Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster 2 Read online

  Unfortunately for Mrs Bottomley, Angus had reached down to the ground just moments before and picked up the pin from the latch on the cage. He was still holding it in his hand. She saw it with her own eyes.

  ‘Oh!’ Mrs Bottomley gasped. Her bottom lip began to tremble. ‘Angus Archibald!’ she roared, and then started to cry.

  ‘But I didn’t do anything.’ Angus shook his head and then looked at the evidence in his hand. ‘It wasn’t me. I just found this on the ground.’

  Aunt Violet spun around and glared at the teacher. ‘Ha! If I were you, madam, I would be a little more careful about accusing my great-niece in future, especially when your grandson is quite clearly the troublemaker. And what on earth are you wearing? Perhaps no one has ever been kind enough to say so, but brown is definitely not your colour!’

  ‘How dare you?’ Ethel Bottomley poked her tongue out at Aunt Violet and scurried away. Lady Clarissa raced after her. She couldn’t believe what Aunt Violet had said, even if they might all have been thinking it. Angus and Joshua were wide eyed – at least for a second, until Aunt Violet got stuck into the pair of them. Once she had finished yelling, they both made a hasty exit, wiping their eyes as they went.

  Aunt Violet let out an enormous sigh. As far as she was concerned the day couldn’t possibly get any worse. But she hadn’t noticed Queen Georgiana walking towards her.

  ‘Oh my goodness, dear, if I didn’t think you looked alike before, you certainly do now,’ the Queen said with a grin.

  ‘I don’t know what you mean, Ma’am.’ Violet gulped and clutched Pharaoh closer to her chest.

  Queen Georgiana touched the corner of her own lip with her forefinger.

  Violet wondered what she was doing.

  Clementine rushed over with Lavender in tow. She pointed at Aunt Violet’s face and passed her a tissue.

  ‘What? What’s the matter now?’ Violet asked.

  ‘Your lip, dear. It’s covered in cream,’ Queen Georgiana smiled. ‘Just like that naughty little fiend.’ She pointed at Pharaoh.

  ‘Oh. Thank you,’ Violet mumbled and wiped her face.

  Queen Georgiana was ushered away by her bodyguard and lady-in-waiting.

  ‘Would you like to go home, Aunt Violet?’ Clementine asked. ‘Lavender’s exhausted. And Pharaoh looks as if he could do with a nap too.’

  ‘Yes, I’m going right now,’ Aunt Violet fumed and began to stride away.

  ‘Can I come with you?’ Clementine called. ‘Mummy and Uncle Digby are staying to help clean up and I thought we could read some more of that story.’

  But Aunt Violet was in no mood to babysit. ‘No. I’m taking Pharaoh and you’re not coming.’

  Clementine frowned. Uncle Digby had disappeared inside and Sophie and Poppy were nowhere to be seen either. Her mother was near the entrance to the hall, still trying to calm Mrs Bottomley.

  Clemmie hadn’t noticed Angus Archibald skulking around behind her.

  ‘You – love – a – pig,’ Angus sniffled.

  ‘Go away, Angus,’ Clementine replied. ‘You’ve made enough trouble.’ She spun around to face the lad. It was obvious he’d been crying. She almost felt sorry for him.

  ‘I didn’t do it,’ Angus protested. ‘I didn’t.’

  Clementine wondered if maybe he was telling the truth. He had been a lot better the past few days.

  ‘Where’s your dog?’ Clementine asked.

  ‘Mum took him and I have to stay here and help clean up,’ Angus explained between sniffs. ‘Then I have to go to Nan’s and she’s really mad.’

  ‘Well, you shouldn’t have let Pharaoh out,’ Clementine admonished. ‘Aunt Violet is really cross with you too.’

  ‘But I told you. I didn’t,’ Angus huffed. ‘I found that pin on the ground.’

  The boy stared at Lavender, who was munching on some cake that Mrs Bottomley had scraped from her chest at the height of the drama. The little pig looked up at the boy.

  ‘Can I pat her?’ Angus asked Clementine.

  ‘Yes, but you have to promise to be gentle,’ Clemmie replied.

  The lad knelt down and gave the little pig a scratch behind her ear. She pressed her snout against his other hand and gave him a nibble.

  Angus giggled. ‘That tickles.’

  ‘See, she’s really lovely,’ Clementine said. ‘And she likes you.’

  Angus didn’t notice the shadow looming over them, blocking out the sun. When finally he glanced up, his face crumpled and he raced off to put a safe distance between him and Clementine’s terrifying great-aunt.

  ‘Well, are you coming or not?’ Aunt Violet had deposited Pharaoh into the car and returned to the scene of the crime.

