Keeper. Once he said that all I was good for was making chocolates and helping in the kitchen. And that one day I’d be so fat I wouldn’t be able to leave the house!” Clothilde laughed at the end of all this. But Effie could tell that she hadn’t always found it amusing. Perhaps she didn’t even now. “He was such a cruel child. He’s a lot better now.

“Anyway,” said Clothilde brightly. “We mustn’t hang around here all day! We’ve got a magic carpet to try out.”

“Here’s a little something for the child, too,” said Bertie, holding out another package. This one was wrapped in turquoise tissue paper. “In case it’s cold up there.”

Effie took the package from Bertie and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful shimmering light gold cloak, much finer and softer than Effie’s heavy school cape, which had come from the secondhand basket and had always smelled of whisky and mothballs. This gold cloak smelled of flower petals and clear blue skies. It had a large, loose hood and two patch pockets. It did up with a big gold button at the neck.

“I believe all the young girls in the towns have them,” said Bertie, “so you won’t look out of place.”

“You’re so kind,” said Clothilde, touching Bertie’s arm gently.

Bertie seemed embarrassed. “Right, well,” she said, “the cakes won’t make themselves. Will you both be back for your afternoon tea?”

“I don’t know,” said Clothilde. “We’ll try. We’re definitely out for lunch, though. Pelham’s booked Anastasia’s. We’re meeting him there later.”

“My, my! You girls won’t be needing any tea after that. But I’ll save you some anyway, just in case,” said Bertie. “Good luck with the carpet!”

“Thank you,” said Clothilde.

Effie followed Clothilde out of the front door of Truelove House and all the way down to the guarded gates.

“You can’t arrive or leave without going through them,” Clothilde explained. “Otherwise our enemies would be arriving on magic carpets all the time.”

But once they were through the gates, Clothilde unrolled the carpet and put it down on the warm, dusty pavement.

“Now,” she said. “I last practiced this a few years ago, so . . .”