Alice-Miranda Shows the Way (5 page)

The raven-haired girl cradled her injured hand against her chest. ‘It's nothing,' she insisted, sniffing.

‘We could at least get you some ice,' Alice-Miranda suggested.

‘No! You've done enough. Just go away. You don't belong here!' With that the girl fled towards the camp site and disappeared into the maze of vehicles.

Alice-Miranda and Millie were left alone in the middle of the field.

‘Are you all right? You're bleeding,' said Millie. She pulled a tissue from her pocket and reached up to put it against Alice-Miranda's forehead. ‘I can't believe he pushed you.'

‘It's just a scratch,' said Alice-Miranda, ‘and I think he was sorry.'

‘Come on.' Millie put her arm around Alice-Miranda and the girls walked towards the ponies. ‘We should go and see Miss Hephzibah. I'm sure she'll have a plaster.'

The bloody mark on Alice-Miranda's forehead was beginning to swell.

‘I told you the carnies can't be trusted,' Millie grumbled as she gave Alice-Miranda a leg-up onto Bonaparte's back.

‘It was just a stupid argument,' Alice-Miranda said, frowning. But she had a strange feeling about Tarquin and the children from the carnival.

Millie threw her leg over Chops. ‘Let's go.'

The girls wheeled their ponies around and began to trot up the hill away from the camp site. Alice-Miranda turned to look back and saw Fern sitting on the step of a whitewashed caravan. It was the biggest of all in the camp. In front of her a giant of a man with a ginger beard was making extravagant gestures. He didn't look happy. She wondered if he was the fellow they called Alf.

Millie and Alice-Miranda rode back through the woods and turned right at the fork in the road, towards Caledonia Manor. They didn't stop at the stables but rode up the driveway. The place was completely transformed since Alice-Miranda's last visit over a month ago. Back then the builders and tradesmen had been busy concentrating on the renovations to the manor. The gardens had still been overgrown with waist-high weeds, but now the grounds were splendid.

‘Look at that.' Millie pointed at a gigantic fountain in the middle of the lawn. Water spurted from the ornate cherub centrepiece.

‘It must have been there all the time,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘You just couldn't see it. And don't those flowerbeds look lovely?' Alice-Miranda studied the pretty blooms growing along the fence.

The front of the manor, with its four Ionic columns and stately portico, looked as grand as ever. The double doors were painted slate grey and the brass handles gleamed.

‘We should go around the back and tie the ponies up there,' Millie suggested. ‘That's where I've left Chops when I've been to visit.'

They passed by the side of the mansion with its new roof and rebuilt wing. Alice-Miranda couldn't help thinking that the house looked twice as large as it had before the renovations.

The girls rode across the expansive lawn to the bottom row of balustrades and slid off their ponies, hitching them to the railing.

A crust of dried blood had formed on Alice-Miranda's forehead and the bump was noticeably larger than when they had left Gertrude's Grove.

Millie pointed at the wound. ‘You really need someone to take a look at that.'

‘I'm fine. Really I am. It doesn't hurt at – ow!' Alice-Miranda flinched as she reached up and touched her head. ‘All right. It hurts a little bit,' she confessed.

The girls made their way to the kitchen door. Several cats were asleep in sunny spots along the veranda. A grey tabby woke at their approach and stretched out.

‘Hello puss,' said Alice-Miranda. She reached down and gave its belly a rub.

‘Miss Hephzibah, Miss Henrietta,' Millie called as she knocked loudly, then opened the screen door.

The girls could see the outline of Hephzibah standing beside the stove.

‘Oh Millie, what a lovely surprise, and Alice-Miranda too. Heavens, dear, whatever happened to you?' Hephzibah called as she caught sight of Alice-Miranda. She ushered both children inside and ordered Alice-Miranda to take a seat at the kitchen table.

Hephzibah bustled about the kitchen, insistent that for once Alice-Miranda should sit quite still. The old woman found a first aid kit in the butler's pantry and swabbed Alice-Miranda's grazed forehead with antiseptic. A bandaid covered the wound. Then she wrapped some ice in a tea towel and told Alice-Miranda to hold it on her forehead for a little while to help the swelling.

‘Now, I'll make us some tea,' said Hephzibah. ‘Do stay
still
,
dear!'

‘Is Miss Henrietta home?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Not at the moment. Mrs Parker came this morning to take her for her doctor's appointment. Ever since you “discovered” me here and I came out for all the world to see, Mrs Parker's been so kind and helpful,' Hephzibah said as she busied herself locating three teacups and saucers in the cupboard.

‘Mrs Parker?' Millie asked distastefully. ‘Do you mean Myrtle Parker?'

‘Yes, Millie,' Hephzibah nodded. ‘Why do you ask?'

‘You must be one of the only people in the village who has anything nice to say about her,' Millie said. ‘She's a bit of a busybody.'

