June 26th

How excited I am!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and my sisters have told me that Papa will be arriving first thing, and that he has a very special treat in store for me. Naturally since learning of this, I have been at pains to discover what awaits me. Yet to my utter dismay, when I try to interrogate my sisters , they will only say that they are sworn to secrecy, then glance at one another and burst into infuriating giggles.

I feel that if I am to succeed in my endeavour to extract the necessary information before morning, I must first get to each of them separately, then use all the cunning and ingenuity inherited from my beloved father. What springs immediately to mind, is to adopt the guile of one of Nature’s predators and pursue the weaker of the pack.

Knowing as I do of Audrey’s great fondness for fruit bonbons, I shall arm myself with said items, and make my way to her bedchamber this very evening. Let us see how long her lips remain sealed when such delightful confection is offered in exchange for her secrets!