‘Ah, the Space Brigade!’ Enrico came forward to greet them, smiling broadly. He had changed into a white ruffled shirt and high-waisted black pants. His long brown hair was brushed out and fell to his waist. A woman and two children a few years younger than the members of the Space Brigade followed in his wake. The woman seemed to be covered in diamonds. She wore a chunky diamond necklace, diamond bracelets and diamond clips in her thick brown hair, which was so long it hovered only a few inches above the floor. The children, with the same long brown hair falling sleekly over their shoulders, seemed virtually identical, except that one was a girl in a pink satin dress, while the other was a boy in a tuxedo. ‘My wife, Carmelita,’ said Enrico. ‘And my twin children, Josie and Joseph.’

They all smiled identical white-toothed smiles.

‘This is the way they greet each other on Earth,’ said Enrico to his family, and he pounded his feet on the floor. His wife and children copied him obediently. This is getting ridiculous, thought Nicola, as she and the rest of the Space Brigade stamped their own feet halfheartedly – except for Sean, of course, who stamped his feet so enthusiastically you would have thought he’d been greeting people that way for years.

‘I do hope we’ve made you comfortable,’ Carmelita said graciously as she shook each of them by the hand. She stopped at Katie and held her hand for a few seconds longer. ‘Ah. Do let me know if any of the staff has bothered you for signographs. It is expressly against the rules!’

‘The staff have been wonderful,’ said Katie carefully.

‘Please,’ said Enrico. ‘Sit! You must be famished!’

They all sat down. Nicola noticed that Josie and Joseph made sure they were sitting on either side of Katie.

Enrico clinked his knife once against his goblet and suddenly the room was filled with scurrying servants carrying large trays above their heads. Nicola barely had time to say thank you as her glass was filled with something sparkling and her plate was covered with all types of strange, exotic food.

She looked over at Sean, who was looking horrified. His favourite foods were hamburgers and pizza and he stubbornly refused to eat anything he considered unusual. It was going to be fun watching him try to eat this stuff. Nicola swallowed a giggle and Sean discreetly poked his tongue out at her.

‘I asked my chefs to prepare something truly special for us tonight in your honour,’ said Enrico. ‘We have piping-hot sea slug soup, the finest oysters à la marmalade, and crunchy strawberry-marinated octopus served with steamed seaweed and freshly picked mountain-tree roots. Enjoy!’

There were a few seconds of silence as everyone stared at their plates. Nicola noticed that Sean was extremely pale.

‘Yum!’ said Shimlara, rather unconvincingly.

As Nicola reluctantly picked up her knife and fork she saw that Enrico was looking at Shimlara with interest.