A week passed, and people continued to flock to the gardens at Raven Hall all throughout the run up to Christmas, but Rosa could not enjoy the success. Her thoughts returned over and over again to the boy. And at times it felt as if her entire body was on fire with the pain of missing Ada. This wasn’t helped when they received a letter from Margaret saying they were enjoying their holiday – although she never mentioned where exactly they were. She went into some detail about what a fussy baby Ada was, and how excessively she cried.

I fear you have been spoiling her, Rosa. But rest assured you will find you have a far more obedient child by the time I return her to you. I have noticed some improvement in her already. There is no need to thank me – I am more than happy to take on this duty. Spare the rod, you know.

Rosa tried several times to argue with Eustace, and on one occasion completely lost control of herself and begged for her daughter to be returned to her.

‘But, Rosa, you have only to say the word,’ he said. ‘And I will send for mother to bring Ada back home at once.’

‘I will lock the ravens up in the aviary,’ she offered, recalling how distressed the birds made him. ‘All but one.’ She had only ever intended them to be a deterrent, after all, but they seemed to have got inside Eustace’s head, to the point where he sometimes complained of hearing them in the walls even when Rosa herself could hear nothing and was quite certain there were no birds there at all.

He went completely still at her suggestion and Rosa could see how he longed for the ravens to be gone from his house.

‘That would be a start, certainly.’ He nodded. ‘Yes, confine the birds to the aviary and I will consider bringing Ada home. I am pleased to hear you finally begin to talk sense at last.’

And so Rosa locked up all but one of the birds, in heavy-hearted defeat. After that there was simply nothing more to be done. She threw herself back into the running of the garden with increased vigour.

Then word came that Beatrice had unveiled another spectacle in her garden, and that it was something to do with the plums themselves. Despite the signs Rosa had seen there earlier, Beatrice was now serving the plums at the supper booths and people all said they had the most extraordinary effect. Where the rain allowed you to glimpse another life, had you made different decisions in the past, it seemed the stone inside the plum would reveal to you a bad decision you had not yet made – and thus a chance to change it and avoid the mistake altogether.