The woman smiled. ‘Lovely to meet you too, dear.’
‘Mrs Finchley, do you know what sort of dogs Major Foxley breeds?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
The woman frowned. ‘I think he might have had poodles years ago.’
‘It wasn’t poodles,’ Vera Bird said, shaking her head. ‘I know that for sure.’
Becca looked at the woman, wondering how she could be so certain. ‘Why do you ask?’ she said to Alice-Miranda.
‘Well, it’s just that …’ Alice-Miranda hesitated, not knowing exactly what to say.
‘Becca, can we have a chat on camera?’ Darius Loveday called, heading towards them. ‘We’ve got everything set up now.’
Becca bit her lip. ‘Sorry, Alice-Miranda. Can we talk later?’
The child nodded. ‘Of course.’
Meanwhile, out the back of the Haute Hound stand, Barry Dankworth was trying to console his wife.
‘Roberta, you know that Citrine is good enough to take out Best in Show,’ he said, touching her gently on the arm.
‘Don’t do that, Barry,’ the woman squawked. ‘I can’t believe she won. And who’s that old bag showing Siggy? Where did she spring from with her pointy toes, prancing like a gazelle.’
Barry shook his head. ‘Don’t worry about Becca. You just have to do your best, darling. That’s all anyone can ask.’
‘My best!’ Roberta screamed. ‘I always do my best!’
‘Why don’t I take you and Citrine home and perhaps you can come back later and bring Farrah for a walk?’ Barry suggested, trying his best to placate her.
‘You left her at home. I told you to bring her but, oh no, you said there was too much going on. Now Farrah’s going to be upset too.’ Roberta’s face scrunched and huge tears wobbled in the bottoms of her eyes. ‘And where’s Darius? He’s hardly filmed me at all the past couple of days.’ Roberta sniffed.
Barry put his arm around the woman and she sobbed loudly.
‘Hello there,’ a familiar voice said to someone on the other side of the stand. ‘Do you know where Roberta Dankworth is?’
‘Um, she’s out the back with Barry,’ the young girl manning the stand replied.
A look of terror flashed across Roberta’s face as mascara lines dribbled down her cheeks. ‘I don’t want to see him now!’ she hissed to her husband. ‘Get rid of him.’
Barry Dankworth nodded and slipped through the slit in the canvas. ‘Hello Darius,’ he said. ‘How can I help you?’
‘I just wanted to get a response from Roberta about Becca’s triumphant comeback,’ the presenter replied.
‘Triumphant comeback, my eye,’ Roberta muttered. ‘I’ll show him who’s Best in Show!’
Caprice Radford was not having a good day. In fact, she hadn’t had a very good time since the fire a couple of weeks ago. Although she’d been allowed to continue with her singing rehearsals for the eisteddfod, and the other girls had stayed silent about what had happened, she just hadn’t felt good about anything and that wasn’t like her at all. Even the thought of another revenge plot on Plumpy didn’t excite her and she was beginning to think she might do better to leave the man alone. Oddly, he’d been much nicer to her the past couple of weeks and had even asked her several times how the songs for the wedding were coming along. She thought he’d seemed nervous when they were talking about it, as if she might do something to ruin the day. But at this point she had no plans.
Caprice was glad that the puppy had been allowed to stay, but it wasn’t the same as when he was going to be hers. It was a wonder the dog still went near her considering she almost killed him. For the first time in her life, Caprice had begun to question whether she was actually a good person.
Show day had finally arrived and, after a couple of weekends of her mucking out stables and carting horse manure, Charlie had decided she could have time off to take a look at the dogs who were competing at the school. But under no circumstances was the girl to go off campus. If she disappeared, Charlie said that he would have her on gardening duty for the rest of the year. So Caprice sat in the stands in the gymnasium and watched the Obedience division, which involved dogs being judged on how well they followed a series of instructions given by their owner. Most of the animals carried them out pretty well, although there was one Alaskan malamute who dropped and commando-rolled across the floor every time he was told to sit. He had the audience in stitches. It was the first time Caprice had smiled since the accident and it felt good to laugh again.
