Set in England, a single mother has two children older girl and young boy. She is approached by a man (a lawyer) who asks the mom to apply for a job as a caretaker of larger estate. The mom goes to the law office, and sees the man’s picture on the wall, who has been dead for many years, but looks like the current lawyer (blah blah blah the 3rd). Anyways, she gets the job, and the family gets to move in.

In the garden, the two children see ghosts, a boy (maybe George? maybe Samuel? ) and a girl (Sarah) from the past.  Tom was the gardener’s boy Sarah was in love with when she lived. They ask for help as they were murdered (drugged and then the house burned).  The lawyer (the ghost who approached the present day mom) was their uncle who had ignored their pleas that their guardians were going to do them harm.

They make a potion and go back and time and help.  The present day kids don’t know if they did save them , until the present day lawyers visit the mom. Turns out, her young son is the direct heir to the estate!  The ghosts did survive, Sarah married Tom and their decedents were the kids they asked for help! The little boy from the past never approved of the marriage, moved to America, and never had any kids. I believe ‘garden’, ‘ghosts’, or ‘time’ in title.

Rim Rat the Wease (Weaze? or Weese?) steals eggs (that would otherwise hatch to be chicks) and takes them to his diner to cook them. There is a monkey who climbs a telephone pole in the beginning of the book. The diner might be called the Sunny Side diner. . . or something like that. The biggest thing I remember is Rim Rat the Wease, who I’m guessing is a big weasel though in my head he looks like a giant rat, the diner, the eggs and the monkey. I think the Monkey and other animals have to go save the eggs so they don’t get cooked. Thank you!!

Plot – a young woman joins a good mercenary company, but after a while the company’s work gets too dark, she leaves and travels on a ship, gets off and travels with a half elf mage who tricks her into fighting in Elven ruins, they kill a lich, she continues over the mountains to a small town, joins semi-religious fighting order there, has another battle in ruins near the town, has misadventures, joins elven woodsmen, eventually becomes paladin, I believe, and finds royal family connections.

A Princess who wears white and is innocent and pure is turned into a dragon. I seem to remember that she has to fight princes and knights who come to rescue her, not knowing that the dragon is the princess. I think she has to kill a few of them to defend herself. When she is finally turned back into a princess, she wears gray, which symbolizes that her soul is stained. I think the book was published before 1994, although I might say 1996 to be safe.

I have been thinking about this book for the last twenty years! Thank you for your help.