Alice-Miranda At School (4 page)

At exactly five minutes to two, Alice-Miranda left a smiling Jacinta Headlington-Bear to finish the last sentences of her quite astonishing project on endangered African elephants. She headed back to the office for her meeting with Miss Grimm.

Miss Higgins's door was closed. But propped against it was a letter addressed in beautiful script to
Miss Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones
.

Alice-Miranda loved to receive letters and this was
her second for the day. She was surprised anyone had had time to write to her since she had only left home that morning – but she was pleased nevertheless. She opened the envelope carefully and pulled the fine notepaper from inside. Her tiny fingers unfolded the sheet. It read:

Alice-Miranda was puzzled. Miss Grimm hadn't objected to the meeting time when she suggested it. She supposed headmistresses had lots of important things to do and if she was unavailable, Alice-Miranda would have to try again tomorrow. In the meantime, there were so many people who needed her help that Miss Grimm would just have to wait for now.

Alice-Miranda ran back to the house and called her parents again. This time her mother answered the phone. After a few minutes' conversation, a plan was in place. It seemed that everything was going to work out beautifully for Mrs Smith after all.

Alice-Miranda skipped off towards the kitchen. She had to tell Mrs Smith to pack her things. Mrs Oliver would be arriving soon and Cook should be ready to head off immediately.

‘Hello Mrs Smith.' Alice-Miranda peered around the kitchen door. Cook was stirring an enormous pot, from which the most mouth-watering smell wafted. Alice-Miranda's nostrils twitched as she tried to work out exactly what was simmering away so temptingly. ‘My goodness, that smells delicious.'

Mrs Smith turned and smiled at Alice-Miranda – a warm smile that few students had ever seen.

‘I've been to see Miss Grimm. I thought we could have a lovely chat and get you off on a holiday. But she wasn't available and so I haven't spoken to her after all.'

‘Thank you for trying, miss.' A tear welled in the corner of Cook's eye. She brushed it with the back of her hand. ‘Must be the onions I was chopping.' She took a deep breath and pursed her lips together tightly.

‘Don't be sad, Mrs Smith. I've fixed things, and I can just tell Miss Grimm later. I'm sure she won't mind in the least. Mrs Oliver will be here in a little while and then Daddy has arranged for you to be picked up and taken to the airport so that you can go on our plane to the United States straight away. The plane has to go over for some special refitting, so it's not the slightest bother at all. But you'll need to pack your suitcase immediately.'

Cook's hands were trembling. ‘But I can't leave without Miss Grimm's approval. I'll lose my job.' She looked decidedly pale.

‘No, of course you won't. Miss Grimm is only worried that if you're not here there'll be no one to
cook her dinners. Isn't that right?' Alice-Miranda asked with a frown.

‘Well, that's what I've always been told,' Cook replied. ‘Who's Mrs Oliver?'

‘She's Mummy and Daddy's cook. She can stay for the whole time you're away and she's really not half bad either,' said Alice-Miranda, ‘although she simply can't bake brownies like yours. So, Mrs Smith, I think you should go pack your bags and I'll keep an eye on that pot.' Alice-Miranda pulled up a stool to stand on.

Before she had time to change her mind, Cook handed the wooden spoon to Alice-Miranda and rushed to her room. She could hardly believe what she was doing – but it appeared that Alice-Miranda was not a child to be trifled with.

An hour later, Alice-Miranda heard the familiar
chop-chop-chop
of Birdy's whirring blades. It was a sound she had come to recognise well in her seven and one-quarter years. It usually meant that her parents were home and it always made her heart pound with excitement. Cyril landed the helicopter on the lower oval, and out hopped Mrs Oliver, suitcase in hand. She wore her trademark blue suit and her immovable brown curls sat immaculately
in place as always. Hugh Kennington-Jones often teased that he thought Dolly must take her hair off at night and rest it on the nightstand. It was a running joke in the Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones household that Dolly could well have been the lost sister of the Queen. She had the same regal look – even when she was emerging from under the rotors of a helicopter. Within a minute Mrs Smith had hopped in and Birdy hovered overhead, leaving Miss Grimm in her study wondering what that infernal noise was.

