Cecelia looked up from her buffalo wings. ‘Darling, I think that would be amazing but we’ll have to see what’s already been arranged. And it’s rather short notice for Mr Armstrong, too.’
Eldred Armstrong arrived at the table with Granma Clarrie and Isaac in tow.
‘Mr Armstrong, that was wonderful,’ Alice-Miranda enthused. ‘And Mummy says that you might be able to play at the store opening next Saturday night, if you wanted to, of course.’
‘Thank you, little lady.’ Eldred’s dark eyes shone.
‘We’ll talk,’ Cecelia mouthed at Eldred with a smile.
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Eldred nodded.
‘And Granma Clarrie, this meal is delicious. I know Mrs Oliver would love to get her hands on your recipes.’ The tiny child licked her lips and wiped her hands on her napkin.
‘It is a pleasure to cook for someone with such a fine appreciation of my food.’ Granma Clarrie blew Alice-Miranda a kiss, which she promptly caught and blew right back.
The rest of the evening flew by. Alice-Miranda had a long chat with Ava’s mother about her work as a police detective.
‘It sounds very exciting,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Are you working on any interesting cases?’
‘There is one that’s pretty big,’ Dee Dee replied. ‘I suspect it might go all the way to City Hall.’
‘Perhaps I might be a detective when I grow up,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘I think your parents could have some other ideas,’ Dee Dee laughed. ‘Maybe you can take over the business?’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘I’m sure that Mummy and Daddy would be happy for me to choose my own career.’
Dee Dee smiled. She didn’t argue but couldn’t imagine that the daughter of an empire like Highton’s would be allowed to do anything as ordinary as become a member of the police force. But the child did seem rather determined.
‘How are things coming along at the store?’ Dee Dee asked.
‘It’s going to be amazing but I can’t believe there’s only a week to go. It’s still a big mess – but don’t tell Mummy I said that. She’s a bit upset about things,’ Alice-Miranda explained.
‘Really?’ Dee Dee enquired, frowning.
‘There have been lots of little mix-ups and delays but I’m sure that if anyone can work it out, Mummy can, and Tony and George.’
‘Who are they?’ Dee Dee asked.
Tony’s the builder in charge and George is his foreman. He’s quite young but he’s very helpful and he works really long hours,’ Alice-Miranda nodded.
‘Oh really?’ Dee Dee smiled at her. ‘Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will work out just fine. And Ava and I are looking forward to the party.’
‘Me too,’ Alice-Miranda grinned.
After another musical set, the show was over and there was a short space of time before the second seating.
‘Thank you for the most wonderful evening,’ said Alice-Miranda as she hugged Granma Clarrie. She reached out to shake hands with Eldred Armstrong, who instead leaned in and gave her a hug too, as did Quincy’s mother Maryanne.
Alice-Miranda hugged Quincy and Ava.
‘Oh, I almost forgot!’ Alice-Miranda exclaimed. ‘Mummy, you have to come and see this’ She slipped her hand into her mother’s and tugged her in the direction of the club’s foyer.
Her father and the rest of the group followed.
‘There.’ Alice-Miranda pointed. ‘Up on the wall. Look.’
Cecelia Highton-Smith leaned in to get a better look.
‘Oh, goodness me, it seems we’re not the first members of this family to have discovered the joys of Armstrong’s,’ she said, smiling.
‘Is that your great-grandfather, Cee?’ Her husband leaned in to take a closer look.
‘Yes, it’s dear old Horace,’ she said.
‘But Mummy, look who great-great-grandfather Horace is with,’ Alice-Miranda urged.
Her mother leaned in again and re-read the plaque at the bottom of the photograph.
‘Oh, Abe Finkelstein,’ she whispered. ‘Morrie’s great-grandfather.’
‘But who’s the lady Mummy? It says her name is Ruby Winters. Was that great-great-grandpa Horace’s wife?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
‘No. Your great-great grandmother was Eleanor Goodchild.’
Granma Clarrie was standing at the back of the group, craning her neck to get a better view.
