CHAPTER FOURThe Marquis awoke and instantly winced at the pain in his shoulder.
Before he could open his eyes he heard a little voice say,
“Please – please – do not – die.”
He thought for a moment that he must be dreaming and then he became aware that looking down at him was a small creature with blue eyes and golden hair.
As he looked at her she knelt down beside the bed so that her face was close to his.
“Please – do not – die,” she whispered again.
“Why not?” the Marquis asked. “And who are you?”
She smiled at him.
“I’s Mavis and this is Jacko.”
She held up her doll as she spoke and the Marquis looked at it.
The next moment he had remembered that he had been left three children by the Colonel and they were already here in the Chateau. It came back to him slowly because with th
