‘Thank you,’ the woman said gratefully, casting a look in Figgy and Rufus’s direction. The unruly lads were still charging around with Parsley, apparently oblivious to everything. ‘I’m glad two of you are organised.’
The coach driver opened the door to the luggage compartment and was shocked when a bundle of caramel curls leapt out at him.
‘Fudge!’ Ophelia exclaimed. ‘What are you doing in there?’
The pup took off at pace, rushing at Parsley and nipping at his heels.
‘I’ll get him,’ Sep called, and raced away.
Jacinta sat up in her seat. ‘Is that Fudge?’ she said, watching Sep sprint after the pup.
Venetia Baldini arched an eyebrow at her daughter.
‘Hey, don’t look at me,’ Caprice protested.
Harold Lipp walked onto the front porch with a steaming mug of tea in his hand. Ophelia Grimm blanched at the sight of him. He was still wearing his pyjamas, with a garish yellow-and-pink plaid dressing-gown over the top and cobalt-blue slippers on his feet. The girls had also spotted him and were in fits of laughter.
‘Mr Lipp’s got the same pyjamas as your father, Sloane,’ September Sykes remarked, to even greater guffaws.
‘Right, boys,’ Ophelia barked. ‘It’s time to go!’
Professor Winterbottom hurried out of the main foyer, apologising profusely for not being on hand to meet her. He’d had to take an early call from a parent who was overseas and had left the organisation of the boys to Mr Lipp – regrettably, as he now realised.
‘Good heavens, Lipp, couldn’t you at least have put some clothes on?’ the professor tutted under his breath.
The Drama teacher quietly slipped away before he could get into any more trouble.
The headmaster quickly had the boys in order, checking they had their passports and belongings. To the man’s surprise, Sep Sykes was also in possession of a canine.
‘Oh, hello Fudge, what are you doing here?’ The man stroked the pup’s head.
Ophelia sighed. ‘He was a stowaway. We’ll have to go back.’
The headmaster squinted at his watch. ‘Oh no, dear, leave him with me. I’ll take him over to Mrs Howard now. You don’t want to be late.’
Mr Plumpton ticked off the boys’ names as they hopped onto the coach. Although there were only four of them, he was a stickler for protocol.
Lucas walked along the aisle and spied the empty seat beside Jacinta. ‘Is this seat taken?’ he asked.
Jacinta dragged her eyes to meet his and felt a strange churning in her stomach. ‘Sloane’s sitting here,’ she said, the words flying out of her mouth before she had time to think.
Lucas looked a few rows up the aisle, where Sloane was sitting beside Susannah. He wondered if he’d done something to upset Jacinta, but decided to find out later. ‘Okay, I’ll sit with Sep,’ he said with a smile.
Alice-Miranda, having witnessed the exchange, frowned. She wasn’t sure what else she could say or do to convince the girl to just be herself. Over by the opposite window, and seemingly a world away, Jacinta was kicking herself for being so stupid.
Millie spotted the island first as the plane descended out of the clouds. ‘Look, that must be Hong Kong!’ she declared, pressing her nose against the window.
Alice-Miranda leaned over to see. ‘There are so many high-rise buildings,’ she marvelled. ‘And what about all those ships.’
Alice-Miranda began to count but stopped once she reached one hundred. The plane continued its descent into Hong Kong International Airport, which was located on its own small reclaimed island outside the city.
‘Daddy said that they used to have to land among the apartment towers and offices before the new airport was built,’ Alice-Miranda said.
Ambrosia Headlington-Bear shuddered. ‘I hated coming into Kai Tak because you could actually see people in their living rooms watching television. I remember one chap waving to me, and I felt as if I could have reached out and touched him.’
‘That’s ridiculous,’ Millie gasped.
‘Terrifying, more like it,’ the woman said, shaking her head.
The school group was seated together in the economy cabin of the Boeing 777. All up, their party of seventeen, including four accompanying staff members and three parents, plus the ten children, occupied almost two full rows.
‘What are we doing when we get there?’ Jacinta asked. She glanced across the aisle at Lucas, but quickly averted her gaze when she realised he was looking right back at her.
Sloane pulled some stapled sheets of paper from her daypack, which was tucked under the seat in front of her. ‘Going to the hotel and having dinner,’ she said.
