Chessie smiled graciously. ‘I should be able to cope for another few hours, although I must admit I’ve rarely been apart from him since I was about Imogen’s age. My uncle gave him to me and he’s the thing I’ve always loved best in the world.’
An idea sparked in Alice-Miranda’s mind. Could that possibly be it?
‘We’re on our way to get ice-cream. Do you want to come?’ Charlotte asked.
‘I’ll pass this time,’ Millie said. ‘We just had some a while ago.’
‘Have fun, girls. I think these two will be needing a nap soon,’ Charlotte said, then headed off in search of the icy treats.
Alice-Miranda could see Daisy Rumble walking towards them and gave a small wave.
‘Hi there, girls,’ Daisy said. ‘Are you enjoying yourselves?’
‘Oh, yes,’ the trio chorused. For a moment, they had almost forgotten about SPLOD and Chessie’s uncle.
In the distance Millie spotted Dottie Treloar. She was holding Leo’s hand while Mr Treloar was carrying Martha. The children were in high spirits, but Mr Treloar and the woman beside him looked as if they’d stepped out of the car and into something unpleasant.
‘Whoa,’ Millie whispered. ‘Did they just lose the lottery?’
Chessie bit her lip. She had been thinking the same thing herself.
‘What are you talking about?’ Daisy spun around. ‘Oh, Dr Treloar was in an awful mood when I saw her last night. I have to say I wasn’t impressed with some of the things she was saying about your father, Alice-Miranda.’
Alice-Miranda frowned and wondered how Dr Treloar would even know her father.
Daisy eyed the crowd swarming in front of the pancake stand and hoped they hadn’t run out of maple syrup already. ‘Sorry, girls, I’d better get back to it,’ she said, and hurried away before Alice-Miranda could ask her what she’d meant.
‘Mayday, mayday,’ Millie mumbled under her breath. ‘Grumpy parents incoming.’ She motioned to the Treloars, who were headed their way.
‘Hello Mr Treloar.’ Alice-Miranda grinned at the man, then turned to his wife. ‘You must be Dr Treloar. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you very much, not only because of your delightful children but because you solved the problem with the Kennington’s plant and you have made Mummy and Daddy so happy.’
Alice-Miranda held out her hand, but the woman simply stared at it. Bentley, in turn, glared at his wife.
‘Alice-Miranda, I’ve got a present for you!’ Leo rushed forward and handed her a piece of paper, which was folded in a very four-and-a-half-year-old way.
‘For me?’ She opened the page and smiled at the drawing.
‘That’s you and that’s me and that’s the palace where you live,’ he said proudly, pointing at each one of the figures on the piece of paper.
Alice-Miranda gave the boy a hug. ‘It’s gorgeous, Leo. I love it. Thank you.’
‘L-Leo, where did you get that piece of paper?’ his father asked. Small beads of perspiration peppered the man’s brow.
‘The shed,’ the boy replied.
‘But you’re not allowed in there,’ Bentley said through gritted teeth. ‘I’ve told you a hundred times before.’
Leo’s bottom lip trembled and tears started to well in his eyes.
The man turned to Alice-Miranda and smiled. ‘It’s a lovely picture, but I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I took that back. It’s a rather important document,’ he said, reaching for it.
Adrienne pushed away her husband’s hand as Leo began to wail. ‘For goodness sake, Bentley, let the girl have it. It can’t be anything of vital significance.’
Alice-Miranda felt a strange stab of familiarity. ‘Have we met before, Dr Treloar? I’m usually quite good at recalling acquaintances, but I’ve recently suffered a bump on the head and I’m afraid my memory may be letting me down …’ She peered up at the woman. ‘Perhaps we met at the children’s hospital in Chattering.’
Adrienne shook her head firmly. ‘I am one-hundred-per-cent certain we haven’t. I would remember. It was lovely to meet you, but I think we’d best be going. Dottie wants an ice-cream.’
The man hesitated, then reluctantly scurried away after his wife.
‘Well, that was weird,’ Millie said, wrinkling her nose.
Chessie nodded in agreement. ‘No wonder those kids loved coming here all week.’
‘Let’s go and find Jasper and Poppy,’ Millie suggested, heading off in their direction. ‘I think they’re helping Heinrich with the farmyard in the walled garden.’
