Alice-Miranda Shows the Way

by Jacqueline Harvey

  ‘Of course he’s running,’ Evelyn replied. ‘We’ve just got to get him on the truck and to the track. Bonaparte will turn up. I’m sure of it.’

  The colour seemed to drain from Dick’s ruddy face. ‘How can you be sure?’ he asked. ‘There’s always next year, you know.’

  ‘But I want him to run today,’ Evelyn said firmly. ‘Wally’s been doing a fantastic job with his training. No thanks to you, I hear. Come on, Wally, if Dick won’t help then I know you will. We need to get him loaded.’

  Freddy backed the truck up outside and Wally led Rockstar to the ramp.

  ‘He’s not usually a bad floater,’ said Evelyn. She limped along to the end of the stables, eager to see her boy safely on board.

  ‘Come on, Rockstar,’ Wally whispered. ‘Up we go.’

  The lad jogged alongside the thoroughbred to the bottom of the ramp. Rockstar took three steps up; he looked like he was going to get there, then stopped and refused to budge.

  Wally tried again. Rockstar stopped again.

  ‘Miss Pepper, do you remember when he was just a young fella we used to have the radio on in the truck and he seemed to like the music,’ Freddy suggested.

  ‘Oh, you’re right, Freddy, and it was always loud rock music. In fact, that was how Her Majesty decided on his name – he was nodding his head in time with the strains of some rock star and Her Majesty thought it was perfect for him. I’d forgotten about that,’ said Evelyn, smiling at the lad. ‘Go on, then, crank up the radio.’

  It was certainly unconventional but worth a try.

  Dick Wigglesworth objected. ‘You’ll upset the rest of the stable.’

  ‘I don’t care at the moment, Dick. If playing some loud music means Rockstar gets on board that truck then that’s exactly what I’m going to do.’

  Evelyn wondered if the Dick Wigglesworth she knew had recently been abducted by aliens. Because this one was a right pain in the neck.

  Freddy flicked on the radio. Thumping bass blared out.

  ‘Okay, Wally, try again,’ Evelyn said as the lad led Rockstar around in a circle. The stallion was pumping his head up and down and he was dancing all over the place.

  ‘Look at him. I think he likes it.’ Freddy had a grin as wide as his whole face.

  Dick Wigglesworth had disappeared.

  ‘Come on, Wally, let’s get him up there,’ Evelyn urged.

  Rockstar stepped left, then right, he spun around and then like a flash he scooted up the ramp and into the truck.

  ‘Good boy,’ Evelyn cooed.

  Wally gave him a pat. Rockstar turned his head and bared his teeth.

  ‘Oh, I know who you learned that from,’ Wally smiled at the horse. ‘She’ll find him, don’t you worry.’

  Chops cantered along, with Alice-Miranda clinging with one hand to Millie’s middle and holding Bonaparte’s lead rope behind her. ‘We’ll come back for you, Stumps,’ Alice-Miranda called as they raced past the old boy. They took every shortcut to the village they knew.

  The whole community had turned out for the Queen’s Cup. Ladies wore their finest hats and gentlemen their smartest suits. No one was going to miss the social event of the year, in spite of the raft of robberies the evening before. It was all anyone was talking about. Miss Grimm and Mr Grump and the girls and staff from Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale were all there, completely oblivious to Alice-Miranda and Millie’s adventure. Jacinta and Sloane were sitting in the grandstand with Lucas and Sep, wondering why Alice-Miranda and Millie were taking so long to join them. After Alice-Miranda had raced off that morning, Mr Boots had told Mrs Howard the whole story and they agreed that it might do more harm than good to make a fuss if Bonaparte’s disappearance was tied up with Alf and the robberies. As far as Miss Grimm understood, Alice-Miranda and Millie had gone to Chesterfield Downs to help Bonaparte get ready for the day. Mrs Howard had been relieved to take a call from Hephzibah Fayle letting her know that the culprit had been found, Bonaparte was safe and Alice-Miranda and Millie were on their way.

