Alice-Miranda in the Alps (14 page)

‘Delph?' Alice-Miranda said, her ears perking up at the name. ‘We just met a lady called Delphine Doerflinger in St Moritz. She's not your aunt, is she?'

Valerie laughed delicately, blotting her lips with a tissue. ‘No, everyone in Switzerland has an Aunt Delphine.'

‘Really?' Millie said, surprised that the guidebook had left out such an interesting bit of trivia.

Alice-Miranda shook her head, grinning. ‘Valerie just means that it's a very common name here, that's all. Like everyone has an Aunt Mary at home.'

Millie raised an eyebrow. ‘I don't.'

Valerie checked her lipstick one last time before walking out of the room. ‘Enjoy your holiday, girls,' she trilled.

‘She seems nice,' Millie said, drying her hands. ‘It can't be the staff that's the problem then, unless you count Rotten Marius.'

Alice-Miranda grinned. ‘He's not
that
bad.'

Millie rolled her eyes.

The pair walked back to the lounge, where Sloane and Jacinta were sipping tall glasses of lemonade and laughing with the boys.

The next morning Alice-Miranda skipped into the hotel foyer to find the Baroness standing beside the grand oval table. She looked to be deep in thought as she removed several wilted roses from a huge floral arrangement. ‘Good morning, Aunt Giselle,' the child sang.

The old woman looked up and smiled. ‘Hello my darling. Did you sleep well?'

Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘The bed was heavenly and the duvet made me feel like I was sleeping under a cloud.'

‘I am glad,' Giselle said. ‘Are you off to the slopes this morning?'

‘Yes, but I thought I'd visit Nina first,' Alice-Miranda said. She spotted a drooping bloom and plucked it from the vase. ‘I've missed her, and I can't wait to introduce her to my friends.'

‘Ah, lovely Nina.' The old woman sighed, releasing a handful of roses into the basket at her feet. ‘I am afraid I have some bad news.'

Alice-Miranda looked up at the Baroness, wondering what was the matter.

‘I am sorry I did not tell you sooner,' Giselle said, taking Alice-Miranda's hands in hers. ‘Nina's mother passed away almost a year ago. It was a terrible tragedy.'

Alice-Miranda caught her breath, her eyes pricking with tears. ‘What happened?'

The Baroness shook her head. ‘She suffered an aneurysm one morning, after Sebastien had left for work. Lars was downstairs in the museum and Nina was at school. Tragically, no one found Sandrine until it was too late.'

Alice-Miranda pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped her eyes.

‘Oh, my darling.' Giselle wrapped her arms around the girl.

‘How are Nina and her family?' Alice-Miranda asked.

‘Her grandfather is not coping well at all. There is talk that he may have to be moved into a nursing home,' the old woman said.

Alice-Miranda couldn't believe what she was hearing. ‘But what about the museum?' she asked.

‘It is closed,' the Baroness said gently.

A tear ran down Alice-Miranda's cheek. ‘It's horrible and so unfair.'

‘Life is not fair,' Giselle said, touching the girl's cheek and brushing a tear away. ‘There are things we will never understand and sometimes I think it is even too hard to try.'

‘I should go and see her. Will you let Mummy and the others know where I am?' Alice-Miranda said, looking up at the Baroness.

Giselle nodded. ‘Of course.'

Alice-Miranda hurried out the front door and across the snowy street. The fresh powder crunched under her feet while the sun shone brightly overhead. To her left, the Matterhorn towered above the village, a vast crag of white under a winter blanket.

She knocked on one of the mint-green doors. A handwritten sign taped to the other door declared the
museum closed. Alice-Miranda waited for a minute before knocking again. This time she could hear movement on the stairs and the sound of running feet. The door opened to reveal a girl with two long plaits tumbling over her shoulders. She was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved navy shirt with tiny white spots on it.

Alice-Miranda smiled at her friend. ‘Hello Nina.'

‘Alice-Miranda! What are you doing here?' Nina exclaimed. She rushed out onto the front step, and the two children hugged each other fiercely. ‘It is so good to see you.'

The girls stepped back and looked at one another. ‘Aunt Giselle just told me,' Alice-Miranda said. ‘I am so sorry.'

Nina nodded, her eyes filling with tears which she hastily brushed away. ‘Me too.'

‘I don't know what to say.' Alice-Miranda reached into her pocket for a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. ‘Your mother was always so kind to me.'

