Read Alice-Miranda on Vacation for Free Online

on,” she asked.
    “No thanks. We’ve just had lemonade, and next we’re off to see Mrs. Greening for afternoon tea. I thought we would pop in and see you and Granny, and then we’d be off—but I promise we’ll be back again soon,” Alice-Miranda said.
    Daisy nodded, still looking distracted. “Oh, okay. Run up and see her, then. She should be awake. Tell her I’ll bring some tea shortly.”
    The children bounded upstairs. If Granny Bert wasn’t awake beforehand she certainly would be now.

A little while later, the two girls said goodbye to Poppy and Jasper outside Rose Cottage. “You’d better get home,” Alice-Miranda reminded the reluctant pair.
    “I’d much rather come with you,” Jasper sighed, before heading off with his little sister in tow.
    Granny Bert was certainly on the mend. Propped up on a mountain of pillows, she had spent the whole time huffing and grumbling that her tea was late. Alice-Miranda laughed and said that she couldn’t understand what everyone had been so worried about. Clearly Granny Bert was almost as good as new.
    She made them promise to come back againtomorrow and take her for a walk around the garden. If she had to have a wheelchair, she said, it might as well be put to good use. Before they left she demanded that Alice-Miranda find her some lipstick. “I feel naked without my face on,” she had said, flinching at her reflection in the hand mirror she picked up from the cluttered bedside table.
    “Goodness, Granny Bert has a lot to say,” Jacinta commented as they headed down the laneway. “Is she always like that?”
    “Oh yes—and usually much worse,” Alice-Miranda laughed. “But she doesn’t often get muddled up with names. I can’t imagine why she insisted on calling you Annabelle the whole time.”
    “Yes, I mean, I could understand if she thought my name was Jasmine, perhaps, or even Jessica, but Annabelle was a bit far off the mark,” Jacinta commented. “Is she really your granny?”
    “Oh no, not at all. She’s Daisy’s granny. But we’ve always called her Granny Bert—her real name is Albertine. She used to work in the house a long time ago—before Shilly. She ran the whole place when there were loads more staff and house parties every other weekend. Mummy says that she was incredible and everyone loved her.”
    “I can’t imagine,” Jacinta scoffed.
    “She’s quite good fun, really. Just you wait and see. I can guarantee that once she’s completely well, she’ll be up to her old tricks again,” Alice-Miranda countered.
    The girls skipped on along the laneway toward the gatehouse and Mrs. Greening’s much anticipated cake. A grand avenue of oaks lined the path, and the afternoon sun played tricks with dapples and shadows through the canopy.
    They heard in the distance the whine of a powerful engine.
    “I wonder who that is.” Alice-Miranda turned and caught sight of a large black sedan speeding away from the back of Rose Cottage. It was creating rather a lot of dust as it accelerated toward them. “I didn’t notice a car when we were at Daisy and Granny’s. Did you?” she asked Jacinta.
    “No, but Daisy did say something about a visitor, didn’t she?” Jacinta replied.
    “They must have gone out the back door through the utility room before we arrived,” Alice-Miranda decided.
    “Well, whoever it is seems to be in rather a hurry now.” Jacinta grabbed Alice-Miranda’s hand and they jumped back from the road just as the car roared past.
    It had dark tinted windows and was traveling at such speed it was impossible to see who was inside.
    “Maniac!” Jacinta called after them. “You’ll kill someone!”
    Alice-Miranda watched as the vehicle turned left and headed for the main road. She wasn’t used to seeing strange cars on the estate—especially not ones being driven at such pace. She felt a twinge in her tummy and a strange feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
    The girls walked back onto the road. “Oh, I see