‘Okay,’ Chessie said, scratching at the microphone. It was awfully itchy for such a tiny thing.
Alice-Miranda turned Leo’s drawing over in her hand. On the other side was what looked to be scrawls of chemical symbols and scientific formulas. The piece of paper must have belonged to Bentley Treloar. She was happy to return it to him when she could catch him on his own. Alice-Miranda began to fold Leo’s drawing when she noticed some words at the bottom of the page. She studied them for a moment, a shiver running down her spine.
‘Alice-Miranda, are you coming?’ Millie called.
‘I’ll meet you there,’ she shouted back.
Millie shrugged and carried on with Chessie by her side. They made their way to the farmyard, where Jasper and Poppy were busy looking after a menagerie of animals. There were lambs, chicks, rabbits and ducklings. Poppy’s friend Clementine Rose was there too. Millie introduced her to Chessie and then to the girl’s great-aunt Violet, who was fascinated to hear that Chessie’s mother was the new Lady Tavistock. Millie soon found herself rescuing an embattled hen that was almost being loved to death by an overly enthusiastic toddler.
‘It’s been lovely to meet you,’ Chessie said to Clementine and her great-aunt, ‘but please excuse me. I need to go to the toilet.’
‘You’ll be waiting a while, my dear.’ Aunt Violet nodded towards the long line at the portable loos that had been installed at the bottom of the garden.
Chessie grimaced. ‘Oh, I don’t think I can hold on that long. I’ll just run back to the house.’ She deposited a bunny over the fence and into the pen. ‘I’ll only be a few minutes, Millie,’ she called, and hurried out of the enclosure.
‘Hello Chessie, what are you doing back here?’ Alice-Miranda asked as the girl flew into the kitchen.
Upon hearing the name, Desmond Berwick looked up from the bench. The sweet little girl had grown. But of course children have a habit of doing that.
Chessie grinned and waved hello without stopping. ‘Need the toilet and the lines were crazy,’ she explained, rushing to the downstairs loo.
Chessie quickly went about her business, then adjusted her dress. She realised that the microphone Miss Plunkett had stuck to her chest had come loose. She’d have to get some more tape and ask Alice-Miranda to help put it back on.
Inside Hugh’s study, an agent winced as the microphone screeched in his ear. ‘Kids,’ he groaned, ‘should not wear wires.’
As Chessie exited the powder room, she noticed a waiter hovering at the end of the hallway. He probably had to use the bathroom too. The sound of people echoed from somewhere in the house and she realised that Cecelia must have started the tours.
Chessie walked back down the hallway and, as she passed the man, she felt a frisson between them. He grabbed her arm and the tiny microphone fell to the floor.
‘Hello Francesca,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Come with me.’
Alice-Miranda hadn’t been able to find Marjorie Plunkett anywhere in the house. She was on her way back to the garden when she suddenly remembered the parasols her mother had organised to complete the girls’ outfits. It was getting warm outside and they were, after all, supposed to look like ladies, not sweaty ragamuffins, especially in Aunty Gee’s presence.
She bounded up the stairs and caught a glimpse of the door to the blue room closing. Aunt Charlotte must have been quick with the ice-creams, Alice-Miranda thought to herself. As she walked past the room, she heard a s
cuffle and loud whispering. She wondered if some of the visitors had got lost.
‘Excuse me,’ Alice-Miranda said as she walked in. ‘I’m afraid this room is private.’
A man who was standing on the other side of the bed turned around in surprise. He had a bushy moustache and was dressed as one of the waitstaff.
‘Oh, I’m terribly sorry,’ he said. ‘I was sent to fetch some towels for a spillage and I somehow ended up in here.’
‘Not to worry,’ Alice-Miranda assured him. ‘It happens all the time. I’d be more than happy to show you where they’re kept. You weren’t too far off, actually.’
‘That would be lovely, thank you,’ he said gratefully. His eyes darted towards Marcus’s cot. ‘Would you mind if I use the bathroom and meet you outside?’
Alice-Miranda hesitated. There was something rather familiar about the fellow, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. What was more alarming was that the corners of the man’s moustache seemed to be working free of his face.
‘Alice-Miranda!’ Chessie called out, popping up from the other side of the bed. ‘He’s my uncle!’
