Alice-Miranda Shows the Way (3 page)

O
n Wednesday after school Alice-Miranda and Millie saddled up their ponies and headed out for a short ride. There wasn't enough time to go on their favourite route over to Gertrude's Grove, so instead they headed in the opposite direction, down along the river to Duck's Flat.

‘We should go and see Miss Hephzibah and Miss Henrietta on the weekend,' Alice-Miranda turned and called to Millie, who was having trouble getting Chops to keep up.

‘Caledonia Manor looks incredible. They should be ready to open the teaching college soon,' Millie called back. She gave Chops a sharp kick in the flank, to little effect. ‘I think I might retire Chops soon and start riding Stumps instead.'

Chops seemed to take this rather personally and launched himself into a fast-paced canter alongside Bonaparte, who turned his head and attempted to give the old fellow a nip.

‘Bonaparte!' Alice-Miranda tugged sharply on the reins. ‘Behave yourself, you naughty little beast.'

‘I'm not stopping now,' Millie shouted as Chops surged forward, picking up the pace and belting off across the paddock. ‘Race you to the pond.'

Alice-Miranda urged Bony into a canter and then a gallop. She liked the way the crisp afternoon air prickled her face.

Millie reached their destination first, as Alice-Miranda knew she would. Although Chops impersonated a sloth most days, when he got going there was no way Bonaparte could beat him. Millie leapt out of the saddle and led the pony to the edge of the pond for a drink. Alice-Miranda did the same and the two girls stood side by side as Bony and Chops slurped the cool water.

On the far side of the pond swam a brown mother duck followed by five fuzzy ducklings.

‘Oh, they're so sweet,' said Alice-Miranda as she watched the little ones race to stay close to their mother.

Then something else caught her attention.

‘Do you see that?' She tapped Millie on the shoulder and pointed.

‘What?' said Millie, squinting into the distance.

‘I think it's the top of a tent,' Alice-Miranda decided. ‘We should go and say hello. The campers probably don't know they're on private property.'

Alice-Miranda gathered Bony's reins and led him around the edge of the pond and over the stream via an ancient stone causeway. Millie and Chops followed.

‘Hello, is anyone here?' Alice-Miranda called as she approached the camp site. A two-man tent was pitched beside a scrubby bush. Wisps of smoke rose from a camp fire and beside it, a young man was sitting on a log and cooking sausages. There was a billy boiling on the fire too.

‘Hello,' Alice-Miranda called again.

‘Oh, hello yourself.' The fellow stood up. He was short and stocky with dark hair and tanned skin and he had the most unusual tawny-coloured eyes.
Alice-Miranda thought he looked about the same age as Mr Walt, probably late teens or early twenties.

‘That smells delicious.' Alice-Miranda nodded at the sausages as they sizzled away. She held out her hand. ‘My name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr . . .'

She waited for an answer.

The man's brow wrinkled. ‘Um.' He looked at the fire and then at her, then down at the ground. ‘Billy. Billy, uh . . .' He hesitated for another moment. ‘Boots, Billy Boots.' He stepped forward and took Alice-Miranda's tiny hand in his.

‘Well, it's lovely to meet you, Mr Boots,' Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘This is Millicent Jane McLoughlinMcTavish-McNoughton-McGill, but she prefers Millie.'

‘I can see why,' said Billy. ‘That's more than a mouthful.'

Millie said hello and reached forward to shake the young man's hand too.

‘Are you on holiday?' Millie asked, glancing around at the camp site.

‘Sort of. Bit of a boy's own adventure,' he replied. ‘I'm picking up some work here and there. Finding my fortune I suppose you could say.'

‘Oh,' said Alice-Miranda. ‘What sort of work do you do?'

‘I'm not fussy.'

And then like a lightning bolt, Alice-Miranda remembered. ‘Mr Boots, are you any good with horses?'

‘I've had some experience and I like 'em well enough,' he replied.

‘Mr Walt is leaving us at the end of the week and we need someone to help out at the stables at school. You should come and see Mr Charles about the job. I'm not sure if he has anyone lined up but it can't hurt to ask,' Alice-Miranda fizzed. Then she stopped for a moment, frowning. ‘But I don't think you can live here. I mean, it's a lovely spot to camp but I can't imagine that Miss Grimm will be very happy about it.'

‘I think there's a flat above the stables,' Millie offered. ‘Wally doesn't live there because he lives in the village with his parents.'

‘Oh, it's too perfect for words,' said Alice-Miranda, beaming.

Billy nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, it sounds all right to me, I suppose.'

Millie nudged her friend. ‘Come on, we need to get going, Alice-Miranda. It's getting dark.'

‘I hadn't realised it was so late,' Alice-Miranda replied. ‘But why don't you come to the school tomorrow, Mr Boots, and ask to speak with Mr Charles Weatherly. I'll let him know that Millie and I met you. Probably best to head over about morning tea time – that's eleven o'clock.'

Billy reached out to give Bonaparte a pat. Bony bared his teeth, and then did the strangest thing. He licked Billy's arm.

‘Oi, what are you doing!' The young man pulled away.

