Alice-Miranda in Paris 7 (15 page)

Miss Reedy nodded.

As the children walked through the garden entrance, there was a collective gasp.

‘Cool!’ Figgy exclaimed, turning his head left and right to take in the astonishing view. ‘Is this for real?’

‘I warned you not to speak too soon,’ Mr Plumpton said as he nudged the lad.

Laid out before them, the gardens of Versailles stretched on almost as far as the eye could see.

Meanwhile, back in the ladies’ room, Millie had located her book exactly where she’d left it on the end of the countertop. Both girls decided they should take the opportunity to use the facilities and popped into two toilet stalls side by side. There was an echo of footsteps on the tiles and the sound of a hushed voice.

‘Why must I speak to you in English?’ the woman asked.

There was a pause.

‘But I didn’t. You tricked me.’

Lucinda flushed the toilet and walked out of the stall. Millie followed. It was a young woman speaking. Her face was red and her eyes puffy. She wore very stylish clothes and extremely high heels.

‘I cannot speak now,’ the young woman whispered.

Millie and Lucinda walked out into the courtyard, where Mrs Winterbottom was waiting for them.

‘Ready?’ the older woman asked.

The girls nodded, but lagged behind her.

‘I saw that girl earlier, in the courtyard,’ Lucinda whispered. ‘She was on the phone then too and she was trembling. She told someone that they could have the designs and then she hung up as soon as she realised I was standing nearby.’

‘That’s weird. I think I’ve seen her before too.’ Millie pondered for a moment. ‘Ah, that’s it! She must work for Monsieur Fontaine. When we arrived in Paris, we saw some police cars speeding down a street near Notre Dame and then a man rushed out and said that he’d been robbed. That girl was with him. We didn’t know he was Christian Fontaine at the time but it’s been all over the news since then. Of course she’s here because of the show.’

‘I wonder what she was talking about then,’ Lucinda said.

‘She sounded scared. Do you think it could have had something to do with the robbery?’ Millie asked. ‘Maybe we should tell someone.’

‘I don’t know. We haven’t got any proof of anything. But she was upset about something, that’s for sure,’ Lucinda said.

Millie nodded. She was having a strange feeling about that girl. She would tell Alice-Miranda about it as soon as she could.

Alice-Miranda had been thrilled to learn that the Finkelsteins were staying just around the corner from l’Hôtel Lulu. The choir’s next performance wasn’t until the following evening, so she had asked Miss Grimm if Lucinda could join them for their free day. Miss Grimm agreed, as long as her parents approved. She’d had a very enjoyable wander around the gardens with Gerda Finkelstein, and Morrie Finkelstein had been completely charming.

When Alice-Miranda and Lucinda went together to seek Mr Finkelstein’s permission, he was reluctant.

‘I’m not sure about this. We’re in a foreign country, Lucinda, and I just don’t think that it’s safe,’ Morrie had responded with a deep frown.

Gerda stepped in immediately. ‘Oh for heaven’s sake, Morrie Finkelstein. Alice-Miranda has taken better care of our daughter than you at times, so of course she can go. And then you can take me to the Eiffel Tower for lunch. It would be nice to have some romance in my life. Even if it is with you.’

Lucinda and Alice-Miranda laughed. Miss Grimm and Mrs Finkelstein would make the arrangements and the girls would meet in the morning.

The children arrived back at the hotel exhausted after their day at Versailles. They stayed far longer than Miss Grimm had originally planned because Figgy disappeared in Marie Antoinette’s bedroom. He had taken a detour through a secret door and couldn’t find his way back out again. Palace security had found him sobbing in the basement an hour after the professor noticed he was missing.

‘
Bonjour
, children,’ called Monsieur Crabbe as the group trooped through the foyer.

‘
Bonjour
, monsieur,’ the chorus echoed back.

Lulu raced out from behind the reception desk, eager for some attention.

‘She has missed you all today.’

Alice-Miranda and Millie knelt down to give the tiny dog a scratch. She immediately rolled onto her back so they could rub her belly.

Madame Crabbe appeared from the office. ‘
Bonjour
. How was your visit to the chateau?’

Millie was the first to answer. ‘It was amazing! Well, the palace and grounds were, not so much the performance.’

Madame Crabbe frowned. ‘It was not good?’

‘We thought we were pretty good, it’s just that we didn’t really have an audience,’ Alice-Miranda explained.

‘What a shame,’ Madame said. ‘It is plain silly to have no one to hear you.’

‘We thought so too,’ Sep chimed in, ‘but surely there will be people in the cathedral, even if it’s just the tourists. And we’ve already rehearsed at the Ritz so we know that we’ll have an audience there.’

‘I will come and watch you at Notre Dame,’ said Madame Crabbe.

‘And tonight when you come back from your evening meal, you will have a special treat,’ Monsieur Crabbe said with a wink.

‘What’s that?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

‘I am going to play my accordion for you,’ the man replied.

Madame Crabbe groaned. ‘Urgh, that is not a treat, that is torture.’

‘It’s all arranged. Monsieur Trout, he and I will be the evening entertainment.’ Monsieur Crabbe gave a mock bow.

‘I am going out,’ Madame Crabbe said. ‘No offence to Mr Trout. I am sure he is a wonderful performer, but I hate the accordion.’

The children laughed.

‘All right, you lot. Upstairs for a rest before we head out for dinner in half an hour,’ Professor Winterbottom commanded. ‘And we’ll look forward to that concert later on.’

The group disappeared but Alice-Miranda waited behind.

Alice-Miranda pulled a newspaper from her backpack. ‘Monsieur Crabbe? Do you remember the other night we talked about Monsieur Christian and the stolen fabric?’

