Mary looked ahead of her – they were halfway to the boathouse – and back at the helpless, pitiful sight of the youngest. Oh, John, darling, she thought, do not ruin this glorious morning! They were all so excited. Still: more noble to die than desert him. ‘Crawl to me!’ she called quietly. ‘Don’t cry, dearest. I’m here. Crawl and keep low, mind. Don’t let the grown-ups catch you.’

He wriggled on his belly until he was near enough for Mary to swoop down and grab him. ‘I’ve got you, my precious.’ She nuzzled into his neck as he sobbed on her shoulder. ‘We’ve made it. Come on, I’ll hold your hand.’

They were safe in that part of the grounds – invisible from their papa in the library – and able to take it more slowly. Mary thrilled at the spring of the turf beneath the pink skin on her soles, the dazzling light on her face – her brothers came out without hats and why should not she? The little one, cheerful now, skipped along by her side. Had she ever known a happiness like it?

‘Look at this, Johnny.’ The slope here was at its steepest – almost a hill. Mary lay on it, cross-wise, limbs stretched to their limits. ‘Copy me!’ And then, with a screech and a holler – what would Mrs Grant say? – they both rolled, over and over, down to the bulrushes.

Gingerly, she sat up, waiting for the dizziness to pass, let the grass stains on her pinafore come into focus, then sent her head back and laughed. So this was her life now! Her father had – quite unaccountably, and with no sort of notice – withdrawn her from school. And, for the summer at least, she could look forward to adventure after adventure; lark after lark; new sensation upon new, delicious sensation. She felt like one of Cook’s best desserts, kept in the ice house all winter and now brought into the sunlight to thaw. If only little Edward had lived long enough to enjoy this with them all …

Though the estate of Mersham-le-Hatch had been in the family for some considerable time, it was all quite new to this generation of Knatchbulls. While their grandpapa had lived here, they had not been welcome, the last Lady K. having taken against their papa for some reason unknown. But now the grandfather was dead, his widow evicted and the whole place was theirs. And the sheer size of the mansion and extent of the park was truly the stuff of their dreams.