At that moment there was a loud rumble followed by peals of laughter. A pall of pungent gas stung the children’s eyes and the group wailed in disgust.
‘You’re rank, Figgy!’ Rufus bellowed, holding his nose.
‘What? Don’t blame me. It was her.’ The boy pointed at a cow grazing in the field. The old girl looked up and mooed.
Mr Plumpton shook his head. ‘I’d advise you to cut back on the baked beans, Figworth. So much for best behaviour.’
The children giggled.
Matron Bright had spent the morning rounding up a small group of the residents, who were now awaiting further instructions in the reading room.
‘Good morning, everyone.’ She bustled to the front, her voice trilling like a lark.
A chorus of good mornings echoed.
‘What’s all this about?’ an elderly gentleman at the back called.
The matron beamed. ‘You are quite the impatient one this morning, Mr Mobbs. If you give me a minute I will explain.’
‘I’ve got things to do, you know,’ the man persisted.
‘Yes, yes, but I was hoping you might like to help me this morning. The home shopping channel runs twenty-four hours a day and I doubt you or any of the other residents need another vacuum cleaner.’
‘Oh, I do,’ Mrs Von Thripp piped up.
Deep creases formed above Mr Mobbs’s bushy eyebrows. Matron didn’t know what she was talking about. He hadn’t planned to buy any more vacuum cleaners. It was an ab cruncher he was after.
‘Mrs Von Thripp, I don’t think you’ve done any vacuuming since you moved into Pelham Park as a resident, have you, dear?’ Matron Bright reminded the woman.
‘I was vacuuming the master’s bedroom just yesterday,’ the grey-haired woman declared, nodding fiercely.
‘I think that was a while ago. Mr Henry Kennington-Jones has been gone for a very long time now, but your apartment does occupy what was once his bedroom and dressing rooms, so I can see how you might get that confused,’ the matron explained.
Mrs Von Thripp pursed her lips. And then, as if a light was suddenly switched on, she remembered. ‘Oh, of course. I was Mr Kennington-Jones’s maid, all those years ago when Hugh was just a little boy.’
The matron smiled at her. ‘Good girl. Now, the reason you’re all here this morning is that I have some lovely news. We are going to have some visitors over the next week.’
‘I hate visitors,’ a man with a curly moustache called out. ‘They eat my cake.’
‘No, no Mr Johnson, I can assure you that these visitors won’t be eating your cake. They will be reading to you and writing down some of your stories, so that we can make a book of recollections of your lives here at Pelham Park.’
Most of the residents murmured their approval of this.
‘Who are the visitors?’ Mrs Von Thripp asked.
‘They are students from the area’s two finest schools. They are currently involved in a program that has been set out by none other than Her Majesty, Queen Georgiana,’ Matron Bright explained.
Mr Mobbs nodded. ‘Ooh, I like her. She’s got class, that woman, and I’ve won a few bob on her horses over the years. But I don’t like children. They smell.’
Marigold Bright suppressed the urge to laugh. It never ceased to amaze her that perfectly polite human beings frequently reached an age where they acquired what she had come to describe as the gift of natural rudeness. They didn’t mean to be unkind, but they no longer cared what anyone really thought. It was as if they’d been injected with a truth serum of the brutally honest blend.
‘What do you think, Mr Freeman?’ she asked the man in the middle of the front row.
‘It sounds all right to me,’ Donald replied.
‘Good. Well, the first group will be coming over in about twenty minutes. Some of the children will be chatting with you while others are going to the nursing home wing to do some reading. A few others will be helping me get things organised for the fair. I believe there’s a group on gardening duty too.’
‘What fair?’ a voice called from the back of the room.
‘The anniversary fair that we have on the weekend – the same one we have every year to celebrate Pelham Park’s establishment, Mr Biggles,’ Matron Bright said patiently. She never minded repeating herself and hoped that one day when she was old and a little bit forgetful someone would take the time to do the same for her.
The Barn Owls set off down the driveway and along the road to the Pelham Park entrance.
The front of the estate was partially shielded by a high hedge, but once the children were inside the gates it was easy to see the full expanse of the main building.
