Free Alice-Miranda on Vacation by Jacqueline Harvey

found leading the cleaning charge. Cecelia often put her slim figure and stamina down to the never-ending household chores.
    “Is Lily helping too?” Alice-Miranda asked, wondering if perhaps she could shed any light on the mystery of Mr. Ridley’s midnight meeting.
    “No, darling, I think Lily’s got other things on her mind.”
    “The village lads don’t usually come unless there’s something special happening,” Alice-Miranda noted, glancing up at her mother.
    “Nothing special, darling. It’s just that Daddy and Ihave been away quite a lot this last month, so things have been a little neglected. Daisy’s been busy taking care of Granny Bert and Lily has had her hands full too, so we just need to catch up,” Cecelia replied innocently. Alice-Miranda was not convinced.
    At that moment Jacinta plodded downstairs.
    “Good morning,” Cecelia, Alice-Miranda and Mrs. Oliver chorused.
    “Hello, everyone.” Jacinta stretched her arms and yawned. “Oh,
excuse
me. I don’t know why I’m still tired. I slept like a cat.” A tickle pounced on the tip of Jacinta’s nose and suddenly she sneezed loudly.
    “Bless you, my girl,” said Dolly.
    “That doesn’t sound too good. I hope you’re not coming down with something, Jacinta. Come and have breakfast.” Cecelia motioned to Jacinta to take her place at the table. “What would you like to eat? You can have anything you want.”
    “Goodness,” Jacinta sighed. “That does give me rather a lot of options.” She spied Alice-Miranda’s half-eaten scrambled eggs. “May I have the same as Alice-Miranda, please?” she asked, then yawned again.
    “Good choice. Mrs. Oliver makes the best scrambled eggs ever,” Alice-Miranda enthused.
    “Did you tell your mother about Mr. Ridley?” Jacinta asked, lowering her voice conspiratorially.
    “What about Mr. Ridley, darling?” Cecelia raised her left eyebrow.
    Alice-Miranda shot Jacinta a knowing look. “Mr. Ridley’s very handsome, isn’t he, Mummy?”
    “Yes, darling. He is,” her mother agreed. “Is that all?”
    “That’s all.” Alice-Miranda didn’t like keeping things from her mother, but she really didn’t want to cause a bother. She shook her head at Jacinta, who was about to say something else.
    “You are a funny little thing sometimes,” her mother laughed.
    Mrs. Oliver placed Jacinta’s perfect scrambled eggs in front of her. Cecelia finished her tea and nibbled at a piece of jam toast while she read the paper.
    “What do you want to do today?” Alice-Miranda asked her guest.
    “I don’t mind,” Jacinta replied. “Maybe we should go and see Jasper and Poppy. And remember, you promised to take Granny Bert for a wheel around the garden—I just hope she’s in a better mood.”
    “Granny Bert in a better mood?” Mrs. Oliver turned from the steaming sink, where she was scrubbing alarge frypan. “You’re an optimist if ever I’ve heard one.”
    “We’ll go straight after breakfast,” said Alice-Miranda. She stood and carried her plate to the sink. “And hopefully Daddy and Mr. Ridley will be back just after lunch.”
    “Thank you, darling girl.” Mrs. Oliver took the dirty dishes and began to stack them in the dishwasher. “Now why don’t you run along and brush your teeth and I will pack a picnic for your lunch. How does that sound?”
    “Brilliant!” Alice-Miranda gave Dolly a quick hug. “See you in a minute,” she called to Jacinta.
    She bounded upstairs, leaving her mother and Jacinta to finish their breakfast. Cecelia was as unconvinced by her daughter’s earlier answer as Alice-Miranda was of her explanation on the subject of the cleaning. She decided Jacinta might be a more reliable source.
    “Jacinta, what did you mean before about Mr. Ridley? Is there something I should know?” She folded the newspaper and set it to the side.
    “No, not at all,” Jacinta replied, a little too quickly for Cecelia’s liking. “Alice-Miranda and I were just talking last night