The Barn Owls traipsed through the woods with Beth in the lead and Mr Plumpton bringing up the rear. It wasn’t long before the overhanging branches opened up and the children found themselves on the pebbly banks of a pretty river.
Further along, a row of upturned yellow canoes sat side by side. High on the bank behind them was a small shed with its roller door open.
‘Okay, everyone. I need you to go and get a life jacket and a paddle from the shed. Your life jacket should fit nice and snug and come down to your hips. I don’t want to see any that you’re wearing as dresses and none that look like midriff tops either,’ Beth instructed.
‘How many people in each canoe?’ Rufus called.
‘Three, so please arrange yourselves in groups,’ Beth replied.
The children looked at one another. There were ten students in the Barn Owls.
‘What about the odd man out?’ Caprice asked. She wasn’t planning for that to be her.
‘Mr Plumpton and I will be in the mix too,’ said Beth. ‘Perhaps, Mr Plumpton, we should appoint a leader for each group and then they can choose their crew?’ Beth suggested.
‘Mmm, good idea,’ the teacher replied. ‘Our four leaders are …’ He looked at the children and thought about who should have a turn. ‘Susannah, Lucas, Caprice and Sep. Now select your shipmates.’
The teacher pointed his finger at Susannah, who chose Sloane. Lucas then chose Jacinta and everyone groaned.
‘Of course he’d choose his girlfriend,’ Figgy guffawed.
Caprice pointed at Millie and Sep selected Alice-Miranda. Millie’s stomach knotted. She’d been hoping her telepathic messages to Susannah and Lucas might have saved her spending another activity with Caprice.
Susannah then pointed at Beth. Lucas ummed and ahhed between Figgy and Rufus before deciding on the latter. The lad was strong and he should be a good paddler. Caprice picked Figgy, who almost keeled over on the spot. It left Mr Plumpton to go with Alice-Miranda and Sep.
The children heaved and shoved their canoes to the river’s edge, loaded their belongings and started to paddle upstream. The tents were being delivered to a protected spot on the edge of the woods near the boundary between Bagley Hall and Pelham Park. The camp site was only a few hundred metres away from where they were setting out, but the children didn’t know that yet.
‘Okay,’ Beth called from her spot at the front of Susannah’s canoe. ‘Try to stay together. I don’t want anyone going too far ahead nor lagging behind. You’ll get the hang of the paddling. Just make sure that you don’t all paddle on the same side.’
‘Why? What happens then?’ Rufus asked, swapping his paddle to the same side as his partners just to see. Their canoe starting turning in a circle.
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ Lucas called over his shoulder to the boy.
Jacinta quickly swapped her paddle to the other side and the canoe surged forward again.
‘Oh, you go around in circles,’ Rufus said.
‘Is he really as dumb as he makes out?’ Caprice muttered.
A few minutes later Susannah, Sloane and Beth had got themselves caught up in some overhanging branches and Sloane was busy yelling at everyone that it wasn’t her fault.
It seemed that the only group who really had their act together was Caprice’s.
The children paddled upstream for an hour before Beth instructed them to turn around and head back to their camp site.
Millie rubbed her aching arms and Figgy could barely paddle another stroke. Caprice had spent the whole time rubbernecking to see what everyone else was up to, and whispering her expectations for the rest of the afternoon and evening in Millie’s ear.
‘When we get to camp, Millie, I expect you to help somebody fail every single challenge,’ Caprice hissed. ‘If you want her stay in one piece, that is.’
‘You’re disgusting,’ Millie mouthed.
Figgy turned around from where he was sitting at the front of the canoe.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Nothing!’ Millie and Caprice snapped in unison.
‘Oh, I get it.’ Figgy grinned and raised his eyebrows at Caprice, who grimaced.
Millie burst out laughing. ‘You know, you two would make a really cute couple.’
Caprice glared at Millie.
Figgy’s heart thumped and his sigh sounded like air escaping from a balloon.
Beth pointed at the bank and told them all to head in. There was a small shelter with a table and a large flat area perfect for pitching the tents.
Several of the children realised that they had recently passed the shed they’d set out from.
