Read Alice-Miranda at the Palace 11 for Free Online

leaned in and picked up the baby boy. ‘Looks like it’s us men on duty.’
    Sep shook his head. ‘Not me. I think I’ll stay here if you don’t mind.’
    Charlotte and Lawrence didn’t just have one room – they had a sitting room, where the children were gathered, and a bedroom through a set of double doors. There was a huge king-size bed for Charlotte and Lawrence, and twin cots for the babies.
    Charlotte looked at Alice-Miranda. ‘Would you like to hold Imogen?’
    The girl’s eyes widened. ‘Could I?’
    â€˜I have to get her up for a feed before the party and I’d best make a start,’ Charlotte said, reaching into the pram. She lifted the infant into her arms. ‘Why don’t you go and sit on the chair over there and you can all have a turn?’
    The girls and Sep walked over to a large rocking chair and Alice-Miranda sat down. Charlotte placed baby Imogen into her arms.
    â€˜She’s so little.’ Alice-Miranda kissed the girl’s downy forehead.
    â€˜You were even smaller when you were born,’ Charlotte remarked.
    â€˜Really? I can’t imagine it.’ Alice-Miranda admired the tiny baby, breathing in her scent. ‘I love her so much I think my heart is going to burst.’
    Charlotte rested her hand on Alice-Miranda’s shoulder. ‘I know she’ll adore you too, darling girl.’
    Alice-Miranda wanted to hold her forever but Millie, Jacinta and Sloane were keen to have their turns. As she was passed around all of the children, baby Imogen slowly began to wake up, opening her eyes every few minutes before drifting back to sleep again.
    â€˜Well, that was gross,’ Lucas said, walking out of the bedroom holding Marcus. ‘Don’t ask me to do it again.’
    Charlotte smiled. ‘You offered, remember?’
    â€˜I didn’t realise that something so small could make such a disgusting mess,’ the boy replied, clearly horrified by the experience.
    Charlotte looked at Lawrence. ‘Was it really nasty?’
    â€˜Nasty is an understatement, Char. Most of it wasn’t even in the nappy and, just to top it off, he let loose on me with the sprinkler.’ Lawrence grinned.
    â€˜Eww.’ Jacinta and Sloane wrinkled their noses.
    â€˜But he is pretty cute,’ Lucas said as Marcus’s tiny fingers wrapped around his pinkie.
    Lawrence nodded. ‘Yes, I think we’ll probably keep him.’
    Charlotte glanced at her watch. ‘Oh, goodness, it’s a quarter past twelve. Sorry, darlings, but I need to start feeding these two,’ she said, settling herself into the rocking chair with Imogen. ‘It’s a marathon effort and I don’t want to miss all of the festivities.’
    â€˜Thanks for letting us meet the babies,’ Jacinta said.
    The children said their goodbyes and made their way to the door.
    â€˜Oh, and Alice-Miranda,’ Lawrence called, ‘I  think you’re up for nappy-changing duties next time.’
    The girl turned and grinned. ‘I don’t mind. They could make the biggest, smelliest mess ever and I’d still love them to pieces.’

The man opened the top drawer and took out a pair of thin white gloves. He carefully pulled them on then picked up a pair of scissors. It was a tedious business but it had to be done. He read over the words before he began to cut letters from the pages of the newspaper.
    Soon enough The Beacon looked like something from a kindergarten craft class. He’d had it sent from the other side of the country so, even if they were able to trace the origins of thisparticular edition, there was nothing to lead them to him.
    He hummed quietly to himself as he cut out the letters with military precision. There was a strange meditative quality to the whole thing. He arranged the letters on the blank page and unwound the glue stick. Then he carefully pasted each letter until the page was full.