Alice-Miranda Holds the Key 15

by Jacqueline Harvey

  ‘Hello,’ she called. ‘Is that you, Max?’

  But there was no reply.

  On the other side of the hedge, Francesca Compton-Halls crouched down as low as she could. She had spent the entire day searching the property for her Rodney. He hadn’t been at the cottage across from the barn nor at the gatehouse, where she’d helped herself to the most delicious chicken-and-leek pie. Although, she’d had to share half of it with the labrador to stop it from barking.

  And now she’d finally got herself to the main house. It was huge, like something from a fairytale but even more beautiful. Rodney must be inside, but there were so many people about. There was a dark-haired girl on the veranda and another with red hair, who had just gone down a flight of steps, which Chessie assumed led to a cellar. Why she would have been carrying a tray of food down there was anyone’s guess. Perhaps they kept someone prisoner or that’s where the servants lived. Chessie gulped at the thought.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ Millie asked as she bounded up the stairs.

  ‘I thought I heard something out there,’ Alice-Miranda replied with a shrug. ‘Ever since the accident I’ve been dreaming about weird things – I think my brain is quite muddled.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Millie asked.

  ‘I’ve been having this dream about someone standing over my hospital bed and they aren’t very nice,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘Like a werewolf?’ Millie grinned.

  Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘No. They don’t really have a face, but all these words spill out of their mouth. I have no idea what they’re saying but I’m pretty sure it’s mean.’

  ‘You did have a concussion, remember.’ Millie raised her eyebrows. All of a sudden there was a rustling in the garden again. Millie leapt off the veranda and ran towards the source. ‘Who’s there?’ she demanded, brandishing her arm in the air like a sword.

  ‘I’m sure it’s just a breeze,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Millie spun around, popping her finger into her mouth and raising it skywards to check the direction of the wind. ‘Except that there isn’t any.’

  Chessie wished the girls would hurry up and go back inside. She held her breath and squirmed beneath a bush.

  Millie started running all over the lawn, leaping like a gazelle. ‘I think there must be someone over there,’ she yelled, scurrying like a mouse on the balls of her feet, ‘behind Bess!’ She darted towards one of the three topiary horses that took pride of place in the garden.

  ‘You’re mad, Millie,’ Alice-Miranda chuckled, shaking her head. ‘But I’m so glad you’re here.’

  ‘Of course you are,’ Millie said. ‘Who else makes you laugh as much as I do?’

  Millie made another run and tripped over, sprawling on the grass.

  ‘What did you do?’ Alice-Miranda said, rising on her tippy-toes.

  ‘Someone tripped me. I swear there was a foot,’ Millie said crankily.

  Chessie could hardly breathe. She was about to be found for sure and then who knew what was going to happen. One thing was certain, though. She wasn’t going home to her mother or stepfather. She’d go anywhere but there.

  ‘Come on, Millie. I’m starving,’ Alice-Miranda called.

  Millie had almost reached the hedge when she made an abrupt about face. ‘All right, but I’m telling you there’s someone out here.’

  She looped her arm into Alice-Miranda’s and the pair walked back inside.

  Alice-Miranda was just beginning to stir when she felt something tugging at her bedclothes. She rolled over to see Marcus’s big brown eyes staring at her. ‘Up,’ he said, then gave a clap.

  ‘What are you doing in here, mister?’ Alice-Miranda leaned over to help the wriggling toddler climb onto the bed. He jumped under the covers and snuggled down beside her with his head on the pillow.

  ‘Where’s your sister?’ Alice-Miranda wondered if Aunt Charlotte knew that Marcus was missing. She was also worried about how he had come to be in her room. The house wasn’t exactly toddler-friendly with all those stairs.

  Millie poked her head around the bathroom door. ‘I thought I heard something,’ she said, racing over and climbing into the other side of Alice-Miranda’s enormous bed.

  There was a noise at the door followed by the sound of tiny feet thudding across the floorboards. Imogen appeared and looked at the trio, eager to join them. She clambered up and snuggled in between Millie and Alice-Miranda. The two toddlers babbled away, telling the girls all sorts of things they couldn’t quite decipher.

