I didn't worry about it - I just skipped over all the bits in AFs books that tried to make me think which is why I keep finding more and more in them now.

I certainly never identified with any of her child characters - except poor Marie Dobson perhaps - they were far ahead of me in every possible way and I would never have passed the entrance exam to get into a school like Kingscote being a very idle child with no sense of purpose.

Sorry, didn't mean to digress. About the crossword: I would so like to find a plausible answer to the clue. I hope AF wasn't being 'deliberately vague but I've got a feeling she might have been since richenda planted this idea in my head.