Fourth in the spellbinding Rose series from bestselling UK author Holly Webb, featuring magicians, witches, talking cats, mist-monsters, treacle and friendships. Rose is an orphan with magical powers who follows clues to discover who her real family was. Time has flown since Rose left the orphanage behind for her new family at Mr. Fountain's magical house. But when the stern Miss Fell comes to stay at the mansion, Rose can't help but notice the extra attention Miss Fell gives her. When Rose sees the flash of a face in Miss Fell's mirror―a face that's familiar and foreign at the same time―her suspicions are confirmed that Miss Fell might know more about Rose's past than she's letting on… Can a hidden picture, a silver mirror, and a timid ghost lead Rose to the truth about her family? Praise for Rose : "Warm and sparkling and magical and fun."―Hilary McKay, bestselling author "A book as satisfying and familiar as a cup of hot cocoa."― Shelf Awareness "Magic, mystery, adventure, and friendship―this book has it all. The characters are delightful children, each searching for their special place in the world. I loved the book and would heartily recommend it to kids ages 9 and up, especially to fans of Harry Potter."― Books for Kids Holly Webb has written more than one hundred books, inlcuding the critically acclaimed Rose series. She worked for five years as a children’s fiction editor before deciding to become a writer. She lives in Reading with her husband and three small children. Visit holly-webb.com. One "And one, two, three, and one, two, three, and―twirl, girl!" Rose sighed and twirled obediently. The last time she'd danced had been in a Venetian ballroom lit by candles hanging in huge crystal wheels from the ceiling. She had been surrounded by masked society ladies and by the music, which swept her around in a whirl of silvery chimes. The thin tinkling of the piano couldn't send her feet circling like that Venetian orchestra had a few weeks before. And Bella refused to obey Miss Fell's strict instructions on the polite steps of the quadrille. She kept adding fancy footwork, and Miss Fell did not approve. Even the jauntiest tune was dismal when the piano stopped every four bars while the pianist hissed with horror. Rose half closed her eyes, remembering soft, white fur gloves instead of Bella's thin, hot hands. "Rose! Not you as well! Chassé! Oh, stop it, stop it. I cannot stand the pair of you any longer. Tell one of the maids I shall take tea and a piece of lavender shortbread in my room." Miss Fell sprang up from the piano stool with remarkable energy for one so elderly, and strode―as much as she ever did anything so unladylike―out of the room. Rose sank onto a small gilt chair and shook her head. "Mrs. Jones will have a fit. I'm almost certain there's no lavender shortbread in the kitchen. She'll have Sarah making holes in the plain kind with a pin and sticking the lavender in." "You'd think Miss Fell would know that, as she's such a powerful magician," Bella said thoughtfully, chasséing perfectly across the polished floorboards and settling onto the windowsill beside Rose's chair. "You would, wouldn't you?" The two girls exchanged glances, and Rose looked down at the floor, smiling a little. Only a few months before, she had been an orphanage brat. The first time she met Bella, she had been laying the fire in the younger girl's bedroom. Rose had moved from the orphanage to become the lowliest maid in the house of Bella's father, Aloysius Fountain, a powerful magician who worked as an adviser to the king. But then Mr. Fountain's apprentice, the insufferable Freddie, had discovered that Rose could do magic too, and everything had changed. Dancing lessons―however horrible―were a world away. Miss Fell had been living in Mr. Fountain's house with them ever since they returned from Venice, where they'd traveled to defeat the crazed magician Gossamer. Miss Fell wasn't anything as humble as a governess, but she had taken over Bella's lessons and insisted that Rose attend too. She also taught Freddie some subjects, but he had taken to developing interesting illnesses on his days for etiquette and genealogy. Mr. Fountain had intended to find a new governess for Bella anyway, as she had finally driven off Miss Anstruther, her last long-suffering governess, just before they left for Venice. Bella's magic was now starting to show―and she couldn't control it properly. Rose rather suspected that Bella didn't want to because it was more fun that way. Unfortunately, Bella's magic was also immensely strong. No one had quite realized how strong until they landed at Dover two weeks before. As Mr. Fountain had predicted, the Venetian ship hardly stayed in port long enough for them to disembark. The captain seemed to have little need of favorable winds, and the spell-laden sails filled and swelled despite the stillness in the air. Rose and the others were left abandoned at the dock, something that happened to Mr. Fountai