Rupert jumped about with delight at the idea and Elizabeth said,

“There is always one career open for you, Alyna, you could be a teacher. I believe you could make any subject interesting to children.”

“I have often thought that,” Alyna answered quite seriously. “My father used to make everything he told me so thrilling and so absorbing that I had to know all about it. I never seemed to learn enough and I asked question after question. That after all is the proper way to become knowledgeable.”

“I shall contrive that you stay with me until Rupert is old enough to go to school!” Elizabeth teased.

“You will be bored with me long before that,” Alyna laughed.

Then, having put the cushions comfortably behind Elizabeth’s head, she took Rupert by the hand and went out into the garden.

They walked down to the stream and stood for a long time watching the fish darting in and out of the reeds and trying to decide what particular species they were.

It was, Alyna found, hard to persuade Rupert to leave the water.

There were so many things he wanted to know and like all children he was fascinated with the idea of building a dam or of picking flowers that were well out of reach.

Finally they walked along the bank of the stream emerging into the woods that encircled the house.

The sunshine was throwing a golden pattern through the pale green of the spring leaves and celandine and bluebells covered the ground.

It was very quiet save for the coo of wood pigeons and the scuttle of rabbits disturbed by their approach.

It was warm even for the time of year and after a little while Alyna sat down on the mossy ground at the foot of an oak tree and told Rupert the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece.

This took a long time and, when finally they started to retrace their steps, Alyna began to worry in case she had kept Rupert out too long.

“Perhaps we had better run home,” she suggested.

“It’s too hot,” Rupert protested.

But he quickened his steps a little, moving ahead of Alyna.

They had almost reached the shrubberies that bordered the garden, when Rupert stopped.

“There is someone coming!” he said.

Alyna moving through a spinney of silver birch trees replied,

“Who is it?”

She thought that perhaps Lord Dorrington had come down to see them after all.

Then, as she reached Rupert’s side, she saw with a sudden stab of sheer terror that walking towards them, his teeth very white against his dark skin, was Prince Ahmadi!

She gave a little gasp and felt as if she was frozen to the very ground she stood on.

She wanted to run away, but found it impossible to move.

“Who is it?” she heard Rupert ask.

Then, as the Prince reached them, Alyna managed to gasp.

“What are – you doing – here?”

“That is the question I should ask you,” he replied.