‘Oh, yum,’ Caprice said sarcastically. ‘I wonder if we’ll be having pickled pigs’ trotters tonight or jellyfish salad.’
‘Stop it, Caprice,’ Sloane ordered. She’d been worrying for days about whether she might be tricked into eating something disgusting.
Venetia Baldini looked up from the magazine she was reading. ‘Is something the matter, girls?’
Caprice smiled. ‘Of course not, Mummy. We were just talking about what we might have for dinner tonight.’
‘Oh, there are so many fabulous restaurants in Hong Kong,’ Venetia gushed. ‘I do hope we go somewhere that serves pickled sea cucumber. Do you know they’re nigh on impossible to find at home?’
Sloane’s face turned a peaky shade of green.
‘Are you all right, sweetheart?’ Venetia asked. She hoped the girl knew where the sick bag was.
‘Fine,’ she replied weakly.
Venetia noticed her daughter’s wicked smile and cottoned on. ‘Sloane, it’s true that the Chinese enjoy quite a lot of foods we would consider exotic, but I can assure you there will be plenty of things you’ll be happy to eat and you won’t be made to sample any of the things I imagine Caprice has been threatening you with. Although, she might enjoy them. I think a mother-daughter evening at Wangfujing Snack Street might be just the ticket – the tarantulas and millipedes on sticks are a marvellous delicacy.’
Caprice’s face suddenly took on the same shade as Sloane’s, and Venetia returned to her magazine with a feeling reserved only for a job well done.
‘Isn’t Venetia fabulous?’ Jacinta whispered to Sloane.
Sloane nodded and couldn’t resist poking her tongue out at Caprice, who immediately poked hers out too.
Alice-Miranda was thumbing through her copy of the itinerary. ‘It says that we have a surprise after dinner. What do you think it could be?’ she said.
‘I bet it’s a cruise on the harbour,’ Millie said.
‘Or a really long walk,’ Jacinta groaned. ‘Remember when we went to Paris and Miss Grimm made us walk everywhere?’ She stole another look across the aisle at Lucas, but dropped her gaze to the floor when their eyes met.
The in-flight PA system crackled to life and the purser directed all passengers to return to their seats along with the usual information about tray tables, seatbacks and seatbelts. Ophelia took the opportunity to stand up and count the heads of her charges. She stopped at the empty seat beside Rufus in the row ahead of her.
‘Where’s George?’ she asked the boy.
Rufus turned around. ‘He went to the toilet an hour ago.’
‘An hour! Why didn’t you tell me he’d been gone that long?’ Ophelia blustered.
Rufus shrugged. ‘Sometimes I go to the toilet for that long.’
‘And you don’t want to go in after him, that’s for sure,’ Lucas quipped.
Swallowing her horror, Ophelia turned to Miss Reedy, who had her headphones on and was glued to the screen in front of her. Mr Plumpton was snoring gently beside her, with his monitor tuned to the flight path.
‘Livinia,’ the headmistress said loudly, but the English teacher remained firmly fixated on the romance unfolding in front of her. She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
‘I’ll have a look, darling,’ Aldous offered. He stood up and wobbled down th
e aisle towards the toilets at the rear of the plane before a terse young flight attendant blocked his path.
‘I’m sorry, sir. You need to take a seat,’ she said in a tone that suggested she wasn’t sorry at all.
‘Yes, but one of the children is missing,’ the man said. ‘I think he may be attending to … matters.’
The flight attendant shook her head. ‘I’ve just checked the toilets. He’s most certainly not in any of them.’
Aldous sighed and turned back.
‘Have you found him?’ Miss Grimm asked, peering past her husband and scanning the seats.
‘Not yet, but he can’t have gone too far,’ the man said.
‘I’ll have a look up front – perhaps he used the toilet there,’ Ophelia muttered, ignoring the seatbelt sign that was flashing an angry red. ‘George Figworth, where on earth are you?’ she called, leaving her seat to march down the deserted aisle. She shrieked as the plane passed through a vicious patch of turbulence and grabbed a sleeping passenger’s arm to steady herself. The elderly lady awoke with a jolt and, realising someone had hold of her, shrieked back. Ophelia apologised, quickly let go and clung to the back of the seat instead.
