Friend
Caprice Radford
Friend of sorts
Ashima Divall, Susannah Dare, Ivory Hicks, Shelby Shore
Committee members
Fayle School for Boys students
Lucas Nixon
Alice-Miranda’s cousin
Septimus Sykes
Lucas’s best friend and brother of Sloane
George ‘Figgy’ Figworth
Mischief-maker
Rufus Pemberley
Figgy’s frequent partner-in-crime
Others
Aldous Grump
Miss Grimm’s husband
Agnes Grump
Miss Grimm’s daughter
Myrtle Parker
Village busybody
Reginald Parker
Husband of Myrtle
Stanley Frost
Owner of Wood End
Hephzibah Fayle
Friend of Alice-Miranda’s and owner of Caledonia Manor
Henrietta Sykes
Sister of Hephzibah and step-granny of Sloane and Sep Sykes
Ambrosia Headlington-Bear
Jacinta’s mother
Neville Headlington-Bear
Jacinta’s father
Herman Munz
Owner of the local shop
Constable Derby
Local policeman, married to Louella Derby
Mehmet Abboud
Owner of Fattoush
Ada Abboud
Mehmet’s wife
Zahra, Esma, Hatice, Miray and Hamza Abboud
Mehmet and Ada’s children
Sue Trelawny
Myrtle’s friend
Tilde McGilvray
Television host
Mr Coburn
Real-estate agent
Jamie
Neville Headlington-Bear’s ‘colleague’
Jacqueline Harvey taught for many years 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 now writes full-time and is working on more Alice-Miranda, Clementine Rose, and Kensy and Max adventures.
jacquelineharvey.com.au
Books by Jacqueline Harvey
Kensy and Max: Breaking News
Kensy and Max: Disappearing Act
Kensy and Max: Undercover
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
Alice-Miranda in Paris
Alice-Miranda Shines Bright
Alice-Miranda in Japan
Alice-Miranda at Camp
Alice-Miranda at the Palace
Alice-Miranda in the Alps
Alice-Miranda to the Rescue
Alice-Miranda in China
Alice-Miranda Holds the Key
Alice-Miranda in Hollywood
Alice-Miranda in Scotland
Alice-Miranda Keeps the Beat
Clementine Rose and the Surprise Visitor
Clementine Rose and the Pet Day Disaster
Clementine Rose and the Perfect Present
Clementine Rose and the Farm Fiasco
Clementine Rose and the Seaside Escape
Clementine Rose and the Treasure Box
Clementine Rose and the Famous Friend
Clementine Rose and the Ballet Break-In
Clementine Rose and the Movie Magic
Clementine Rose and the Birthday Emergency
Clementine Rose and the Special Promise
Clementine Rose and the Paris Puzzle
Clementine Rose and the Wedding Wobbles
Clementine Rose and the Bake-Off Dilemma
Max woke with a start as the car crunched to a halt. He yawned and looked around at his sister, who was still asleep in the back seat. Her blanket had slipped down and she was drooling on the pillow that was wedged in the corner. She wouldn’t thank him for noticing.
The boy peered out at the jewel box of stars in the clearing night sky. It had only stopped raining a little while ago. On the other side of the car, Max could see what looked to be a hotel. A dull glow shone from one of the windows high in the roofline. For a second, he glimpsed a face, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. ‘Where are we, Fitz?’ Max asked.
Fitz turned and gave him a weary smile. ‘This is Alexandria,’ he replied, as if that was supposed to mean something. ‘Be a good lad and take the daypacks with you, and mind the puddles. No one will thank you for tramping mud inside.’
Fitz opened the driver’s door and hopped out of the Range Rover.
Max stretched, yawning again, then reached over and gently shook his sister’s leg. ‘Kensy,’ he whispered, ‘we’re here.’
The girl groaned and flopped her head against the pillow but didn’t wake up. It was to be expected given they’d just spent the past sixteen hours driving from Zermatt, near the Swiss–Italian border, across France and then to England.
Fitz reappeared at the open driver’s window. ‘Don’t wake your sister unless you want your head bitten off,’ he warned with a wink.
Kensy let out a grunty snore, as if to agree.
Max heard footsteps on the gravel and looked up to see a tall man approaching. The fellow was wearing a red dressing-gown and matching slippers. His dark hair had retreated to the middle of his head and he sported large rimless glasses. Fitz walked towards him and the two shook hands.
As the men spoke in hushed tones, the boy slipped out of the car. The stars had disappeared again and fat drops of rain began splattering the driveway. Max quickly collected the packs from the back seat while the man in the dressing-gown retrieved their suitcases from the boot. Fitz swept Kensy into his arms and carried her through a stone portico to an open doorway.
‘Are we home?’ she murmured, burrowing into the man’s broad chest.
‘Yes, sweetheart,’ he replied. ‘We’re home.’
Max felt a shiver run down his spine. He wondered why Fitz would lie. This wasn’t their home at all.
The four of them entered the building into a dimly lit hallway. Without hesitation or instruction, Fitz turned and continued up a staircase to the right.
That’s strange, Max thought. Fitz must have been here before.
‘Please go ahead, Master Maxim,’ the tall man said.
Too tired to ask how the fellow knew his name, Max did as he was bid. The hypnotic thudding of their luggage being carried up the stairs made the boy feel as if he was almost sleepwalking. They followed Fitz down a long corridor and eventually came to a bedroom furnished with two queen-sized beds and a fire-place. Max’s skin tingled from the warmth of the crackling fire. He deposited the daypacks neatly by the door and shrugged off his jacket as the tall man set down their bags and drew the curtains.
‘Sweet dreams, Kens,’ Fitz whispered, tucking the girl under the covers.
Without any urging at all, Max climbed into the other bed. He had so many questions, but right now he couldn’t muster a single word. The soft sheets and the thrum of driving rain against the window panes made it hard to resist the pull of sleep. He closed his eyes as Fitz and the tall man began talking. Max roused at the mention of his parents’ names followed by something rather alarming – something that couldn’t possibly be true. He tried hard to fight off the sandman to hear more, but seconds later Max too was fast asleep.
Jacqueline Harvey is a passionate educator who enjoys sharing her love of reading and writing with children and adults alike. She is an ambassador for Dymocks Children’s Charities and Room to Read. Find out more at dcc.gofundraise.com.au and roomtoread.org.
PUFFIN BOOKS
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa | China
Penguin Random House Australia is part of the Penguin Random House group of companie
s whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
First published by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, in 2019
Copyright © Jacqueline Harvey 2019
The moral right of the author and illustrator has been asserted.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, published, performed in public or communicated to the public in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd or its authorised licensees.
Cover and internal illustrations by J.Yi
Cover image of musical notes © Martial Red/Shutterstock.com
Cover design by Mathematics xy-1.com © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
ISBN 9780143786047
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Alice-Miranda Keeps the Beat Page 21