Summary

In Part One, Chapter 1, Danny recalls the first time Andrea came to the Dutch House with his father. He and his older sister Maeve speculated about her identity. Sandy and Jocelyn, the housekeeper and cook, respectively, ensured the children looked presentable. Downstairs, standing in front of the portraits of the house's former owners, Mr. and Mrs. VanHoebeeks, with their father, Cyril, Andrea seemed surprised to see the children.

Maeve thought Andrea was a love interest, like their former nanny Fiona, or Fluffy. All Danny remembered about Fluffy was that their father fired her after she hit Danny with a spoon. The only person who had known the VanHoebeeks, Fluffy had lived in the house for years.

Danny had never thought much of the house's grandeur, or why the VanHoebeeks sold it to Cyril, until Andrea commented on it that first day...