Mrs Oliver was installed in the kitchen in a blink. Miss Grimm's dinner was delivered without a minute's delay and for the first time in years she ate everything on her plate and secretly wished for more. Mrs Smith may have been the best brownie cook in the world, but Dolly Oliver could do cauliflower cheese better than anyone Alice-Miranda knew.

That evening, Alice-Miranda had her tea in the kitchen with Mrs Oliver and Jacinta, then took herself off to her room to read. Miss Higgins came to tuck her in and say goodnight.

‘Now, I'll be busy in the morning,' Miss Higgins said distractedly as she smoothed the blanket, ‘but I shall leave Cook a note to ask her to wake you.'

Alice-Miranda thought she should probably explain about Mrs Smith's holiday, but Miss Higgins was in even more of a muddle than she had been earlier in the day, mumbling about unreliable house mistresses and mountains of work to be done. So Alice-Miranda decided that she wouldn't worry Miss Higgins with the news – she would simply tell Miss Grimm in the morning instead.

She was really quite exhausted and looked forward to it being Sunday tomorrow. There would be lots of girls arriving back for the start of term and Alice-Miranda could hardly wait to meet them. She kissed Brummel Bear on the top of his head and drifted off to sleep.

Over in the headmistress's study, Miss Grimm's mind suddenly turned to the uncomfortable incident earlier in the day. She hadn't seen a child for years and this one was the most insistent little creature she could remember. Ever since their meeting, Miss Grimm had had a knot in her stomach that felt as if it was being steadily pulled at either end. She tried to put all thought of the brat
out of her mind. It wouldn't do. Really, it wouldn't do at all. Her school was a tight ship and her job was to keep it that way.

Alice-Miranda rolled over and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She yawned and stretched, then studied the pattern on the ceiling. She'd slept well, being quite used to staying in unfamiliar places when she travelled with her parents. The boarding house around her creaked and groaned as though it was waking up too. Her own house, Highton Hall, was full of grumbles in the morning – she liked to lay in bed and listen, imagining the house was like an old friend full of stories. This morning she was wondering about the tales that this
place, Grimthorpe House, could tell. Alice-Miranda picked up Brummel Bear and was about to ask him how he'd slept, when Mrs Oliver popped her head around the door.

‘Good morning, darling girl,' she smiled.

‘Hello Mrs Oliver,' said Alice-Miranda, sitting up. ‘Did you sleep well?'

‘Not too badly, although I have to say poor Mrs Smith's bed is a brute. The woman will come back better than new if she just has some time on a decent mattress,' Dolly said with a frown. ‘Now, you need to get yourself dressed, poppet, and come to the kitchen. And I'd best get a move on myself.' Dolly bustled out of the room.

After breakfast – the most delicious eggs Benedict with smoked salmon – Alice-Miranda headed off to find Miss Grimm. She couldn't believe that even on a Sunday the headmistress would be too busy to speak with one of her students. Besides, Alice-Miranda was eager to let her know about Mrs Smith's holiday.

The door to Miss Higgins's office was slightly ajar. Alice-Miranda knocked loudly and popped her head around the corner. There was no one inside, but a sliver of light came from Miss Grimm's study. Alice-Miranda scurried through the office and pushed open
the study door, announcing herself with a cheerful, ‘Hello Miss Grimm, are you there?' She clicked the door shut behind her.

Miss Grimm was sitting at her desk, pen in hand, except this time she was not in her dressing-gown.

‘Oh, there you are, Miss Grimm. I knew Miss Higgins had made a mistake with her note yesterday. I simply knew it wasn't true that you didn't see students – that would be ridiculous. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I know yesterday I caught you when you were obviously not ready to see anyone but today, goodness, what a lovely suit. I think my mummy has one quite like it. Are you friends with Mr Valentino too? I hope so. He simply is the most charming man and he has already told me that when I get married in a squillion years' time he wants to make me a gown. Dear me, I am talking a lot. My name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and I am truly honoured to make your acquaintance, Miss Grimm.' Alice-Miranda walked around the desk and held out her hand.

