Alice-Miranda at Sea Read online

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  Alice-Miranda at Sea

  ePub ISBN 9781742750286

  Praise for the Alice-Miranda series

  ‘Alice-Miranda has a beguiling ability to enchant those around her and an enthusiasm for helping people in need. This new series, with its sprightly, resilient heroine, who is sweet without being cloying, offers readers a lively blend of humour and intrigue.’ Kirkus Reviews

  ‘Alice-Miranda’s optimism and determination is infectious. An immediately lovable character that young girls are going to want to be or be with.’ Deborah Abela, bestselling author of Max Remy

  ‘What’s the worst thing about reviewing kids’ books? When you find a book so enchanting that you want to ignore your own child to keep reading it! A modern story with a touch of the classics about it.’ Megan Blandford, Kids’ Book Review blog

  ‘Full of humour and with very likeable characters, this book sets a benchmark for a fantastic new series.’ Donella Reed, Read Plus blog

  ‘Alice-Miranda is a powerhouse of positive thinking, a problem solver and a friend to all – she’s quite simply unstoppable.’

  Maitland Mercury

  ‘It is a welcome change to read about a small child who changes adults’ lives . . . even though she never changes, everyone around her does, for the better.’ Sydney’s Child

  ‘Her generosity of spirit, enthusiasm and ultra well-heeled practicality endear her to the reader.’ Katharine England, Adelaide Advertiser

  ‘A great book for ages 6 and up.’

  Kate O’Donnell, Magpies Magazine

  ‘Ever since reading the first Alice-Miranda book, I’ve been dying to read the second book. Finally, here it is, and I love it . . . Now I want the third book.’ Matilda Murrihy (11 years), Herald Sun

  ‘In the best tradition of Pollyanna, Pippi Longstocking and Milly-Molly-Mandy . . . A modern fairytale, Alice-Miranda On Holiday is a delightful read full of quirky characters and events, plenty of chuckle-worthy moments, and a wonderful sense of fun.’

  NSW Association for Gifted and Talented Children website

  For Ian and Sandy

  A Random House book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  First published by Random House Australia in 2011

  Copyright © Jacqueline Harvey 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

  Author: Harvey, Jacqueline Title: Alice-Miranda at sea / Jacqueline Harvey

  ISBN: 978 1 86471 848 5 (pbk.)

  Subjects: Girls – Juvenile fiction Ocean travel – Juvenile fiction

  Dewey Number: A823.4

  Cover and internal illustrations by J.Yi

  Cover design by Mathematics www.xy-1.com

  Internal design by Midland Typesetters, Australia

  Typeset and eBook production by Midland Typesetters, Australia

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  And in case you're wondering . . .

  Cast of characters

  About the Author

  Have you read the first three Alice-Miranda adventures?

  Want more Alice-Miranda?

  Neville Nordstrom stared at the screen. His thick vanilla eyebrows furrowed together like a pair of hairy caterpillars and his nose began to twitch.

  ‘Is it really you?’ Neville whispered at the computer. But of course there was no reply. His friend had logged out moments ago, signing off with the usual ‘so long and happy hunting’.

  They’d been talking via the secure chat area of the club for only a couple of months. But in that time Neville had come to realise that his friend, wherever he was, was the most passionate collector he’d encountered yet. Smart too.

  But perhaps not smart enough. Neville was sure that his new friend was conversing under an assumed name; he’d laughed out loud when he saw it. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wasn’t that a famous writer – and a dead one at that?

  Then again, Neville hadn’t exactly been honest either. He wanted to tell his parents about his hobby but he knew they wouldn’t understand. And it was getting harder to keep up the ruse. He’d overheard his mother talking to his father last week – wondering how on earth Neville’s shorts could be getting tighter when he was playing football every other day. Neville made a mental note not to eat so many doughnuts while he was hunting.

  Then yesterday, his online friend’s disguise had begun to slip. He had said too much and one by one Neville was joining the dots. Neville was almost certain that he was chatting to someone very important – more important than most people in the world, really. And definitely the one man who could help him to save the species. Now all he had to do was prove it.

  Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones turned towards the driver as the limousine weaved its way through the streets from the airport.

  ‘Excuse me, Mr Fernandez, are we nearly there?’ she asked through the opening that separate
d the driver from his passengers.

  The man smiled to himself and kept his eyes firmly on the road ahead. ‘Soon, miss. Very soon. In fact just around this corner you will see the sea.’

  Alice-Miranda clasped her hands together in delight. She nudged Millie and Jacinta, who were sitting either side of her. Millie was fiddling with her camera and Jacinta was staring wide-eyed out of the window.

