A Spell of Winter By Helen Dunmore

Catherine and her brother Rob don�t know why they have been abandoned by their parents. Incarcerated in the enormous country house of their grandfather � �the man from nowhere� � they create a refuge against their family�s dark secrets � and the outside world as it moves towards the First World War. As time passes their sibling love deepens and crosses into forbidden territory � but they are not as alone in the house as they believe �