Alice-Miranda Shines Bright 8 Page 7

  ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’

  Silas thought about it for a moment.

  ‘It’s not a trick question, dear.’ She turned and filled the kettle. ‘I’m having one, so it’s no bother.’

  Silas accepted her offer.

  ‘I’m afraid you didn’t tell me your name earlier,’ he said. His eyes darted about the place, taking it all in.

  ‘Oh, no I didn’t.’ She smiled. ‘It’s Henrietta Sykes.’

  ‘It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs Sykes, and I must say that you have a most magnificent home,’ he said sincerely.

  ‘Yes, she is a lovely old girl. A bit big though.’

  ‘Surely you don’t live here on your own?’ he enquired.

  ‘Oh no. My sister Hephzibah is here and soon enough we’re going to have a whole lot of young people too.’

  He wondered what she meant. A vague memory scratched at the back of his mind. He remembered there being some debate at the council over a large house on the edge of the woods – now what were they intending to do with it again?

  ‘Half of the house is being turned over for use as a teaching college,’ Henrietta explained. ‘If we can ever get the permissions through the council.’ She winked at Silas.

  ‘Oh, of course, this is Caledonia Manor, isn’t it?’ Silas had seen the sign on the gate and wondered why the name sounded familiar.

  ‘Yes, we’re hoping to open very soon. It will be lovely to have a house full of youngsters.’

  Henrietta set a teacup down in front of Silas and offered him some milk. He nodded and she poured in rather more than he would usually have. He looked longingly at the sugar bowl but shook his head when she held it towards him.

  Henrietta sat down opposite him. ‘Now, how can I help you, Mr Wiley?’

  ‘I was out here looking for someone and I fear I’m a little bit lost,’ he began.

  Millie and Alice-Miranda returned to the kitchen to get their lunch, then walked up to the stables. Elsa had the day off and with the older students over at Sainsbury Palace for their orientation, it was very quiet.

  The girls saddled Bony and Chops then wrote a note on the whiteboard outlining the time and a rough plan of where they intended to go. Alice-Miranda stood on an upturned crate and climbed into the saddle. Millie hoisted herself onto Chops’s back and together they headed out into the bright sunshine.

  ‘Do you really think that Mr Parker has gone with Nurse Raylene?’ Alice-Miranda asked Millie as they walked side by side.

  ‘Charlie seemed to think so. I can’t imagine what it must be like when someone you think you know just disappears. Like the people you sometimes see on the noticeboards in the grocery shops or on breakfast cereal boxes.’

  ‘We do that at Kennington’s,’ said Alice-Miranda.

  ‘Could your father put Mr Parker on a cereal box or on some posters in the supermarkets?’ Millie said.

  ‘Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. But we’d have to ask Mrs Parker’s permission. She might think that it’s too painful. There’s a Kennington’s in Downsfordvale – imagine if she shopped there and saw Mr Parker. She might get terribly upset,’ said Alice-Miranda thoughtfully.

  ‘It wouldn’t hurt to ask,’ Millie said.

  Alice-Miranda nodded in agreement. She clicked her tongue and Bonaparte began to trot. ‘Maybe we could go and see her later on. If she agrees, I’ll talk to Daddy tomorrow.’

  ‘Where do you want to go first?’ Millie called as she dug her heels into Chops’s flank and he caught up to his friend. Bonaparte turned around and tried to take a nip out of the little pony’s ear.

  ‘Stop that, you naughty brute.’ Alice-Miranda tugged sharply at the reins. ‘What if we explore the woods along the ridge? I’ve never been up there on Bony – only on foot when I had to do the camp at the beginning of the year. There’s a pretty lookout where you can see the whole school and the village too.’

  ‘Sounds good,’ Millie replied. ‘There are some secret hiding spots up there, you know. But of course, that’s where you found Mr Grump.’

  ‘He wasn’t really hiding, Millie, at least not from me. But let’s go and see what we can find anyway.’

  Alice-Miranda ducked under a low branch. The track narrowed and she and Bony led the way as the path began to curve upwards into the side of the hill. It was quite a distance before they reached the top.