Just as the group rounded the bend at the top of the driveway, a silver Range Rover pulled up in the car park.
Jacinta pointed and nudged Alice-Miranda. ‘Isn’t that your mother’s car?’
Alice-Miranda looked at it. A huge smile spread across her face and she dashed towards the vehicle. ‘Mummy! What are you doing here?’
Cecelia Highton-Smith hopped out of the passenger’s seat and embraced her small daughter.
‘Hello darling. I don’t suppose you expected to see us.’ She planted a kiss on Alice-Miranda’s cheek.
The rear passenger door opened and Alice-Miranda almost jumped out of her skin. ‘Uncle Ed!’ She leapt into the man’s arms. Ed Clifton scooped her up and Alice-Miranda kissed his soft cheek. She hugged him tightly.
‘If I’d have known this was the way I’d be received I would have come months ago.’ Ed smiled at Alice-Miranda and set her back down.
Hugh Kennington-Jones strode around the back of the vehicle and Alice-Miranda ran to hug him too.
‘What are you all doing here?’ she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
‘We’ll tell you about it later, darling. I think you need to go.’ Cecelia had noticed Mr Plumpton tapping his foot.
‘We’re starting our community service,’ Alice-Miranda said. She glanced over at her group.
‘Run along, sweetheart, and we’ll catch up with you inside,’ Cecelia instructed. ‘You don’t want to keep everyone waiting, do you?’
Alice-Miranda ran back to Millie. ‘Isn’t that a lovely surprise?’
Ed Clifton watched the children walk through the arched portico that framed the mansion’s front door.
He stared up at the facade, remembering the last time he had seen it – the night he’d walked down the driveway to the waiting taxi at the gate. It had taken him to a new life, far from here.
Hugh watched his brother, wondering how he was going to cope with being back. ‘Are you all right, Ed?’
‘I’m fine. It’s just strange. When I left I expected to come back some day – but I didn’t realise it would take me almost forty years,’ Ed said.
Cecelia linked arms with her brother-in-law. ‘I telephoned Matron Bright this morning to let her know we were coming. She said that it was probably a good thing that the children would be keeping the residents busy this morning. Some of them may have known you as a boy and it might come as a shock,’ she explained.
Ed nodded. ‘My not being dead and all.’
‘You’ll love Marigold,’ said Hugh. ‘She’s just what this place needed. I’ve never known anyone who actually beams like a ray of sunshine.’
‘I don’t know about that. Alice-Miranda would have to come close,’ Ed said.
‘We’ll go around to the back door and avoid the crowd,’ said Hugh.
‘Lead the way, little brother,’ Ed agreed. Cecelia looped her arm into Ed’s and the pair followed.
‘Welcome, everyone, come through,’ Marigold Bright greeted the children as they walked into the Great Hall.
‘Cool house,’ Figgy said loudly.
‘Thank you, young man,’ said Matron Bright. ‘We think it is too.’
‘Hello Matron Bright,’ Alice-Miranda greeted the woman.
Marigold wriggled a little dance then wrapped her arms around the child and hugged he
r tightly. ‘Hello, my lovely girl, what a wonderful surprise to have you in the first group. It’s such a pleasure to see you. It’s been far too long.’
‘That’s because I’ve been so busy at school,’ Alice-Miranda announced. ‘I can’t wait to see everyone and I could hardly believe my eyes when Mummy and Daddy pulled up outside – and best of all, Uncle Ed is with them too.’
‘Excellent,’ said Matron Bright. ‘We’ll get everyone sorted here and then I’ll go and find them.’
‘Are they just visiting for the day?’ Alice-Miranda asked the woman.
‘Didn’t they tell you? Your uncle has come to sort through your grandmother’s art collection. He’s doing a very important job. He’s going to be staying with us for the next week at least. Perhaps longer.’
Alice-Miranda jumped up and down and clapped her hands. ‘I’ll be able to see him every day!’
Caprice was watching Alice-Miranda. The child was ridiculous and that woman, Matron Bright – did anyone ever really smile that much?
