Lexy opened the front door to her house and found that the whole place smelled of the beeswax the Bottles used on the rare occasions that someone decided to do some polishing. Something was cooking, and it wasn’t bean stew. There was some other new smell in the air too. Sort of like Earl Grey tea mixed with lavender and lemons and . . . Buttons ran to greet Lexy, which he did by clawing his way up her school tights and then her back until he was sitting on her shoulder.

“And who is this charming young lady?” came an unfamiliar deep voice as Lexy walked into the main living space of the house—an open-plan kitchen, dining room and sitting room area that looked a good deal cleaner and tidier than it usually did.

“This is Professor Jupiter Peacock,” said Hazel, removing Buttons from Lexy’s shoulder. Then Hazel took Lexy’s coat and bag and put them in a cupboard, where they did not usually go. Usually they just hung off the banisters with everything else that people couldn’t be bothered to take upstairs. “Professor Peacock, this is my daughter, Alexa.”

Professor Jupiter Peacock stood and held out his hand. He was a tall, broad man dressed in a pair of indigo jeans and a black velvet shirt with a yellow polka-dot cravat around his neck. His hair was swept up in an extravagant pompadour style like the ones men had in really ancient films. He looked like the sort of person who didn’t normally wear jeans. The Earl Grey smell was his aftershave.

“Enchanté,” he said, taking Lexy’s hand and winking. “You must call me JP. All my friends call me JP.”

“And I’m Lexy,” said Lexy.

Jupiter Peacock’s hand was hot, and his handshake was very firm, much firmer than any normal handshake Lexy had experienced. She winced and took her hand away as quickly as she could before he could break one of her fingers. She’d have to take an arnica tablet after that. Or maybe even try out her new remedy on herself, once it was ready.

“What a delightful child you have,” said Jupiter to Hazel Bottle.

Hazel blushed. The visit was going so well so far. At the end of the Winter Fair all the visiting personages were invited to rate their hosts, and the one with the highest score got a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates and had their name engraved on a silver plaque mounted on the wall of the Town Hall. And Hazel Bottle was going to win this year; she was sure of it.

“Thank you,” she said.

As Lexy went upstairs to get changed a small bruise started to form on the outside of her hand. She decided to avoid shaking hands with Jupiter Peacock again. Of course, he hadn’t meant it. He was just one of those people who had no idea of their own strength.