Both girls are horrified - Ellie will have to go back to doing things on her own, and Kate doesn't want to leave everything she knows. For Ellie, life will be just her, and Miss Stringle the Royal Governess and Meg the groom, but only as long as Meg's not too busy. Ellie casts about desperately for solutions, but just when she thinks she's found one Kate turns everything on its head.
I liked the way this story works on so many levels: it's a lovely story of friendship, but also about how privilege can be a gilded cage, and how tradition can hamstring you as well as protect you.
Age of main character: 9?