‘Bony!' Alice-Miranda giggled and tugged firmly on his reins. ‘That's very strange. I'm sorry but that means he likes you. And believe me, he really doesn't like most people at all – especially young men.'

‘I'll take your word for it,' said Billy, frowning at the pony. ‘They're not all like him are they?'

‘Oh no, not at all,' Alice-Miranda replied. ‘The other ponies are much friendlier.'

The two girls hauled themselves into the saddles and wheeled Bony and Chops around.

‘See you tomorrow,' Alice-Miranda called.

‘Yeah, tomorrow.' Billy raised his chin in a sort of backwards nod.

Millie and Alice-Miranda made it back to the stables with just enough time to give Bony and Chops a quick rub down and some food before the girls were due at their evening meal. As they were finishing up, Wally Whitstable and Charlie Weatherly drove up in the four-wheel drive with a fresh load of straw on board.

Alice-Miranda met them as they got out of the vehicle. ‘Hello Mr Charles, Mr Walt. I'm glad that we've run into you.'

‘Did you have a good ride?' Charlie asked.

‘Yes, thank you,' Alice-Miranda nodded.

Millie appeared from the tack room where she had just put Chops's saddle away.

‘Good afternoon, Miss Millie,' Charlie said with a nod at the red-haired girl.

‘Hello Charlie. Did Alice-Miranda tell you that we met a young man camping down near Duck's Flat?' Millie asked. ‘He's on an adventure.'

Charlie's brow puckered. ‘What sort of an adventure?'

‘I'm not really sure,' Alice-Miranda answered. ‘But he was friendly and he said that he was looking for work.'

‘Is the fella any good with horses?' Wally piped up.

‘He said that he's had some experience and he likes them and so I thought perhaps he might be able to help out here – even if just for a little while,' Alice-Miranda suggested.

Charlie smiled at this tiny child with her cascading chocolate curls and brown eyes as big as saucers. He wondered if there was any problem she couldn't solve.

‘I suggested to Mr Boots that he should come over around morning tea time tomorrow,' Alice-Miranda said.

‘Sounds good, don't you think, Charlie?' said Wally eagerly.

‘We'll see,' the older man replied. ‘You two girls had best be getting off to dinner and if Wally ever wants to go home tonight we'd better unload this straw.'

A
fter a chat with Charles Weatherly, Billy Boots was offered a job and moved into the flat above the stables on Thursday afternoon. It was up to Wally to show the lad the ropes and make sure he was aware of all the tasks that needed doing. Wally decided he was friendly enough but very quiet, the sort of fellow who didn't want to talk much about himself. When Wally asked him about this adventure he was on, Billy changed the subject. When Wally asked where he came from, he just said, ‘Up north.' There was something about him
that niggled, but Wally really couldn't say what it was. He felt like he'd seen him somewhere before, but Billy insisted that this was his first time in the village.

In truth, Wally was just relieved that there was someone to take his place. It didn't matter if he was talkative or not. Looking after the stables at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale was a much bigger job than Wally had first imagined and he hated the thought of Charlie having to take it all on again. The poor man had enough to do tending the gardens and cultivating all those prize orchids.

On Friday after school, Alice-Miranda had found Wally in the tack room oiling saddles and lured him to the dining room, with the excuse that Mr Charles needed him for some urgent last-minute chores. But of course it was all a set-up and the girls had organised a special afternoon tea to wish him well at his new job. Wally left Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale with a huge smile and promises of a visit over the weekend from Alice-Miranda and Millie.

On Saturday morning the residents of Grimthorpe House were busy getting ready for the various
activities they had planned for the day. The cavernous downstairs bathroom sweated under the steam of constant showers while girls jostled for mirror space.

‘What are you doing today?' Alice-Miranda asked Jacinta, who was busily brushing her teeth.

‘Ma muvva tak me ut,' she said, before spitting a mouthful of frothy toothpaste and water into the sink.

‘Did you say that your mother is taking you out?' Alice-Miranda repeated.

‘Yes.' Jacinta wiped her face with her towel and grimaced.

‘But that's lovely,' Alice-Miranda enthused.

‘We'll see. Sloane's coming with me, just in case Mummy is foul.'

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘I bet you'll have lots of fun. Your mother was pretty upset about you being abducted on board the
Octavia
. I'm sure she's changed for the better.'

The tall girl shrugged. Jacinta knew that a couple of visits didn't mean Ambrosia was in the running for mother of the year. But underneath her bravado, she was rather hoping that their relationship had turned a corner.

Jacinta stared into the foggy mirror as Sloane
appeared in the bathroom. ‘Hey, what are you wearing?' she growled.

‘Uh, a
dress
,' Sloane replied.

‘But that's
my
dress,' Jacinta snapped.

‘You said that I could wear anything in your wardrobe, so I chose this.' Sloane stared back at Jacinta in the mirror.

‘It looks lovely,' said Alice-Miranda.

‘I don't remember saying that,' Jacinta pouted.

‘I do,' Millie piped up from the other side of a shower cubicle where she had just turned off the tap. ‘You said it at lunch the other day.'

Jacinta was cornered.

‘If you don't want me to wear it, I can find something else,' Sloane offered.