Afterwards, she decided to go for a walk and see what else was happening around the school grounds. The oval was being used for a car park and there were hundreds of people picnicking with their dogs. Every now and then a cacophony of barks shattered the peace as the dogs, not unlike people, Caprice thought to herself, got up each other’s noses. She wandered back towards the dining room, hoping to find something for lunch, when she spotted Miss Reedy and Mr Plumpton. They were coming out of the chapel and neither looked like the picture of a happy bride and groom.
‘I told you this whole weekend would be a disaster,’ Miss Reedy blustered.
‘I’m sure that the flowers will arrive soon,’ the man said, mopping his shiny forehead with a handkerchief.
‘They were supposed to be here first thing this morning so I could start on the arrangements,’ Miss Reedy huffed. ‘What am I going to do? Raid the gardens? Charlie will be thrilled about that!’
Caprice was about to change course when Mr Plumpton looked up and called out to the girl. ‘Caprice, have you seen Charlie?’ he asked.
She shook her head as the pair walked towards her. ‘He’s gone to get some extra water troughs to put around the grounds.’
‘I see,’ the man said. ‘Would you mind giving Miss Reedy a hand while I go and chase up the flowers?’
Caprice shrugged. She was getting bored wandering around on her own, anyway. ‘Okay.’
‘Thank you,’ Mr Plumpton said gratefully, then lowered his voice. ‘I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Miss Reedy is a little stressed.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ the girl asked.
‘Could you help Miss Reedy tie the ribbons on the chapel pews?’ he said.
Livinia Reedy gave her fiancé a death stare. ‘Do you really think she’ll be able to manage it?’ she said through gritted teeth.
‘You can tie a bow can’t you, Caprice?’ The man looked hopefully at the girl.
Caprice nodded. ‘I’ve helped Mummy with events lots of times. Bows are my thing.’
‘Well, I hope so. Because, truly, I don’t have time to redo them,’ Miss Reedy said stiffly. ‘I’ve tied a couple already and there’s a pile on the front pew. I’ve got to go and get the rest because someone forgot them.’
Mr Plumpton smiled at Caprice and then hurried off, visibly relieved to make his escape. Miss Reedy bustled away too, leaving Caprice to enter the chapel alone. The girl picked up a length of white organza and proceeded to tie it around the third pew. It was repetitive but enjoyable work. There was something lovely about making the bows just right, and when she’d finished the last one she stepped back and admired her handiwork.
Livinia Reedy was walking along the driveway, her arms laden with swathes of fabric, when she noticed a white van attempting to squeeze between a parked car and a post. There was a loud bang as the driver misjudged the distance and the post fell over with a thud. ‘What a twit,’ Livinia breathed.
‘Excuse me, do you work here?’ a young man called from the driver’s seat.
Livinia did her best to pretend she hadn’t heard him, hoping he’d go and bother someone else.
‘Oi,’ the fellow called out again.
Livinia threw a look to the heavens before turning to him. ‘There are lots of volunteers who can assist you with where you need to be. I’m rather busy at the moment,’ she said, then continued on her way.
But the white van puttered along beside her. ‘Could you help me?’ the fellow persisted. ‘I’ve lost my dog a
nd I think he might be here at the school.’
Livinia rolled her eyes. ‘Please, there are hundreds of dogs here at the moment. How could I possibly help you find yours?’
‘No, I meant this dog,’ he said, thrusting a flyer in her face.
The woman peered at the poster and frowned. ‘Look, wait there while I take these inside. I’ll be back in a moment.’
‘Okay,’ the lad said.
‘Honestly, I don’t have time for this now. Where is everyone?’ Livinia mumbled as she marched up the steps. She walked into the chapel and was immediately overcome. ‘Oh, Caprice,’ she sniffed. ‘They’re amazing.’
Caprice looked over to see the woman’s face contort as if she were holding back a flood of tears. ‘Are you all right, Miss Reedy?’ she asked.
‘Pull yourself together, woman,’ Livinia berated herself. She scrunched her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Yes, I’m fine, thank you. Would you mind going on with these?’ she asked, dumping the bundles of fabric in the girl’s arms. ‘I have to go and sort something out.’
