‘Of course I wouldn’t,’ Livinia said.
Ophelia looked at Mr Pratt. ‘You changed my letters too, didn’t you? The reason Livinia thought I agreed to the television interview was because you switched my note with yours.’
The man shook his head adamantly but everyone could see he was lying.
‘Why?’ Millie said. ‘Why would you do it?’
Percy was cornered. ‘It was the only way I could get rid of him,’ the man said, pointing at Josiah and drawing a gasp from the assembled crowd. ‘No one can see his incompetence, his stupidity – he gives Science teachers the world over a bad name,’ Percy said, his face contorting with indignation. ‘I knew he wouldn’t stay if his beloved Livinia was crucified.’
‘Despicable,’ Benitha murmured. ‘I’m so sorry, Livinia – we’ve all behaved dreadfully.’
‘I would have done the same,’ Miss Reedy said graciously. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t come for me sooner.’
‘Mr Pratt, you might be a good Science teacher, but you’re a poor judge of character,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Mr Plumpton might not always get his experiments right, but his classes are fun and engaging, and we all know that one of the best ways to learn is from our mistakes. We adore him and he’s not going anywhere. Unfortunately, I don’t think the same could be said for you. And it was really mean of you to steal that money from the Abbouds. They’ve been through enough.’
Percy scowled. ‘They were always going to get it back,’ he retorted. He smoothed his hair and straightened his tie. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and pack my things.’
‘That’s a very good idea,’ Ophelia said, before she rushed over to Livinia and the two women embraced.
‘Excuse me! Coming through!’ Caprice bustled into the middle of the teachers and students. She had changed back into her sparkly dress and had hastily reapplied her full face of make-up with her hair somewhat styled on top of her head. ‘Could you clear out? The talent quest is about to start and I’ve rescheduled the Winchester-Fayle Singers to a slot straight afterwards, then we have me followed by Nick Waterford. Is there really another special guest, Alice-Miranda, or has that fallen over, in which case I’ll take the last spot?’
Alice-Miranda looked at Millie, and the two girls smiled. ‘There sure is,’ she said, but there was something else the girls had to do first.
Miss Grimm rounded up her staff and directed them away from the stage, where she gave a rousing pep talk about what a magnificent group they were and, now that the rat in the ranks was gone, they’d better get on with it too and support their girls. The mood of the festival lifted to new heights among a slew of apologies and tears.
‘Right, the girls need our help,’ Livinia said. ‘So, hop to it, everyone!’
Tilde McGilvray had returned from her break none the wiser about the earlier fracas and was about to resume her duties when she was intercepted by Caprice. ‘It’s my show now,’ the girl sneered and snatched the microphone. Ever the professional, Tilde handed it over, but not before making a mental note of the girl’s name and vowing she would never appear as a guest on her show.
Zahra Abboud chewed on her lip. She’d been keeping a watch on the time, her stomach twisting with each passing minute.
‘Hello Mrs Abboud,’ Millie said, dancing into the food tent. ‘I’m going to take over from Zahra for a while.’ She winked at the girl. ‘Alice-Miranda’s waiting for you in the green room,’ she whispered out of the side of her mouth.
‘What are you doing, Zahra?’ Ada called after her daughter.
‘It’s all right, Ada, let her go,’ Venetia said. ‘We’ll be fine. You go too, Millie.’
Millie grinned and took off through the crowd.
They could hear Caprice announce the first contestant in the talent quest. It was a little girl playing the ukulele and singing. She was terribly sweet and as cute as a button.
The next act was an elderly couple dancing the tango. The performances varied between good and very good to downright tragic, but at least the crowd got a few laughs – especially at the expense of a poor fellow with a magic act where absolutely nothing went right. First his cards flew out of his hands, then his magic wand broke, and when the dove he was going to pull out of his hat escaped from his sleeve and flew away he stormed off stage red-faced and in tears.
The second-last act was a young girl with a breathy voice that clearly no one found as easy on the ear as her own parents, who cheered her on from the side of the stage.
Finally, the last contestant was announced. Word had spread about Ada Abboud’s delicious baalbek and the line snaked down past several other vendors. She was busy serving a young couple when a girl began to sing.
‘Wow – now that’s a voice,’ a young woman standing in front of Ada said. She turned to see if she could catch a glimpse of the stage.
There were nods all around.
‘She must be a professional,’ another man said. ‘And if she’s not, she should be.’
Ada Abboud swallowed her surprise.
Venetia nudged the woman. ‘Go – you need to see this.’
Ada took off her apron and hung it on the hook inside the tent, then wove her way through the crowd until she could see the main stage. Her breath caught in her throat at the revelation that the owner of that beautiful voice was her daughter. A tear dropped onto the top of her cheek as she was swept away with the music.
Zahra finished and looked out into the audience. She could hardly believe her eyes when she realised that her mother was there cheering the loudest. The girl took a bow to a chorus of ‘Encore!’, but Caprice was having none of it.