Miss Grimm swivelled slightly in her chair and peered over her spectacles, as if she were inspecting a grubby spill on the carpet. Alice-Miranda's hand hovered before finally, after what seemed more than
a minute, Miss Grimm reached out. As their fingers met, Miss Grimm recoiled, pulling her hand away as though she'd been snapped at by an angry terrier. Alice-Miranda jumped in fright. The friction between them was like a bolt of lightning. Miss Grimm's face drained of colour – she looked as if she had seen a ghost.

Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘It must be the dry wind. All that static electricity in the air. It makes my curls very frizzy.' She twisted a strand of hair around her finger. Miss Grimm stared.

Alice-Miranda looked around the study and spied the empty breakfast tray on the side table. She enquired whether Miss Grimm had enjoyed her meal. Miss Grimm's eyes were fixed on Alice-Miranda but she seemed to nod ever so slightly.

‘I am glad. You see, I hope you don't mind, but I have sent Mrs Smith away to America for a holiday.'

‘You've done what?' Miss Grimm whispered. The colour rose back into her cheeks.

‘Well, I know I should have asked you yesterday and goodness I did try, but you were not ready for visitors and when I came back there was a note saying that you were too busy to see anyone. I had arranged it already and I really didn't think you'd mind all
that much as long as there was someone to cook your dinners. I'm sure you'll agree that Mrs Oliver hasn't let us down yet. Last night's dinner was simply delicious and her eggs Benedict is one of the best I've ever tasted. You should have seen Mrs Smith. She was so excited when she flew off in Birdy.'

Miss Grimm's mind wandered to the delectable cauliflower cheese from last evening. She couldn't remember eating anything so tasty in years. But there
was
still the troubling issue of this child and her impudence.

‘Alice-Matilda, I will not have my students arranging things without my knowledge. I run a tight ship here at Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale and I will not have the likes of you ruining things,' Miss Grimm hissed.

Alice-Miranda took a giant step backwards. ‘I beg your pardon, Miss Grimm, it's Alice-Miranda, and I am sorry about the timing. I know I should have asked you first but I couldn't help myself when I saw how sad Mrs Smith was about her grandchildren.'

‘Grandchildren? What are you talking about? The woman is barely old enough to be married, let alone to have grandchildren,' Miss Grimm retorted.

‘But she does have grandchildren. I've seen the photographs. And I beg your pardon, Miss Grimm; I'm no expert but I think Mrs Smith is quite a lot older than you think.'

At this stage Alice-Miranda felt it best to retreat to the other side of the desk. She climbed up onto a chair, a safe distance from Miss Grimm.

‘Anyway, Mrs Smith will be back in two weeks and I'm sure that she will be so much happier. Holidays are very important. When was the last time you had a proper break away from the school, Miss Grimm? Somewhere you could read books and eat all manner of tasty things and lounge about doing absolutely nothing – if that's what you wanted.'

‘Frankly that's none of your business, Alice-Marika.' Miss Grimm pulled her lips together very tightly. ‘I'm not interested in holidays. I'm interested in results. Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale didn't get its reputation by being on holiday.' She thumped her fist onto the desktop.

Alice-Miranda sat up straight in her chair. She drew in a deep breath. ‘Yes, Miss Grimm, I quite agree, but everyone needs a holiday at least once a year and twice and three times is even better. Anyway, I don't think we need to talk about that any
more. There are a couple of other things I'm worried about.'

Miss Grimm stared at the large leather-bound book in front of her.

‘I really don't have time for this, Alice-Morganna. As far as I know there are no problems in my school and if there were, Miss Higgins would alert me immediately. So, if you wouldn't mind, I have pressing business to attend to and you need to go and do whatever it is that students do.' Miss Grimm began to write at a furious pace. She did not look up again.