  Alice-Miranda slipped down out of the saddle and took the reins over Bony’s head. Millie did the same. The two girls hitched the ponies to some tree branches and walked towards a clearing.

  Spread out below them was the school and the village beyond.

  ‘Isn’t it lovely?’ Alice-Miranda’s eyes shone as she took it all in.

  ‘I’ll say.’ Millie walked around further to see if there was another vantage point. ‘Come and look at this. I think you can see Caledonia Manor through the treetops.’

  Alice-Miranda scurried over to her friend.

  ‘Yes, that’s the roof line.’

  The woods stood between the school and Caledonia Manor. Around further was Gertrude’s Grove, where the girls had met Fern and her brother Tarquin and the children from the carnival a couple of months before.

  ‘Who owns the woods and Gertrude’s Grove?’ Alice-Miranda wondered out loud.

  Millie shrugged. ‘I’m not sure. Why do you want to know?’

  ‘Just curious.’

  ‘I’m starving,’ announced Millie. She walked back to the ponies and opened her leather saddlebag. She retrieved two slices of devil’s food cake and handed one to Alice-Miranda, who pulled out two water bottles from her own saddlebag.

  Millie sat on a rock and began to unwrap her cake. Alice-Miranda sipped some water and sat beside her. She stared into the distance, wondering what she could do to help Mrs Parker. The woman seemed to like having company when she was doing the housework. Maybe Alice-Miranda could go and visit her.

  A breath of wind sprung up on the ridge and Bonaparte whinnied and turned his head to look at the girls.

  ‘No way, fat boy, you’re not getting any of this cake,’ Millie said with her mouth half-full.

  Alice-Miranda was about to eat hers too when something caught her attention. A branch swayed lazily in front of the rock face, back and forth like a metronome. She put her cake and drink bottle down and stood up.

  ‘Don’t you want it?’ Millie asked.

  ‘I thought I saw something.’ Alice-Miranda walked towards the branch.

  Millie scooped up Alice-Miranda’s cake just as a small trail of ants were about to enjoy a feast. She wrapped it up and scampered over to her friend.

  ‘Millie, can you see that?’

  Millie wondered what she was meant to be seeing. ‘Trees?’

  ‘No. I think there’s a hole in the rock face.’

  ‘A hole?’ Millie frowned. She’d never heard any­one mention that there were caves on the ridge.

  ‘Maybe.’ Alice-Miranda dashed towards the trees and pushed the branches apart.

  Sure enough, in front of them was a small hollow gouged out of the rock. It was about the size of a large dog door.

  ‘Come on,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  Millie looked at her friend. ‘You’re not serious. You don’t really want to go in there, do you?’

  Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘It can’t hurt to poke our heads inside and take a quick look.’

  ‘But caves can be dangerous. And there might be bats and spiders,’ Millie protested.

  ‘It can’t be that bad,’ Alice-Miranda reasoned.

  Millie gulped. ‘But we haven’t got a torch.’

  Alice-Miranda’s face fell. ‘Oh, good point.’ Then her eyes lit up. ‘Yes, I have. It’s in my saddlebag. I put it in there a few weeks ago, just in case we were late getting back.’

  ‘Great.’ Millie tried to sound enthusi
astic but she wasn’t at all keen. ‘You should eat this first. It might be your last meal.’ She handed Alice-Miranda her slightly squashed piece of cake.

  Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘Thanks, I’ll save it for later. You’re not turning into Sloane, are you?’ She put the back of her hand against her forehead dramatically.

  ‘What? Oh, a drama queen. No, of course not!’

  Alice-Miranda shot off back to the ponies and rummaged about in the bottom of her saddlebag. She found the little torch just where she’d put it, then shoved the cake inside and raced back to where Millie was peering into the darkness.

  ‘It’s not a very big gap.’ Millie wondered how tight it would be once they were inside.

  ‘It’s just as well we’re both small then.’ Alice-Miranda knelt down and held the torch in her teeth. She shone the light and wriggled through the opening.

  ‘Can you see anything?’ Millie stood outside, hoping that the cavity led straight into another rock wall.

  There was a mumbling noise and then silence.

  ‘Are you all right in there?’ Millie called. She wondered why Alice-Miranda had gone quiet.