  ‘Look, over there!’ Jacinta pointed at the sparkling harbour spread out in front of them.

  Millie looked up and craned her neck to get a better view. ‘Oh, wow! I have to get a photo of that.’

  ‘It’s a pity we’re leaving straight away,’ Alice-Miranda told her friends. ‘Barcelona has some very interesting buildings.’

  ‘Well, that sounds boring,’ Jacinta said and wrinkled her nose.

  ‘No, not at all. Mummy and Daddy once took me to visit an enormous cathedral called the Sagrada Família. It sort of looks like it was made by a giant out of plasticine and soft cheese,’ Alice-Miranda replied.

  Hugh Kennington-Jones glanced up from his newspaper. ‘Not everyone’s cup of tea. But Mr Gaudí’s constructions are certainly, um, unique.’

  ‘Sounds weird.’ Jacinta’s eyes were fixed on the coastline. ‘Look! There’s a ship. I wonder if that’s the Octavia.’

  Cecelia Highton-Smith turned to look out the window. ‘Oh yes, I think it could be. Aunty Gee is so kind allowing Charlotte and Lawrence to have their wedding on board. It’s very clever of them to get married at sea.’

  Millie lowered the window and snapped away with her camera as the limousine headed towards the dock.

  ‘And hopefully, since we’ve come all the way to Spain, we might be able to shake off those jolly pesky photographers who don’t seem to leave Lawrence and Charlotte alone at the moment,’ Hugh frowned.

  ‘They’re called paparazzi, Daddy, and they’re only doing their job,’ Alice-Miranda informed him.

  ‘Well, it’s a stupid job.’ Millie laid her camera back in her lap. ‘I really don’t understand why people would want to see photographs of Lawrence eating a banana or getting his morning coffee or buying groceries – I mean, he is handsome and everything, but that’s just ridiculous.’

  ‘Aunt Charlotte will have to get used to it too, I suppose,’ Alice-Miranda nodded.

  ‘My mother loves them,’ Jacinta said.

  ‘Who?’ Millie asked.

  ‘The paparazzi, of course,’ Jacinta replied.

  Jacinta’s mother, Ambrosia Headlington-Bear, spent her life travelling the world looking glamorous, with a trail of hangers-on longer than most red carpets. The last time she had seen her daughter was over ten months ago and their most recent conversation had consisted of a terse exchange about the school play.

  The limousine suddenly seemed very small – as though an elephant had hopped on board and no one was willing to acknowledge its presence. Cecelia pursed her lips and wondered if her decision had been the right one.

  Millie hastily changed the subject. ‘I can’t believe that we’re going on Queen Georgiana’s ship. And do you remember when I first met her; I thought she was Mrs Oliver’s sister. She must think I’m completely thick.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Cecelia laughed. ‘Aunty Gee would have taken it as a compliment. She adores Mrs Oliver. And there is more than a passing resemblance – everyone says so.’

  The car rolled to a halt at a set of security gates, where Mr Fernandez hopped out of the driver’s seat to open the boot for inspection. Hugh lowered the darkly tinted windows and handed over a wad of passports to a young Spanish policeman who looked in at the group.

  ‘Hola.’ Alice-Miranda waved. The man grinned. He disappeared into the small sentry building and returned a few minutes later.

  ‘Enjoy your vacaciones,’ the policeman called as he handed the passports back through the window to Alice-Miranda’s father.

  The car proceeded past the checkpoint towards the ship moored at the end of the dock. No one inside the vehicle noticed the fair-haired boy, with a kit bag slung over his right shoulder and a worn leather trumpet case clutched in his left hand, approach the security checkpoint behind them. The lad put his bags down and reached inside his jacket pocket. His outstretched hand trembled as he gave his passport to the dark-eyed officer.

  ‘Billete?’

  Neville chewed nervously at his left thumbnail. He wished he’d paid more attention in class since moving to Barcelona. His Spanish was terrible.

  ‘S-s-sorry?’ Neville squeaked.

  ‘Your ticket, young man,’ said the officer, this time in English. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘Oh.’ Neville fumbled around in his jacket pocket and produced another official-looking document.

  The officer smiled. ‘Your bags?’

  Neville’s stomach flipped. Why did they want his bags? Beads of perspiration formed along his brow.

  The officer reached out and was just about to pick up Neville’s case when a police motorcycle, siren blaring, turned onto the road. Behind it Neville could see a motorcade of at least six vehicles, adorned with flags on either side of the bonnets and speeding towards the checkpoint.

  ‘Antonio, rapidamente,’ another man called from inside the security booth.

  The officer handed Neville his passport and ticket and gestured for him to move on.

  ‘Ir, Ir,’ he ordered, flicking his hand. ‘Go!’