‘Which photo y’all looking at?’
‘That one.’ Alice-Miranda pointed up on the wall as Granma Clarrie pushed her way to the front.
‘I remember that woman,’ Granma Clarrie nodded.
‘Oh Granma, don’t you be going on now.’ Eldred Armstrong shook his head. ‘You couldn’t have been more than five years old when that picture was taken. If you were born at all according to what age you’re always telling us you are.’
‘I may be a little more mature than I let on, Eldred, but I’m not lying. It was opening night, my papa’s first club over on 42nd Street. I was just a little girl but she was the most beautiful creature I ever laid eyes on. I was poking my head around the corner of the office door to get a better look. She right near took the breath from my lungs.’
‘But Granma Clarrie, that’s ninety-one years ago, and you can’t possibly be, well at least ninety-six,’ Alice-Miranda gasped.
‘The truth might as well come out now, child. I am as near to ninety-seven as I will ever be.’ Granma Clarrie threw back her shoulders and stood as straight as she could.
‘But you’re amazing!’ Alice-Miranda smiled at her.
‘Thank you, dear. Being busy is what makes me so. And one more thing I never forgot. You see that man there holding the hat, he left just after that picture was taken and that other man there, he asked her to marry him that same night. I was supposed to be sleeping in the cot on the floor in the office but I was poking my head out and I saw him put a ring on her finger.’
‘Goodness me, Granma Clarrie, thank you for that wonderful story,’ Cecelia smiled.
‘You pay no mind to that grandmother of mine,’ Eldred Armstrong tutted. ‘She thinks she knows half of America, and the other half, well they just the ones she says ain’t worth knowing. And I’m absolutely positive her storytelling is getting better with age.’
The group finally bade one another farewell. Alice-Miranda collected her schoolbag and with her parents headed for their town car, which was parked outside the entrance to the club.
‘So darling, did you enjoy today’s adventures?’ Cecelia asked as Seamus O’Leary closed the back door.
‘Oh Mummy, it was amazing. Isn’t Granma Clarrie wonderful – and I can’t believe she saw Great-Great-Grandpa Horace in the flesh. I wonder if Mr Finkelstein married that beautiful woman. And I almost forgot. When we were on the subway this afternoon we met the most remarkable man. I was a little worried about him at first because he was wearing an awful lot of clothes and he seemed to be shivering but I checked his forehead and I was fairly sure that he didn’t have a temperature,’ Alice-Miranda babbled.
Her mother gasped and drew her hand to her mouth.
‘Darling, you really mustn’t talk to complete strangers, let alone check their temperatures,’ Cecelia warned. ‘Hugh, I told you that it wasn’t a good idea allowing Alice-Miranda to travel on the subway.’
Her father shrugged. ‘Too late now, Cee. And as far as I can tell she’s still in one piece.’ He winked at Alice-Miranda.
‘It turns out that Mr Preston is the most talented artist,’ Alice-Miranda began.
‘You’ve lost me, sweetheart. Who’s Mr Preston?’ her mother enquired.
‘The man on the subway, Mummy – with all the clothes. He was carrying an enormous flat satchel and it turns out that he’s a terrib
ly clever artist and guess what?’
Alice-Miranda opened her backpack and pulled out her notebook.
‘Oh dear, you didn’t ask for one of his paintings, did you, young lady?’ her father frowned.
‘No, Daddy. He insisted that I have this.’ Alice-Miranda passed the pencil drawing across the back of the car to her father.
Hugh Kennington-Jones nodded. ‘Jolly good, indeed.’
‘And can you see what it is?’ his daughter asked.
Hugh stared. His brow wrinkled.
‘It’s the zoo isn’t it?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Daddy. It’s that tamandua I liked so much – and look carefully.’ She leaned forward. ‘Can you see the little girl in the picture?’
‘Yes, well only the back of her,’ her father replied.
‘But who does she look like?’ Alice-Miranda swivelled further around in her seat.
Hugh Kennington-Jones stared at his daughter and then at his wife sitting beside her. Cecelia frowned.
