Ellie and the Secret Tour

Ellie and Jasper waited until the last of the visitors had left the house before they did their tour. They started at the front door. Jasper held it open for her, and he sat on his heels, running his fingers over the blackened oak door.

"Look, here," he said, pulling her down with him. "When I was ten, I carved my initials into the door. My mum had a fit, and she made me boot black them out before my dad saw what I'd done. You can still feel them." Ellie ran her fingers over the door, tracing the J the A for his middle name Alexander and N for his surname.

"Boys and their penknives!"

"Ahh, actually more like Mary's vegetable knife, she was so cross. Terrified that I might have cut myself, it was a very sharp knife. Come on, let's see what other trouble I managed to get myself into."

Ellie looked around the entrance hall, "Sliding down the bannister?"

"Yes, trouble is with a dogleg, even though it's quite big it was always a pain having to get off and get o