Millie was enjoying the show from the safety of row thirty-eight. ‘Where do you suppose he is?’ she said.
Rufus snorted. ‘He’s probably parachuted out of here because he did such a stinker he couldn’t face anyone.’
‘Or he’s in the cargo hold looking for snakes,’ Sep said.
‘Wrong!’ Sloane grinned and wiggled her eye brows. ‘He’s flying the plane.’
After regaining her balance, Miss Grimm continued to stalk down the aisle, examining each row of faces. She grimaced at a middle-aged businessman who was very busy with his finger up his nose until he caught sight of Ophelia’s death stare and pretended he had an itch.
The feisty flight attendant was in the middle of returning a woman’s hefty handbag into an overhead locker when she spotted the errant passenger. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ she called out. ‘Madam! Madam! Sit down!’
‘Not while one of my students is missing,’ Ophelia yelled back. The plane dropped suddenly and she toppled into a spare seat.
Within seconds, the flight attendant had pounced on the woman and strapped her down with a seatbelt, pulling it tightly to ensure that she wasn’t about to get away. ‘Stay there until we land,’ the woman ordered before hurrying to her own seat.
Ophelia fiddled with the buckle and was about to stand up when a voice spoke.
‘Hello Miss Grimm.’
She turned and found herself looking at George Figworth, who was sitting across the partition beside her. ‘What in heaven’s name are you doing there?’ she demanded. Her face was red and she was still furious at having been manhandled and yelled at.
‘I had to go to the toilet and, while I was on my way back, the seatbelt sign came on. One of those nice flight attendants told me I had to sit down immediately, so I did. When the bumps stopped, she asked if I wanted something to drink. I felt like a chocolate milkshake, so she brought me one as well as a really nice cake.’ Figgy wriggled around and rearrange his two pillows. ‘The seats up here are very fancy. I even managed a proper nap because I could lie all the way down.’
Ophelia glanced back at her husband, who was leaning out of his seat at a ninety-degree angle. ‘He’s here,’ she mouthed.
Aldous smiled with relief.
‘What did Miss Grimm say?’ Millie asked, craning her neck to see.
‘Figgy’s living it up in business class,’ Rufus shouted. ‘Wish I’d thought of that.’
‘I’m sure he only ended up there by accident,’ Alice-Miranda said, ‘and you can’t blame him for wanting to stay.’
Mr Plumpton roused from his slumber. ‘Wh-what’s going on?’
Miss Reedy removed her headphones and sighed as the movie she’d been watching came to a most satisfying conclusion. She turned to the seat beside her and was surprised to find it empty. A look of concern flashed across her face. ‘Oh, where’s Ophelia?’ she said.
‘It’s all right,’ Aldous said as the plane touched down on the runway. ‘She’s up front with Figgy.’
Livinia and Josiah frowned at one another, wondering what excitement they’d missed.
In no time flat the group was on their way to the city, passing over bridges and through tunnels to Hong Kong Island. Mr Grump took it upon himself to provide a commentary, as he had travelled to the city many times over the years. ‘If you look to your left, everyone,’ he said, sweeping an arm in that direction, ‘you’ll see the Kwai Tsing container terminal. Hong Kong has one of the busiest ports in the world, with around half a million ships arriving and leaving each year.’
‘Where’s Disneyland?’ Rufus Pemberley called out.
‘It’s back towards the airport,’ the man replied.
‘Can we go?’ the boy asked. There was a chorus of support from the other children.
‘I’m afraid we don’t have time,’ Miss Grimm interjected. ‘We’re only here until tomorrow evening and we’ve got a full day planned, but we do have a surprise for tonight that I’m sure you’re going to love.’
There were a few groans of disappointment before the children began to speculate about the mystery treat. As the bus crossed over onto Hong Kong Island, the children gawped at the city with its contrast of gleaming skyscrapers and much older apartment blocks.
‘Look at those washing lines,’ Millie said, pointing at rows of bamboo poles that stuck out horizontally from the windows and balconies of the flats. Many were laden with clothes, and she watched, mesmerised, as an old lady used a long stick to retrieve her underwear.