  Evelyn Pepper was making her way from the mounting yard to the small grandstand. She knew Her Majesty would be disappointed that they had no hope of winning. In spite of getting safely to the track, Rockstar was now being more difficult than ever, having taken a chunk out of Wally’s arm and given his jockey Diego Dominguez a nasty kick on the backside. Worse than that, he seemed to have lost any spark and was now behaving more like a cranky old mule than a champion thoroughbred. Evelyn hardly dared hope that he would run. Aunty Gee was watching her champion through a pair of binoculars. Dick Wigglesworth was standing beside her, and seemed to be in a bit of a sulk.

  Evelyn Pepper took her place beside the Queen.

  ‘Are you all right, Evelyn?’ Her Majesty asked.

  The woman nodded. Her hip was throbbing and she felt as if her head could explode but at least she was here and so was Rockstar.

  ‘Don’t overdo it, dear. I’d hate for you to end up back in that wretched hospital.’ Aunty Gee picked up her binoculars and scanned the track. ‘Can you see what that is?’ She passed the binoculars to Evelyn.

  ‘Oh my goodness, is it really?’ she gasped.

  As the girls emerged from the woods on the far side of the racetrack, Alice-Miranda could see the horses jogging towards the barrier. She leapt down from Chops’s back, and with Bonaparte beside her, ran faster around the edge of the track than she had ever run before.

  Miss Grimm, resplendent in a stunning pink suit and a wide-brimmed hat, caught sight of Alice-Miranda and her pony.

  ‘What on earth?’ She nudged her husband. ‘I thought she would have been here already.’

  ‘Rockstar!’ the tiny child yelled. ‘Rockstar, Bonaparte’s here!’

  Bonaparte let out an explosive whinny that silenced the crowd.

  Rockstar, who was being most uncooperative for his jockey, stopped in his tracks and refused to enter the barrier for the second time.

  He whinnied loudly in reply. Bonaparte called back again and the two of them echoed one another, each whinny louder than the one before.

  Alice-Miranda reached the public area in front of the winning post. Bonaparte hadn’t taken his eyes off the start line on the other side of the track. The whole crowd was staring at her and the black pony.

  ‘Whatever is that child up to now?’ Myrtle Parker frowned. She’d had a lie down and was feeling much better. In fact, her spirits had soared on arriving at the racetrack, where she bumped into Queen Georgiana, who congratulated her on a superb show, and asked if Myrtle would like to join her luncheon party.

  Diego leaned forward and whispered into the horse’s ear, ‘Come on, Rockstar, show us you really are a star.’

  The barrier attendant lined Rockstar up for one last attempt at entering the gate before the steward would be compelled to scratch the horse from the race. The stallion danced into the stall and stood impatiently waiting for the bell.

  The gates opened and they were off and racing. Rockstar missed the start completely and fell straight to the back of the field.

  ‘Oh dear,’ Aunty Gee whispered as she peered through her binoculars. Evelyn Pepper was following Rockstar’s every move. His main rival, a grey champion called Postman, had charged into the lead.

  ‘Come on, Rockstar, come on, boy,’ Evelyn hissed through gritted teeth.

  Dick Wigglesworth was strangely silent as he stood on the other side of Her Majesty.

  The crowd screamed as Rockstar began to gain ground. He made a charge around the outside and moved into third place, then up to second. Postman was in his sights. The pair rounded the turn and headed for home neck and neck.

  Television cameras tracked their every stride and finally, just a nose in front, Rockstar crossed the finish line.

  In the stand, Aunty Gee was leaping about like an excited c
hild on Christmas morning. She caught sight of her lady-in-waiting. Mrs Marmalade was sitting demurely on her seat, her gloved hands folded in her lap and her face like stone.

  ‘Oh for goodness sake, Marmalade, Rockstar’s just won the Cup. You are allowed to crack a smile, dear,’ Aunty Gee tutted before she leaned over and enveloped Evelyn Pepper. ‘Well done, Ev, well done! You’ve won them all!’

  She even gave Dalton a quick squeeze before turning to Dick Wigglesworth, who leaned in and offered a more restrained congratulation.

  ‘Have you been taking lessons from Mrs Marmalade on controlling your enthusiasm?’ Aunty Gee demanded of the man.

  ‘No, Your Majesty,’ Dick replied.

  ‘Well, you could be a little happier than that,’ she suggested.

  Dick looked around the Queen at Evelyn. ‘I suppose she can retire now.’

