Alice-Miranda Keeps the Beat

by Jacqueline Harvey

  Tabitha perched on a chair opposite and Alice-Miranda started from the beginning.

  Zahra Abboud placed the last piece of the puzzle into the jigsaw she’d been helping her three-year-old sister to complete.

  ‘Again,’ Hatice declared, promptly tipping the pieces back onto the grass.

  Zahra looked at her watch. ‘No more. You and Esma need to go upstairs to Mama.’

  Hatice’s bottom lip began to quiver and fat tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. ‘I want to do it again. Please, Zah Zah,’ the girl begged.

  Zahra sighed. ‘Okay, one more time and then we’re going inside.’

  In the back garden of Caledonia Manor, while Zahra and Hatice solved the jigsaw puzzle on the lawn, six-year-old Esma had found a black kitten to play with. She was waving a dandelion to and fro while the feline chased after it. Little puffs of white floated on the breeze as the kitten caught the head in its claws, dismantling it more and more with each pass.

  After their meeting with Miss Crowley had finished, Alice-Miranda decided to visit the Fayle sisters to see if they’d selected anything from the Highton’s catalogue. All her friends were busy, and while she’d offered to help Millie with her chores, the girl had insisted on doing them herself. She’d already completed five hours and was keen to get the rest out of the way before the festival. Chessie had teed up a meeting with Miss Tweedle about her painting for the village art fair, while Sloane and Jacinta were working on their picture-book projects.

  Alice-Miranda knocked on the door marked ‘Private’ inside the manor. When there was no answer, she decided to try the rear garden. It was a beautiful day, so there was every chance Miss Hephzibah and Miss Henrietta were outside tending the roses or weeding the beds. As she rounded the corner, Alice-Miranda could hear someone singing. It was beautiful – pure and clear with a timbre like nothing she’d ever heard before. At first, she thought it might be Caprice, but there was something about this voice that was even more beguiling. And then it stopped.

  ‘Oh hello.’ Alice-Miranda spotted Esma, who was giggling at the kitten pouncing after the bald stalk dangling from her hand. She knelt down and reached out to the fluffball. ‘Are you being a good girl, Cleopatra?’

  Esma looked up at Alice-Miranda with big brown eyes. ‘Is that her name?’

  Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘I think it suits her, don’t you? She’s got long claws, though, so watch out.’

  ‘I know,’ Esma said. She licked her finger and wiped at the little scratches on her forearm. ‘But I love her.’ She considered Alice-Miranda for a moment. ‘Mama said you saved us, and that if you hadn’t come, we would all be in hospital like Papa.’

  Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘It was just lucky we were there and could help.’

  Esma’s shiny black hair was tied in a braid that fell almost to her bottom and she was wearing a pretty yellow dress with silver sparkles. She noticed Alice-Miranda looking at it. ‘Do you like my dress? Mama says the girls at school gave us new clothes because ours were burned in the fire, along with my books and toys. I love the sparkles,’ the little girl said, touching the silver sequins.

  ‘It’s gorgeous on you,’ Alice-Miranda said. That dress had been one of her own favourites when she was little. Mrs Shillingsworth had sent it from home to include in the donations. Alice-Miranda snapped off another dandelion and passed it to the girl. ‘Was that you singing?’

  Esma shook her head. ‘Zahra. She always sings. Mama tells her to stop and do her study, but Papa likes it. He says it reminds him of his mama, who died in the war before I was born.’

  Alice-Miranda smiled. ‘I’m sure Cleopatra would love to play another game with the dandelion. I’m just going to say hello to your sisters.’

  Esma’s eyes twinkled as she waved the stalk higher in the air, watching the kitten jump and tumble in a bid to reach it. Zahra and Hatice were sitting on the lawn near the edge of the stone wall that divided the garden from the field below. Hatice was twisting a jigsaw piece, trying to find the right spot for it.

  ‘Hello,’ Alice-Miranda said with a friendly wave.

  Zahra looked up and squinted as the sun beat down on Alice-Miranda’s back. ‘Hi,’ she said quietly.

  ‘How are you settling in?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  Zahra shrugged. ‘Fine. It’s a bit crowded but better than the hospital room – at least we all get a bed now.’

  ‘We never got to finish talking the other day,’ Alice-Miranda said, settling beside her on the grass. ‘What were you doing in Rosebud Lane?’

