The CATCH

The house was perfect - so why was it so cheap?

- Mary Hudso

Fiona crunched tentatively up the gravel drive. The house at the end was beautiful and positioned right on the edge of the forest. There must be a catch, cautioned the dreary voice in her head. An error in the price. Nowhere this perfect could be within budget.

Attempting to ignore her doubts, she admired the Edwardian brickwork and intricate wooden porch. She could already imagine returning home after a long day.

Her daydreams were suddenly interrupted by a loud scuffling noise. To her surprise, she spotted a large, white, woolly creature creeping furtively around the side of the house.

'Hello!' Fiona called out. 'Are you lost?" The animal looked at her quizzically through a curly fringe.

'Are you a llama?' she asked. 'Or maybe an alpaca, I can never tell the difference.' She held out her hand, and the animal took a shy step towards her, gazing at her with big eyes.

Fiona stood completely still and it came closer. She reached out and stroked the wool on its long neck.

'You're very soft,' said Fiona, delighted with her new acquaintance. 'You must be an alpaca. Tame too, although I wonder whether you are supposed to be here.' She cast a worried glance back along the driveway to the road beyond. Surely the animal wasn't supposed to be wandering around freely? Behind the house she spotted a fenced paddock. She gently ushered the creature around to the gate and returned it to the safety of the field, which contained another grazing alpaca.

Spotting a section of fence that had been pushed to the ground, she clambered over and repaired the damage as best she could, propping the wooden post back into the soil.

Both alpacas stood and watched her with amused expressions.

After checking the time and straightening her coat, Fiona hurried over to the front door of the house and knocked. A tall estate agent opened the door.