I watched the other sisters exchanging glances, unsure whether they were pleased with Pa’s decision or not. For myself, I realised that practically and financially, little had changed. I still had the Pavilion, for which I paid a nominal rent to Pa, and my career would provide comfortably for any other immediate needs.

‘Now, there is one further thing that your father has left you, and I must ask you all to come with me. Please, this way.’

Georg stood up and, instead of walking towards the front door of the house, he traversed the side of it and we followed him, like lambs after a shepherd, through the gardens. Eventually, we arrived in a hidden garden that sat behind a wall of immaculately clipped yews. It looked directly onto the lake, with a spectacular uninterrupted view of the sunset and the mountains on the other side.

From the terrace that sat in the centre of it, there were steps leading down to a small, pebbled cove where we sisters had swum often in the summer in the clear, cool waters. I also knew that it was Pa’s favourite spot in the gardens. If I couldn’t find him in the house, I’d usually find him sitting here, with the sweet smell of lavender and the scent of roses emanating from the well-tended flower beds.

‘So,’ said Georg, ‘here we are. And this is what I wish to show you.’

He pointed to the terrace and we all stared at the strange but beautiful sculpture that had appeared in the centre of it.

Gathering round, we studied the object in fascination. It consisted of a stone plinth rising to just below hip height, with an unusual circular structure set on top of it. As I peered at it, I saw that the shape was made up of an intricate series of slender, overlapping bands, enclosing a small golden ball at their centre. On closer inspection, I realised that the ball was in fact a globe, with the outline of the continents engraved upon it, and that it was skewered by a slim metal rod with an arrow at one end of it. Around the circumference was a further band, depicting the twelve astrological signs of the zodiac.

‘What is it?’ asked CeCe, speaking for all of us.

‘It is an armillary sphere,’ said Georg.

Seeing that we looked none the wiser, Georg continued. ‘The armillary sphere has existed for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks originally used them to determine the positions of the stars, as well as the time of day. These,’ he said, indicating the golden bands encircling the globe, ‘all depict the equatorial, latitudinal and longitudinal lines of the earth. And the meridian line, which encircles all of them, and has the twelve signs of the zodiac inscribed on it, runs from north to south. The central rod points directly to Polaris, the North Star.’

‘It’s beautiful,’ breathed Star, bending over to take a closer look.

‘Yes, but what does it have to do with us?’ asked Electra.