  ‘Nothing,’ the girl snapped, causing Hatice to glance up in surprise.

  ‘I promise I’m not being a busybody,’ Alice-Miranda assured her. ‘I just don’t want you to be in any trouble, that’s all.’

  ‘I’m not,’ Zahra said, her brow furrowing. ‘It’s nothing like that.’

  ‘I can keep a secret,’ Alice-Miranda said gently. ‘I have one myself and it’s quite delicious, really, and sort of funny and perhaps a little embarrassing, especially as I’m not very good, but I think with time and practice I might actually be okay. Sorry, I’m waffling, aren’t I?’ Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘It’s just that I’d love to know more about Mrs Goodman. She lives in that cottage I saw you coming out of, doesn’t she? Mr Parker told me she used to be a famous singer when she was young, but I am yet to have the pleasure of meeting her. Is she giving you lessons? I heard you before and your voice is beautiful.’

  Zahra had been staring intently at the ground, pulling blade by blade of grass. She paused and looked at Alice-Miranda with pleading eyes. ‘You can’t tell my mother. She will be so angry. She wants me to become a doctor or a teacher, but not a singer – she says there is no future in it.’

  ‘But that’s what you want more than anything?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘Singing is everything to me,’ Zahra confessed with a heavy sigh. As those words left her lips, it felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. ‘I was at Mrs Goodman’s when the fire broke out. We heard the sirens, but she had just begun to teach me a new song and I was so in love with it that I wanted to learn the whole thing.’ Zahra shook her head. ‘My family could have died because of my selfishness yet I don’t want to stop – I can’t stop singing.’

  ‘And you shouldn’t,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘You have a gift, Zahra – one the whole world should hear.’ She tilted her head to one side. ‘How did you meet Mrs Goodman in the first place?’

  Zahra smiled at the memory. ‘I was singing upstairs in my room with the window open and she heard me from the street. When Mrs Goodman next came to the restaurant, she asked if the voice she’d heard belonged to me. At first I denied it, but then she said that, if I wanted, she could help me. I had no idea about her past when curiosity got the better of me and I went to her house and, Alice-Miranda, it’s amazing.’ Zahra leaned closer, her eyes glittering. ‘Her walls are covered in framed posters of all the shows and concerts she’s performed. She played recordings on a strange machine that I think must be almost as old as she is. And when she sang it was as if the world had stopped turning. I couldn’t breathe. When we sing together, it’s the best feeling.’

  Alice-Miranda sighed happily. ‘It sounds wonderful.’

  ‘Papa used to cover for me, but now …’ Tears spilled onto Zahra’s cheeks. She brushed them away with the back of her sleeve. ‘I can’t get to my lessons as easily. Mama suspects I’m hiding something – she thinks it’s a boy. Yuck.’ The girl grimaced. ‘I can’t tell her because she’ll make me stop.’

  Alice-Miranda reached out and took Zahra’s hands in hers. ‘You mustn’t stop singing. I can keep an eye on Esma and Hatice for an hour. Could you tell your mother that we’re going for a walk to see the rest of the school? It’s not a lie if I take the girls to visit the stables to meet my naughty pony.’

  Zahra looked at her in astonishment. ‘You’d do that … for me?’

  ‘Talent like yours should be nurtured, Zahra. Plus, I have an idea,’ Alice-Mi
randa said with a grin. ‘Perhaps your mother just needs an opportunity to see how much singing means to you and how good you are. We’re having a music festival to raise money to rebuild your house and the restaurant and there’s going to be a talent quest.’

  Zahra’s stomach came alive with butterflies. ‘Mama would be so upset.’

  ‘Leave that for me to worry about,’ Alice-Miranda said. She leapt to her feet and brushed her hands. ‘For now, you need to get to your lessons. Why don’t you go and tell your mother we’re going for a walk and you can make a beeline to Mrs Goodman’s?’

  Zahra didn’t need to think twice. She was off like a shot and returned a few minutes later. ‘Thank you, Alice-Miranda. I owe you one,’ she shouted, then disappeared around the side of the building and out of sight.

  Lucas Nixon sat at his desk, trying to concentrate on the essay he was writing about infamous traitors of the twentieth century. It was a timely topic, as he discovered after going for a walk to the village yesterday afternoon.

