"Not many," said Greta Ross. "You'll meet them soon."

Soon we were near the island. I could see the beaches and the cliffs. The boat slowed down.

"Greta Ross is young," I thought. "Is her husband young, too? How can a young man buy an island? Is he very rich?"

We went to Scotland the next day, first by plane, then by train. Greta Ross travelled with us.

I looked out of the train window and saw fields and villages and mountains. "Mum is right," I thought. "Scotland is a very beautiful place."

After the train, we went on Mr Ross's boat, which took us out to the island. The boatman was a young man. He had dark hair and was brown from the sun.

"Do many people live on the island?" I asked.

"This is Tony," said Greta Ross. "He works for Mr Ross."

"There are dangerous rocks around the island," explained Tony. "A lot of them are under the water and you can't see them. I have to be careful. But the rocks keep other boats away, and that pleases Mr Ross."

"Hi," said Tony.

"You're going to be my husband's secretary," Greta Ross told my mother. "He's a businessman, but he never leaves the island. He does all his work by telephone and letter and computer. He invests money in companies, all over the world."

"Why?" I asked.

Tony looked at Greta Ross but she wasn't listening. "Mr Ross doesn't like visitors to the island," tony said in a quiet voice.

"Why doesn't Mr Ross like visitors?" I thought. "Has he something to hide?"

When we arrived on the island, my mother and I followed Greta up to the house. It was very big and there were trees all around it.

Then Greta Ross looked at us and Tony said no more.

"This is Mrs Duncan, Tony's mother,'said Greta. "She's the housekeeper and her husband is the gardener. Mrs Duncan will take you up to your rooms. I'm going to tell Mr Ross you've arrived."

The housekeeper was a little woman with short hair. She went up the stairs, and my mother and I went after her.

A woman was waiting inside the house.

My room was next to my mother's. I looked out of the window and saw the garden at the back of the house. A man was working in the garden, near some trees. "Is that Mr Duncan?" I thought. I looked between the trees and saw the sea. "It's a beautiful house and a beautiful island."

I was surprised. He was a young man, about thirty. He had a moustache, short dark hair, and he wore glasses.

"Isn't Mrs Ross lonely here?" I said.

"She's in hospital," replied Mrs Duncan. "She's going to be away all summer."

"Mr Ross wants to see you and your daughter now, Mrs Sanders," she said. "Follow me, please."

We finished eating our meal. Soon after, Greta Ross came into the kitchen.

"Mr Ross is talking to a business friend in New York," said Greta. "Please, sit down."

"No," said Mrs Duncan. "She likes painting a lot. She has a room upstairs and goes there to paint. She's very good. Sometimes she goes to different places on the island to paint pictures."

That evening, we had dinner with Mr and Mrs Duncan and Tony. We ate in the big kitchen.

"What happened to Mr Ross's last secretary?" asked my mother.

Mr Ross was speaking into the telephone. "Who does he look like?" I thought. "Is it Tony Duncan?"

We followed her through the house and into a big room. This was Mr Ross's office and he was sitting behind a desk.

While we waited, I looked around the office. There were three telephones, a computer, and lots of books and papers.

Mr Ross finished speaking on the phone, then looked care fully at my mother and me. For a few seconds he didn't speak, and just watched us. Then he said, "I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs Sanders. I need some help with my work. My secretary is in hospital, and there's a lot of work to do. Sometimes you'll have to work late at night, because of time differences in New York and Tokyo. Is that all right?"

"Can you use a computer?"

"Yes."

There was another door and I could see a smaller room, next to the office. There was a smaller desk and another computer in there.

"Yes, that's all right," said my mother.

"Good." He looked at me. "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes, this is Carol," said my mother.

"Greta says you like gardening. There's a big garden here, so you can help Mr Duncan. And there's a farm. Dan and Stella Parks live in the farmhouse and work on the farm. You can help them, too. We have some animals. Some sheep, a few cows and chickens. And there's a horse called Smoke. He's grey, like his name. Can you ride?"

"Hallo," I said.

"Yes," I said. "I can ride a horse."

"And we grow vegetable and fruit," he said. "I work on the farm sometimes. I enjoy it."

"I'd like that," I said. "Thank you."

I smiled at him but he didn't smile back.

"You can ride Smoke around the is land, if you like."

"Carol will enjoy working on the farm," said my mother. "Won't you, Carol?"

"Yes," I said.

"Mr Ross looks sad," I thought. "But how did he get all his money? And why does he hide away on an island?"