‘Right.’ The girl bustled onto the stage in her shimmery dress and grabbed the microphone. ‘Thank you, Zahra Abboud. That was … quite good.’ With a flash of annoyance, the girl realised the dress Zahra was wearing had once been hers. Her mother must have donated it without her permission.
‘Wow, such generous praise.’ Millie rolled her eyes.
Caprice announced the end of the contest and a short recess for the judges to retire to make their decision, which would be revealed at the very end of the festival.
At the rear of the stage, Alice-Miranda and Millie hugged Zahra.
‘You were incredible,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘So much better than Caprice,’ Millie added.
‘I heard that,’ Caprice snarked as she walked past with her clipboard. ‘And I’ll have my dress back later too.’
‘I should go and see my mother,’ Zahra said as Caprice took to the stage for her own set. Zahra walked around the corner, where Ada was waiting. ‘I am sorry, Mama,’ she murmured.
‘Whatever for?’ the woman asked. ‘Being talented and brave and doing what I could never have done?’
‘For sneaking out to singing lessons,’ Zahra said. ‘That’s where I was when the fire broke out. With Mrs Goodman.’
Zahra looked up and realised that the woman herself was sitting on a lawn chair in the front row beside Hephzibah Fayle. She jutted out her chin and clasped her hands together. ‘Wonderful,’ Mrs Goodman mouthed.
Ada drew her daughter into her arms and hugged her fiercely. ‘I am so proud of you – and I love you very much.’
Tears spilled onto Zahra’s cheeks.
But the night was far from over and there were still more surprises in store.
Caprice’s set was met with rousing applause, although there was a general consensus among the audience that five songs would have been ample. When a helicopter whizzed overhead and landed in the bottom field, the atmosphere took on an electric charge. Nick Waterford was here!
Minutes later, the man leapt on stage in one of his trademark fluorescent pink suits and the crowd went wild, dancing and singing for the next hour. He was incredibly energetic for a fellow of advancing years. But it was the final act that was the biggest surprise of all.
Alice-Miranda grabbed her drumsticks and Millie picked up her tambourine. They grinned at Zahra, who had quick
ly changed into an almost identical outfit.
‘Are we really going to get up there on stage?’ Reg Parker grimaced. The man was wearing a pinstriped suit and a fedora at a jaunty angle.
‘Absolutely.’ Stan Frost picked up his electric guitar. He looked every inch the seasoned rock star in black from head to toe, including a skinny black tie. ‘Come on, Reg, we might be dead tomorrow – it’s time to live a little.’
Following three hotly contested rounds of scissors, paper, rock, Tilde McGilvray graciously conceded her emcee duties to Miss Reedy for the last part of the event. Livinia knew the role would get her close to Nick Waterford and she was right. She took photographs with him backstage and he’d even given her a kiss on the cheek, which she wasn’t planning to wash ever again.
‘Now, before I introduce our final surprise guests, I just want to say one more time – wasn’t Nick Waterford incredible?’ the woman asked, and received a huge cheer. ‘We also have to announce the winner of today’s talent quest, and it was none other than –’ she looked at the envelope Caprice handed her, her lip wrinkling in surprise – ‘Puggles the Pooch and Mr Cornish, the dancing doggy and his master. Well … that’s, lovely.’
She wondered who the judges were. No one had thought about that so Caprice had appointed herself.
‘Sorry you didn’t win,’ Alice-Miranda said to Zahra as they waited in the green-room tent.
‘Me too, but you were never in the race with Caprice in charge.’ Millie grinned.
Zahra shrugged. ‘I don’t mind. That was the best moment of my life so far up on that stage.’
‘Well, here comes another one,’ Millie said.
Back on stage, Miss Reedy was going through a long list of thankyous. ‘It’s been the most wonderful day, and I hope I’m not speaking out of turn by saying that I think the Fields Festival might become an annual fixture on the Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale event calendar.’ Livinia glanced to the side of the stage, where Ophelia gave her two thumbs up. ‘Without further ado, I give you two of the original members plus three junior members of the world-famous band Hoot!’
The squealing was insane. Middle-aged men and women were practically fainting while anyone younger than thirty looked completely bemused.
Myrtle Parker crossed her hands over her chest and prayed. ‘Just don’t make a goose of yourself, Reginald,’ she whispered.
Ambrosia nudged the woman. ‘Lighten up, Myrtle. I loved these guys when I was a kid – I can’t believe you’ve kept it a secret from me all this time.’ Ambrosia suddenly realised that Neville had gone missing hours ago. The fact she hadn’t noticed until now only confirmed her decision that they had no future together.
Tabitha, meanwhile, stood in the crowd feeling more at home than she had in years. It seemed she’d finally found her place in the world and she hoped that this was right where she would be for a very long time to come.
‘What are you lot doing?’ Caprice asked as she appeared in the doorway of the green room. ‘Are you the surprise act?’ She could hear the crowd cheering louder than they had all night. ‘Do you need a singer? I can do it.’