  ‘And you can finally ask her to marry you,’ Aunty Gee declared and nudged Dick, whose mouth gaped open like a stunned cod’s. ‘It’s about time, don’t you think? You’ve been sweet on one another for years.’

  Evelyn Pepper overheard Her Majesty and blushed.

  ‘But,’ Queen Georgiana leaned in and whispered, ‘I think you owe Evelyn and Alice-Miranda an apology first.’

  ‘What? How? How did you know?’ Dick gulped.

  ‘In my experience, Mr Wigglesworth, people do very strange things when they’re in love. You’re fortunate to be surrounded by such resourceful women. And don’t think for a minute that I wouldn’t have had you arrested if Rockstar hadn’t won that race. I only hope for your sake that Ev’s in as forgiving a mood as I am.’

  Dick didn’t have time to reply as Her Majesty charged off to congratulate her champion.

  Rockstar came back to the mounting yard with Diego Dominguez pumping his fist. The crowd cheered even more and Aunty Gee and her entourage made their way towards the dais for the presentation. It was going to be a little strange; she’d never presented herself with a trophy before.

  ‘Alice-Miranda!’ Aunty Gee called as the group greeted Rockstar. ‘Over here, dear.’

  Alice-Miranda led Bonaparte through the crowd and into the mounting yard.

  Wally Whitstable had hold of Rockstar and was doing his best to get the beautiful silk winner’s rug on the horse’s back. As Rockstar caught sight of Bonaparte, the giant stallion spun around and whinnied with all his might. The two friends came face to face and Rockstar reached out and rubbed his neck against Bonaparte’s. Bonaparte did the same.

  ‘Well done, boys.’ Alice-Miranda gave them each a whacking great kiss on the nose. ‘Well done indeed.’

  Alf was taken into police custody where he was charged with all manner of offences, including theft and psychological abuse of children. He had enlisted several of the carnival kids to assist him with his sticky-fingered ways, on the threat that harm would come to their parents if they didn’t. He’d never hurt Gina but the other kids didn’t know that. Alf was a bully and a liar and when the rest of the carnival adults learned what he’d been up to they were horrified and glad to see the back of him. It seemed he would spend some time in prison, at Her Majesty’s pleasure.

  Billy Boots returned home to his family and his rightful place as the carnival boss. It turns out that the money Alf accused him of stealing was located under Alf’s mattress in the caravan with hardly any missing at all. Billy also reclaimed his real name: Liam Sharlan. The first thing he did was find a new teacher and make sure that his sister and brother and all the other carnival kids kept up their education. Alice-Miranda and Millie tried to convince Fern that she could stay at school with them if she wanted to. They even arranged it with Miss Grimm but Fern decided that, for now, her brothers needed her too much. But she promised that they’d be back again next year and she was looking forward to seeing her friends then.

  Dick Wigglesworth confessed to Evelyn Pepper that he had hidden Bonaparte at Caledonia Manor. Evelyn was shocked. She didn’t understand at all until he explained that he couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving and he knew she was planning to once the Queen’s Cup was safely in the trophy cabinet. She was even more surprised when he got down on bended knee and asked her to marry him. Evelyn had hesitated for a moment, wondering if he deserved her after what he’d done, but then to the great delight of everyone in the village and especially Aunty Gee, she said yes. Dick begged Alice-Miranda to forgive him, which of course she did. She reasoned that if he hadn’t taken Bony to the stables, Alf might have got away with the robberies – and as Aunty Gee said, people do very strange things when they’re in love.

  Rockstar’s racing career ended. He was now considered one of the most successful horses in history and certainly the best racehorse Aunty Gee had ever had – although she happily admitted that he was the rudest too. Alice-Miranda rode Bonaparte over to visit his friend as often as she could. They were always glad to see each other, and like a couple of old men they whinnied and neighed and nickered for hours.

  Ambrosia Headlington-Bear settled into life in the village much more quickly than anyone expected. She even realised that she quite enjoyed gardening. Once she finished her own place she was planning to tackle the weeds across the road – she couldn’t bear having to look at Mrs Parker’s jungle a moment longer, and perhaps the woman could do with a hand. After all, they were both minus a husband in one way or another. Jacinta visited her mother as often as her training schedule would allow and was fortunate to be at the cottage when the editor from Gloss and Goss telephoned to ask if they could do a photographic spread of Ambrosia and her new country life. Her mother was in the garden at the time and, Jacinta had thought, probably wouldn’t want to be disturbed. She happened to forget to mention the call.