  There was another long pause.

  ‘Come on, that’s not funny,’ Millie said. ‘Are you okay? I was just kidding before about your last meal, Alice-Miranda.’

  There was a thud from inside as Alice-Miranda dropped the torch from her mouth and stood up. She brushed the dirt off her jodhpurs and retrieved the light from the ground.

  ‘Wow! Millie, you should see this.’ Her words echoed. ‘It’s a proper cave. It’s not huge but I can stand up. Come on!’

  ‘Is it safe?’ Millie called back, relieved to hear Alice-Miranda’s voice.

  ‘I think so. We won’t go far. But you have to see it. It’s so pretty.’

  Millie turned and looked at Chops and Bonaparte. ‘If we’re not back in half an hour, make a lot of noise, will you, or go and look for someone if you can untie yourselves.’ She was only half-joking.

  Bonaparte whinnied and shook his head up and down in reply, as if he’d understood perfectly.

  Millie knelt down and pushed herself through the little opening. It was longer than she’d anticipated, a bit like a rocky cocoon. She could see the light from Alice-Miranda’s torch in the distance.

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ Millie gasped as her head popped out on the other side. She stood up. ‘I didn’t expect this.’

  Bonaparte and Chops cantered through the woods on their way to Caledonia Manor. Alice-Miranda and Millie wondered if anyone else knew about the cave. They couldn’t wait to tell Miss Hephzibah and Miss Henrietta about their discovery.

  Alice-Miranda caught sight of someone digging in the pretty garden near the fountain. ‘Miss Hephzibah,’ she called.

  Hepzibah Fayle wiped her brow and used her special garden kneeling frame to help her stand up. ‘Hello girls, it’s lovely to see you both.’

  ‘We’ve got some amazing news,’ Millie yelled.

  ‘Ride up to the house and I’ll meet you there in a minute,’ Hephzibah instructed. ‘I think I’ve had enough weeding for one day.’ She gathered her little digger and the kneeling frame and headed towards the house.

  Alice-Miranda and Millie noticed a little black car parked under the portico. Each girl wondered who it belonged to, although with the teaching college due to open soon, there seemed to be people coming and going all the time.

  The girls rode their ponies to the rear of the house, let them have a drink at the old trough near the back flowerbeds, and tied them to the balustrades on the lower lawn. Miss Hephzibah was making her way along the veranda towards the kitchen door and was almost bowled over as the children ran to greet her.

  ‘Hello,’ cried Alice-Miranda as she launched herself around Hephzibah’s waist.

  ‘Well, hello to you too.’ Hephzibah bent down and kissed the top of Alice-Miranda’s head. She took a step back and looked at the child. ‘Are you all right, dear?’

  Alice-Miranda gazed up into the old woman’s blue eyes. She nodded. ‘Yes, of course. It’s just been a strange couple of days.’

  ‘Why don’t you come inside and tell me all about it over a nice cold glass of lemonade.’ Hephzibah turned to give Millie a hug too and together they entered the kitchen.

  Henrietta Sykes was sitting at the scrubbed pine table with a book open in front of her. Her reading glasses were balanced on the tip of her nose and she almost leapt out of her seat when the screen door banged shut.

  ‘Oh, girls,’ she gasped. ‘I was deep in thought. Wonderful story this.’ She waved the book around. It fell with a thump back onto the table.

  ‘Asleep, did you say, Henny?’ her sister teased.

  ‘No, no, I wasn’t sleeping. Reading, that’s what I was doing.’

  ‘Who owns the black car at the front door?’ her sister asked.

  ‘Oh, it belongs to a lovely man. Mr Wiley,’ Henrietta replied.

  Hephzibah looked around the kitchen. ‘Have you hidden him in a cupboard, dear?’

  Alice-Miranda and Millie giggled, then pecked Henrietta on both cheeks before walking to the sink to wash their hands.

  ‘Of course not. He’s just gone to the toilet. He was very keen to have a look around the house and you know I can’t really manage the stairs, so I told him to take a little tour upstairs as well.’

  Hephzibah nodded, and then noticed the girls’ grubby knees and elbows. ‘Where have you two been? You don’t usually get quite that dirty when you’re riding.’

