Alice-Miranda Shines Bright 8

by Jacqueline Harvey

  ‘I wonder if Ambrosia will give Professor Crookston a piece of her mind when she picks Jacinta up,’ Millie asked. ‘My mother would be furious if I lost my place before I even started.’

  ‘I can’t imagine your mother ever being furious about anything,’ Alice-Miranda replied. Pippa McNoughton-McGill was just about the calmest person Alice-Miranda had ever met.

  Alice-Miranda and Millie had sat near the older girls during the debriefing with Miss Reedy and Mr Plumpton. All talk of the incident with Professor Crookston and Jacinta had been cut off but there had been a lot of complaining about the mean teachers. It wasn’t until the older girls went to get their afternoon tea that Alice-Miranda caught Miss Reedy’s eye.

  ‘I’ll get us some tea, shall I?’ Mr Plumpton asked Miss Reedy before he walked to the servery.

  Miss Reedy bit down on her thumbnail. Alice-Miranda had observed that it was something she seemed to do when she was anxious.

  ‘How was your day, Miss Reedy?’ Alice-Miranda asked from the adjacent table.

  ‘To be perfectly honest, Alice-Miranda, I’ve had much better. I suppose you’ve already heard that there was a bit of trouble with Jacinta,’ Miss Reedy replied. She walked over and sat down beside Millie.

  Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Susannah came to the stables.’

  ‘Is she expelled?’ Millie asked.

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t know, Millie. When I said that I’d stay with her until her mother arrived, Mrs Jelly was very firm and told me that wouldn’t be necessary. I could hardly bear to leave her there after Mr Plumpton explained what had happened. But I telephoned Miss Grimm and she said if that’s how Mrs Jelly wanted to play things, then so be it.’

  ‘Poor Jacinta,’ Alice-Miranda sighed. ‘Is she staying with her mother tonight?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Miss Reedy replied. ‘She’ll be expected at school first thing tomorrow morning, so it would probably be better if she came back in. I think Mrs Headlington-Bear has a lot on her plate at the moment, since she’s helping Mrs Parker too.’

  Alice-Miranda looked at the clock on the wall. It was still early enough to walk over to Wisteria Cottage with Millie. ‘Could we go and see her at her mother’s place?’

  Mr Plumpton returned to the table with two teacups and two slices of cake.

  ‘What do you think about the girls going over to Wisteria Cottage to talk to Jacinta, Mr Plumpton?’ Miss Reedy asked.

  ‘It couldn’t do any harm,’ Mr Plumpton agreed.

  ‘We could visit Mrs Parker too and see what she thinks about putting Mr Parker on the cereal boxes,’ Millie suggested.

  Miss Reedy frowned and sipped her tea. ‘What cereal boxes?’

  Alice-Miranda explained what she and Millie had been talking about earlier, and their doubts about Mr Parker’s disappearance.

  ‘I think that’s a wonderful idea,’ said Mr Plumpton. ‘And I agree with you completely, girls, that we can’t be sure what’s happened to Mr Parker and the nurse.’

  ‘I just don’t want to upset Mrs Parker any more,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘I have to telephone Daddy and see if they could do the cereal boxes, but I wanted to ask what she thought first. We’d better go to the house and let Mrs Howard know where we’re going,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Miss Reedy shook her head. ‘Afraid not.’

  Millie’s brow creased. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because one of Mrs Howard’s grandchildren had an accident and the poor little girl’s been rushed to hospital. Mrs Howard has gone to look after the rest of her grandchildren.’

  ‘Oh, I hope she’s going to be all right,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘Yes, me too,’ Miss Reedy replied. ‘I think it was just a broken bone.’

  Millie groaned. ‘Is Shaker coming to look after us?’

  Miss Reedy shook her head. ‘I asked if she could come tomorrow but she said that she was going on a cruise.’

  ‘A cruise?’ Millie was incredulous. ‘But she’s, like, a hundred!’

  ‘Millie!’ Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘Mrs Shakeshaft is nowhere near that old. Besides, there were lots of mature guests at Aunt Charlotte’s wedding on the ship and they seemed to enjoy cruising.’

  ‘I suppose so. It’s just that I can’t really picture her lying about on the pool deck.’ Millie giggled and added, ‘In a bikini.’