  ‘Which ship?’ Neville wheezed. But the policeman had already turned to greet the incoming fleet.

  Neville had no idea who was in that motorcade, but clearly they were much more important than a nervous kid with a battered trumpet case and a ticket to New York.

  'Isn’t the ship beautiful?’ Alice-Miranda exclaimed as the group stood on the dock beside the gleaming white liner. Snatches of jazz drifted on the air, coming from a small musical ensemble on the open deck above.

  ‘I’ll say,’ Jacinta agreed. ‘Have you been on her before?’

  ‘No, this is a first for me too. Mummy and Daddy have been quite a few times but I think they were all “no children” affairs,’ Alice-Miranda replied.

  ‘The place is probably packed to the gills with priceless antiques – I can imagine why your Aunty Gee wouldn’t want little monsters running amok,’ Millie commented.

  ‘And her son, Freddy, has plenty of those,’ Hugh whispered conspiratorially to Cecelia.

  His wife rolled her eyes. Queen Georgiana’s seven grandchildren had quite the reputation for their wild behaviour – and hence were never at the top of anyone’s invitation list, particularly the Queen’s own.

  ‘How many people are coming to the wedding?’ Millie asked.

  ‘I think at last count there were 285,’ said Cecelia. ‘Charlotte and Lawrie were keen just to have family and close friends.’

  ‘I still can’t believe we got invited,’ said Millie, nodding towards Jacinta.

  ‘Darling, you and Jacinta are like family. Hugh and I have become very fond of you both. And it’s lovely for Alice-Miranda to have you here too,’ Cecelia smiled.

  Along the dock black limousines were lined up nose to tail, like ponies on a carousel. Alice-Miranda waved feverishly at Granny Bert and Daisy, who had just arrived with Mrs Oliver and Mrs Shillingsworth a couple of cars ahead. The whole Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones household had been invited to the wedding.

  Alice-Miranda waved at an elderly lady wearing a ruby-coloured suit. ‘Hello Granny,’ she called. The woman was busily directing a chauffeur who was wrestling with a mountain of luggage. Granny Valentina Highton-Smith, on seeing her only grandchild, called back, ‘See you on board, darling,’ and blew her a kiss, which Alice-Miranda promptly reached out and caught, and blew straight back again.

  ‘Look, there’s Sir Robert and dear cousin Lady Sarah and their gorgeou
s girls, Poppy and Annie.’ Cecelia waved furiously at a blonde woman wearing a very stylish pink hat and an armful of gold bracelets. A pair of enormous diamonds like two Christmas tree baubles adorned her ears.

  ‘I haven’t seen Poppy and Annie for ages.’ Alice-Miranda waved towards the group. ‘Well, not since last Christmas at Granny’s.’

  ‘Another Poppy! So there’ll be two Poppys on the ship. That’s so confusing,’ Jacinta said. ‘We’ll have to think what to call them. What’s your cousin’s surname?’

  ‘Adams,’ Alice-Miranda replied.

  ‘So we’ll have Poppy Adams and Poppy Bauer. We could just call them Poppy A and Poppy B,’ Jacinta declared.

  ‘Oh dear,’ Cecelia began. ‘I’m sorry girls, but Lily called a little while ago to say that they aren’t going to make it. Granny Bauer is still unwell and needs them to stay on with her for longer.’

  Heinrich Bauer ran the farm at Highton Hall. His wife Lily often helped Cecelia, while Jasper and Poppy were two of Alice-Miranda’s closest companions.

  ‘That’s bad news,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘I hope Granny Bauer gets better soon. The wedding just won’t be the same without Poppy and Jasper, but at least Millie can take loads of photographs for us to show them when we’re home again.’

  ‘That sounds perfect but come along, girls, we want to get settled as quickly as possible.’ Hugh began to guide the children towards the ship. ‘There’s plenty of time to see everyone when we’re on board.’

  A short line of crewmen, splendidly dressed in dazzling white uniforms, stood either side of the gangplank. Not that ‘plank’ was the right word at all for the ornate navy-blue bridge and stretch of red carpet that spanned the void between the dock and the ship.

  Alice-Miranda insisted on greeting every single one of the crew individually.

  ‘Hello, my name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones.’ She held out her tiny hand. ‘And I’m very pleased to meet you. This is my mummy, Cecelia, and my daddy, Hugh, and these are my two friends Millie and Jacinta.’

  The first sailor gave a small nod and reluctantly took her hand in his.

  ‘Um, nice to meet you, miss. Sir, ma’am,’ he looked at Mr Kennington-Jones for approval. Hugh smiled broadly and shook his head in the direction of his effusive daughter.