  ‘Exploring,’ said Alice-Miranda excitedly.

  ‘Exploring?’ Hephzibah repeated. ‘That sounds intriguing.’

  Meanwhile upstairs, Silas Wiley had given himself a grand tour of Caledonia Manor. He thought the ladies had made a very good use of the space. The bedrooms had been converted into classrooms as well as an accommodation wing. He rather fancied living there himself – it was certainly much more modern than his own home. As he made his way back to the kitchen, he could hear voices. He presumed that Mrs Sykes’s sister had returned from wherever she had been. Then he heard a child’s voice too. He stopped in the hallway outside, not wanting to interrupt.

  ‘We found a cave,’ said the child’s voice. Silas heard a chair being pulled out and the whump of an excited little body collapsing onto it. ‘Well, Alice-Miranda found it. At the top of the ridge in the woods.’

  Silas nodded. A cave? That sounded like fun. He listened more intently, imagining what it would have been like to grow up having the run of a grand estate like this with all those lovely grounds to explore.

  ‘Well, I hope you didn’t go inside,’ Henrietta said seriously.

  Not likely, Silas thought to himself. Any child worth their salt would definitely take a look.

  ‘We did and it was amazing,’ came another child’s voice. The one called Alice-Miranda? Silas heard another chair being pulled from the table.

  ‘And what did you find in this cave?’ Henrietta asked.

  Silas pressed his ear against the door. He was expecting the big discovery to be a bat or perhaps an animal skeleton.

  ‘I’ll make us a fresh pot of tea,’ came another adult’s voice, ‘and get you girls that lemonade.’

  ‘Gold!’ one of the children exclaimed loudly.

  Silas almost choked. He had to stop himself from coughing as he crept back to the bottom of the stairs. He wondered if he’d heard correctly. Gold? Really?

  In the kitchen, Henrietta glanced at the door, wondering if her visitor was about to return. She could have sworn she heard a shuffling sound in the hallway.

  ‘Gold? Are you sure?’ Hephzibah scoffed. ‘I can’t imagine that there’s any gold in those hills.’

  ‘Oh yes, we saw it with our own eyes,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘I wondered if I was seeing things too, but I’m fairly certain that it’s real.’


  ‘The cave looked like it was covered in fairy dust and then Alice-Miranda found a long white line in the rock. It changed colour and then it became even wider and it turned into gold,’ Millie gushed.

  ‘That’s a lovely story, girls. But you mustn’t tell anyone,’ said Henrietta carefully.

  ‘Why not?’ Millie asked. She had visions of being featured on the local news.

  ‘Well, you don’t know for certain that it is gold and if it is, can you imagine the trouble it might cause?’

  Millie wondered what she was talking about. ‘Trouble?’

  ‘Do you really want people clambering all over our lovely mountains in search of gold, tearing the cave apart and making an awful mess of the place?’

  Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘I hadn’t thought of that.’

  ‘Oh, of course not,’ Millie frowned.

  ‘Gold gives men a fever, you know,’ Henrietta said seriously. ‘Makes them sick with greed.’

  ‘Can we at least tell our friends?’ Millie asked.

  ‘Do you mean Jacinta and Sloane?’ Hephzibah asked as she placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her sister. ‘Do you think that would be wise?’

  Millie thought about it. Sloane’s mother was quite possibly the greediest, most conniving woman on earth and for a while it looked as if Sloane was a carbon copy. Jacinta’s mother had been married to an incredibly wealthy man who had all but left her with nothing. Perhaps Miss Hephzibah was right.

  ‘Don’t you think it’s a delicious secret?’ Hephzibah said. ‘Just between the two of you, like the secrets sisters have.’

  Alice-Miranda looked at Hephzibah and then at Henrietta. ‘Do you have secrets?’

  ‘Oh yes, dear, of course we do. You can’t know someone your whole life and not have secrets,’ Hephzibah replied.

  Alice-Miranda thought about it. ‘You know, Millie, you are just like my big sister and even though I’ve only known you for less than a year, by the time we’re Miss Henrietta’s and Miss Hephzibah’s age, it will feel like we’ve known each other forever, just like sisters.’