‘I told you it doesn’t matter,’ Donald muttered.
‘But it does. I think my father and Uncle Ed are in big trouble and I need to know. Your daughter was driving them away in her police car when we got here. Last night I saw some men near the summer house. They were carrying a painting and then they disappeared.’
Donald Freeman looked as if the wind had been sucked out of his sails.
‘What men?’
‘One was called Jezza and the other was Nigel,’ Alice-Miranda replied.
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Mr Freeman snapped.
‘Is there a secret passageway to the cellars?’ Alice-Miranda begged. ‘Please. I have to know.’
‘No! Now off you go, the pair of you, before I call the matron,’ Donald stood up and ushered the girls out the door.
‘There you are, girls.’ Matron Bright hurried towards Alice-Miranda and Millie. ‘Mr Plumpton’s been looking for you. Beth’s taken the rest of the Barn Owls back to school for lunch and choir practice and I gather you two are not going to be in the good books.’
‘Where is he now?’ Millie asked.
‘Right here,’ Josiah Plumpton blustered as he turned the corner. Beads of perspiration peppered his brow and he was aware of two wet patches under his arms. He’d been up and down searching for Millie, who should have been helping in the kitchen. He knew that Alice-Miranda was with her uncle and had planned to send for her once he located everyone else. ‘Where have you been, Millicent? No one has seen you all morning and now you’re both late for choir practice.’
Millie looked at the floor. ‘Sorry, Mr Plumpton. I … I was …’
‘She was helping me,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Uncle Ed needed us to carry some things upstairs for him.’
‘It would have been useful for you to tell me that,’ the man sighed.
‘Sorry, Mr Plumpton, I knew Millie was with Alice-Miranda but I’m afraid I have a thousand things on my mind. That reminds me. Are your father and uncle still downstairs, Alice-Miranda?’ Matron Bright asked. She really didn’t have time today to be chasing the Kennington-Jones men. There were stalls being set up outside and rides about to be delivered too. Tomorrow’s fair was Dunleavy’s biggest event of the year.
‘Yes,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘They’re very busy.’
Millie glanced at her friend and wondered what she was playing at.
The matron nodded. ‘That’s fine, as long as they keep out of my way this afternoon. Oh look, here are some more helpers now.’
One of the camp leaders had just arrived in the foyer with two groups of students ready for the afternoon shift.
‘Hello there, my lovelies,’ Matron Bright beamed. ‘Have I got some jobs for you!’
‘Come along, girls. We need to get back to camp before Mr Lipp blows a gasket,’ said Mr Plumpton. He hurried away, with Alice-Miranda and Millie racing to catch up.
‘How nice of you girls to join us,’ said Mr Lipp, giving Alice-Miranda and Millie a frosty glare as they arrived. Mr Plumpton had taken the girls via the dining room to grab a sandwich on their way. He didn’t think another ten minutes could make Mr Lipp’s mood any worse and he was right about that. ‘I thought this award you’re striving for is all about being in the right place at the right time?’
‘Sorry we’re late, Mr Lipp,’ said Alice-Miranda.
‘Fine. We’ll take it from the top. Caprice, are you ready, my dear?’
The girl smiled sweetly. She was pleased to see that Millie was still doing her job properly. After the number of things Alice-Miranda had messed up in the past twenty-four hours, the brat couldn’t possibly be in the running for the Queen’s Medal now.
Mr Lipp held his hands aloft and snapped his fingers to count Mr Trout in on the piano.
Choir practice stretched on forever. By the time Mr Lipp had finished with the children it was almost dinner.
Alice-Miranda and Millie were on their way to the dining room when they were intercepted by Miss Reedy.
‘Alice-Miranda, may I have a quick word?’ the teacher asked.
The girl turned to Millie. ‘I’ll meet you inside.’
‘I’ve just had a very odd message,’ Miss Reedy said. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘What do you mean, Miss Reedy?’
‘Well, Mrs Oliver called from Highton Hall and asked me to tell you that your father and Uncle Ed had gone away for the night. They’ll be back tomorrow and all is well,’ Miss Reedy said. ‘I have no idea what she was talking about, nor why you would even be concerned. I’m assuming that there is something going on that you need to tell me about.’
Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘Uncle Ed is staying at Pelham Park at the moment. If he and Daddy have gone somewhere for the night, I suppose they just wanted to let me know in case I was looking for him.’ She had been thinking about telling Miss Reedy the truth but the teacher would want to call the police. Alice-Miranda didn’t want to involve the police until she had some proof about those two men in the van.
‘Oh. Well, that does sound like a sensible explanation,’ said Miss Reedy. ‘But seriously, Alice-Miranda, are you all right? Mr Plumpton mentioned that you hadn’t done as well as he had hoped with some of your challenges, which is not like you at all.’ The teacher looked at her intently.
‘I’m sorry, Miss Reedy. Things were just trickier than I was ready for, I suppose,’ the child said with a shrug.
Miss Reedy wasn’t buying it. There was something else going on in that clever head of Alice-Miranda’s.
‘Sweetheart, you would tell me if there was something wrong?’ Miss Reedy bit her lip.
The child nodded. She wanted to, but not yet.
Miss Reedy suppressed a sigh. ‘Well, run along.’
Millie waved to Alice-Miranda from a table in the far corner. ‘What did she say?’
‘Mrs Oliver called and left a message that Daddy and Uncle Ed had gone away for the night and I wasn’t to worry. I’m glad they managed to speak to her.’
‘Mrs Oliver is so clever. “Gone away” is much better than saying they’d been arrested,’ Millie said.
‘Millie!’ Alice-Miranda stared at her friend and pressed her finger against her lip.
She grimaced. ‘Sorry. What are you going to do?’
Alice-Miranda shrugged. Her mind was in a whirl.
After dinner, Miss Reedy announced that there would be a short round of games in the gym followed by an early night. They all had to be next door by half past eight the next morning to help with the fair.
The camp leaders briefed their groups about the stalls they’d be helping on and the elderly residents they’d be assisting. Caprice, Sloane and Jacinta were posted to the second-hand bookshop, while Sep and Lucas were manning the jumping castle.
‘That’s not fair,’ Sloane griped. ‘Why do they get to have all the fun and we have to look after a bunch of dusty old books?’
‘They’re not allowed on the jumping castle,’ said Mr Plumpton. ‘They’re taking money and making sure the littlies are playing safely.’
Sloane nodded. ‘That’s okay then.’
Alice-Miranda, Millie, Rufus and Figgy would each accompany an elderly resident around the fair.
‘Seriously, sir, do I have to?’ Figgy complained. ‘He’s just going to whinge all day.’
‘What, like you are now?’ the teacher quipped.
Susannah had managed to get herself a job as a waitress in the tea marquee.
‘I hope Mr Freeman’s in a better mood than he was this morning,’ Millie whispered to Alice-Miranda.
Alice-Miranda hoped so too.
Alice-Miranda was awake and dressed before dawn. She’d hardly slept thinking about what was going on at Pelham Park and wondering how her father and Uncle Ed were.
‘Good morning, everyone,’ cried Mr Lipp as the children traipsed into the dining room for breakfast.
Figgy shielded his face and took a step back. ‘My eyes, my eyes!’
‘What’s the mat
ter, Figworth?’ asked Mr Lipp.
‘Your suit, sir. It’s blinding me.’
Harry Lipp had outdone himself this morning in a silky lime green ensemble with a bright pink shirt and a blue spotted tie.
He glared at the lad. ‘One day, Figworth, I hope you will appreciate high fashion.’
‘Loud fashion did you say, sir?’ the boy called before scuttling away to the servery.
Just before the children left for Pelham Park, Miss Reedy announced the group points tally. Sure enough, another of the groups that hadn’t previously won anything was now in the lead.
‘See, I told you this thing was rigged,’ Sloane said. ‘The Barn Owls have to win sometime between now and tomorrow morning, or we are seriously a bunch of losers.’
‘Who are you calling a loser?’ Caprice sneered.
‘Us,’ said Sloane. ‘We haven’t won anything.’
‘You might not have …’ Caprice said smugly.
Miss Reedy continued her announcements. ‘Quite a number of children have consistently impressed the teachers and are in the running for the Queen’s Medal, but there is one stand-out at the moment.’