‘She was kind to everyone.' Nina smiled. ‘How long are you staying for?'

‘We'll be here until next weekend, then we go back to St Moritz,' Alice-Miranda said. She thought for a moment. ‘Do you have school today?'

Nina shook her head. ‘We are on a break this week.'

‘Who is it, Nina?' The sound of Sebastian Ebersold's footsteps echoed on the stairs.

‘Papa, it's Alice-Miranda.' The girl turned to her father. He didn't miss the look of delight on her face – something he hadn't seen for a long time.

‘Hello Herr Ebersold,' Alice-Miranda said. She stepped forward, unable to help herself from giving Nina's father a hug. ‘I am so sorry about Frau Ebersold.'

The man's kind eyes glistened. ‘Thank you, my dear,' he said, his voice thick with emotion. ‘It is lovely to see you.'

‘Likewise,' Alice-Miranda said with a grin. ‘Would you mind if Nina joins me and my friends today?'

‘That sounds wonderful,' Sebastien said. He knew his daughter hadn't been on the mountain since her mother had passed away. It was almost as if she were afraid to leave the house unnecessarily lest she lose another loved one.

‘We'll be leaving as soon as everyone has finished their breakfast. We were a bit late getting up today,' Alice-Miranda said.

Nina bit her lip. ‘I'm sorry, I can't go. Unless you are not working today, Papa?'

She knew it was unlikely as her father oversaw a large team in charge of resort maintenance. They were responsible for ensuring the chairlifts were in good order, the runs were clearly marked and just about everything else to do with creating a safe environment for the skiers.

Nina's father shook his head. ‘You should ski,' he insisted. ‘I want you to have some fun. I will ask Frau Gisler if she can sit with Opa.' He ran down the front steps and over to a cluster of houses down the street.

Nina turned to Alice-Miranda. ‘Opa has started to wander,' she said by way of explanation. ‘Frau Gisler used to babysit me when I was small. It seems strange that it is now Opa who needs a babysitter.'

The ringing of bells sounded as the town clock struck nine. ‘I'd better go and find everyone,' Alice-Miranda said, giving her friend another hug before turning to leave. ‘I'll be back in half an hour. I hope you can come with us.'

‘Me too,' Nina smiled, waving from the doorway.

Delphine Doerflinger held the phone away from her ear and waited for her husband to stop talking.

‘I am sorry I had to leave so suddenly, but there has been a small hiccup with our acquisition,' she said. ‘No, no, there is absolutely no need for you to come here. I will be home again very soon.' After saying goodbye, Delphine ended the call.

She stood up and paced around the room. The last thing she needed was for Otto to interfere. Delphine sighed and returned to the matter at hand. There could only be one explanation for Von Zwicky backing out of the deal: someone else was helping him, and that some one was Hugh Kennington-Jones. She remembered bumping into his infernally happy child while on the way to meet her colleagues. Knowing those
Dummkopfs
, they'd probably been boasting and the girl overheard them. Why else would her father have hurried to Zermatt to help the Baron with his business?

The woman flipped open her purse and rummaged around for some headache tablets. She rubbed her temples, aware that if she didn't catch it now, the dull throb would turn into something much worse and she couldn't afford to be laid up for the rest of the day.

So far Delphine had managed to avoid the brat and her family, but it was such a cumbersome affair. It would have been easier if only there were more guests, but that was a problem of her own making. More than ever, she needed to find that access route. Otherwise, everything she had been working so hard to gain would be lost.

The children stood shoulder to shoulder with over one hundred other passengers as they rode the cable car to the top of the mountain. They were accompanied by their ski instructor, a young woman called Michaela. She worked for the oldest ski school in Zermatt, which was affectionately known as ‘the Reds' due to their bright red jackets. Michaela had taught Alice-Miranda a couple of times before and the child was thrilled that they were going to have her all to themselves for the whole week.

‘You were right about this place, Alice-Miranda,' Millie gushed. ‘It's incredible.'

Michaela looked over and grinned. ‘Glad you are enjoying it, Millie.'

Earlier in the day Millie and Lucas had revelled in their first snowboarding lessons but had decided to switch back to skis after lunch so the whole group could be together.

‘I'm so happy you could come out with us,' Alice-Miranda said, peering around Millie at Nina.