‘Pretty lame camp-out, sir,’ Rufus complained. He pointed to the chimney pots of Pelham Park in the distance. ‘Hey Alice-Miranda, are there any outside toilets over there?’
Alice-Miranda shrugged. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘It’d be better than digging a hole,’ Rufus said, pulling a face.
The children hauled the canoes onto the bank and unpacked their things. Alice-Miranda wondered if Caprice was going to ask Millie to be her tent partner. She was pleased that the two of them seemed to be getting on better but Caprice was insistent that Millie should go with Alice-Miranda.
‘There are several tests that you’ll be graded on this afternoon,’ Beth announced. ‘The first one is putting up a tent. I’m going to demonstrate first and then you’ll have ten minutes to put up the tent you’ll be sleeping in with your partner.’
Caprice looked at Millie. ‘You know what you have to do,’ Caprice whispered to the girl as she slunk past.
Beth had a stopwatch ready. ‘Okay. On your marks, get set, go!’
Alice-Miranda had the tent out of its carry bag in a few seconds. Millie unrolled it on the ground and took a few minutes to sort out which direction the door was facing. She handed Alice-Miranda two pegs and hid the others under the carry bag, but the child was a born problem solver and soon found them. This was going to be much harder than Millie thought.
As Beth called time on the constructions, Millie ducked around to the back of the tent and pulled out three pegs, hiding them under the base.
‘This looks good,’ the camp leader said as she walked around Alice-Miranda and Millie’s tent. She tugged at the guide ropes and checked to see that everything was squared off. ‘Uh oh,’ Beth said from where she was kneeling down at the back. ‘You’re missing some pegs.’ The back half of the construction slowly caved in.
Alice-Miranda frowned at Millie. ‘I thought we checked them all.’
Millie nodded. ‘Yeah, me too.’
‘Sorry, girls, you’ll have some points deducted for that,’ said Beth as she scribbled on her scoresheet.
Caprice looked over at Millie and smiled. ‘Good job, girls.’
The rest of the group had varying degrees of success, from Figgy and Rufus’s disaster, which collapsed as soon as Beth crawled inside, to Caprice and Susannah’s triumph with a perfect score.
Building a fire was their next task. Although the main fire ring was already in place in the centre of the tents, each child had to build their own smaller version down on the riverbank.
The children spread out and searched for rocks and kindling. Alice-Miranda headed away from the bank to look for some larger branches. While she was gone, Millie swapped her friend’s dry sticks for some green ones she’d just gathered from a nearby willow tree.
Caprice saw exactly what was going on and gave the girl a fairy clap. Millie was a far better helper than she’d ever expected. When Caprice turned away Millie poked out her tongue.
Figgy was hunched over his fire circle rubbing two sticks together. The boy was panting and perspiring.
‘What are you doing?’ Mr Plumpton asked.
He looked up and took a deep breath. ‘Making a fire, sir. I thought that’s what we were supposed to do.’
‘Yes, but you might like to use these.’ Mr Plumpton threw the lad a small box.
‘Oh, I didn’t rea
lise we could use matches.’ Figgy gave a huge sigh of relief.
A pall of white smoke blew all over the campers as Alice-Miranda tried to get her kindling lit.
‘Ow! My eyes are stinging,’ Jacinta complained, squinting. ‘What are you doing, Alice-Miranda? We’re not sending smoke signals.’
‘Sorry! I thought my twigs were dry,’ the child apologised.
‘Wonderful, Caprice. Well done,’ Beth praised the girl as her little stack of kindling popped and crackled.
‘Rufus, what are you doing?’ Mr Plumpton barked. The boy seemed to be building a bonfire worthy of Guy Fawkes. ‘Put that timber up near the main fire.’
‘Sorry about your fire,’ Millie said to Alice-Miranda.
The child shrugged. ‘I don’t know what’s going on with me this afternoon.’
Bile rose in Millie’s throat. She hated what she was doing. But after the disaster of the trivia night and Caprice’s threats in the canoe, Millie wasn’t prepared to take any risks.