  Millie decided to try to teach them her name. Marcus managed ‘me’ but couldn’t get his tongue around the rest of the sounds. Alice-Miranda had a little more success with Marcus calling her ‘Anda’, which the girls giggled at.

  The four children lay under the covers for quite some time, chatting and playing games. The twins particularly liked ‘Where’s your?’ followed by the naming of some or other facial feature. They were both surprisingly good at it too, although Marcus thought it was hysterical to stick his finger up Alice-Miranda’s nose instead of pointing at his own.

  ‘Do you ever wish you had a brother or sister?’ Millie asked.

  ‘I used to want that more than anything, but then I got a big sister, anyway.’ Alice-Miranda turned to look at Millie, whose red curls were spread out all over the pillow.

  Millie smiled. ‘And I got the best big little sister I could ever have hoped for.’

  The bedroom door opened and Charlotte poked her head around. On seeing their mother, the twins dove under the covers and started giggling loudly.

  ‘Good morning. I hope those cheeky monkeys didn’t spoil your sleep,’ Charlotte said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Imogen jumped up and headed to her mother for a cuddle.

  ‘Not exactly,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘We’ve been teaching Imogen and Marcus how to say our names,’ Millie said.

  ‘Then you’re doing better than me. I can’t get them to say anything close to Mummy or Daddy,’ Charlotte said. ‘What shall we do today?’

  ‘Maybe we can look in on the lambs at the farm?’ Alice-Miranda suggested. ‘And the chickens. Would you like that?’ She turned to Marcus, who had crawled up into the crook of her arm and was leaning against her shoulder.

  Imogen clucked like a hen and the boy let out a loud bleating sound.

  ‘We’ll have to ask Heinrich where Ramon is – he’s the daddy and he’s a bit tricky,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘That sounds like a plan,’ said Charlotte. ‘We’d better get dressed and hop to it, then.’

  Imogen and Marcus slipped down from the bed and pretended to be bunny rabbits as they ran out the door with their mother right behind.

  The twins’ first visit to the farm was a resounding success. Imogen developed an instant love affair with the lambs, who she decided were her babies, while Marcus took on the role of chicken wrangler. At one stage the boy had a hen under each arm, triumphantly carting them around the coop. It was fortunate the fowls were all good-natured creatures and used to the attention. Heinrich then capped off a wonderful morning when he sat the giddy pair on his lap on the tractor and fired up the engine.

  ‘All right, we’ll see you later then!’ Charlotte called as she hopped into the driver’s seat of her car.

  ‘Bye!’ the toddlers chorused, waving their hands like windscreen wipers. Marcus was blowing kisses too – something he’d only recently learned to do.

  ‘I swear that boy is going to be even more charming than his father.’ Lily grinned, holding the little bouquet of dandelions he’d picked for her.

  ‘And his big brother, although I don’t think Jacinta would say that,’ Millie said, chuckling to herself. ‘I miss her and Lucas.’

  ‘Me too. I hope Jacinta and Ambrosia are having a lovely holiday. I think Jacinta was planning to spend time with Lucinda in New York and maybe even convince Mr Finkelstein to let her come to Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale on exchange soon.’

  ‘That woul
d be great,’ Millie replied. ‘Will they get to catch up with Lucas while he’s staying with his mother in LA?’ Millie said.

  ‘I suspect Kitty is planning to keep him all to herself,’ Lily said, referring to her sister. ‘I’m so thrilled that they’re spending the holidays together.’

  Alice-Miranda nodded. It had been a tough time for Lucas the past couple of years, not only finding out who his father was but gaining a stepmother and the twins too. Fortunately, they all got on brilliantly, but the revelation had initially put a strain on things with his mother. It was good to see their relationship had improved.

  Heinrich and Lily decided to walk back to the farmhouse to prepare some sandwiches for an al fresco lunch. The children huddled together, deciding what game to play.

  ‘I vote skipping,’ Poppy said.

  ‘No way!’ Jasper shook his head vigorously. ‘Alice-Miranda still has a sore ankle and you’re hopeless at turning the rope.’

  Poppy scrunched her nose up at her brother.

