Alice-Miranda at Camp 10 (2 page)

Alice-Miranda scooted in beside Millie just as the girls arrived in front of the food. The servery was dotted with plates bearing thick wedges of cake covered in sticky white frosting.

‘Sorry, I couldn't find Miss Wall,' the child puffed. She noticed that Millie's face was as dark as the gathering thunderclouds outside and Caprice was staring off into the distance.

‘Is everything all right?' Alice-Miranda asked. She wondered what had happened in the past ten minutes.

Millie plastered on a fake smile but it was clear to Alice-Miranda that something had gone wrong.

‘Hello Mrs Smith,' Alice-Miranda greeted the cook. ‘This is Caprice. She just started today.'

Doreen Smith gave a pinched smile and nodded in the children's direction, then wiped her shiny forehead with the back of her hand. Her face was tomato red and there were dark circles under her eyes.

‘Hello dear,' the old woman sighed.

Caprice swivelled around. Her taut expression softened. ‘Hello Mrs Smith,' she replied with a beguiling smile.

Millie looked up, surprised by the change in Caprice's voice.

‘Are you all right, Mrs Smith?' Alice-Miranda asked. ‘You don't look well.'

The woman exhaled loudly. ‘I hadn't realised that cooking for an extra twenty-five children and a few new teachers would be like cooking for an extra hundred and twenty-five. And now the big cooker is on the blink and I'm trying to manage with the old range. It's a disaster.'

‘Oh dear, that's no good at all,' Alice-Miranda said. She glanced around. The queue of girls was
gone and the teachers were helping themselves. ‘Can you sit down for a minute? I could bring you a cup of tea.'

‘That would be heavenly, sweetheart. Charlie's out chopping wood for me now. Who'd have thought I'd be back to wood-fired cooking? But I suppose I should thank my lucky stars that we still have the old girl. It would be toast for tea tonight otherwise.' Mrs Smith continued muttering to herself, bubbling and hissing like a boiling pot as she walked out from behind the counter and sat at a nearby table.

Alice-Miranda passed Millie two plates of hummingbird cake and handed Caprice another two before darting off to make Mrs Smith's tea.

Millie put the cakes down on the table with a thud. Caprice sat opposite her, beside Mrs Smith.

A minute later, Alice-Miranda joined them, placing a cup of tea in front of the exhausted woman. ‘How long will you have to cook for the older girls as well, Mrs Smith?'

‘At least a couple of weeks. I know Miss Grimm had hoped everything would be finished in time for the start of school but this bleak weather has done the builders no favours,' Mrs Smith explained.

‘It will be so strange when the older girls move,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘At the moment it still feels the same, although there are extra beds everywhere in Grimthorpe House and the queue for the showers this morning was all the way down the hall.'

‘Why?' Caprice asked.

‘The school's just expanded into year seven but the senior campus is at Caledonia Manor, which is on the other side of the woods. Their boarding house isn't ready yet so everyone's bunking in together at Grimthorpe House until the girls can move,' said Alice-Miranda.

‘You should see the place,' Millie added. ‘It's a nightmare and Mrs Howard looks as tired as Mrs Smith, even with Shaker helping out.' The girl paused. ‘Actually, she probably looks that way
because
of Shaker helping out.'

‘Get off, you cheeky moppet.' Mrs Smith grinned and rolled her eyes. ‘Shaker's a lovely old thing – even if she does seem to forget more than she remembers some days.'

‘So will I have to share a room?' Caprice asked.

‘We all do,' Millie scoffed. ‘It's not a hotel, you know.'

‘Millie!' Alice-Miranda was surprised by the tone of her friend's voice. ‘It won't be for long, Caprice. I'm not sure where you'll be sleeping but you might have to share with two girls instead of just one until the building work is done.'

‘Nobody told me that.' Caprice pressed her lips tightly together.

‘We don't have any extra beds in our room,' Millie said and raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. Caprice glared back across the table.

‘Miss Grimm didn't say anything about the school development when Mummy and I met with her last year,' Caprice said. ‘I told Mummy I should have gone to Sainsbury Palace instead.'

‘Miss Grimm only decided to add year seven at the last minute,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘And believe me, I'm sure you'll be much happier here.' She wasn't about to go into details about what had happened when Jacinta went to the Sainsbury Palace Orientation Day, but it seemed Millie had other ideas.

‘What a pity you didn't go there – Mrs Jelly and Professor Crookston are
so
lovely. And I'm sure that they would have been thrilled to have such a talented student,' Millie said.

Mrs Smith and Alice-Miranda looked at Millie, wondering what she was talking about. Everyone knew that Miss Grimm had decided to expand the school after Jacinta had her terrible run-in with Professor Crookston and Mildred Jelly defended his horrid behaviour.

‘That's true,' Caprice agreed. ‘But Mummy insisted that I take the scholarship here.'

‘I'm sure the boarding house will be sorted soon enough.' Mrs Smith sighed again then took a sip of her tea.