Caprice was waiting for the teacher to announce the names, certain that her own would be on the list. But Miss Reedy simply said that she would keep the children guessing.
Miss Reedy had taken a phone call from Miss Grimm late the previous evening. She was stunned when the headmistress announced that she would be visiting the fair with Queen Georgiana and they wanted a full briefing before Her Majesty would announce the recipients of the Blues and the winner of the Medal at exactly 1 pm. Her Majesty had decided that as she’d been invited to the Pelham Park Fair anyway, she might as well kill two birds with one stone.
Kill Miss Reedy was more like it, the teacher thought. She had spent half the night calculating scores and checking which of the children had earned their Blues. To say that the results had surprised her was something of an understatement.
‘All right, everyone. Be on your best behaviour, please. There is still time to earn the extra points some of you need to achieve your Blue,’ Miss Reedy explained. She was armed with her clipboard and score sheet and ready for action.
It was just after eight thirty when the children arrived at Pelham Park. The fair was due to commence at nine and there was a lot to do before then.
Matron Bright looked as happy and unflustered as ever and seemed genuinely grateful for the hordes of helpers. The children walked around to the back of the house and found the lawns transformed by rows of stalls, a roped-off area with rides and a jumping castle, and a huge marquee in the middle where someone was testing a PA system.
‘For those of you looking after a resident, wheelchairs will be available. It will be a tiring day for them, so please don’t walk too fast, and make sure you stop for regular food and toot breaks,’ Matron Bright explained. ‘I’ve asked the residents to meet us in the Great Hall at nine o’clock. In the meantime, you can help me to finish setting up the tea marquee. The rest of you, please report to your stations.’
The children scattered all over the place.
Alice-Miranda and Millie ran around putting cloths on the tables in the tea marquee. ‘I wish I knew what was happening with Daddy and Uncle Ed,’ Alice-Miranda told Millie quietly.
‘Surely they’ll be out on bail soon,’ Millie said. She’d watched quite a few detective shows with her mother in the holidays. ‘It’s not like they’re murderers.’
Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘No, just multimillion dollar art thieves, according to Detective Freeman.’
Matron Bright surveyed the tent.
‘Well done, everyone. Figgy and Rufus, your flower arranging is superb,’ she said, beaming. ‘I will be passing that on to Miss Reedy.’
The lads grinned. They’d been less than impressed when assigned the task of filling fifty vases with flowers but it turned out that the pair had an eye for floristry.
‘Let’s go and round everyone up.’ Matron Bright wiped her hands on her apron and set off for the house with the children behind her.
There was much excitement inside among the residents.
‘Hello Millie,’ Mrs Von Thripp greeted the child. ‘Did you see any craft stalls out there? I need a new door snake and I thought you might be able to carry it for me – they weigh a tonne with all that sand.’
Figgy and Rufus offered Mr Mobbs and Mr Johnson wheelchairs and were very pleased when the men agreed. The boys grinned – this was going to be much more fun than they’d thought.
‘Matron, do you know where Mr Freeman is?’ Alice-Miranda asked, having skirted the foyer and poked her head into both the reading and games rooms.
‘He must be running late,’ the woman said. ‘Why don’t you pop up and see if he’s home?’
Alice-Miranda dashed up the stairs two at a time. She rang the buzzer on his door and waited. ‘Hello Mr Freeman, are you coming to the fair?’ she called.
The door opened and Donald Freeman poked his head outside.
‘I’m supposed to be accompanying you to the fair, Mr Freeman,’ the child said. ‘I’m sorry to have upset you yesterday.’
The man stared at her blankly.
‘You were cross because I asked how you and Harry used to come and go to the house unnoticed,’ she reminded him.
‘Oh, did you? Is your father back?’ he said.
Alice-Miranda wondered how it was that he could remember some things so clearly while others seemed to pass him by. ‘No. He and Uncle Ed are still away,’ she explained. ‘I’m sure Mummy must be with them now though.’
‘Then I’d rather not come out,’ the man said.
‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,’ said Alice-Miranda. She’d hoped that if she spent some time with the man, he might open up a bit. ‘If you change your mind, I’ll be outside.’