‘
Oui
. Of course. A very bad business,’ he replied.

‘Well, I picked this up on the train this afternoon.’ She placed the paper on the bench in front of him and stood up on her tippy toes.

Under the headline was a photo of Christian Fontaine and a smaller photo of a woman. She had long straight hair and was very thin and pretty.

Monsieur Crabbe scanned the page. ‘That woman was married to Monsieur Fontaine but she disappeared many years ago after he caught her stealing. Although it was never proven in court – this article says that there is still a warrant out for her arrest. It was a terrible scandal. They had been like pin-ups for love. Their photographs were all over the place and their business was very famous. It did not make any sense at all. He says that it is the same thing happening all over again.’

Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘Does it say what she stole?’

‘Yes, she was selling his designs and fabric to people who were making copies,’ Monsieur Crabbe replied.

‘I wish we’d been able to meet Monsieur Christian today but we didn’t even see him. He looks so sad in that picture.’

‘It is not for you to worry about, little one. The police are working on the case.’

‘Of course,’ Alice-Miranda nodded and looked at the photographs again. ‘It’s just that she looks sort of familiar.’

‘Really? Can you think why?’ the man asked.

Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘No, it’s just something about her.’

‘Well, if you remember, you must tell me and we can alert the police,’ Monsieur Crabbe said. Alice-Miranda waved goodbye to the man and raced upstairs. Something about those pictures niggled at her. She had a strange feeling about that woman she simply couldn’t shake.

‘My crepes were delicious,’ Alice-Miranda remarked as she bounded along beside Sep on their way back to the hotel that evening. ‘Chicken and mushroom is almost as good as lemon and sugar.’

‘Nutella is still my favourite,’ the boy replied. ‘I think I might move to Paris. Chocolate crepes three times a day sounds perfect to me.’

The group formed a long line, with Miss Grimm in the lead and Professor Winterbottom bringing up the rear. They were spread out for quite a distance, snaking all the way back to the restaurant. As Alice-Miranda and Sep rounded the corner into their street he noticed the man he’d seen earlier in the week, standing out the front of the townhouses.

Millie had caught up and was walking beside the pair. She noticed the man too. ‘Hey, isn’t that the guy who told us off when we were at the park the other afternoon?’

Alice-Miranda looked. ‘Yes, I think so. Perhaps he’ll be in a better mood this evening.’

‘I doubt it. He was horrible,’ said Millie. ‘He certainly didn’t like children or dogs. Not one little bit.’

Sep glanced at the girls. ‘What do you mean he told you off?’

‘You know, the first day we were at the park. We took Lulu for a walk and there was a secret part to the garden. All of a sudden Lulu started growling and barking and then that man came through a gate and told us to get lost,’ Millie explained.

‘I saw him the first night we were here. He was carrying long rolls of something out of a car and into the basement of that townhouse there.’ Sep pointed at the place with the black door. ‘That’s right! Before that he was having a pretty big argument with someone over the phone. It was mostly in French but then I remember he said something about a chinchilla – I thought it was a weird thing to say.’

As the children drew closer, Alice-Miranda called ‘
Bonjour
, monsieur.’

‘
Bonjour
, mademoiselle.’ The man nodded at her and dipped his cap but his expression remained stony.

After the trio had passed him, Alice-Miranda whispered, ‘We must have caught him on a bad day before.’

‘I suppose so, but he wasn’t exactly friendly just then,’ Millie replied.

Alice-Miranda was thinking. She turned to Sep. ‘Do you remember if he said anything else in English?’

‘No,’ Sep replied. ‘He was across the road and he was speaking French most of the time. Why?’

‘No reason,’ Alice-Miranda said. But her mind was ticking. She thought about Monsieur Fontaine’s story in the newspaper. It did seem like a very strange coincidence that the man would be so upset about a small South American rodent.

‘And he took the rolls into the basement of that house there?’ Alice-Miranda pointed.

Sep nodded. ‘Who are you? Inspector Clouseau?’

Alice-Miranda shook her head. Suddenly she turned and ran back towards the man.

‘Alice-Miranda, what are you doing?’ Millie called after her.

She reached the fellow and stopped.

‘
Bonjour
, monsieur,’ Alice-Miranda said again. She studied his pointy face.

‘
Bonjour
,’ the man replied. His brow wrinkled slightly as he pondered the reason for her return.

‘My name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones.’ She held out her hand.

The man looked at her for a moment but did not respond.

‘Monsieur?’ she asked. ‘Do you have a name?’

‘Of course,’ he said, but didn’t offer it.

‘Monsieur,’ she began, ‘my friends and I are staying just over there at l’Hôtel Lulu. It’s a lovely place and Monsieur and Madame Crabbe are wonderful hosts. We met the other afternoon. Do you remember?’

He glanced at her face, shrugged and then looked away into the distance.

‘We were in the park and we had Monsieur Crabbe’s little dog, who is also called Lulu, with us. She was rather upset about something and you came out through a gate,’ Alice-Miranda reminded him. She wondered if he really couldn’t remember or if he was just avoiding the conversation.

‘Ah,
oui
. The barking dog. I was, how you say it? Not happy. I had a headache and your dog was causing me pain,’ the man said matter-of-factly.

Alice-Miranda frowned. ‘Oh, I am sorry. We didn’t mean to upset you,’ she said. ‘I’m glad you didn’t call the police.’

The man cleared his throat. ‘I wasn’t really going to call the police,’ he said.

‘I am glad about that,’ Alice-Miranda replied. ‘I’m sure the police are far too busy dealing with real criminals.’