Caprice nodded and watched as Miss Reedy rushed over to the white van idling outside. It was the most beaten-up florist van she’d ever seen. There was a young man in the driver’s seat, his tattooed arm resting on the open window.
By four o’clock on Saturday the dog show was wrapping up for the day, with patrons heading off to their accommodation. Alice-Miranda and Jacinta had been busy guiding people to various places around the showground all afternoon. Alice-Miranda had kept an eye out for Major Foxley but the man was nowhere to be seen and when she did manage to have a quick chat with Mrs Parker, the woman said he’d gone over to Fayle to check on the events there.
Millie trudged up the path to meet her friends. ‘I’m exhausted and my feet hurt,’ she moaned. ‘What’s your day been like?’
‘Fun,’ Jacinta nodded. She waved at Sloane, who was jogging over to her friends.
‘How come you’ve got so much energy?’ Millie said to the girl. ‘Haven’t you been on cleaning duty?’
Sloane grinned. ‘Yup, but I got to ride around on the back of the trailer most of the time.’
‘Wish I was on cleaning,’ Millie said, wrinkling her nose.
‘At least we’re free tomorrow,’ Jacinta said. ‘I can’t wait to see who takes out Best in Show and then in the afternoon we’ve got the wedding.’
Millie looked at her friend, who seemed deep in thought. ‘Are you okay, Alice-Miranda?’
‘Yes of course,’ she said, much too quickly for Millie’s liking.
‘No, you’re not,’ Millie said. ‘I know that look. Something’s up.’
‘It’s just that I had a very strange encounter with Mayor Wiley earlier today,’ the child said, biting her lip.
‘That’s not unusual. I’ve only ever had strange encounters with him. The man’s a peacock – seriously, who wears their mayoral robes and chains to a dog show?’ Millie said.
‘What did he say?’ Jacinta asked.
‘He told me he was getting a dog,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘I suppose being at a dog show might actually inspire you to want one,’ Sloane reasoned.
Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘It wasn’t that. He said that he was getting a cavoodle and that Major Foxley was organising it for him,’ she explained. ‘And then he pulled out a photograph of Fudge cut from one of our flyers.’
‘What?’ Millie gasped. ‘He can’t have Fudge!’
‘That’s the thing. I don’t know if Major Foxley intended to give him Fudge or if he just gave him the picture because Fudge is the same sort of dog,’ she frowned.
‘Why did he have the picture, anyway?’ Millie said.
‘Didn’t we give him a copy of the flyer when we saw him at Nosey’s? Maybe Major Foxley breeds those sorts of dogs and he just happened to have it in his pocket or something,’ Sloane said.
Alice-Miranda nodded. She remembered him looking at the flyer but couldn’t recall if he’d kept it. ‘It’s strange that he didn’t mention he breeds cavoodles, but that must be it. Major Foxley would have come forward straight away if Fudge belonged to him, and of course he wouldn’t be taking our puppy to give to Mayor Wiley. What was I thinking?’
‘Now that’s settled, is anyone hungry?’ Millie said. Her stomach was ready to eat itself.
‘I think the churros van’s still open – and they have them with chocolate sauce and ice-cream. What do you think?’ Jacinta asked.
‘Sounds good to me,’ Sloane said, which was seconded by Alice-Miranda and Millie.
The girls linked arms and skipped away. Alice-Miranda dismissed her worries about Mayor Wiley and Major Foxley and decided to concentrate on chocolate churros instead.
Darius Loveday wandered into the Dankworths’s kitchen and put the kettle on. As there was no one around, and Roberta had insisted that he make himself at home, he did just that. He had to, anyway, because she seemed to spend every waking minute with the dogs and Barry was in and out all the time.
A guttural growl, followed by an artillery of high-pitched barks, shot off behind him. He turned around to see Roberta’s ridiculous poodle skittering left and right. This afternoon she was wearing a pink and white polka-dotted coat and matching booties on her feet. ‘What’s got into you?’ he chuckled.
‘Farrah, put a sock in it,’ Barry barked, walking in through the back door. ‘Sorry, Darius, we’ve not long come back from the show and she gets very excited around all those other dogs.’
‘She wasn’t the only one today,’ Darius replied. ‘Is Roberta home? I was hoping to interview her in the aftermath of the first day.’