‘It’s okay – we’ve got Zahra,’ Millie said, cocking an eyebrow towards the girl, who hadn’t stopped smiling since the talent quest.
Caprice pouted. ‘But I’m better than she is.’
‘Maybe one day we can do a duet,’ Zahra said graciously, but Caprice had already stalked off.
‘Okay, let’s do this,’ Alice-Miranda said, and skipped out of the tent and onto the stage to take her place at the drums. She wriggled into position and put her left foot on the pedal. Zahra headed straight for the microphone in the middle while Stan plugged his guitar into the amp and Reg sat down at the keyboard. Millie climbed onto a podium with her tambourine.
‘Hey, is that Mr Parker and Mr Frost up there with Alice-Miranda and Millie and Zahra?’ Jacinta said, squinting into the bright lights that had just come on. She was standing next to Lucas, holding his hand. They’d already kissed and made up properly behind the ice-cream van.
‘Yup.’ Lucas nodded. ‘Mad, hey?’
Alice-Miranda clapped her drumsticks together above her head. ‘And a one, two, three, hit it!’
The festival was a huge success. In the end they raised far more money than anyone expected. With ticket sales, novelties, food and additional donations from several anonymous sources, there was more than enough to rebuild the Abbouds’ home and restaurant. Everyone agreed that the Fields Festival should become an annual event and no one was more excited about the prospect than Miss Grimm.
Ada Abboud and the children visited Mehmet in hospital the next day and, to his surprise, Ada babbled for an hour about how proud she was of Zahra’s performance. That daughter of hers was going to be the next big thing for sure. Mehmet had hugged his daughter tightly and whispered that he knew her mother would come around one day. They were more than happy for her to continue her singing lessons and Zahra had her sights set on a local eisteddfod or two in the coming months.
Tabitha Crowley decided to stay at Caledonia Manor for a while yet. In the meantime, the Abbouds moved into her cottage. They needed the space much more than she did, and it would give her time to think about her remodelling plans. Fattoush was getting the most extraordinary new facade, designed by none other than Myrtle Parker herself, in consultation with the Abbouds and a pile of Middle Eastern history books.
When she’d first learned of her father’s betrayal, Jacinta had sobbed for one gut-wrenching hour, but she soon realised that it would never have worked and that she and her mother were far better off without him. Besides, in the process of uncovering the truth, she’d gained a cousin – one that she liked very much. Tabitha and Ambrosia had many things in common, especially their love of fashion, and it didn’t take long for Tabitha to become an adored member of the family.
Needless to say, Lucas and Jacinta were more smitten than ever. It helped enormously that he invited her to be his date at his mother’s wedding. Ambrosia was happy to chaperone them, and there were plenty of stories she could write while she was in New York.
Reg and Stan were back in business. Their performance had caused ripples throughout the industry and there was now talk of a tour. Myrtle couldn’t have been prouder, although she did make Reg double-insulate the garage before there were any more rehearsals.
Percy Pratt moved to live with his mother. With his track record, there was no chance of another school position. Instead he turned his hand to wedding calligraphy – and the odd forged document – which proved far more lucrative than teaching.
The equilibrium was soon restored at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. Miss Grimm allowed Miss Reedy to finish up her proper term before making the woman deputy head of Organisation, while Miss Wall took on the role of deputy head of Pastoral Care. Both women were thrilled and worked together without a hitch.
Louella Derby finally made it past the point that she could tell everyone the real reason for her constant rushing off to the bathroom. The woman was three months pregnant and the girls couldn’t have been more thrilled.
Miss Reedy heaped praise on Caprice for her role in the success of the festival – right before she made it clear that she still had nine and a half hours of community service to complete. Alice-Miranda continued her drumming lessons and, together with Zahra, Millie, Chessie, Jacinta and Sloane, the girls formed their own garage band. Guess who else is desperate for an invitation to join in?
Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies staff
Miss Ophelia Grimm
Headmistress
Mrs Louella Derby
Personal secretary to the headmistress
Mr Josiah Plumpton
Science teacher
Mr Percy Pratt
Science teacher
Miss Benitha Wall
PE teacher
Mr Cornelius Trout
Music teacher
Miss Livinia Reedy
Acting headmistre
ss and English teacher
Miss Tabitha Crowley
English teacher
Miss Verity Tweedle
Art teacher
Mrs Petunia Clarkson
Housemistress of Caledonia Manor
Mrs Caroline Clinch
Maths teacher
Charlie Weatherly
Gardener
(Mr Charles)
Mrs Rachel Jennings
Cook at Caledonia Manor
Mr Gordy Winslade
Librarian
Mrs Doreen Smith
Cook at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale
Ginny
Assistant cook to Mrs Smith
Dervla Nichols
Stablehand
Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale students
Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones
Only child, ten years of age
Millicent Jane McLoughlin-McTavish-McNoughton-McGill
Alice-Miranda’s best friend and room mate
Jacinta Headlington-Bear
Friend
Sloane Sykes
Friend
Francesca Compton-Halls
Alice-Miranda Keeps the Beat Page 20