The girl was wearing a white ski suit with pink trim. Underneath her pink hat, her long brown plaits fell down almost to her waist. ‘Me too,' she said, nodding. ‘I haven't been up on the mountain much lately.'

When Alice-Miranda had returned to the hotel that morning, she had relayed Nina's sad news to her friends. They had all felt terribly sorry for the girl, prompting Sloane to try to keep her usual litany of whinges about her own mother to a minimum.

‘This will be our last run of the day,' Michaela announced as the cable car pulled into the station.

Jacinta pouted. ‘Already?'

‘Don't worry, we will do it all again tomorrow,' the woman assured her. ‘Besides, it will take us a while to get back to the village.'

This was the group's first ride to the very top of the Klein Matterhorn, having spent most of the day on some of the lower slopes closer to where Millie and Lucas were learning to snowboard.

‘Whoa!' Sloane gasped as she caught sight of the view. She had been sandwiched between several adults on the way up and only just realised that the village had been reduced to a speck down below. ‘Is it safe up here?' she asked, her stomach lurching.

‘You'll be fine.' Michaela gave the girl a smile and a wink. ‘Just follow me.'

The children walked out onto the snow, slapping their skis on the ground and clicking into their bindings. Goggles were adjusted and straps tightened in anticipation of the marathon run to the bottom.

When everyone was ready, Michaela waved her pole in the air and pushed off. She traversed a steep dip and swung up onto a flatter section of snow on the other side. ‘Come on, kids!' she called.

Alice-Miranda took off after her, with Nina close behind. But just as Millie pushed herself forward, a skier dressed in head-to-toe black flew over the top of the rise and missed hitting her by mere millimetres.

‘Watch out, you lunatic!' the child yelled, waving her pole at the man. She was about to go again when a stream of identically dressed skiers hurtled towards her.

Lucas lunged forward and grabbed Millie's arm, hauling her out of harm's way. Sloane's knees were trembling and Sep shook his fist at the interlopers. Down below, Michaela was signalling for the children to join them.

Millie craned her neck to see if anyone else was about to zoom over the top. When she was convinced the coast was clear, she pushed off. Lucas, Sep, Jacinta and Sloane followed her, their skis pointing straight ahead to gather as much speed as possible and avoid any other maniacs.

‘Are you guys okay?' Michaela asked as Millie turned sharply to stop.

Millie nodded. ‘Who were they?' she asked.

‘They call themselves the Black Diamonds,' Michaela said disapprovingly. ‘They're a new ski school, but I only ever see them racing each other over the mountain with their little backpacks on. I don't know how they expect to stay in business without any students.'

‘I wouldn't want them teaching me,' Sloane said. ‘Did you see how out of control some of them were?'

‘Oh, I know them,' Nina piped up. ‘They're always hanging around with the driver from the hotel.'

‘Rotten Marius?' Millie said.

Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘Millie means Marius Roten.'

Nina nodded. ‘That's him. I've seen them at the stables. They make lots of noise.'

‘No wonder Hazel and Harry seemed a bit uptight,' Millie said.

But Alice-Miranda wasn't listening. Something – or someone – had caught her eye. ‘Caprice! Is that you?' she called out.

Jacinta's jaw just about hit the ground. ‘What?'

Alice-Miranda pointed to a skier below them. A girl was sitting in the snow, her arms and legs flailing.

Millie groaned. ‘She's not supposed to be here.'

‘Do you know that person?' Michaela asked.

‘I think it's a girl from our school,' Alice-Miranda replied, tilting her head to the side. It almost looked as if she was punching the snow.

‘You mean a monster,' Sloane said.

‘Let's see if she needs some help,' Michaela suggested.

‘I'll help her,' Millie grumbled, ‘right over the edge.'

Sloane snorted.

Michaela took off down the mountain with her students snaking along behind her. They pulled up, with Millie sending a spray of snow all over the girl.

‘Hey! What did you do that for?' Caprice grouched, then looked up and realised who she was yelling at. ‘You!' she exclaimed, glaring at Millie. Caprice stood up and dusted the snow from her pale pink pants. ‘Go away!'

‘What's the matter?' Alice-Miranda asked, clearly concerned. ‘Where's your group?'

Caprice staked her poles hard into the ground. ‘I don't care,' she huffed. ‘Somewhere in Italy.'

‘Where are you staying?' Michaela asked gently. ‘You can ski down with us and I'll make sure that you get home.'