  ‘Heaven forbid,’ Mr Plumpton snorted. ‘Now that would be sight.’

  Miss Reedy elbowed him sharply in the ribs and said, ‘Mean! You’re both mean. I think it’s wonderful that she’s going on holiday and doing something for herself – although her timing’s a bit rotten. I hope I can be off cruising when I’m a woman of similarly advanced years.’

  Mr Plumpton leaned over and whispered in Miss Reedy’s ear, ‘Yes, but you’d still look lovely in a bikini.’ The woman’s cheeks looked as if they’d caught alight.

  ‘What did you say, Mr Plumpton?’ Millie asked, glancing at Alice-Miranda. The pair of them smiled at each other.

  ‘Nothing, Millie!’ Miss Reedy picked up her teacup and took a small sip. Anyway, I’ll be staying at the house until we can find a temporary replacement.’

  Alice-Miranda clapped her hands with delight. ‘That’s wonderful.’

  Millie stayed silent. Miss Reedy had been left in charge of the boarding house once before and Millie’s memories of that experience were not particularly happy. The woman had made Mrs Howard look like Mary Poppins.

  ‘All right, girls, you go and see Mrs Parker and Jacinta. Just make sure that you’re back before half past five,’ Miss Reedy instructed.

  The two girls stood up, cleared their afternoon tea plates and saucers, and set off for the village.

  Myrtle Parker hadn’t been the least bit impressed when Ambrosia Headlington-Bear rushed off shortly after the police left the house on Sunday morning. There was apparently some emergency with that trouble­some daughter of hers. Ambrosia was supposed to be helping Myrtle deal with things at home. Not that Myrtle was even sure what all of the ‘things’ were. The hospital wouldn’t send anyone to pick up the bed and the medical equipment for several days. Now Myrtle was at a bit of a loss.

  She went to the cupboard to retrieve the telephone book. She flicked it open and soon found the page she was after. Blackett and Reaper, Funeral Directors. Reginald might still have been alive somewhere but he was certainly dead to her. A funeral would stop the gossip. Her fingers trembled as she reached out to dial the number.

  A deep voice echoed down the line. ‘Good afternoon, Blackett and Reaper, funeral directors of distinction, Gilbert Reaper speaking. How may I be of assistance?’

  Myrtle gulped. For the first time in a long while she didn’t know what to say. She wondered what on earth she was thinking. Reginald wasn’t dead. He was alive and she wanted him back.

  ‘May I help you?’ the man asked.

  Myrtle began to breathe heavily.

  ‘Oh, I say, please don’t waste my time. Prank calls are not appreciated.’ And with that the man hung up.

  Myrtle let out a choked sob and began to wail. ‘Reginald!’ she cried. ‘Reginald, my darling. How could you? I love you so much. I just want you to come home and I promise, no more jobs. Please, just come back to me.’

  She stumbled into the front sitting room and clambered onto the empty hospital bed. Myrtle sobbed until finally sleep overtook her.

  When Alice-Miranda and Millie arrived at Wisteria Cottage, Ambrosia Headlington-Bear’s car was missing from the driveway. The girls headed across the road to Mrs Parker’s bungalow.

  ‘The garden’s looking good,’ said Millie as they walked past the roses in full bloom. ‘Pity Mr Parker never got to see it.’

  ‘Maybe he noticed when he left the house,’ Alice-Miranda said. She walked up the steps to the porch and rang the bell.

  Inside, Myrtle Parker awoke with a start. Sh
e wondered for a second where she was, then leapt off the bed as if she’d rolled over and found a python snuggled up beside her. She patted her cheeks and smoothed her dress but didn’t bother to look in the mirror. Had she, she might have seen that her helmet-like curls were in rather a mess.

  Myrtle thumped across the sitting room and into the hallway, and wrenched open the door. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Hello Mrs Parker. I know you must be feeling terrible but Millie and I wondered if we could talk to you.’ Alice-Miranda noticed Myrtle’s red-rimmed eyes and the two deep lines that had made their way down her heavily powdered cheeks. ‘May we come in please?’

  ‘I suppose so.’ Myrtle didn’t want to be alone, but she could hardly tell that to two children, could she?