‘Come along, everyone,’ Matron Bright instructed. ‘We’ve got some people in the reading room who are very excited to meet you.’
Soon enough the ten Barn Owls had been assigned their jobs for the morning.
‘Do you want to swap?’ Jacinta whispered to Alice-Miranda. ‘Sloane and I have to go and read to some dribbly oldies in the nursing home wing. What if they don’t have any teeth?’
Alice-Miranda grinned. ‘You’ll be fine. Just check the water glasses next to the bed before you take a drink.’
‘What for?’ Jacinta asked.
‘Their teeth,’ Alice-Miranda giggled.
Jacinta shuddered. ‘Eww, gross!’
‘I’m joking,’ said Alice-Miranda.
Figgy had been matched with Mr Mobbs and Rufus was spending the morning with Mr Johnson.
Mr Mobbs was less than impressed with the pairing and began sniffing the air as soon as Figgy sat beside him. ‘Did you use deodorant this morning, son?’
Figgy nodded, wondering what the old bloke was getting at.
‘Well, you need some more. I told you children smell, matron. This one here is right on the nose.’ The old man pinched his nostrils and pulled a face.
Millie had been assigned to Mrs Von Thripp and Alice-Miranda was going to chat with Mr Freeman.
‘I wonder if he’s related to that detective we met yesterday?’ Alice-Miranda said to Millie.
‘Hopefully he’s not as grumpy as she was,’ Millie replied.
Caprice, Susannah, Lucas and Sep were off to join the gardening team. That revelation hadn’t sat well with Jacinta, who had caught Lucas staring at Caprice that morning at breakfast. Then again, he wasn’t the only one.
‘Hello Mr Freeman,’ said Alice-Miranda as she approached the old man. She remembered his face from some of her earlier visits. ‘My name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones.’ She held out her hand.
Donald smiled at her. ‘Are you Cecelia’s little girl? You’ve grown up a bit since the last time you were here.’
‘Oh, yes. I’ve started boarding school. I love it. I have lots of friends and we get to do loads of interesting things, but that means I don’t have a lot of time to visit any more,’ Alice-Miranda replied.
Donald nodded.
‘Yesterday we met a detective whose last name was Freeman,’ the child said. ‘Do you know her?’
‘That’s my daughter,’ Donald replied.
‘We were on a bus and there was a silly mix-up,’ Alice-Miranda explained. ‘I don’t think she was very happy about it.’
‘No, but she’s not very happy about a lot of things,’ Donald said with a sigh.
Alice-Miranda rummaged inside her day pack for a pen and the question sheet that Mr Plumpton had supplied. She scanned the page. ‘How long have you lived at Pelham Park?’
‘I came here not long after the renovations were completed. That was about seven years ago now, I think,’ Mr Freeman replied.
‘What do you enjoy about living here?’
‘My apartment is lovely and there are lots of people to keep a fellow company in his old age. Oh and Matron Bright – she’s a delight.’
Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Have you lived on the estate before?’
Donald looked at the child closely.
Alice-Miranda thought his eyes were the loveliest colour, like sea water – not quite green and not blue either.
‘Did you work here?’ Alice-Miranda prompted.
Donald shook his head. ‘No. I grew up here.’
‘Oh really? That must have been interesting. Was it a terribly long time ago? I’m sorry but it would be rude of me to guess your age,’ Alice-Miranda prattled.
‘I’m almost eighty-five,’ Donald replied. ‘And yes, it was a very long time ago. Until I was fifteen, so that’s …’
Alice-Miranda did the numbers in her head. ‘Seventy years. That does seem a long time. Do you remember it well?’
Donald closed his eyes. A smile perched on his lips as if a clear memory had just come into view. ‘Like it was yesterday. We lived over the rise in one of the cottages. My father was a butler in the house.’
‘You must have had lots of friends to play with,’ said Alice-Miranda.
She watched the man. His hands trembled a little and a roadmap of green veins tracked underneath his thinning skin.
‘Yes.’
‘Was there anyone you remember?’ she asked.