‘Oh!’ Alice-Miranda gasped, then turned to face the man. ‘Mr Berwick, what are you doing here?’
Desmond tensed at the sound of his name. He paced back and forth along the small silk rug on the floor. ‘Look, I needed to speak to my niece alone,’ he said. ‘If you’d just give us a minute, I’ll be gone and you can return to your precious party.’
Alice-Miranda couldn’t understand why half of SPLOD hadn’t yet descended on the room. She motioned to Chessie’s microphone, but the girl shook her head.
‘Now, Francesca,’ the man growled, ‘give me what I came for and I’ll be on my way.’
Chessie’s face crumpled. ‘But I don’t have anything that belongs to you.’
Desmond glared at her. ‘Don’t play dumb with me, Francesca. Where is he?’
Suddenly, Alice-Miranda realised exactly what the man was after. They had to get out of there and fast. She looked at Chessie and motioned to the rug. Chessie shrugged and Alice-Miranda gripped her fists and pulled them towards her. Chessie’s eyes lit up and she nodded.
‘Run!’ Alice-Miranda yelled. She opened the door and Chessie sprinted towards her. Desmond Berwick stuck out his foot just as Alice-Miranda pulled hard on the edge of the rug. He lost his balance as the carpet slid from underneath him. With his arms fanning like a windmill, he flew backwards and hit the deck with an almighty thud.
The girls fled along the landing to the back stairs, taking two at a time.
‘Francesca!’ Desmond yelled from above.
He raced after the girls into the kitchen, where several waiters were collecting cakes for the tea tent. Desmond shoved the smiling young woman, whose cake box flew out of her arms, splattering its contents all over the kitchen floor.
‘Hey, what do you think you’re doing?’ she cried out as he charged through the door.
Marjorie Plunkett had just completed another sweep of the grounds and was eager to return to the house for a quiet cup of tea. Twenty minutes hearing about the benefits of eating organic sugar snaps had been quite enough.
Alice-Miranda hoped like mad that Charlotte and the twins were still among the crowd.
‘Where are we going?’ Chessie panted.
‘To find Aunt Charlotte,’ Alice-Miranda said, scanning the grounds. ‘And keep a lookout for Miss Plunkett too.’
Chessie was confused. ‘Why do we need to find Charlotte?’
‘Because I’m almost certain that Imogen has exactly what your uncle is looking for and if we don’t find them before he does, he’ll be gone and Rodney along with him,’ Alice-Miranda explained.
Chessie frowned. ‘Rodney? What’s he got to do with all this?’
‘I’m not exactly sure, but let’s hope we find him before your uncle does.’ Alice-Miranda held Chessie’s hand as the girls wove through the crowd, which seemed to be moving towards the stage. Surely if Desmond Berwick caught up to them there were enough people to pounce on him and, besides, the place was supposed to be crawling with SPLOD agents.
Granny Valentina and Aunty Gee had arrived and Alice-Miranda spotted her father on the little podium in the middle of the front lawn. The official launching of the foundation was to happen at midday, in five minutes’ time.
There was still no sign of Charlotte and the twins anywhere.
Desmond Berwick was right behind them but had slowed his pace so that no one would take any notice of him.
Cecelia appeared on the stage beside her husband and Aunty Gee, flanked by Marjorie Plunkett, who still hadn’t made it back to the house for her cup of tea.
Alice-Miranda and Chessie wriggled to the front of the throng, knowing that Desmond Berwick would be watching their every move from somewhere close by. A child began to cry and Alice-Miranda hoped that it was Marcus or Imogen, but it was Martha Treloar, who looked as if most of her ice-cream had ended up on her face. Alice-Miranda continued to scan the crowd and saw Millie, who gave a wave and hurried towards them.
‘He’s here,’ Chessie whispered, her eyes everywhere.
‘Your uncle?’ Millie whispered back.
‘Have you seen Aunt Charlotte?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘We need to find her.’
Millie pointed at Charlotte pushing the stroller from the side of the stage area and parking it in front. Imogen was still clinging to Rodney.
‘Don’t all stare at them, or he’ll realise,’ Alice-Miranda ordered.
The girls smiled up at Alice-Miranda’s parents, Granny Valentina and Aunty Gee, who waved from the stage.