‘This cake is delicious,' Alice-Miranda said, changing the subject.

‘I'm glad you like it, dear,' the woman replied. ‘It's Venetia Baldini's recipe.'

On hearing the woman's name, Caprice looked up.

‘How many hummingbirds did you have to sacrifice for this one?' Millie said with a grin. She stabbed her fork into the thick wedge of cake and gobbled a chunk down.

Alice-Miranda and Mrs Smith chortled.

Caprice frowned.

‘It's a joke,' Millie said. ‘There aren't really any hummingbirds in hummingbird cake.'

‘I know that!' Caprice snapped. ‘It's my mother's recipe.'

Millie sputtered cake crumbs all over the table. ‘Your mother?'

‘Yes,' Caprice nodded. ‘My mother
is
Venetia Baldini.'

‘Oh, heavens,' Mrs Smith said. ‘The woman's a genius.'

Millie shook her head. ‘Well, I've never heard of her.' But that wasn't completely true. The name was familiar. Millie wondered if she was the beautiful woman her grandfather liked to watch on television.

‘Ms Baldini's very famous,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘Mrs Oliver and Shilly never miss an episode of
Sweet Things
. And I know Mrs Oliver has tried lots of your mother's recipes too. I love her honey jumbles – they're the best ever.'

‘And Venetia's such a sweet woman,' Mrs Smith agreed.

If that were true, Millie wondered what had happened to her daughter.

Mrs Smith glanced at the clock. ‘Oop! I'd better get on with dinner.' She pushed her chair back and thanked Alice-Miranda for the tea then disappeared through the kitchen door.

‘We'd better get going too.' Alice-Miranda glanced around the near-empty room. ‘I've got homework and I want to go and see how Bonaparte's settling in before dinner.'

‘Who's that?' Caprice asked.

‘He's my pony. He's very naughty but he's adorable,' Alice-Miranda explained.

‘I have a Lipizzaner,' Caprice said.

Millie rolled her eyes.

‘Oh, how gorgeous. Is he coming to school?' Alice-Miranda asked.

Caprice shook her head. ‘He's far too valuable to bring here. We've got someone looking after him. He has to be ridden all the time.'

‘Do you compete?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘We've won every single event we've entered,' Caprice said.

Millie was listening but pretending not to. You could have put a penguin on a properly trained Lipizzaner and they'd win, she thought to herself. It was her favourite breed of horse but she wasn't about to say so.

‘What's his name?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Shah,' Caprice replied.

‘That's a great name. Isn't it, Millie?' the child said.

‘Sorry, what did you say?' Millie looked vaguely at the pair.

‘Shah. It's a great name for a horse,' Alice-Miranda repeated.

‘Perfect,' said Millie. ‘Just like its owner,' she whispered under her breath.

‘What was that?' Caprice glared at Millie.

‘Nothing,' the girl replied.

But Alice-Miranda had heard it too. She had a strange feeling and wanted to talk to Millie in private as soon as she could. Something clearly wasn't right.

‘Well, we'd better go or Howie will send a search party.' Alice-Miranda stood up and took the three empty plates to the trolley at the end of the servery.

‘Don't you like it?' Millie looked at the slab of cake left on Caprice's plate. The girl had barely touched it.

‘Not really,' Caprice replied.

‘I suppose you must eat lots of cake,' Millie said.

‘Do I look like I eat a lot of cake?' Caprice spat.

‘No, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought that if your mother's a chef and this is one of her recipes –' Millie began.

‘You don't know anything about me, or my mother,' said Caprice, curling her lip. She stood up,
leaving her plate on the table, and stalked off towards the door.

‘We have to clear up after ourselves here,' Millie called. ‘There are no servants.'

Caprice turned around. ‘I'm sure you don't mind doing it for me. I mean, it's my first day and I don't know how anything works.'

She strode away to the door, where Alice-Miranda was talking to a teacher.

Millie could feel her anger rising. She took a deep breath, picked up the plate and fork beside it, and dumped them onto the tray with a noisy crash.

Alice-Miranda, Millie and Caprice arrived at Grimthorpe House to find the place under siege from Mrs Howard, who seemed to be under siege from Shaker. The housemistress was on a mission to get the place in order, which was no small task given the addition of twenty-five girls and all their belongings.

‘Good afternoon, Mrs Howard,' Alice-Miranda greeted the woman. She was almost bowled over by Susannah, who was carrying a tower of towels to the
linen cupboard. Several other girls were heaving suitcases and boxes of books. ‘This is Caprice.'

‘Oh, welcome dear,' Mrs Howard told the girl. ‘I've been expecting you. What a pity you weren't able to arrive yesterday with everyone else.'

‘I'm sorry about that,' Caprice apologised. ‘Mummy was recording a show and she needed all of the family to be there.'