Donald Freeman closed the door and paced the room. He had to get back downstairs. He’d thought he’d be able to get it done last night but the frames were far too heavy. When he’d come back upstairs to get the knife he’d fallen asleep. He was confused too. There were things that didn’t belong. But he was certain that those men shouldn’t have to pay for something their father did so long ago.
Alice-Miranda walked around the balcony to the main stairs. She bounced down and across the Great Hall on her way to the back entrance.
Mr Freeman was a complicated fellow. And not well either, she was quite sure of it. She sniffled and pulled a tissue from her jeans pocket. A shiny gold wrapper fluttered to the floor. Alice-Miranda reached down to pick it up. She’d found it in the vault and forgotten that she’d stuffed it in her pocket.
‘Oh!’ She clutched her hands to her mouth. ‘I know where that came from.’ She turned back towards the stairs and glimpsed someone rounding the corner of the upstairs corridor. They were heading towards the back stairs. Alice-Miranda took off. What was really going on?
Millie could hardly believe the shopping stamina of Mrs Von Thripp. The woman purchased the heaviest door snake she could find – in the shape of a sausage dog – and had also bought herself a new tea cosy, a cover for the toaster and half-a-dozen placemats.
As the pair turned the corner near the second-hand book stall, the old woman’s eyes lit up.
‘Look, Millie! Isn’t this wonderful? I’d like to buy at least a dozen books,’ she chortled. ‘And I don’t believe in paperbacks.’
Millie sighed. Her arms still hadn’t recovered from the canoeing expedition and now they were just about falling off under the weight of the shopping, without adding a pile of books. She looked about and saw one of the spare wheelchairs. Millie raced off to get it and dumped Mrs Von Thripp’s purchases on the seat. She pushed it back to the book stall as fast as she could.
The woman clasped her hands together in delight. ‘What a thoughtful girl you are.’
Millie looked at her in confusion and then heaved another sigh. She picked up the pile and looked for somewhere to attach the bags. Mrs Von Thripp hoppe
d into the contraption and waited for Millie to push her.
‘Now, dear, you’ll have to carry my parcels or it will make the chair unstable,’ the old woman instructed.
‘Very thoughtful of you, Millie,’ said Miss Reedy as she walked past. ‘You might just earn that Blue yet.’
‘Really?’ Millie grinned tightly.
‘Have you seen Alice-Miranda and Mr Freeman?’ Miss Reedy asked.
Millie shook her head. She’d been keeping an eye out but they were nowhere to be found.
‘Well, enjoy your morning, and don’t forget the choir’s first performance is at midday.’ With that Miss Reedy sauntered over to the book stall to talk to Sloane, Jacinta and Caprice.
Mr Plumpton had been wandering about and observing the children’s work too. He spotted Figgy and Rufus, who were both pushing wheelchairs.
He nodded. ‘Very considerate.’ Then he realised exactly what the boys were up to.
‘On your marks, get set, GO!’ Figgy shouted. The two lads started slowly but were building to a run.
‘Woohoo!’ Mr Mobbs shouted and pumped the air with his fist.
Mr Johnson leaned forward in his chair. ‘Come on, boy, let’s beat that old buzzard!’
The lads were flying down the driveway towards the overflow car park.
‘Stop!’ the teacher shouted. He took off after them as fast as his little legs could carry him. ‘Stop now or you’ll kill someone.’
‘We won!’ Mr Mobbs clapped loudly. ‘Well done, boy.’
‘I demand a rematch.’ Mr Johnson’s smile was wider than a whale’s.
Mr Plumpton caught up to the foursome, puffing and wheezing. ‘Good heavens, what on earth do you boys think you were doing? You could have killed these two gentlemen.’
‘It was their idea,’ Figgy retorted.
‘Surely not,’ Mr Plumpton replied. ‘You lads should know better.’
Mr Mobbs and Mr Johnson glared at the teacher. ‘Leave those lads alone,’ Mr Mobbs demanded. ‘That’s the most fun I’ve had in years. Come on, then. Let’s do it again.’
‘But, gentlemen, I must insist …’ Mr Plumpton began.
Alice-Miranda at Camp 10 Page 17
