waiting for the guests of honour. Once they decide to stand still long enough to have their picture taken, we can carry on.
“Trinny! Get hold of your brother’s hand and come over here. We want to get this photo done before it goes dark,” Ayden calls out to them with his sternest voice.
“Oh, Daddy. It won’t be dark for hours,” Trinny answers, making us all laugh out loud.
“Look, Josh is waiting to take our photo.”
Trinny looks over to Josh. He waves to her from behind the camera.
“Yay!” she calls out. “Come on, Freddie!” She runs at full speed to Ayden who whips her up onto his shoulders. She pretends to cover his eyes with her tiny hands and he has to keep peeling them off, amid laughter and playful warnings to stop.
I sit Freddie on my right hip, bobbing up and down to the sound of Sam Cooke singing, “Having a Party” coming from somewhere inside the chateau. “Are you going to smile for the camera, Freddie?”
He nods enthusiastically and shows his teeth like a rabid animal.
“Oh! No need to pull a face. You’ll frighten Aunty Charlie.”
Charlie shrieks in horror and tickles his waist. He wriggles and giggles, almost sliding off my hip.
Seeing Trinny on Ayden’s shoulders with her arms outstretched as if reaching for the sky, he points up at her. “You’re the king of the castle, Daddy, and Trinny’s your pointy crown.”
Ayden laughs. “Yep! If you say so, Freddie.” He grips Trinny’s knees and rocks side to side trying to look all macho and mean.
I feel his lips next to my ear. “If I’m the king, then that must make you the queen…”
I snigger and nod in reply.
“Mummy’s not the queen,” Trinny calls out. “Mummy’s the beautiful princess.” As an expression of innocent love, she strokes my hair.
I kiss her hand softly. “Thank you, Trinny. I’d love to be the princess.”
Ayden shakes his head. “You know what. I swear this child can hear the grass grow.”
I glance up at Trinny. “You’re probably right.” Having heard the compliment, she’s smiling broadly.
With everyone in place, no fidgeting, no face pulling, Josh takes a set of serious photos, some less formal ones and some very silly ones. In a matter of minutes it’s over with and we have our mementos of a wonderful day.
Leaving our family and friends to play croquet and sip lemonade, I’m taking the children for a walk, hoping to tire them out. It’s almost time for a late supper and they have been bounding around like Duracell bunnies all day. Leaving Freddie to chase peacocks, I sit on a wooden bench and stretch out my legs, pulling up my cream coloured dress to reveal tanned knees and dirty toes. Furthering her interest in the natural elements, Trinny is sitting cross-legged on the gravel path in front of me, letting the tiny pieces filter through her fingers like raindrops.
“Have you enjoyed your birthday, Trinny?” I ask, keeping an eye on her frisky brother a couple of yards away.
“Yes, Mummy. I loved the ponies, but not to keep.”
“Why not? Wouldn’t you like a pony? They’re cute, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Sooo cute. But they have mummies. They miss them when they go.” She tosses a few chippings in the air.
“Yes. They do. Just like I’d miss you and Freddie if you weren’t here.”
She looks up at me with big blue eyes as clear as the summer sky above us. “I won’t leave you, Mummy.”
“I know. That’s because you live here with me and Daddy, Freddie and Mamie. It’s a special place for a very special little girl like you.”
“Freddie’s special too.”
“He is. But some children have special skills that not every child has. Children like you.”
She twists the forefinger of her right hand round and round, whipping up the gravel. It begins to swirl as if caught in a tiny tornado. “Look, Mummy. The stones can dance.”
“I see that sweetheart…”
Suddenly they fall to the ground with a clatter. When I look up, one of the gardeners appears pushing a wheelbarrow. “Bonne soirée, Paul”
He nods respectfully. “Bonne soirée, Madam Stone.”
Once he has passed I turn my attention to Trinny. “You have to be careful who sees your games. Not everyone will understand.”
“No one sees.” She gives me one of her intimate smiles. “But I show you, Mummy?”
“Yes. I love to see the wonderful things you can do…”
“Oh dear.” Her bottom lip falls in an exaggerated expression of disappointment.
“What?” Along the path, her brother takes a tumble. But I’m not worried. Our children