‘Yes, I met her this afternoon when she dropped your bags off and she told me so. Charming woman, and I do love watching
Sweet Things
.' Mrs Howard patted her stomach. ‘You can see I like eating them even more. Anyway, never mind. This place seems twice as chaotic as yesterday, so you'll just have to cope, I'm afraid.'

‘Would you like us to show Caprice to her room, Mrs Howard?' Alice-Miranda offered.

‘Yes, please. Caprice is sharing with Jacinta and Sloane.'

Millie's stomach twisted. That sounded like a very bad idea. Jacinta and Sloane were fiery enough on their own at times without adding Little Miss Perfect to the mix.

Mrs Howard turned to Caprice. ‘There's a chest of drawers for you, dear, and I've cleared the end of
one wardrobe but I'm afraid you'll have to do your homework out here in the sitting room until Jacinta moves over to Caledonia Manor. Has anyone seen Sloane? She should have been back by now,' Mrs Howard quizzed. ‘Actually, Millie, Alice-Miranda can take Caprice and you can stay here and help me with some jobs.'

‘Why me?' Millie complained.

Howie glared. ‘Why not you?'

‘Yes, why not you?' Shaker's trembly voice echoed over the housemistress's shoulder.

Mrs Howard spun around. ‘Oh, there you are, Mrs Shakeshaft. I need you to go and see how the new girls are getting on upstairs.'

‘But I'd much rather help down here.'

Mrs Howard eyed the old woman. ‘Are those cake crumbs around your mouth? You'd better not have been eating my supper.'

A sheepish look spread across Shaker's powdered face. She quickly brushed her lip and scuttled away down the hall.

‘I'll come back and help in a minute,' Alice-Miranda said to Millie.

‘Thanks,' the girl mouthed in reply.

Alice-Miranda led the way down the hall, pointing out who slept where and the bathroom on the right. ‘This is it. Millie and I are next door.'

She turned the handle of Sloane and Jacinta's room and wondered what sort of state she'd find the place in. Neither of the girls was tidy and they spent most of the time blaming each other for the mess.

A third bed had been installed over the holidays. Alice-Miranda showed Caprice the spare chest of drawers and opened the door of Jacinta's wardrobe, glad that the usual avalanche of belongings stayed put.

‘This is the hanging space Mrs Howard was talking about,' Alice-Miranda said.

Two suitcases and a giant tuck box sat at the foot of the new bed.

‘Do you have room inspections?' Caprice asked.

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Mrs Howard does them every week but she never tells us when they'll be.'

‘What do you get if you win?' Caprice asked.

‘All sorts of things. It's different every time. Sometimes the girls who win get to choose a place to go for a weekend outing or Mrs Smith makes their favourite treat. Last year Millie and I got to have afternoon tea with Miss Grimm in her study,' Alice-Miranda explained. ‘It's always something lovely.'

‘How many times has this room won?' Caprice asked.

The tiny child frowned. ‘Mmm.' Alice-Miranda thought for a moment. ‘Never.'

‘Never! We'll see about that.' Caprice unzipped her first suitcase and flew into action.

‘Do you want some help?' Alice-Miranda offered, grinning. Maybe Caprice was just what Jacinta and Sloane needed. Mrs Howard would be very grateful to have a tidy influence on the pair.

Caprice didn't look up. ‘No, I'm fine.'

‘I'll see you later then. Have fun with your unpacking.'

Alice-Miranda scurried down the hallway to the sitting room at the back of the house. Millie appeared from the utility room. The rest of the girls had disappeared and so had Mrs Howard and Shaker.

‘What were you doing?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I just had to carry some junk down to the cellar.'

The room was still crowded with boxes but neither girl knew what else Mrs Howard wanted moved.

‘Come on, let's go before Howie comes back and gives us any more jobs. I've got homework,' said Millie.

‘What happened before, with you and Caprice in the dining room?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘That girl's weird,' Millie said.

‘What do you mean?'

‘Well, one minute she was all sweet and lovely and then the next she was awful. I suppose it had to happen. We were always going to get a new one.'

Alice-Miranda shot Millie a curious look.

‘A new Alethea. For a while it looked like Sloane would take that crown but she's not half as bad as she used to be,' Millie huffed.

‘Sloane's fine and maybe Caprice is nervous about being at a new school,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘What did she say to you?'

‘She was showing off about winning the academic scholarship and she said that you weren't the cleverest girl in the school,' Millie said. ‘She's so pretty too. You wait. She'll have the teachers wrapped around her little finger in no time.'

Alice-Miranda put her arm around Millie's shoulder. ‘Don't be upset. I'm sure she's nothing like Alethea. And, you know, even she's changed a lot since she was here. Besides, I'm not the cleverest girl in the school.'

‘Yes, you are. Anyway, I don't want to spend any more time with Caprice than I have to. I might catch something, like show-off's disease. I hear that's not very pleasant at all. Your head gets really, really big and you start shooting your mouth off about everything!'

Alice-Miranda frowned. Caprice had seemed fine to her and it wasn't like Millie to be jealous. There had to be more to it.