‘Oh no, Millie. She's lovely – always terribly interested in what's happening. I don't know how I would have managed without her help,' the old woman said. ‘And Henny has come to rely on her quite a bit too.'

Millie still looked unconvinced. ‘She didn't get the nickname Nosey for nothing.'

‘I haven't met her yet,' Alice-Miranda said.

‘You will soon enough,' said Millie. ‘She's the president of the Show Society and Mrs Howard
says that she's the village's self-appointed expert on everything. She's even given herself the job of chief judge for all of the equestrian events, which isn't going to be good for Chops, seeing that when I was out riding in the village earlier in the year she told me he looked like a cross between a donkey and a Dartmoor pony. As if! He's got at least another ten varieties in him. Silly woman wouldn't know her ponies from her pigs, I say.'

Hephzibah and Alice-Miranda giggled.

‘Is Miss Henrietta well?' Alice-Miranda asked, changing the subject.

‘She's made some remarkable progress since that terrible stroke. The doctors can hardly believe it,' the old woman replied.

Hephzibah poured three cups of tea, black for herself and weak and milky for the two girls. She placed them on the table and pushed the sugar bowl towards Alice-Miranda.

‘Thank you, Miss Hephzibah.' Alice-Miranda put a teaspoon of sugar into her cup.

Millie reached over and dumped three large scoops into her tea.

‘Are you making syrup?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Ha ha,' Millie replied. ‘I'm not going to stir it.'

Hephzibah smiled. ‘You know, I used to like it just like that myself when I was a girl.'

‘See, Alice-Miranda, there are other people who have good taste, you know,' Millie said with a nod.

Hephzibah looked across at Alice-Miranda, her cornflower blue eyes sparkling. ‘So, tell me, how
did
you come to get that bump on your head? I hope that naughty pony of yours didn't have anything to do with it.'

‘It was nothing, really,' Alice-Miranda replied.

‘If you don't tell, then I will,' Millie threatened.

‘Okay . . .' Alice-Miranda explained all about their meeting with the children from the carnival and the lovely time they were having playing football. She told Hephzibah about finding Tarquin by the stream and his collection of badges. Millie took great delight in joining in the tale.

‘. . . Pete went off his head and said that Tarquin was stupid, and Fern said that he wasn't, and then she got in the way and Pete pushed her over and she hurt her wrist, and then when Alice-Miranda tried to help, Pete pushed her so hard! And she hit her forehead on a rock in the grass. I warned Alice-Miranda that the carnies weren't to be trusted but she just wouldn't listen . . .'

Alice-Miranda protested that it wasn't anything
near as bad as Millie said. Miss Hephzibah nodded and sipped her tea quietly.

After a minute or so, the old woman broke the silence. ‘I think I know better than most what it feels like to be an outsider. Those carnival children do too.' She put a hand to her scarred cheek and her eyes took on a glassy sheen.

Alice-Miranda walked around the table to Miss Hephzibah, gave the woman a hug and pecked her powdered cheek.

‘Now what was that for?' Hephzibah asked.

‘Just because,' Alice-Miranda smiled.

Hephzibah hugged Alice-Miranda back.

‘Well, I still don't think we should go anywhere near the Grove for the next couple of weeks,' Millie said decisively. ‘And I hope we don't see those kids again.'

But Alice-Miranda couldn't stop thinking about Fern and Tarquin. She wondered if they were brother and sister. They certainly looked alike. She was hoping very much to see them again, and sooner rather than later.

The girls helped clear their cups and saucers, and Hephzibah offered to take them on a tour of the house.

‘When does the teaching college open?' Millie asked as the threesome walked from the kitchen into the grand foyer.

‘It's still a little way off – but I know Miss Grimm and Professor Winterbottom have been interviewing for staff,' the old woman replied. ‘There's a bit of government red tape they have to pass yet.'

Through crystal clear windows, shards of light danced on the polished parquet floor. Long gone were the white dust sheets that had covered the furniture and hidden Caledonia Manor's splendour. The grand entrance foyer was truly magnificent. Its stairway rose up in the centre of the room and then splayed into two flights going left and right. A silk carpet runner in red and blue ran up both sides. An array of ornate antiques adorned the room, including a grandfather clock with the most delightful chime. There was a mahogany table against the left-hand wall, and in the middle of it an enormous floral display in an antique Japanese urn gave a splash of colour to the vast room. From the centre of the ceiling a crystal chandelier twinkled.

‘It's beautiful,' Alice-Miranda gasped.

‘Yes,' said Hephzibah. ‘It's the showpiece of the whole house.'

The trio continued their excursion, looking at all the improvements and renovations that had been made before returning down the back stairs to the kitchen. The screen door opened just as they arrived.