The bus wound its way through the bustling streets before pulling up in the driveway of a hotel. The children hopped off and waited for their bags to be unpacked before wheeling them inside the enormous marble foyer.
‘Well, this looks lovely,’ September Sykes said, and promptly began to reapply her lipstick and powder.
‘Mummy, do you have to do that right here?’ Sloane asked through gritted teeth. She’d noticed a few of the hotel guests eyeing the woman.
‘I haven’t had a second to freshen up since we landed.’ September pouted and smacked her lips together. ‘I must look dreadful.’
‘No, you’re gorgeous, Mrs Sykes,’ Figgy blurted, wanting to swallow his words as soon as he opened his mouth.
Sloane pulled a face. ‘Gross, Figgy. That’s my mother you’re talking about.’
‘Thank you, George,’ September said, ignoring her daughter. ‘That’s very sweet of you to say.’
‘When’s your dad arriving?’ Alice-Miranda asked Lucas, who was standing with Sep.
‘He’s due in tonight,’ the boy said. ‘I can’t believe he agreed to come along. I thought there was no way he’d have the time, but he was really keen. I don’t think he’s done much travelling in China before.’
‘I hope he has lots of photographs of the twins,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘I’m so pleased Mummy’s getting to spend some time with Aunt Charlotte and the babies.’ When Lawrence had volunteered to act as a chaperone on the trip, Cecelia thought she’d take the opportunity to visit her sister for a week.
‘Can I talk to you in private?’ Lucas said quietly.
‘Of course,’ Alice-Miranda replied, and the two of them moved away from the others. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘I was going to ask you the same thing,’ he said. ‘Have I done something to upset Jacinta? She’s hardly spoken to me since we left school, and looked away every time I was trying to catch her attention on the plane.’
Alice-Miranda gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘I think you should speak to her.’
‘I tried,’ Lucas said miserably. ‘She acted all weird and made up something about having to talk to her mother. I thought we were friends – good friends.’
‘Of course you are,’ Alice-Miranda said.
Lucas shrugged. ‘I’m worried that she’s change
d her mind about me. We used to talk – a lot – but now it’s as if I’ve done something to offend her and she doesn’t like me anymore.’
‘I think you’ll find that’s not true at all,’ Alice-Miranda said, ‘but you two do need to chat. I think she’s just scared.’
‘Of me?’ Lucas looked shocked.
‘No, silly.’ The girl grinned. ‘Of growing up and having lots of different feelings that she doesn’t know how to handle.’
Lucas let out a deep breath. ‘Well, that’s a relief. I think I know what you mean about getting older. It’s way more complicated than I ever thought it would be.’
Lucille Wong flinched as Deng Rou set to work. ‘Ow,’ she moaned.
‘I have to release the tension or you won’t be able to perform tonight,’ the woman said. Her childlike hands massaged the knotted muscles of Lucille’s right shoulder.
‘I’d do anything not to perform tonight,’ Lucille grouched. ‘I don’t understand why my father-in-law insists that we go on with it, and now this ridiculous new act – three generations of the one family performing a stunt that will likely kill us all.’
‘You grumble about performing all the time. What I wouldn’t give to have your agility.’ Rou paused to rub some more oil on her hands. ‘You could always leave the troupe,’ she said, a devilish smile upon her lips. ‘Except I would miss you and you would miss me more.’
Lucille rolled over to face her. Sadly, Rou’s words were true. Over the years, despite the woman’s meddlesome ways, and probably because of them, they had become allies of a sort. ‘You know what you speak of is impossible. I will live and die in this troupe, but maybe, if we keep doing such stupid tricks, death will come sooner.’
Rou flipped Lucille back over and resumed her work.
‘Must you use such force?’ Lucille complained. ‘You should be weakening with age, not growing stronger.’
‘You will not be right if I don’t get this knot undone,’ Rou said. ‘I never understood why you became an acrobat if you hate it so much. You are not like your sister-in-law, a peasant from the provinces. She married up with Charles. You,’ the old woman scoffed, ‘you married down. You could have been the wife of an important official, like your mother, but instead you ended up with Bernard. Don’t get me wrong, he is very handsome and strong, but you confuse me.’
Alice-Miranda in China Page 4