Barry nodded. ‘She’s in the Poochie Palace, giving Citrine a bath.’
‘Your wife’s certainly one of the most dedicated dog owners I’ve ever come across,’ Darius said. ‘How do you think she’ll take it if things don’t go her way tomorrow?’
Barry scoffed. ‘Oh, that’s not going to happen. I can assure you of that.’
‘You think she’ll win?’
‘Well, she deserves to,’ Barry replied. He made himself a cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table with their guest.
‘Yes, but the fickle hand of fate rests with the judges,’ Darius said, ‘and there was a lot of support for Becca Finchley out there today.’
‘But Citrine is magnificent, and so is Roberta,’ Barry said.
‘True, but she doesn’t just have Siggy to worry about. There are five others in the hunt and that scottie is quite the card. He looks like a little old man the way he hurries about. The crowd was certainly on his side.’
‘Look, if you want to talk to Roberta again on camera this evening, I’d really appreciate it if you don’t mention the other competitors. She takes it all very personally,’ Barry said.
Darius sipped his tea and tapped his foot on the floor. ‘Barry, may I ask you something?’
‘Of course,’ the man replied.
‘Have you ever heard whispers on the circuit of puppy farms belonging to people in this crowd?’
Barry frowned and shook his head. ‘No, absolutely not. I can’t imagine anyone who loves dogs would ever engage in that sort of hideousness. Anyway, I thought it was usually crossbreeders who sell to the pet shops through a middle man.’
‘Mmm, it is … usually,’ the man said, watching Barry closely.
‘Why?’ Barry asked. ‘Have you had a tip-off?’
Darius Loveday took another long sip. ‘No, just rumours. I thought television was a competitive industry until I entered the dog show world.’ He stood up and emptied the dregs of his tea in the sink, then put the cup into the dishwasher. ‘I’d better get the lads. They’ll want to have an early night given the hysteria we’re bound to encounter tomorrow.’
‘See you later then,’ Barry said.
He waited for the man to leave before walking over to the butler’s pantry. Barry scanned the shelves until his eyes fell on exactly what he was looking for. He pulled it down from the shelf and ca
rried it to the garage.
‘Right, everyone,’ Mrs Howard said over the din in the sitting room at Grimthorpe House, ‘I need you all to settle down and pay attention as we have a lot on tomorrow.’ She waited for the girls to hush before continuing. ‘Does everyone have their dresses for the wedding pressed and ready, hanging on the doorhandle of their wardrobe?’
There was a chorus of tired yeses. Sloane yawned, setting off a chain reaction around the room, which Mrs Howard didn’t miss.
‘Good. Now, put up your hand if you are on any sort of duty in the morning.’ Several arms shot up in the air. Mrs Howard nodded. ‘I don’t care if there’s a terrier tantrum or poodle pandemonium, you must be back here to get changed no later than three o’clock. Mrs Parker assures me that the Best in Show will be announced by then and that will give everyone enough time to get back from the showground and frock up to your sparkling best.’
‘Mrs Howard, where’s Fudge?’ Millie asked. ‘I was supposed to give him his dinner.’ The little dog had slept at the house overnight but there had been no sign of him in the afternoon.
‘There was a note, Millie. It said that the pup had been collected, so I assume that he’s with Miss Grimm and Mr Grump,’ Mrs Howard said. She had barely been able to read the scrawly writing and thought that whoever had come to get him must have been in a dreadful hurry. ‘Anyway, it’s probably just as well as he’s more likely to get out with all the girls coming and going from the house. He hasn’t had his full vaccinations yet and I wouldn’t want him catching something with all these other hounds about.’
‘Will he come to the wedding?’ Sloane asked.
‘I can’t imagine so, dear,’ the woman replied.
‘But he’d be so adorable in the photographs,’ the girl said. ‘We could find him a big bow to wear.’
‘Which he’d chew to bits,’ Millie pointed out.
‘We’ll see. Now, I know it’s early but I want everyone to have showers and be off to bed within the next half-hour,’ Mrs Howard instructed. ‘I don’t need any tired and grumpy girls tomorrow.’
Alice-Miranda to the Rescue Page 17