Chessie looked at Millie. ‘Is that who I think it is?’
Millie grinned and nodded. ‘I told you Aunty Gee was fabulous.’
‘Welcome, everyone,’ Hugh said into the microphone. ‘Thank you for joining us on this beautiful day. We’d like to especially welcome our guest of honour, Her Majesty, Queen Georgiana.’
The crowd clapped and cheered just as Alice-Miranda felt a hand grip her arm.
‘What do you think you’re doing, little girl?’ the man hissed in her ear. ‘Where is it?’
‘And without further ado, Her Majesty would like to speak about a charity very close to her heart, the Paper Moon Foundation.’
‘What?’ Desmond looked up at the podium. He released his hold of Alice-Miranda’s arm and began to shrink backwards into the mass of people.
Aunty Gee spoke for several minutes about the important work the foundation did with the children’s hospitals and how incredible the doctors were. ‘And Hugh tells me that one of those very clever doctors is actually here today. I’d personally like to pay tribute to Dr Adrienne Treloar, who has just been announced as the new Head of Paediatrics for the children’s hospital in Chattering, and whose brilliance also put a stop to the recent Kennington’s strife. I’d like Dr Treloar to come to the stage and accept this token of our great appreciation.’
Adrienne Treloar was in no mood for this. Had she known she was going to be paraded about like a show pony, there was no way she would have agreed to come to this silly garden party. She reluctantly walked onto the stage.
Alice-Miranda glanced back at Imogen and was ready to pounce as soon as the formalities were over. She’d tried to catch Marjorie’s gaze several times, but the woman seemed to be watching everywhere else.
Hugh handed Adrienne an enormous bunch of flowers and Queen Georgiana presented her with a small parcel.
‘Would you like to say a few words, Dr Treloar?’ Hugh asked.
‘Not especially,’ she mumbled, trying to hide behind the blooms.
‘Oh, now is not time for modesty. You’ve solved a very perplexing mystery and I’m sure we’d all love to know how you did it,’ Queen Georgiana cajoled the woman.
‘Your Majesty, I was just doing my job,’ Adrienne said curtly.
Alice-Miranda’s eyes widened. That was it – the voice! The one in her dreams. She pulled Leo’s drawing from her pocket
and stepped forward.
‘It was you,’ she said loudly. ‘You were in my room in the hospital and you were saying lots of mean things about Daddy and how it served him right that something terrible should happen. It wasn’t a dream, it was real.’
Adrienne Treloar looked at the child as if she were mad. ‘No, of course I didn’t. I’ve never met you before today. You’re lying.’
Cecelia Highton-Smith jumped up. ‘No, I saw you too. You came into Alice-Miranda’s room the first night she was in hospital.’
‘Liars, all of you,’ Adrienne snapped. She had bottled up her feelings about Hugh Kennington-Jones for years and right now her own internal Mount Vesuvius was set to explode. ‘You,’ she said, pointing at Hugh. ‘If you hadn’t stolen my husband’s work, things would be very different for us.’
Hugh held up his hands. ‘Steady on, Dr Treloar. I paid your husband well for his invention. And when he came back to me after his own research failed, I was happy to take him on and go fifty-fifty in any new discoveries he makes.’
‘Are you lying about that too?’ Adrienne’s face crumpled.
Bentley was shaking his head. ‘I didn’t tell you – I wanted to make something happen and then you could be proud of me.’
Alice-Miranda looked at Bentley. ‘But it wasn’t just Dr Treloar, was it? It was you too.’
‘What are you talking about, you ridiculous child?’ Adrienne was getting up a right head of steam.
‘Miss Plunkett, you need to see this.’ Alice-Miranda held out the paper and the woman hurried over to take it.
From the look on Bentley’s face, he knew exactly what Alice-Miranda was about to show her.
‘I’m afraid I don’t understand. Dolly, are you out there?’ Marjorie called, scanning the crowd.
Mrs Oliver charged towards the stage. ‘Here I am, dear. What is it?’ She studied the page. ‘Good heavens. It’s a very clever formula for cyanide poisoning – and if I’m not mistaken, it’s the poison that was created at the local packaging plant. Where did you get this?’
Alice-Miranda Holds the Key 15 Page 19