Grinning, Pansy signalled Hilly for refreshments and settled Ella at the garden table.
'Darling, you have lovely manners,' she praised Ella, impressed with how well she handled social situations with adults. 'We shall have to teach Princess Polly to be so lovely when she gets older,' she confided. Hopefully, she'd be done shouting 'NO' at everyone. Pansy secretly thought she was keeping it up just because she knew it annoyed her mum.
The lemonade and treats appeared, the plate stacked high. Hilly adored Ella, too, Pansy thought, smiling. She poured a glass of lemonade for each of them, and offered the plate of biscuits to Ella so she could choose what she wanted.
'So how are you, Princess Ella?' she said, thinking about how to get Ella to open out about her mum.