I didn’t want Will until he arrived. When Mum said she was pregnant again, I was already seven, and I thought it was too late for a brother. Then he was born, and I changed my mind as soon as I held him.

He still likes being cuddled sometimes, but he has to choose. And it’s usually when he’s tired. The rest of the time, he’s playing, which is fine by me.

I think ten is a good age to be a big sister.

III

When I get into St. Gregory’s Academy for Girls, Mum screams, and Dad hugs me and says, “Well done, sweetheart.”

Will gives me a card that is supposed to say congratulations on the front, and, even though he doesn’t know what that means, it’s the thought that counts.

“What’s St. Gregory’s,” Will asks.

Mum says, “It’s where all the smart kids go.”

I should be happy, but my friend Kasia said, if you want to get in, you need to be rich, not clever.

When I asked Dad if we were rich, he laughed and said, “No, darling. But we’re happy.”

I didn’t tell them what Kasia said, because I didn’t want to upset them. They always wanted me to go to the girls’ Academy, so now they’ve got their wish.

They’re nearly always happy since Will arrived, but now they’re even happier. And I’m the reason.

“Let’s eat out,” Dad says. “Wherever you want.”

“Anywhere?” I ask, and, when he nods, I tell him and wait for him to say no.

But Mum thinks it’s a wonderful idea, so Dad says, “Okay. But we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Where I want to go is the castle with the restaurant where my parents got engaged. But it’s not close, and it’s not Pizza Hut, which Dad probably expected me to say. We went to the castle once, when it was just the three of us, and they told me the story and I never forgot it.

It’s not a secret, but it’s not for sharing. Mum says some history is everyone’s, and some is just for us. So I won’t tell.

It sounds better when Dad tells it, anyway.

IIII

“This is where I did it,” Dad says. We’re at the lake by the castle, and it’s beautiful.

“It was perfect,” Mum says, and I believe her.

Sometimes, when people say something was perfect, it’s not true, but it’s magical here.

The castle isn’t just ruins, like some places we’ve been to. It’s still all there, and you have to be quiet when you walk around, which is easier for me than Will.