  ‘Would you like me to make you some tea?’ Alice-Miranda asked. Then she leaned forward and did something that took Myrtle Parker completely by surprise.

  The child wrapped herself around Myrtle’s middle and held on tightly.

  For a moment the old woman didn’t quite know what to do with herself. Then she decided that the best thing would be to hug the girl right back.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Mrs Parker,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘Me too,’ Millie mumbled from behind her.

  ‘Yes.’ Myrtle shuddered and removed herself from Alice-Miranda’s grip. ‘No point standing out here all day. Come in. I hope you can make a decent pot of tea, young lady.’

  Millie smiled up at the woman. ‘She’s brilliant at it.’

  The trio walked down the hallway to the kitchen, where Alice-Miranda told Mrs Parker to take a seat. She put the kettle on and Millie hunted about for some biscuits.

  ‘Mrs Parker, I understand that the police think they know what happened to Mr Parker,’ Alice-Miranda said carefully.

  Myrtle did her best to maintain a steely expression. She didn’t want to fall apart again, especially not in front of children. ‘Yes, the police are quite certain they know what’s happened to Reginald.’

  ‘Do you really think that Mr Parker would have gone with Nurse Raylene?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘It looks that way. I don’t want to talk about this any more, Alice-Miranda. No amount of wishing and hoping is going to bring my Reginald back to me.’

  Millie put some shortbread onto a plate. She squeezed Alice-Miranda’s arm and whispered, ‘It might be best to leave it for now.’

  ‘What are you two whispering about? Don’t you know it’s the height of rudeness, girls?’

  Millie brought some plates and cups and saucers to the table, and Alice-Miranda poured Mrs Parker a strong cup of black tea, and then two weak and milky cups for herself and Millie.

  Alice-Miranda decided that she would change her approach. ‘Mrs Parker, is there anything we could do to help? Maybe around the house?’

  Myrtle suddenly remembered that there was a load of washing in the machine. ‘There are some sheets that need to be dried,’ she instructed. ‘Ambrosia started the job but didn’t finish it. She had to race off – something about that rotten child of hers getting into trouble.’

  ‘Jacinta’s not rotten,’ Millie said.

  Mrs Parker pursed her lips. ‘Yes, well, I’ll be the judge of that.’

  ‘I can deal with the sheets,’ Alice-Miranda volunteered. She walked into the utility room off the side of the kitchen. ‘Shall I put them on the line?’

  ‘I’ll help.’ Millie began to slide down from her seat.

  ‘No, Millicent, you stay right there. I’d like some company,’ Myrtle ordered. Then she raised her voice. ‘Alice-Miranda, just pop the sheets into the dryer. You won’t be able to reach the clothes line and the last thing I need is you falling off a chair in the back garden.’

  Millie curled her lip and sat back down.

  Alice-Miranda poked her head out of the utility room. ‘I’m afraid that the sheets didn’t quite make it into the washing machine,’ she said.

  ‘Urgh. It’s so hard to get good help,’ Myrtle tutted under her breath. ‘Do you know how to do it?’

  ‘Yes, Mrs Parker. Mrs Shillingsworth taught me how to use the machine at home,’ Alice-Miranda called back.

  The child picked up the sheets and began to pile them into the front loader. Something fell onto the floor at her feet. It was an envelope addressed to Mrs Parker but there was no stamp or address.

  Alice-Miranda finished putting the washing on, and walked back into the kitchen. ‘Mrs Parker, I found this.’ She handed Myrtle the envelope.

  The old woman frowned and turned it over. ‘Where did it come from?’

  ‘It was just among the sheets.’

  Millie sipped her tea and watched as Myrtle Parker tore at the envelope. She unfolded a small letter.

  ‘Get me my glasses, Alice-Miranda,’ she ordered. ‘They’re on my bedside table.’

  Alice-Miranda returned from the bedroom empty-handed.

  ‘I’m afraid I couldn’t find them,’ she said.

  ‘Well, have a look around here,’ Myrtle bossed. ‘They can’t have gone too far.’

  Alice-Miranda walked around the kitchen, into the sitting room and the dining room, but couldn’t see Mrs Parker’s glasses anywhere.

  ‘Well, I can’t read the jolly thing without them. Here,’ Myrtle sniffed, and handed the letter to Millie. ‘Read it to me.’

