chapter 5

Paul,Isabel,Julian,Harriet. There were so many of them. Kate felt shy at first,but Isabel and Harriet held her hands,Isabel on the left, Harriet on the right . Katie ,Katie, kiss me ,Katie, 'said Julian .'Don't be stupid,'said Paul,who was eleven , so he was going to big school in September. Bella had made a cake for tea. It had strawberries in themiddle ,dripping pink into the cream .It picked the strawberries this morning, didn't I,'said Harriet, `in the garden, all by myself? Bella smiled at Harriet. Sweet pea,she said,what a lovely girl you are.

What about me?'said Julian, pulling at his mother's arm while Paul pulled a face at him.

You are lovely, too,'said Bella. You all are . Five lovely children. How lucky I am.'She smiled,again, and kate searched her face for clues about her mother. Bella and Judith were meant to be identical twins-that's what other people said - but Kate knew differently. They both had hazel eyes and light brown hair ('Mouse,'said Judith; 'honey ,'said Bella) , just like Kate did , but her mother's hair was short and feathery, while her aunt's came below her shoulders. Judith was skinnier ; Bella was softer. Bella had freckles scattered across warm tawny skin ; Judith was pale faced and always felt the cold . They were quite old now ; Kate knew that. They were thirty -three years old. Kate was seven years and one month. Julian was two months older than her, and two inches taller. She tried to keep on top of these figures. They were important to her.

After the strawberry cake,Bella told the children to go into the garden, and they played hide and seek. Kate hid behind the oak tree that had been there since before her uncle Charles was born. Maybe it was older than his parents, who were really old, thirty eight, maybe, but it wasn't polite to ask. they lived up the road now, nearer to the village, in another house with fewer rooms. They weren't Kate's grandparents; they belonged to Paul and Isabel and Julian and Harriet.