  ‘You stink!’ the little girl growled.

  ‘Poppy,’ Alice-Miranda chided. ‘It’s probably best if I don’t go overboard just for another day or so.’

  ‘No, I didn’t mean it like that. He really does stink.’ Poppy flapped a hand in front of her nose and pointed at the stain on the back of the boy’s trousers. At the height of the morning’s excitement, Jasper had leapt onto one of the calves, pretending to be a bull rider, which had made the twins squeal and giggle. Unfortunately, his antics hadn’t ended well when he was dumped into a pile of steaming manure.

  ‘It’s not that bad,’ Jasper protested.

  Millie gave the lad a sideways glance and sniffed the air.

  ‘Come on, I don’t really smell, do I?’ Jasper pouted.

  The girls shook their heads.

  ‘What about we play I-spy?’ Millie said half-heartedly. She wasn’t especially keen on the game, but it was all she could think of that didn’t involve much physical activity.

  ‘I think I could manage hide-and-seek,’ Alice-Miranda suggested. ‘But instead of having to run back to bar, you’re automatically in when spotted.’

  ‘Sounds fair,’ Jasper said. A smug smile crept onto his face. ‘You’ll never find me. I know the best hiding spots.’

  ‘That’s why you’re in first,’ Millie said.

  Jasper poked out his tongue and Millie tried to pinch it.

  ‘Fine then,’ he said. ‘I’ll count to one hundred, but you’re not allowed to go anywhere together, okay? And if I can’t find anyone after ten minutes, you have to come out. I’m not going to look for you all day.’

  The three girls nodded and hurried off to the other side of the front garden.

  ‘And you can’t go past Rose Cottage and you’re not allowed in the field on the other side of our house,’ Jasper shouted. He buried his face in his hands and began to count loudly.

  Millie indicated that she was going around the back to the chicken coop.

  Poppy ran off towards the stone wall and promptly ducked down behind it while Alice-Miranda decided on the old barn opposite Rose Cottage. She remembered there were stalls right at the back, where no one ever went.

  Chessie heard the bolt on the barn door slide open. Her heart pounded and she burrowed beneath the straw, trying to stay as still as she could. She held her breath as footsteps skittered closer and closer.

  ‘Oh, hello. Are you all right? Surely it’s hard to breathe under there,’ the girl said. ‘There’s no need to be afraid.’

  Chessie froze, wondering what to do. Her lungs felt as if they were about to explode and she couldn’t stand it any longer. She burst out of the straw, coughing and spluttering.

  ‘Goodness, you poor thing.’ The girl’s eyes fell upon Chessie’s black suitcase and the empty bread bag beside her. ‘Have you run away?’

  There was a long pause before Chessie finally spoke. ‘I didn’t mean to,’ she said, her eyes filling with tears. Chessie wiped at them angrily, determined not to cry again. ‘It just sort of happened and now I can’t go back.’

  ‘Of course not,’ the tiny child said. ‘I’m Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and I live here. Well, not here exactly but in the house on the hill. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, especially as I wasn’t expecting to find anyone in here at all. I thought it would be the perfect hiding place.’ Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘I suppose we both had the same idea, which means I’m sure we’ll get on famously. What’s your name?’

  Chessie gulped. ‘I’d rather not say.’

  Alice-Miranda caught sight of the tag on the girl’s bag. It had a swirly B and the name Francesca written in large letters underneath. Alice-Miranda’s forehead puckered as she tried to think of a school starting with the letter B.

  ‘Bodlington?’ she wondered aloud. ‘But that’s hours away.’ Her eyes widened and she hesitated for a few seconds. ‘Oh my goodness, I know exactly who you are. You’re Lady Tavistock’s daughter. Your mother must be worried sick about you,’ she blurted. But then she remembered that Lady Tavistock had been at Highton Hall last night and hadn’t mentioned a thing about Francesca.

  Chessie shook her head miserably. ‘I’m quite sure she’s not.’

  Alice-Miranda knelt down beside her. ‘How did you get here?’

  Chessie’s eyes filled with tears again.