Jacinta looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. ‘Really? You'll change?'

‘Of course. I only wore it because when you unwrapped the parcel from your mother last week you didn't seem to like it very much. You've got heaps of clothes in that enormous wardrobe of yours,' Sloane said. ‘I'll find something else.'

‘Well, I would like to wear it,' said Jacinta, watching Sloane carefully.

Millie emerged with a towel wrapped around
her and a cute shower cap covered in ponies on her head. She and Alice-Miranda exchanged smiles. Jacinta and Sloane had certainly both come a long way lately.

Sloane glanced at Alice-Miranda, who was wearing jodhpurs and a shirt. ‘I suppose you're spending the day on that nag of yours?' The blonde girl tousled her hair with her fingers and then pulled a brush out of her toiletries bag.

‘Yes,' Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘First we're going to see Miss Hephzibah and Miss Henrietta and have a look at what's been happening at Caledonia Manor, and then we're going to ride over and visit Mr Walt at Chesterfield Downs. If there's time we'll go to Fayle and say hello to Lucas and Sep but that might have to wait until tomorrow. We should do some proper training for the show too. We're going to enter all the pairs events in hacking and then I think we should try the barrel racing and keyhole too – they're loads of fun.'

Sloane wrinkled her nose. ‘I can't imagine. And don't bother going to Fayle. Lucas and Sep are out on some horrible cadet camp this weekend. Do you think there could be anything more revolting than traipsing around the woods pretending to be soldiers?'

‘It sounds like fun to me,' said Alice-Miranda. ‘What are you two doing?'

‘Ambrosia's taking us to the movies and then to have milkshakes,' said Sloane, looking pleased with herself. ‘But say hello to Granny Henrietta and tell her I'll get over and visit her soon.'

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘We will.'

One by one the girls finished their morning ablutions and headed back to their rooms.

Alice-Miranda and Millie said goodbye to Jacinta and Sloane and raced off to the stables. There was no sign of anyone about so the girls tacked up the ponies and wrote a note on the blackboard indicating their plans.

‘I wonder where Mr Boots is,' said Alice-Miranda as she nimbly threw her leg over Bonaparte.

‘He must be some kind of superman,' Millie commented, looking around at the stalls with their fresh straw. The tack room was positively gleaming and there wasn't a thing out of place. ‘I hate to say it but he makes Wally look lazier than Chops.'

Alice-Miranda clicked her tongue and Bonaparte
walked out into the bright sunshine. Millie was having a quiet word in Chops's ear. Whatever she said must have worked because as soon as they were outside he began to trot.

The two girls decided they would take their favourite route over to Gertrude's Grove, have their morning tea there and then head to Caledonia Manor. Mrs Smith had supplied them with a lovely spread comprised of roast beef sandwiches, poppy seed cake, apples and a couple of chocolate-iced cupcakes thrown in for good measure. Millie was carrying it all in a small leather satchel attached to the side of Chops's saddle.

The ponies walked and trotted through the woods before they reached the clearing that led up over a rise and then down to Gertrude's Grove. Millie challenged Alice-Miranda to a race and the two girls found themselves cantering along, enjoying the warm sun on their faces and the breeze in their hair. But just as Millie reached the top of the hill, she tugged violently at Chops's reins and the pony came to a jerky halt. Alice-Miranda pulled up beside her.

‘What's the matter? Why did you stop?' she asked.

‘Look down there.' Millie pointed at an array of vehicles: trucks and trailers, caravans and the odd car. The whole of the flat beside the stream had been transformed into a giant camping ground.

‘I wonder who they are,' said Alice-Miranda.

‘Carnies,' Millie replied.

‘You mean show people? The ones who run all the rides and things at the show?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Yup.' Millie began to wheel Chops around.

‘Where are you going?' Alice-Miranda asked.

Millie wrinkled her nose. ‘We can't go down there now.'

‘Why ever not?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Because they're
carnies
,' Millie said.

‘But what's wrong with them?' Alice-Miranda turned Bonaparte back around and scanned the impromptu camp site.

‘I don't know exactly, but I heard Charlie telling Howie last year that they weren't to be trusted,' Millie said. ‘I think there were some robberies around the village when the show was on. But I don't think Constable Derby ever caught anyone.'

Alice-Miranda had never met anyone who ran a carnival before. ‘That's a bit unfair, don't you think
– blaming the carnival people? It could have been anyone. And if they're so terrible, how come everyone loves it when the carnival comes to town? These people earn their living making children happy. If they were really dangerous, surely they wouldn't be welcome at all.'

Millie thought about it for a moment. Her friend had a point. ‘Maybe we should just go and see Miss Hephzibah and Miss Henrietta?' she suggested. ‘And we can meet the carnival people another time.'

‘Look,' said Alice-Miranda, pointing. ‘There are some children. I think they're playing a game. Come on, don't you want to say hello?'

Millie shrugged. Before she had time to protest, Alice-Miranda and Bonaparte were trotting towards the group of youngsters who were running around in a large clearing beside the caravans.

‘Alice-Miranda,' Millie called, but her words were carried away on the breeze. There was only one thing for it. Millie kicked Chops in the flank and raced to catch up.