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"Are we picnicking soon?" asked A
"Yes," said Mother. "But not yet. It's only eleven o'clock. We shan't have lunch till at least half-past twelve, A
"Oh, gracious!" said A
So her mother handed her some chocolate, and she and the boys munched happily, watching the hills, woods and fields as the car sped by.
The picnic was lovely. They had it on the top of a hill, in a sloping field that looked down into a su
"What time shall we be at Aunt Fa
"About six o'clock with luck," said Daddy. "Now who wants to stretch their legs a bit? We've another long spell in the car, you know."
The car seemed to eat up the miles as it purred along. Tea-time came, and then the three children began to feel excited all over again.
"We must watch out for the sea," said Dick. "I can smell it somewhere near!"
He was right. The car suddenly topped a hill- and there, was the shining blue sea, calm and smooth in the evening sun. The three children gave a yell.
"There it is!"
"Isn't it marvellous!"
"Oh, I want to bathe this very minute!"
"We shan't be more than twenty minutes now, before we're at Kirrin Bay," said Daddy. "We've made good time. You'll see the bay soon- it's quite a big one- with a fu
The children looked out for it as they drove along the coast. Then Julian gave a shout.
"There it is- that must be Kirrin Bay. Look, Dick- isn't it lovely and blue?"
"And look at the rocky little island guarding the entrance of the bay," said Dick. "I'd like to visit that."
"Well, I've no doubt you will," said Mother. "Now, let's look out for Aunt Fa
They soon came to it. It stood on the low cliff overlooking the bay, and was a very old house indeed. It wasn't really a cottage, but quite a big house, built of old white stone. Roses climbed over the front of it, and the garden was gay with flowers.
"Here's Kirrin Cottage," said Daddy, and he stopped the car in front of it. "It's supposed to be about three hundred years old! Now- where's Quentin? Hallo, there's Fa
Chapter Two. THE STRANGE COUSIN
The children's aunt had been watching for the car. She came ru
"Welcome to Kirrin!" she cried. "Hallo, all of you! It's lovely to see you. And what big children!"
There were kisses all round, and then the children went into the house. They liked it. It felt old and rather mysterious somehow, and the furniture was old and very beautiful.
"Where's Georgina?" asked A
"Oh, the naughty girl! I told her to wait in the garden for you," said her aunt. "Now she's gone off somewhere. I must tell you, children, you may find George a bit difficult at first- she's always been one on her own, you know. And at first may not like you being here. But you mustn't take any notice of that- she'll be all right in a short time. I was very glad for George's sake that you were able to come. She badly needs other children to play with."
"Do you call her 'George'?" asked A
"So it is," said her aunt. "But George hates being a girl, and we have to call her George, as if she was a boy. The naughty girl won't answer if we call her Georgina."
The children thought that Georgina sounded rather exciting. They wished she would come. But she didn't. Their Uncle Quentin suddenly appeared instead. He was a most extraordinary looking man, very tall, very dark, and with a rather fierce frown on his wide forehead.
"Hallo, Quentin!" said Daddy. "It's a long time since I've seen you. I hope these three won't disturb you very much in your work."
"Quentin is working on a very difficult book," said Aunt Fa
Their uncle looked at the three children, and nodded to them. The frown didn't come off his face, and they all felt a little scared, and were glad that he was to work in another part of the house.
"Where's George?" he said, in a deep voice.
"Gone off somewhere again," said Aunt Fa
"She wants spanking," said Uncle Quentin. The children couldn't quite make out whether he was joking or not. "Well, children, I hope you have a good time here, and maybe you will knock a little common-sense into George!"
There was no room at Kirrin Cottage for Mother and Daddy to stay the night, so after a hurried supper they left to stay at a hotel in the nearest town. They would drive back to London immediately after breakfast the next day. So they said goodbye to the children that night.
Georgina still hadn't appeared. "I'm sorry we haven't seen Georgina," said Mother. "Just give her our love and tell her we hope she'll enjoy playing with Dick, Julian and A
Then Mother and Daddy went. The children felt a little bit lonely as they saw the big car disappear round the corner of the road, but Aunt Fa
The two boys were to sleep together in a room with slanting ceilings at the top of the house. It had a marvellous view of the bay. The boys were really delighted with it. A
"I do wish Georgina would come," A
"Well, she's a fu
A
"Poor A
"A
"I'm so sorry," said A
So they were. They were as sleepy as could be with their long drive. Secretly all of them longed to cuddle down into bed and shut their eyes.
"I wonder where Georgina is," said A
All the three children were fast asleep before Georgina came up to bed! They didn't hear her open A