Alice-Miranda snuggled into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes. So far she’d done everything possible to distract herself from thinking about Uncle Ed and the mystery of those paintings. She wondered if that’s why she’d made so many mistakes with her camp activities.
The day’s final disaster had left her completely mystified. How she’d managed to mix up the sugar and salt when she was making everyone’s hot chocolates after dinner, she’d never know. The whole lot had to be thrown out. Caprice then made a batch that was absolutely delicious. Something wasn’t right with Millie either, Alice-Miranda thought anxiously. Maybe some fresh air might help.
She felt around for the torch, wriggled out of her downy cocoon then unzipped the tent flap and slid outside. The steady breathing of her fellow campers was punctuated by the odd grunt and snore. She tiptoed past the blackened ring of rocks where the children had toasted marshmallows and told ghost stories several hours before.
The clouds that had released a patter of fat raindrops earlier in the evening had cleared and the sky sparkled with millions of stars. Alice-Miranda could see the distant lights of Pelham Park twinkling in the darkness, and the occasional car on the main road beyond. Their camp site sat almost on the boundary of Pelham Park and Bagley Hall. Rufus was right that it was hardly remote. A road ran parallel to the fence between the two properties less than a hundred metres away. It led down to an ancient stone bridge and up over the rise to the farmhouses and cottages on the Pelham Park estate. Moonlight gleamed on the lake and the pretty stone summer house across the lawn behind the mansion.
A way off down the driveway, Alice-Miranda saw headlights and heard the drone of an engine approaching. It was probably one of the staff heading home after a late evening. A moment later, a van came into view, heading towards the river. Alice-Miranda expected it to keep coming across the bridge and over the hill to the cottages, but it didn’t. It turned left and headed towards the summer house.
That was strange. Alice-Miranda decided to take a closer look. She scurried to the fence and clambered over, then darted towards the lake.
As she drew nearer, she heard voices. Two men.
Then she heard the van door slide open.
Alice-Miranda had no idea what they were doing out there in the middle of the night, but something told her that they shouldn’t be there. She took cover in the trees.
‘Hurry up, Nigel,’ one voice whispered.
‘I’m coming, Jezza. How about we have a break before we take this one down? It’s blinkin’ heavy and I’ve got a nice thermos of tea here. Wife’s packed us some pikelets too,’ the other man said.
‘Ooh, yeah, that’d be nice,’ Jezza replied.
Alice-Miranda crept closer and wove her way in and out of the trees until she was within a few metres of the van. Her foot crunched on a stick. The noise echoed in the still night air.
‘What was that?’ Nigel hissed.
‘Nothing,’ Jezza replied. ‘Probably just a rabbit or something – you’re getting jumpy in your old age.’
Alice-Miranda looked at the name on the side of the van. Starchy Brothers Linen Services. If these fellows were delivering the linen for the nursing home, what were they doing parking so far from the house? And why were they working at half past one in the morning?
She dashed behind a tall oak tree and poked her head out. The men were dressed from head to toe in black. That wasn’t a good sign.
‘Seems like a waste of time taking this one in tonight, given we’re about to make a very large withdrawal,’ one of the men said.
‘Well, we ’ave to put it somewhere in the meantime. And after that close call, when my old lady found the Monet and thought it was her birthday present, this place is safer than my flat. Yours isn’t any better – it’s like a refuge for delinquent children over there. Besides, it’s not our job to ask questions. I’m very ’appy just to get paid,’ the other man replied.
‘I wonder if the old man’s noticed all the additions over the years,’ the first gravelly voice said.
‘Nah, I heard he was losin’ his marbles. Probably just thinks they’re his. Anyway, he won’t notice anything too much longer.’
‘I had wondered how we’d get it all out in one go but Nigel, my friend, you’re a genius,’ Jezza said. ‘That anniversary couldn’t have come at a better time.’
‘Yes, Mr Goldsworthy’s going to be very ’appy with us. There’s a lot of interest on that deposit, if you know what I mean,’ Nigel said.
Alice-Miranda could hardly believe her ears. Goldsworthy. Could it be Addison Goldsworthy? She was sure that Alethea’s father was still in prison for tax evasion and a dozen other things. Even behind bars he was up to no good. But who was the old fellow they were talking about?