‘Heph, dear, we're home,' Henrietta called as she shuffled through the door with a thickset woman following close at heel. ‘Oh, hello there girls,' Henrietta smiled at Alice-Miranda and Millie. ‘How lovely to see you both. Did you enjoy your visit to New York, Alice-Miranda? You know Mrs Parker, I presume.'

Myrtle Parker wore an extraordinary oldfashioned pillbox hat with a veil across the top of her face and a matching floral dress which enhanced her already generous proportions, making her look a little like an overstuffed couch.

‘Hello Mrs Parker, I don't believe we
have
met before. My name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones.' Alice-Miranda held out her hand, which Myrtle took into her gloved grip.

‘I know
exactly
who you are, my dear. And I can't imagine for a second how you have managed to avoid
me these past months since you arrived, early might I add, at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. You've had quite the adventurous year too, with that lovely cruise on board the
Octavia
and then your recent sojourn to New York. Did you enjoy Mrs Kimmel's?' Mrs Parker asked with a wide smile.

‘Goodness, Mrs Parker, you certainly are well informed,' said Alice-Miranda. She glanced quickly at Hephzibah, who was frowning, and Millie who had her best ‘I told you so' face on.

Myrtle Parker turned her attention to the flame-haired girl. ‘Millicent, it's nice to see you. I hear that your grandfather Ambrose has been keeping very close company with Alice-Miranda's family cook. Mrs Oliver is indeed a lucky woman to have garnered the affection of that charming man. I didn't think he'd ever get over the loss of your grandmother. She was a darling woman, although she had a tendency to be a little too concerned with other people's business.'

Millie's eyes almost popped out of her head. ‘Excuse me?'

‘I don't mean to speak ill of the departed, Millicent, but she didn't even live here in the village and she seemed to know everything about everyone,' Mrs Parker explained.

Alice-Miranda could sense Millie's discomfort. ‘Well, it's been lovely to meet you, Mrs Parker, and you're looking very well, Miss Henrietta. Sloane said that she would pop over soon to see you. I think we need to get going. We have another visit to make.'

Millie stared at Myrtle Parker, her eyes narrowed.

‘Where are you heading off to, girls?' Henrietta asked.

‘We're going to say hello to Mr Walt at Chesterfield Downs,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘It's his first day and he was a little nervous. And I want to meet Rockstar. I hear he's the most impressive thoroughbred.'

‘Well, that's a business, isn't it?' Myrtle Parker snorted. ‘I'm going to see dear Evelyn Pepper over at the hospital in Downsfordvale this afternoon, but I have to confess that I'm not looking forward to it. That's where my Reginald was for all those months, God rest his weary soul.'

Hephzibah and Henrietta exchanged puzzled glances. It was the first they'd heard that Mr Parker had passed away. They would have to ask Myrtle more after the girls had gone.

‘Apparently Evelyn fell because the lights were out in the tack room. Mr Wigglesworth was supposed to get the electrician in a week ago,' said Mrs Parker, raising her eyebrows so high they almost touched her hat. ‘But you didn't hear that from me, ladies.'

Hephzibah suggested that Henrietta and Mrs Parker sit down and she would make them both some tea and a sandwich.

‘We should be going,' Alice-Miranda said once more. The tiny child gave Henrietta and Hephzibah farewell hugs. Millie followed suit.

Myrtle Parker stared at the girls, frowning. ‘So where's mine?'

Alice-Miranda leaned in to embrace the floral-clad woman who smelt of powder and tart perfume.

Myrtle Parker gripped the child tightly to her chest.

When she finally let go, Myrtle pointed at her rouged cheek, which Alice-Miranda dutifully kissed.

Millie watched the scene and knew what was required of her but her feet seemed set in concrete.

‘Millicent, have you got a kiss for Aunty Myrtle?'

Millie gulped. Alice-Miranda gave her a gentle
push and she too was taken into the woman's formidable grip. Millie pecked at Mrs Parker's cheek like a chicken in a farmyard, then wiped her mouth.
‘
And what happened to your face, Alice-Miranda?' Myrtle asked.

‘It's nothing, Mrs Parker,' the child replied.

‘It doesn't look like nothing. There must be a story behind it,' the woman insisted. ‘You might like to tell me, Millicent.' She stared at Millie, who kept her mouth clamped shut.

Hephzibah moved her head ever so slightly from side to side, then said, ‘Well, girls, off you go now, or poor Wally will think you've abandoned him.'

Hephzibah ushered them out of the kitchen and onto the back veranda. ‘I think I'm beginning to understand what you mean about Mrs Parker, Millie,' the old woman whispered to the girls as she glanced back inside.

‘I don't think it would do any good at all to have Mrs Parker worrying about the carnival people,' said Alice-Miranda.

Hephzibah nodded. ‘On that, my dear, I completely agree.'