  While he had never met Neville Headlington-Bear, Lucas had seen the man’s picture splashed across magazines and newsstands enough times to recognise his face. And then there he was, standing beside a silver Aston Martin, looking as if he’d stepped from the pages of a Highton’s catalogue. Lucas had tried not to stare. Instead, his first impulse had been to flee. He’d darted into the Munzes’ store to pick up some treats for him and Sep. He bought an ice-cream on the way out and sat on the bench in front of the shop to eat it, which also happened to be directly in front of Mr Headlington-Bear’s fancy car. It didn’t take long for the boy to realise that Neville was now sitting inside the Aston Martin with the windows down.

  ‘She’ll come home. Seriously, there’s nothing to keep her in this place,’ the man had said into his phone. ‘As soon as she does, I expect that money to be in my account. I just hope I won’t have to keep up the charade for too long.’

  Lucas should have got up and walked away at that point, but he wasn’t averse to the odd bit of eavesdropping, especially when it concerned his girlfriend’s estranged father. Why would Neville receive money if he and Ambrosia reconciled? Lucas wondered. It didn’t make any sense. He leaned back to hear more.

  ‘She’s quite the talented acrobat,’ Neville continued. ‘Gosh, no. There’s no way I’m putting up with her whining at home – she can stay at school. Anyway, it’s just a means to an end.’

  It had taken all of Lucas’s willpower to refrain from turning around and telling the man exactly what he thought right then and there. Jacinta wasn’t whiny; she was brave and funny and had more talent in her left pinky than her father would ever have. Not trusting himself to keep quiet, Lucas had thrown the rest of his ice-cream in the bin and stormed off. He’d tried to call Jacinta, only to be told that she’d joined her parents for dinner. So, he’d spent a sleepless night worrying about what to do. Now it was Sunday afternoon and his stomach was tossing and turning like a washing machine on rinse cycle.

  Lucas put down his pen and hurried to the phone box at the end of the hall. There was only one person who would know what to do, and he needed to speak to her right away.

  Lucas telephoned Caledonia Stables and spoke to Mrs Clarkson, who said that Alice-Miranda had taken the Abboud girls for a walk to see the horses. But he didn’t want to wait until later to speak to her. Jacinta had said she was going to call on Sunday night and he needed to know before that if he should warn her or not. He quickly signed himself out and sped through the school grounds into the village, towards Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale. He was surprised to see Zahra Abboud, wearing headphones and humming to herself, with a spring in her step. Wasn’t she meant to be with Alice-Miranda?

  He ran past her, then veered left through the school gates, where the playing fields, sports hall and Winchesterfield Manor went by in a blur. He charged on, not even stopping to say hello to Mrs Howard, who was tending the roses at the front of Grimthorpe House. She yelled out to him, but he just gave a wave. As the stables hove into view, he hoped his cousin was inside. Lucas ran into the building and stopped. He bent forwards, holding his sides and gasping for breath. All he could hear was his heart beating in his ears. ‘Hello?’ he called feebly.

  Millie’s head popped up over the stall door at the end of the row. ‘Oh, hi Lucas. What are you doing here?’

  ‘I need to talk to Alice-Miranda,’ he puffed.

  ‘She was here a little while ago with Esma and Hatice, but they’ve gone back to Caledonia Manor,’ she said, throwing a forkful of straw into the air.

  Lucas groaned. ‘Thanks,’ he said with a sigh, and turned to leave.

  ‘You know, Jacinta thinks you’re going to live in New York with your mother,’ Millie said. She opened the stall door and emerged with a wheelbarrow full of soiled bedding.

  Lucas spun around, aghast. ‘What?’

  ‘Mrs Parker was blathering about it the other day. She said you’re going to live with your mum in America once she’s married.’ Millie fixed him with a no-nonsense stare. ‘Is that true?’

  ‘No …’ Lucas said weakly. ‘Maybe?’

  Millie put her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow. ‘Well, which is it?’

  Lucas sighed. ‘Mum asked me to think about going on exchange for a year so I can spend some time with her and Blair. Fayle has a brother school, you see, called Passmore. But I haven’t said yes yet.’ He hadn’t even mentioned any of this to Sep, so how Myrtle Parker knew was anyone’s guess. Then again, she didn’t have the nickname Nosey for nothing.