‘Harry. He was my best friend,’ Donald said. His eyes sprung open. He must have been getting soft in his old age. He hadn’t spoken of Harry in years. He didn’t deserve to occupy Donald’s thoughts. Not after what he did.
‘How lovely to have such a good friend. Did you know my grandpa at all?’ Alice-Miranda asked, wide-eyed. She wondered if the two men would have been a similar age.
Donald shrugged. ‘A bit.’ His face took on a steely expression.
‘What was he like? I don’t know much about him at all, except that he wasn’t very kind to Daddy and Uncle Ed when they were growing up, and Granny Arabella died and it broke his heart.’
‘I don’t remember,’ Donald snapped. ‘We left when I was fifteen.’
‘But, surely if you knew him you must remember something,’ Alice-Miranda pleaded. ‘Was he happy as a boy?’
‘I told you. I don’t know.’ Donald shook his head.
Alice-Miranda had a feeling there was something Mr Freeman wasn’t telling her. ‘Why did you leave?’
‘We just did,’ Donald answered abruptly and pulled at his collar. ‘Is it warm in here?’
‘No, I don’t think so. I was actually going to put my jacket on,’ Alice-Miranda replied as she looked around for the offending draught.
Matron Bright reappeared. ‘Time’s almost up I’m afraid, but you can continue tomorrow,’ she announced. ‘I trust you all had a lovely meeting.’
‘Goodbye, Mr Freeman. See you again soon,’ said Alice-Miranda. She was wondering if she would see her parents and uncle before heading back to Bagley Hall.
But the old man didn’t reply. He was staring off into the distance.
‘Did you enjoy yourselves?’ Mr Plumpton asked as he rejoined the group in the Great Hall. Beth had returned to the camp to set up their afternoon activities.
‘Mr Mobbs said I smelled,’ Figgy scoffed.
Rufus sniffed the air. ‘You do.’
‘Not as bad as him. You should have seen the blanket on his knees fluttering up and down and then his eyebrows would get all pointy and he’d look at me as if I’d done it.’
The children laughed.
‘Alice-Miranda, your parents asked if they could see you for a minute before we head back over to camp,’ said Mr Plumpton. ‘I believe they’re in the office.’
‘I’ll take you,’ Matron Bright offered.
‘We’ll be in the garden. Beth is coming back to walk over with us, and we won’t go without you,’ the teacher said.
‘Thanks, Mr Plumpton,�
�� Alice-Miranda said. ‘Can Millie come with me? I know Mummy and Daddy would love to see her too.’
‘No, Millie can stay with us this time,’ Mr Plumpton decided.
Millie’s face fell. Clearly Mr Plumpton didn’t trust her at the moment. She hated that the teachers believed she’d pushed Caprice in the pool.
‘Sorry,’ Alice-Miranda mouthed.
‘Come along, dear.’ Matron Bright bounced away with Alice-Miranda beside her.
‘There you are, darling.’ Cecelia Highton-Smith stood up as Alice-Miranda and Matron Bright appeared at the office door. ‘I was just going to come and find you.’
‘We have to go back to camp in a minute,’ the child said.
A beeper went off in the matron’s pocket. She pulled it out and popped her glasses on the tip of her nose. ‘Oh, excuse me. That’s Mr Mobbs again. He’s probably ordered something from the television that he wants me to pick up from the post office.’ The woman chortled. ‘He really can’t help himself.’
‘See you tomorrow, matron,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘Yes, dear, see you tomorrow.’ Marigold gave a wave and bounded away.
‘So, did you had fun with your oldie?’ her father asked with a wink.
‘Yes, Daddy.’ Alice-Miranda’s eyes twinkled. ‘Mr Freeman is lovely. He lived here on the estate when he was a little boy but he said that his family left when he was fifteen. He wouldn’t tell me any more. His daughter’s a detective. We met her yesterday when she pulled the minibus over.’
‘What was that, darling?’ Cecelia gasped.
‘It’s all right, Mummy. The bus had been stolen –’ Alice-Miranda began.
‘Stolen! This just gets better and better.’ Cecelia shook her head.
Alice-Miranda at Camp 10 Page 9