‘What is it, darling?’ she asked her husband.
Hugh handed her the picture.
‘Take a look for yourself,’ he sighed.
‘Heavens, it’s not,’ Cecelia frowned.
‘Yes Mummy, it’s me!’ Alice-Miranda exclaimed. ‘Imagine that. Mr Preston was in the zoo on the very same morning that we were and he was drawing the tamandua right when we were there and that’s me in the picture. And fancy, in a city of over a million people, that I met him on the subway.’
Hugh Kennington-Jones and Cecelia Highton-Smith stared at each other.
‘What’s the matter, Mummy?’ Alice-Miranda looked from her mother to her father. ‘Daddy, why are you looking like that?’ She thought her parents would be as excited as she was that she had met such a clever fellow.
‘Darling, don’t you think it’s just a little bit too strange?’ her mother began.
‘What do you mean?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
‘Well, you said it yourself, sweetheart. In a city of over one million people, fancy that Mr Preston drew a picture with you in it and then he met you completely by chance on the subway.’
‘It is fortunate, isn’t it,’ Alice-Miranda said eagerly.
‘Hugh, you don’t think this fellow orchestrated the whole thing, do you?’ Cecelia asked.
‘Of course not, darling,’ he replied, trying to convince himself as much as his wife.
‘Oh Daddy, Mr Preston isn’t dangerous or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,’ Alice-Miranda assured her parents.
But Cecelia and Hugh both had strange feelings about this man and his chance meeting with their daughter on the subway. And Morrie Finkelstein had seemed to know quite a lot about the problems they were having at the store when Cecelia called to invite him for tea earlier in the afternoon.
It was all very strange indeed.
The next morning, Cecelia Highton-Smith sat at the breakfast table drinking her tea and nibbling on a piece of toast spread with strawberry jam.
‘Is everything all right, ma’am?’ Dolly Oliver looked up from the stove where she was stirring a small pot of porridge.
‘Oh, I don’t know, Dolly,’ Cecelia sighed. ‘I can’t help wondering what Morrie Finkelstein might do next. And that man Alice-Miranda met on the subway! It does seem rather a coincidence that he had made a drawing of her at the zoo. I hate to think the worst of people but . . .’ Her voice trailed off.
‘Well, if there’s one thing I know about your daughter, she knows people and she’s nobody’s fool.’ Dolly took the pot from the stove and poured the porridge into a cereal bowl. ‘Is there anything else worrying you?’ Dolly asked, wondering if Hugh had yet shared his own mysterious secret.
‘No, although I am curious what sort of business associate of my husband’s makes breakfast appointments at the crack of dawn on a Saturday. We promised Alice-Miranda we’d have all of our work done during the week, and now I feel terrible because I have a couple of meetings later today myself and I’ve been caught up so many times already. Dolly, if it’s not too much bother, would you mind keeping an eye on her?’
‘Mind? Of course I don’t mind. In fact I’m looking forward to some time with her. She can show me around the park and I know she wants to go back to the Met and finish the drawing she had started for her art class.’ Dolly sat down opposite Cecelia and poured a drizzle of honey onto her steaming porridge.
Cecelia glanced up and smiled. ‘Thank you, Dolly. I don’t know what we’d ever do without you.’ She stood up and walked to the sink where she rinsed her cup and saucer and popped them into the dishwasher.
‘Leave that, ma’am,’ Dolly instructed. ‘Go and see to your work. I’ll wake Alice-Miranda shortly.’
It was almost nine o’clock but given their late night at the jazz club Cecelia was glad that her daughter was still sleeping. Her mind was abuzz. That photograph at Armstrong’s had got her thinking. Surely someone in this town had to know why Abe Finkelstein and Horace Highton had fallen out so spectacularly. Maybe there would be some record of Ruby Winters. She would see what she could find out. If only there were more hours in the day.
Alice-Miranda pulled her sketchbook from her satchel and sat down on the little stool in front of the painting of The Dance Class. Dolly Oliver peered over the child’s shoulder.