  ‘Lucas, Jacinta’s going to be devastated even if it’s only for a year.’ Millie took up the handles and pushed the barrow towards the entrance.

  The boy walked along beside her. ‘She’s going to be more upset when she finds out what her father’s up to,’ Lucas said, then realised he hadn’t planned to tell anyone but Alice-Miranda.

  Millie’s face darkened. ‘Why? What do you know?’

  ‘Forget I said anything,’ Lucas mumbled, taking a step backwards, ‘and don’t breathe a word of this to Jacinta.’

  ‘Hey, you can’t tell me half a story,’ Millie protested, but the lad was out of the building like a shot. He ran and ran through the school until he reached Caledonia Stables and was heading for the mansion. Or he was, before Jacinta’s voice pulled him up short.

  ‘Lucas!’ she called, waving her arms as she hurried up the driveway towards him. ‘What are you doing here?’

  He stopped and turned around. ‘Oh … hi.’

  Jacinta took in his red face and his grey T-shirt that was now a patchwork of sweat stains.

  He looked down and noticed what she’d noticed. ‘I was just out jogging and, um, I thought I’d take a new route,’ he said, cringing inside.

  ‘You, running?’ Jacinta laughed. ‘You’re beginning to sound like my father and all the tall tales he tells.’

  Lucas gulped. ‘So, you’re on to him then?’

  Jacinta frowned. ‘How do you mean? We went out for dinner last night and, well, it was a bit tense for a while. I don’t think he has the greatest sense of humour but then he apologised and gave me this.’ She reached up and touched a gold star covered in diamonds hanging around her neck. ‘It’s real, you know.’

  ‘So everything’s okay between the two of you?’ Lucas asked.

  ‘I wouldn’t say everything, but it’s better than I can ever remember.’ Jacinta shrugged. ‘He gave Mummy a beautiful emerald ring and she was so touched she started crying. He said he wanted us to be a family again and that this time, if Mummy took him back, he’d come and live in the village and see me all the time.’

  Lucas bit his lip. That’s not what he’d heard.

  ‘What is it?’ Jacinta said.

  ‘I just don’t want you to get hurt again,’ he began.

  Jacinta nodded. ‘He promised that he’s a different person, and Alice-Miranda always says you can only take people the way you find them. I don’t want to be mad at him forever.’

&nb
sp; Lucas could only agree. He’d spent ages being upset with his mother for not telling him the truth about his dad, but then he’d realised that it was a huge waste of energy. Everyone had their faults, and there was nothing to gain from telling Jacinta what he’d heard – only heartache. Perhaps he’d misunderstood. The fact he hadn’t told her what he was thinking of doing was also eating away at him. It was all such a mess.

  ‘Do you want a drink? We can get some water,’ Jacinta offered. ‘Mrs Clarkson is in the sitting room. She won’t mind if you come in.’

  Lucas shook his head. ‘I’d better be getting back. I’ve got an essay to finish for first period tomorrow.’

  Jacinta’s face fell. ‘Is everything okay? You seem … I don’t know … weird,’ she said, searching his eyes. ‘Was there something you wanted to tell me?’

  ‘No … nope, nothing at all,’ he said, dying inside. His life had been reduced to a bad teen movie, where his brain and body were completely disconnected and the girl of his dreams was about to dump him for being a total imbecile. ‘I’d better go.’

  Lucas turned and sprinted down the driveway while Jacinta stood there, watching him shrink into a dot on the horizon. It was pretty obvious to her that Lucas was hiding something, and she suspected she knew exactly what it was.

  Alice-Miranda held on to Esma and Hatice’s hands as they skipped around into the back garden at Caledonia Manor. She was expecting Zahra to meet her there at three. But what Alice-Miranda didn’t expect to see was Ada Abboud and the twins. The babies were lying on a blanket on their tummies, kicking their legs and gurgling in the middle of the lawn with their new double pram parked nearby.

  ‘Mama!’ Hatice pulled away and ran towards her mother.

  ‘Hello girls,’ Ada called, getting to her feet. She enveloped Hatice and gave her a kiss on the head. ‘It was such a beautiful day I couldn’t resist the sunshine and this garden is quite something.’

  Esma dragged Alice-Miranda towards her mother. ‘We met Bony,’ the girl said. ‘He’s Alice-Miranda’s pony and he’s very naughty.’