  The child smiled up at her. ‘Oh, yes please,’ Clementine said. ‘You take Lavender and I’ll just find Mummy and Uncle Digby and let them know I’m going with you.’ She thrust the pig into Aunt Violet’s arms.

  The old woman flinched. She held Lavender out in front of her and the little pig kicked her legs about. Aunt Violet walked back to the car, where she placed Lavender on the back seat beside Pharaoh, who was locked up in his borrowed cage.

  A minute later Clementine appeared. ‘I’m ready.’ She hopped into the passenger seat and closed the door. ‘Mummy said that she and Uncle Digby will be home soon.’

  Aunt Violet started the car. ‘I’m not reading anything until I’ve had a strong cup of tea and a lie down,’ she announced.

  ‘But you didn’t say you wouldn’t read to me at all,’ Clementine smiled.

  Aunt Violet said nothing. She simply put the car into gear and pulled away from the kerb.

  Clementine turned her head to look at the animals in the back. She was surprised to see Pharaoh curled up on the seat beside Lavender.

  ‘Aunt Violet, did you lock Pharaoh in the cage?’ the child asked.

  ‘Of course I did.’ The woman kept her eyes firmly on the road ahead. ‘I latched it myself.’

  ‘Well, it’s just . . . I think you might have to apologise to Angus,’ Clementine began.

  ‘I’ll do no such thing,’ Aunt Violet retorted.

  ‘I think you should,’ Clementine insisted.

  ‘Why?’ Aunt Violet snapped.

  ‘Because Pharoah’s a magician,’ the child said, frowning. If she didn’t know better, she would have sworn that Pharaoh was smiling.

  The Appleby household

  Clementine Rose Appleby

  Five-year-old daughter of Lady Clarissa

  Lavender

  Clemmie’s teacup pig

  Lady Clarissa Appleby

  Clementine’s mother and the owner of Penberthy House

  Digby Pertwhistle

  Butler at Penberthy House

  Aunt Violet Appleby

  Clementine’s grandfather’s sister

  Pharaoh

  Aunt Violet’s beloved sphynx

  Friends and village folk

  Margaret Mogg

  Owner of the Penberthy Floss village shop

  Father Bob

  Village minister

  Adrian

  Father Bob’s dribbly bulldog

  Pierre Rousseau

  Owner of Pierre’s Patisserie in Highton Mill

  Odette Rousseau

  Wife of Pierre and mother of Jules and Sophie

  Jules Rousseau

  Seven-year-old brother of Sophie

  Sophie Rousseau

  Clementine’s best friend – also five years old

  Mintie

  Sophie’s white kitten

  Poppy Bauer

  Clementine’s friend who lives on the farm at Highton Hall

  Jasper Bauer

  Poppy’s older brother

  Lily Bauer

  Poppy and Jasper’s mother

  School staff and students

  Miss Arabella

  Critchley

  Head teacher at

  Ellery Prep

  Mrs Ethel Bottomley

  Teacher at Ellery Prep

&nbs
p; Quentin Pickles

  Caretaker

  Mrs Winky

  Dinner lady

  Angus Archibald

  Naughty kindergarten boy

  Joshua

  Friend of Angus’s

  Astrid

  Clever kindergarten girl

  Others

  Dr Everingham

  Clementine’s family doctor

  Daisy Rumble

  Doctor’s temp receptionist

  Jacqueline Harvey has spent her working life teaching in girls’ boarding schools. She is the author of the bestselling Alice-Miranda series and the Clementine Rose series, and was awarded Honour Book in the 2006 Australian CBC Awards for her picture book The Sound of the Sea. She is currently working on more Alice-Miranda and Clementine Rose adventures.

  www.jacquelineharvey.com.au

  Also by Jacqueline Harvey

  Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor

  Alice-Miranda at School

  Alice-Miranda on Holiday

  Alice-Miranda Takes the Lead

  Alice-Miranda at Sea

  Alice-Miranda in New York

  Alice-Miranda Shows the Way

  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 printing, 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. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster

  9781742755441

  Copyright © Jacqueline Harvey 2013

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  A Random House book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at http://www.randomhouse.com.au/about/contacts.aspx

  First published by Random House Australia in 2013

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Author: Harvey, Jacqueline

  Title: Clementine Rose and the pet day disaster [electronic resource] / Jacqueline Harvey

  ISBN: 9781742755441 (ebook)

  Series: Harvey, Jacqueline. Clementine Rose; 2

  Target audience: For primary school age

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover and internal illustrations by J.Yi

  Cover design by Leanne Beattie

  Internal design by Midland Typesetters, Australia

  Typesetting and eBook production by Midland Typesetters, Australia

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