‘Oh my dear, that’s wonderful,’ she complimented, looking from Alice-Miranda’s sketchbook to the painting in front of them.
‘Thank you, Mrs Oliver. I’m so glad we could come today. I really want to work on my dog. He looks a little odd, especially as I’ve erased half of his head. Please don’t stand here waiting for me,’ the child requested. ‘I’m sure that you’d much rather have a look around and I’ll be perfectly fine on my own for half an hour or so.’
Dolly Oliver glanced around the gallery. There were several older women milling about together and a couple of students sitting on the floor with their sketchbooks. Truth be told, she was rather keen to have a peek at the Egyptian exhibit.
‘Well dear, I might pop along and see some of those treasures from Ancient Egypt, if that’s all right with you,’ she replied.
‘Of course.’ Alice-Miranda had already started working on repositioning the dog’s face. When she looked up a moment later, Mrs Oliver was chatting with the security man standing at the far entrance to the room, no doubt asking that he keep an eye on her. She wished her family wouldn’t worry so much. Where would be safer than the Metropolitan Museum of Art with its hundreds of security cameras and guards in every room?
‘Goodbye dear. I won’t be long,’ Dolly called and scurried away, aware that the Egyptian exhibit was quite a trek downstairs and across to the other side of the vast building.
Alice-Miranda spent time perfecting her work. Her fluffy dog, which didn’t appear in the original painting at all, now looked quite at home among her dancers in their frothy white tutus.
She was concentrating hard on adjusting the ribbons on one of the ballerina’s shoes when a deep voice commented, ‘You’ve done a mighty fine job of that.’
Alice-Miranda looked up to see a man studying her picture.
‘Oh, thank you,’ she said. Then she looked at him more closely. ‘Didn’t I see you last time I was here?’
‘Yes,’ he said with a smile back at her. ‘That’s right.’
‘You suggested that I make the dog look as if he was dancing and so that’s what I’ve done,’ Alice-Miranda replied.
‘It looks very good,’ the man nodded. ‘As though it should have always been there.’
‘Do you come here often?’ Alice-Miranda stood up and placed her sketchbook on the fold-out stool.
‘Mmm, yes, I suppose I do,’ the man replied.
‘And do you have a favourite?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
The man nodded. Alice-Miranda noticed that he was very well dressed and had quite the loveliest hands. His fingers were long and elegant, with the most perfectly manicured nails.
‘Which one?’ Alice-Miranda looked up at him.
He nodded again.
‘Oh, silly me. That one there, just next to us,’ she said, pointing. ‘It’s lovely.’
Alice-Miranda considered the small painting of a mother and her young son. He was resting his head in her lap. She was dressed in clothes from a more genteel time and the boy was wearing suspenders and a cap.
‘That’s a beautiful picture,’ Alice-Miranda commented. ‘I think it captures perfectly just how much they love each other.’
The man’s brown eyes twinkled. ‘Yes, I’ve always thought that too,’ he replied.
‘And what about you? Do you have a favourite?’ he asked.
‘Well, I love this Degas of course, but there’s another painting in the gallery next door. It’s terribly clever with all sorts of creatures entwined in it. It looks medieval, I think.’
He smiled. ‘I think I know the one.’
‘I am so sorry,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘I’ve completely forgotten my manners.’
The man frowned.
‘I should have introduced myself. My name is Alice-Miranda . . .’
Her voice was drowned out by a message over the intercom system requesting security at the front entrance.
‘. . . Jones,’ she finished.
She held out her tiny hand and he smiled.
‘It’s lovely to meet you, Alice-Miranda. I’m Ed.’ He held onto her hand for just a moment but long enough for Alice-Miranda to know that his hands were as soft as they were lovely to look at.
‘Do you have a surname?’ she enquired.
‘No, Ed’s just fine,’ he replied.
‘Well, Mr Ed, it’s lovely to meet you too.’
The man began to laugh. ‘Please, just Ed is fine. You’re far too young to know this but there was once a television show about a talking horse called Mr Ed.’
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