It was as Ellen and Sally were walking home that, near to where they turned off to take the short cut across the fell, they saw a car at the side of the road. The bonnet was up and a man was leaning down into the engine, while a woman and a girl stood nearby, looking fed up.

‘Hello, have you broken down?’ called Sally.

The woman and child turned and the girl broke into a huge grin when she saw Ellen.

‘Diana! Fancy seeing you here.’

Ellen looked at Sally and shrugged. ‘I’m not called Diana,’ she said. ‘You’re mebbe muddling me with someone who looks a bit like me.’

‘Oh …’ The girl frowned and looked carefully at Ellen. ‘Not a bit like you – a lot like you!’ she said. ‘In fact, just like you.’

‘Shush, Mavis. It’s not Diana; the lady’s just said.’

‘And sounds like you, too,’ said Mavis.

‘Shush, Mavis …’

Ellen and Sally exchanged looks.

‘This Diana,’ said Ellen carefully, her stomach doing a little flutter of hope, ‘where is it you know her from?’

‘The Merrylife Hotel, with the Misses Hathersage,’ said Mavis.

‘Never mind that,’ said Mavis’s father, preoccupied with his car crisis. ‘Is there a garage in Great Grindle, do you know? I can’t think what’s wrong with the car. I might have to go and get someone to come out to look at it.’

‘There is a garage,’ said Sally. ‘My brother Roger works there. It’s not far for me to go back and get him, if you want?’

‘Oh, would you, dear?’ said Mavis’s mother gratefully. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’ll come with you,’ said her husband, ‘and explain what’s wrong.’

‘I thought you said you didn’t know what’s wrong,’ said Sally.

‘I don’t, but I might be able to explain the noise it’s not making,’ he said confusingly.

As Sally set out with him on the short walk back to Great Grindle, Ellen said to Mavis, ‘Tell me about this hotel and Diana.’

‘It’s in St Annes. We stayed there a couple of nights last week,’ said the woman. ‘We’re touring Lancashire and Yorkshire. I’m Mrs Hanson, and this is my daughter, Mavis. I must say, you do look very like Diana.’

‘Just like,’ reiterated Mavis. ‘Miss Ruth Hathersage asked Diana to think of something nice for me to do one day and she took me to Blackpool. We did all sorts of things and she was really fun. We did the Tower and the zoo part underneath, and ate a fish-and-chip picnic, and Diana let me drink pop, and I even went in the sea, which was freezing cold!’

‘She was very kind. I don’t really approve of drinking pop, but I think Mavis had a lovely day and Diana was very patient with her.’