  Millie began:

  Dear Mrs Parker,

  I have had the worst news from home this morning and have to go immediately to see my father, who is very unwell. The doctors have warned that he might not make it to the end of the week. I am very sorry to leave Mr Parker unattended but you said that you would only be a short while and it’s now been a long while. And as we’re on the subject, you do that quite a lot. I have borrowed Mr Parker’s watch because mine has stopped and I will return it when I am able to come back to work. Then perhaps you should use it because it seems your watch isn’t especially reliable.

  I am meeting my brother and we will head north together.

  Mr Parker was looking particularly good this morning. He smiled several times and at one stage I thought he opened his eyes. He is getting much stronger every day and I think he could be up and about before you know it. Wouldn’t that be a blessing?

  Yours sincerely,

  Raylene Cross

  Nursing Sister

  PS I have taken that bag of Mr Parker’s clothes that you asked me to give to the charity shop. I’ll drop them off when I get a chance.

  Alice-Miranda’s eyes were like dinner plates. ‘Mrs Parker, did you hear that? Mr Parker didn’t go with Nurse Raylene at all.’

  ‘Wow!’ Millie exclaimed. ‘That’s incredible. Mr Parker’s out there somewhere.’

  ‘Mrs Parker, you should call Constable Derby right away.’ Alice-Miranda clapped her hands together.

  But that wasn’t going to happen. There was a loud thump as Myrtle Parker’s head glanced off the plate and onto the kitchen table. The shock had knocked her out cold.

  Alice-Miranda raced to Myrtle’s side. She checked that she was still breathing and then said, ‘I think she’s fainted. Millie, can you call Con­stable Derby and let him know what we’ve found – and tell him that Mrs Parker has fainted too?’

  Millie went to the telephone and dialled for the police. Mrs Parker had one of those ancient handsets that was still attached to the wall. The phone rang for ages before finally someone picked it up.

  ‘Hello Mrs Derby, it’s Millie. Is Constable Derby there? I need to talk to him about Mr Parker. And Mrs Parker has fainted,’ Millie babbled.

  There was a pause as she listened to Mrs Derby on the other end of the line.

  ‘So, when will he be back?’ the child asked. ‘Please tell him to come as soon as he can. It’s very good news. Mr Parker didn’t go with Nurse Raylene at all. Alice-Miranda found a note.’


  Alice-Miranda could hear Mrs Derby’s excited voice through the telephone.

  ‘That’s a good idea. I’ll call Miss Grimm straight away.’ Millie hung up the phone.

  Alice-Miranda looked up from where she was patting Mrs Parker gently on the cheek. ‘What did she say?’

  ‘Constable Derby is at the railway station talking to the detectives there but Mrs Derby’s going to call and let him know what we found. He could be a while so we should see if someone from school can come over and help with Mrs Parker.’

  Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Why don’t you go and see if Mrs Headlington-Bear is home yet? I’ll stay here.’

  Millie agreed and immediately set off across the road.

  Ambrosia’s shiny sports car was just turning into the driveway. Jacinta was sitting in the passenger seat with a face like thunder.

  The driver’s door opened and Millie flew around to greet Ambrosia.

  ‘Hello Millie,’ the woman said, then whispered, ‘I don’t think Jacinta’s in the mood to play.’

  Jacinta got out of the car and slammed the door, then stalked into the house without giving Millie a second glance.

  ‘It’s not that,’ Millie blurted. ‘It’s Mrs Parker.’

  ‘What’s happened now?’ Ambrosia’s day had gone from bad to worse. She had been looking forward to a cup of tea and a lie-down before getting on with the article she was writing for Highton’s. She hadn’t missed a deadline yet and she wasn’t about to start.

  ‘She’s fainted,’ Millie said.

  ‘Oh!’ Ambrosia clutched a hand to her chest. She took off across the road towards Myrtle’s bungalow, with Millie scrambling beside her.

  ‘And she was really mad that you hadn’t put the sheets into the wash –’ Millie began.

  Ambrosia huffed and cut her off. ‘Was she? I don’t know how I’ve come to be her personal slave.’

  ‘No, you don’t understand, it was the best thing that could have happened! When Alice-Miranda went to do the washing, she shook the sheets and a letter fell out,’ Millie continued.