  ‘Please don’t be afraid.’ Alice-Miranda gently placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder. ‘I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help – I just need to understand a few things.’

  Chessie sighed. There was something about this girl with cascading chocolate curls and big brown eyes that made her want to tell her everything. She soon found that once she’d started speaking, the words tumbled out like a waterfall and she couldn’t stop until she had reached the very end.

  Alice-Miranda hugged her tightly. ‘Try not to worry. I’m sure we can sort things out.’

  ‘Do you really think so?’

  Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Did you enjoy Mrs Greening’s chicken-and-leek pie?’

  Chessie looked sheepish. ‘I swear I don’t usually go around stealing things, but it was delicious and I was starving.’

  Alice-Miranda grinned. ‘Just wait until you taste her heaven cake – it’s beyond scrumptious.’

  Outside, Jasper could be heard yelling for everyone to come out of their hiding spots. ‘It’s been ages,’ he moaned. ‘You’re all too hard to find.’

  Chessie gasped and grabbed Alice-Miranda’s hands. ‘Promise me you won’t tell anyone,’ she begged.

  Alice-Miranda looked into the girl’s terrified eyes. ‘I promise,’ she replied. ‘But no more running away. Please stay here and I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  And with that, Alice-Miranda hurried from the barn, taking extra care to bolt the door on her way out.

  Jemima Tavistock’s stomach was in knots. Having spent the morning supervising the appraisers, she had finally got away just after midday. She pulled into a side street and donned her wig and glasses before driving to the edge of the village and finding a parking spot in a back lane. Then she walked the short distance to the Goose and Gander, where there was a larger than expected lunch crowd. Jemima hoped the presence of so many people hadn’t put him off. But as she walked through the room, she spotted him in one of the booths with just the top of his head visible. She slipped into the seat opposite and allowed herself to breathe.

  ‘You took your time,’ he said, passing her a menu.

  ‘Sorry – there was some business at home I had to attend to. I’m glad you didn’t decide to go anywhere,’ she replied.

  ‘Oh, but I have,’ he said, smiling. ‘I’ve found a lovely little cottage not too far from you, actually. It’s in a sweet village called Penberthy Floss, right next door to the general store.’

  ‘You can’t live there.’ The words flew out of Jemima’s mouth before she had time to check herself.

  ‘Really.’ He picked up his glass of mineral water and took a
sip. ‘Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, dear sister, but I’ve already agreed. I’ll be moving in this afternoon, and I expect you to bring Chessie around this evening – she is home for the holidays, I presume.’

  Jemima wrung her hands beneath the table. She wanted to run and never come back, but she couldn’t. The damage he could do was irreparable. ‘Chessie’s on holiday with our mother at the moment. Perhaps there’ll be time for her to visit before she returns to boarding school.’

  He frowned. ‘Well, I’ll need some money.’

  Jemima glanced up from the menu.

  ‘Just until I get back on my feet,’ he added, looking dolefully into her eyes. ‘You know that I’m going to sort everything out.’

  Jemima wanted to believe him with all her heart. She pulled some notes from her wallet and passed them over. ‘That’s all I’ve got,’ she said. She wasn’t about to tell him that things weren’t exactly rosy in her world at the moment.

  He laughed. ‘I meant real money, Jem, not a grocery allowance.’

  ‘I don’t have anything more,’ she said, on the verge of tears.

  He leaned in, over the table. ‘But you can get it,’ he said, lowering his voice. ‘You’re a … Lady now.’

  ‘That doesn’t mean anything,’ she snapped.

  He sat back, his mouth set in a grim line. ‘How is darling Chessie?’

  ‘She’s fine,’ Jemima said quietly.

  ‘I have to say I am a bit surprised, Jem. Boarding school and holidays with our mother?’ he said, arching an eyebrow. ‘What happened? The two of you were so close.’

  Jemima looked at him fiercely. He had happened. He was the one to blame for all this. She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking. ‘Mother wanted to take her on a special trip. Just the two of them. Make some memories,’ she lied.

  ‘Yes, clearly the old bird’s memory isn’t too good these days. She’s forgotten how to use the telephone or drive a car since I changed address,’ he spat.