Alice-Miranda knew that things were far worse than she had first feared. With or without Miss Grimm's help, there were jobs to be done. She slipped off the green leather chair and scampered to the door.

‘Goodbye, Miss Grimm. I'll come and see you tomorrow when you have a minute, unless of course you'd like to take a walk in the garden later today. It's such a beautiful morning – Mummy says days like these are priceless treasures and I couldn't agree more,' she said hopefully. She turned the brass door knob and slipped into Miss Higgins's office, closing the door behind her.

‘Hello Miss Higgins,' Alice-Miranda smiled.

Miss Higgins almost fell off her chair. It seemed that was something she did quite regularly.

‘Alice-Miranda, wherever did you come from?' Miss Higgins asked anxiously.

‘I've been having a lovely chat with Miss Grimm, but she's very busy now so I have to come back tomorrow.'

‘Didn't you get my letter?' Miss Higgins clenched her hands together.

‘Yes, of course, but I thought you couldn't possibly be serious. It's just plain silly. Of course Miss Grimm sees people. How else would she know what goes on?

Miss Higgins put her face in her hands – as though she was watching a really scary horror movie and something terrible was about to happen.

‘Are you all right, Miss Higgins?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Oh Alice-Miranda, I can't believe that you ignored my letter. Whatever were you thinking going back in there again?' She clasped her hands so tightly they were beginning to turn white.

‘It's all right, Miss Higgins. Miss Grimm and I had a good talk. I told her all about Mrs Smith's
holiday to America and that Mrs Oliver was having a marvellous time in the kitchen. I think she really liked Mrs Oliver's cauliflower cheese.'

‘Whatever do you mean, Mrs Smith's holiday?' Miss Higgins's face was ghostly white.

‘Well, when I met Mrs Smith yesterday she was very upset and it turns out that she was awfully sad that she had never gone on holiday to America to see her grandchildren. I asked her why – I mean, if it was because she couldn't afford it, I could well understand, but she said that wasn't the problem at all and she had lots of money saved up. The real reason was that Miss Grimm wouldn't let her take a holiday because there would be no one to cook her dinners. So I called Daddy and asked if I could borrow our cook, Mrs Oliver, and he said yes. He and Mummy are going to town for a little while and so Mrs Oliver wasn't busy anyway. And would you believe that Daddy was sending our plane to America for some special refitting and it was leaving yesterday afternoon?' Alice-Miranda paused and took a deep breath. ‘Anyway, it was too splendid an opportunity to miss and so Daddy sent Cyril, Birdy and Mrs Oliver and then Mrs Smith hopped into Birdy and away she flew. She'll be back in two weeks
and I'm sure that she will be a different person. I can't imagine what it must be like for her never to see her grandchildren – I mean, most grandparents adore their grandchildren more than anything in the world. I know my granny does. She's always in trouble with Mummy for spoiling me. So I tried to tell Miss Grimm all about it yesterday but you left me the note and then I thought I would tell you last night but you were so busy, so I came today to catch her up.'

‘Oh dear.' Miss Higgins looked close to tears. ‘Was she awfully mad?'

‘No, not at all. We had a lovely chat about holidays.'

Miss Higgins's forehead wrinkled like a dried apricot. ‘Did she really talk to you … about holidays?'

‘Well, sort of. I told her that I think everyone needs to take holidays at least once a year and possibly twice and even better still, three times. I don't think Miss Grimm's been on holidays for years,' Alice-Miranda explained.

‘You're right about that,' Miss Higgins frowned. ‘Now, young lady, for your own good, I really must beg you not to visit Miss Grimm again. She doesn't like to be interrupted and I am afraid that having
to deal with you will likely have put her into a very bad mood.'

‘I don't think she's in a bad mood,' Alice-Miranda thought out loud. ‘Perhaps she just needs to get out more.'

And with that Alice-Miranda skipped out of the office and down the hallway. She had far too many things occupying her mind to be worried about Miss Grimm's mood.