The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Unseen Guest by Maryrose Wood

This was just what I needed this week: A purely silly and delightful read to put a smile on my face.  This is the third in the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series.  The premise for the series is that a poor but well educated Victorian girl, Miss Penelope Lumley, is hired to be a nanny for three children who had been raised in the woods by wolves.  The children are the wards of a wealthy English gentleman named Ashton, and the children and their governess live on his extensive estate.  In this installment Lord Ashton's widowed mother arrives at Ashton place with an admirer, Admiral Faucet, in tow.  Admire Faucet has a plan to introduce ostrich racing to England, but his ostrich has been "accidentally" set loose on in the forest near Ashton Place. The Admiral is fascinated by the three Incorrigible children and enlists their help in tracking the lost ostrich.  For the first time since coming under Miss Lumley's care, the children have a chance to visit the place where they were raised, and Miss Lumley, who has insisted on accompanying them there, is amazed at what she discovers. Meanwhile, as Admiral Faucet watches the children as they exhibit their canine tendencies, he hatches a new nefarious plan to make the children a part of another money-making scheme. This volume advances, but does not completely answer the questions raised in the second book about Mrs Lumley's past, and the connection between the children and Lord Ashton. I was dismayed when I realized that I will have to wait for the next in the series, since it has not yet been published. (340 p)