‘I always liked the old boy, you know. Strange one, though. He never sold any of them. Took ’em as payment for work done – I s’pose that’s the sort of payment you’re likely to get when you represent dodgy blokes like our boss,’ the first man said.
‘Who you callin’ dodgy, Jezza? I’m a very respectable citizen, I am. When I’m not doin’ jobs for the likes of Addison Goldsworthy,’ Nigel laughed.
‘Well, Mr Goldsworthy will be forever in the old bloke’s debt for providing the most perfect hiding place. It’s just lucky we remembered it when the old fella retired. You finished that tea?’
The other bloke handed his cup over.
‘Well, come on then.’ Jezza threw the thermos and cups into the van. ‘Put your gloves on. Don’t want prints on anything.’
A few seconds later, the two men heaved and hauled and eventually pulled out a very large painting. It was at least a metre across and wrapped in a white cloth. Alice-Miranda squinted. The cloth fell to the side, revealing a heavily gilded frame and inside it a portrait of a woman. What were they going to do with it?
The pair strained as they lifted the piece.
‘Careful, Jezza,’ Nigel said as he repositioned the cloth. ‘We’d better not damage her.’ They shuffled over to the summer house, opened the door and vanished.
Alice-Miranda was about to follow them when she heard a faint whisper in the darkness. ‘Alice-Miranda, where are you?’ It was Millie.
She didn’t dare call back in case the men reappeared. Alice-Miranda ran as lightly as she could through the trees and to the fence, looking over her shoulder to see if the men had returned.
Nimble as a cat, she hopped up and over, and saw Millie looking towards Pelham Park.
‘I’m here,’ she whispered.
‘Where did you go?’
‘I couldn’t sleep.’ Alice-Miranda looked back towards the summer house, her mind racing.
‘Are you okay?’ Millie asked.
Alice-Miranda nodded. In the moonlight she could see Millie’s eyes were puffy and it looked as if she’d been crying, which was very strange indeed.
‘But I was going to ask you the same thing,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘I’m okay,’ Millie said.
&nbs
p; ‘That’s not true. I know you,’ Alice-Miranda said seriously. ‘We’re best friends, remember? I’ve had a strange feeling that something hasn’t been right for the past couple of days. Have you been crying?’
Millie couldn’t keep Caprice’s evil blackmail to herself any longer. ‘You’re not going to want to be my friend when you hear this. But you have to promise not to do anything and you can’t tell the teachers.’ Millie’s face crumpled.
‘What’s the matter? What are you talking about?’ Alice-Miranda reached out and squeezed Millie’s hand.
Fat tears rolled down the girl’s cheeks. She brushed them away. ‘Promise you won’t hate me,’ Millie begged.
‘I could never hate you,’ Alice-Miranda said.
Millie took a deep breath. ‘Caprice said that if I didn’t do everything she told me to, you would get hurt.’
‘What? That’s ridiculous.’ Alice-Miranda shook her head.
‘You don’t understand. She’s crazy. She said that she had to leave her last school because she pushed a girl down the stairs,’ Millie sobbed.
Alice-Miranda put her arm around Millie’s shoulder. ‘That’s terrible. But you should have told me.’
‘The accident at archery. She meant for that to happen. She told me next time things would get messy. I was terrified that she would do something awful – or worse, set me up to do it.’ Millie fished around in her sleeve and pulled out a tissue.
‘I knew there was something wrong. Millie, we’re a team. We would have figured it out,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘So I didn’t really mix up the sugar and the salt?’
Millie shook her head.
‘And I wasn’t going mad when I thought I’d put those tent pegs in?’
‘No, that was all me.’
‘But the fire?’
Millie sniffed. ‘I swapped your dry sticks for green ones. Are you angry?’
‘Of course not. You were only trying to protect me.’ The two girls hugged each other tightly. ‘Don’t worry about Caprice. We can deal with her later. But I have something to tell you too.’
Millie wiped her face. ‘What’s the matter?’
Alice-Miranda at Camp 10 Page 15