  Newton returned home from his adventure at the Caledonia Manor stables and took his place on the mantelpiece. Myrtle Parker vowed that his travelling days were over but sometimes when she collected the mail, a little part of her missed his postcards.

  Alice-Miranda fulfilled her promise to Mrs Parker to read to her husband. She’d decided their first book should be Matilda by Roald Dahl. There were plenty of interesting characters in the story and she loved reading it aloud. On her second visit, the tiny child could have sworn the man giggled at one particularly funny scene with Miss Trunchbull, but surely that must have been just her imagination.

  Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale School for Proper Young Ladies staff

  Miss Ophelia Grimm – Headmistress

  Aldous Grump – Miss Grimm’s husband

  Mrs Louella Derby – Personal secretary to the headmistress

  Miss Livinia Reedy – English teacher

  Mr Josiah Plumpton – Science teacher

  Howie (Mrs Howard) – Housemistress

  Mr Cornelius Trout – Music teacher

  Miss Benitha Wall – PE teacher

  Cook (Mrs Doreen Smith) – Cook

  Charlie Weatherly (Mr Charles) – Gardener

  Wally Whitstable – Stablehand

  Billy Boots – Stablehand

  Students

  Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones

  Millicent Jane McLoughlin-McTavish-McNoughton-McGill – Alice-Miranda’s best friend and room mate

  Jacinta Headlington-Bear – Friend

  Sloane Sykes – Friend

  Madeline Bloom, Susannah – Friends

  Dare, Ashima Divall,

  Ivory Hicks

  Danika Rigby – Head prefect

  Fayle School for Boys students and staff

  Professor Wallace Winterbottom – Headmaster

  Deidre Winterbottom – Headmaster’s wife

  Lucas Nixon – Student

  Septimus Sykes – Student

  Chesterfield Downs staff

  Aunty Gee – Owner of the property

  Evelyn P
epper – Racehorse trainer and manager

  Dick Wigglesworth – Stable foreman

  Wally Whitstable – Stablehand

  Freddy – Stablehand

  Villagers

  Herman Munz – Owner of the local shop

  Marta Munz – Herman’s wife

  Otto Munz – Herman’s son

  Myrtle Parker – Show Society President and village busybody

  Reginald Parker – Myrtle’s husband

  Newton – Garden gnome

  Hephzibah Fayle – Friend of Alice-Miranda’s and owner of Caledonia Manor

  Henrietta Fayle – Sister of Hephzibah and step-granny of Sloane Sykes

  Ambrosia Headlington-Bear – Jacinta’s mother

  Carnival folk

  Alf Carnival – boss

  Fern Alf’s – stepdaughter

  Tarquin – Alf’s stepson

  Ivy, Little Jimmy, Pete, Robbie, Lola, Rory, Stephen, Indigo, Nick, Ellie – Carnival children

  Mr and Mrs Kessler – Carnival workers

  Jim Joyce – Carnival worker, Ivy and Little Jimmy’s father

  Jacqueline Harvey has spent her working life teaching in girls’ boarding schools. She has never owned a sightseeing garden gnome but she has come across quite a few girls who remind her a little of Alice-Miranda.

  Jacqueline has published many novels for young readers. Her first picture book, The Sound of the Sea, was awarded Honour Book in the 2006 CBC Awards. She is currently working on Alice-Miranda’s next adventure and a new series about a little girl called Clementine Rose and her teacup pig, Lavender.

  For more about Jacqueline and Alice-Miranda, go to:

  www.jacquelineharvey.com.au

  Praise for the Alice-Miranda series

  Alice-Miranda at School was shortlisted for the 2011 Australian Peace Literature Award.

  ‘Alice-Miranda has a beguiling ability to enchant those around her and an enthusiasm for helping people in need. This new series, with its sprightly, resilient heroine, who is sweet without being cloying, offers readers a lively blend of humour and intrigue.’ Kirkus Reviews