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surged to his feet and at once all three children scrambled back a few steps, for he was very tall and broad, with massive shoulders and thick, muscled arms. He shook a huge fist at them. ‘Get out of here, I say!’
    â€˜Come on,’ Fairnette said, and pulled them away. ‘There’s no point talking to him when he’s like this. We’ll come back later. He’ll have forgotten all about it, and we can ask him again.’
    Her voice was stiff and unhappy.
    â€˜Does he not remember you? His own daughter?’ Emilia felt this would be worse than not having a father at all.
    â€˜Sometimes he remembers. Sometimes he thinks I should still be only a baby, and does not believe I’m me. Other times he does not remember he has a daughter at all.’
    As Fairnette spoke she was picking bunches of sage leaves from the herb garden and stuffing them into a shallow metal dish she had picked up from a shelf. The old man had collapsed back onto his bench, staring once more at his hands. He was muttering to himself under his breath, but Emilia could not hear what he said.
    â€˜That’s terrible,’ Emilia said.
    â€˜I’m just a girl,’ Fairnette said bitterly. ‘He never forgets any of the boys, not even Van who’s younger than I am. Though . . .’ her voice trailed away, and she said to herself, ‘though, of course, Van’s hard to forget.’
    Emilia was bursting with curiosity but she did not speak. She shot a warning glance at Luka, who was just as curious as she was. He closed his mouth and was silent too.
    For a moment it seemed Fairnette would say more, but then she shrugged and moved away. ‘Come and meet the bees,’ she said. ‘They’ll want to know who you are.’
    Emilia and Luka raised an eyebrow at each other in surprise, but followed her willingly down a narrow path into the woods.

Telling the Bees

    â€˜D o the bees talk to you?’ Emilia asked.
    Fairnette smiled faintly. ‘No, not like that. But bees are very wise, you know. They always tell me when someone is coming. Except they said I’d have three visitors this morning. I’m sure they would not count Zizi as one.’
    â€˜Why not?’ Luka said, frowning, cuddling his little monkey closer.
    Emilia grinned. She was glad to hear Luka returning to normal.
    â€˜Well, if they counted the monkey, why not the dog?’ Fairnette said.
    â€˜A dog’s only a dog,’ Luka said. ‘Zizi’s practically a person!’
    â€˜So is Rollo!’ Emilia cried, and fondled his soft ears. He wagged his tail and licked her, before bounding on ahead, his nose to the path.
    Fairnette smiled at them placatingly. ‘They’re both the most people-like animals I’ve ever met,’ she said. ‘But the bees wouldn’t count them, I’m sure. They’ve never counted dogs or horses or whatever before.’
    â€˜How do they tell you?’ Emilia wanted to know. ‘Do they hum in your ear?’
    Fairnette laughed again. She was very pretty when she laughed. ‘No,’ she answered. ‘They come inside. Bees don’t come inside unless they want to tell you something. Three were in the kitchen this morning. I opened the window to let them out and I thought to myself, Three visitorstoday, coming to buy some honey perhaps . So I made sure I had some new-baked bread, to try with the honey, and I went out to pick some flowers. I did not expect you so early!’
    â€˜So do the bees always tell you things?’ Emilia asked. ‘What else do they tell you?’
    Fairnette’s smile faded. ‘They always know when trouble is coming,’ she said. ‘They knew before Van had his accident. They were very unsettled all day, and I thought perhaps a storm was on its way, or . . .’ She sighed. ‘And then, after it happened, they knew we had to leave Horsmonden. They all rose in a big swarm, and flew away, and I