‘Our chalet isn't in stupid Switzerland,' the girl said tersely. ‘It's in Cervinia.'

‘Oh.' Michaela looked up at the cable cars, then glanced at her watch. ‘That's going to be a bit of a problem.'

‘Why?' Millie asked, her voice wavering.

‘The cable car has closed for the day,' said Michaela, ‘and that is unfortunately the only way high enough to go over to Italy.'

Caprice kicked at the snow. ‘Great. I'll just stay up here for the night then.'

‘What are you having a tantrum about, anyway?' Jacinta said. She was fast losing patience with the girl. She had been, in fact, ever since Caprice had arrived at school.

‘It's none of your business,' Caprice spat.

‘Well, if you're happy to stay here, then
we
should go. We don't want to get stuck on the mountain too,' Jacinta replied, keeping her cool.

Lucas and Sep grimaced at one another, and Nina watched on quietly, wondering what catastrophe had befallen the girl to make her so upset.

‘I'm afraid I can't do that,' Michaela said. ‘Come with us and I'll telephone your parents once we're in the village to let them know where you are. They must be very worried.'

‘Serves Mummy right for being so mean,' Caprice fumed.

‘Sorry, Caprice, but you won't be seeing your parents tonight. It's a full day's drive from Cervinia,' Michaela explained.

‘What?' Millie looked as if she'd been slapped with a wet fish.

‘It's all right,' Alice-Miranda said to Caprice. ‘You can bunk with me and Millie tonight. I'm sure your parents will be happy to meet you at the top of the mountain tomorrow.'

‘I'm not going back tomorrow,' the girl replied, crossing her arms defiantly.

‘I don't think you'll have a choice,' Millie said through gritted teeth.

Caprice sniffed, her nose pointed in the air. ‘Just watch me.'

Worried about the fading light, Michaela turned on the speed for their homeward journey. But she had an ulterior motive too. A good, long run would take the wind out of Caprice's sails so that by the time they reached the bottom the child might be able to conduct a civil conversation.

Michaela stopped at the top of the final descent into the village and waited for the children to catch up. ‘Is everyone okay?' she called.

‘That was awesome!' Sep enthused. The boy could hardly believe how much he'd improved in just a few days on the slopes.

‘What about you, Caprice? Are you feeling better?' Michaela asked, but the girl just shrugged in response. Her plan seemed to be working and, at the very least, she was glad the child was no longer hurling herself about like a three-year-old. ‘Well, we've only got this last part to go and then we're going to have to skate back to the middle of the village,' she said.

‘I'm bored,' Caprice whined. ‘Why don't we have a race?'

Lucas grinned. ‘I'm up for it.'

‘Me too,' Nina said with a shrug.

‘How does everyone else feel?' Michaela glanced at the children, who nodded and smiled. Only Sloane looked unsure. ‘It's settled then. I'll ski ahead so you can follow my path – no going off-piste,' the young woman said.

‘What's the prize?' Caprice asked.

Millie and Lucas groaned.

‘You don't always have to win something, you know,' Sloane said.

‘Yeah,' Lucas chimed in, ‘why don't we just have some fun for once?'

‘It's not a proper race if you don't win a prize,' Caprice griped.

‘Okay, I'll buy the winner a chocolate,' Michaela relented, eager to call it a day.

‘Only if it's Fanger's,' Millie agreed. ‘I love that stuff.'

Michaela smiled. ‘Deal.'

Lucas drew a starting line in the snow with his stock. ‘Someone has to say “go” or else it won't be fair,' he pointed out.

‘I will,' Sloane volunteerd. ‘I'm not going to win, so I don't mind being the starter.'

‘Right, I will see you all at the bottom.' Michaela gave them a wave before speeding off down the mountain.

The children arranged themselves on the makeshift line, with Sloane at one end and Caprice at the other. Sloane took off her scarf and waved it in the air. ‘Ready … set … go!'

Caprice leaned across and shoved Alice-Miranda so hard that the girl fell into Nina, who fell into Millie. The whole row tumbled, with only Sep and Sloane managing to avoid the chaos and stay upright.

‘Oh no, did all the little Humpties fall down?' Caprice laughed as she zoomed away.

Sep and Sloane took off after her, both determined to not let her win.

‘You're asking for it, Caprice,' Millie grumbled, pushing herself to her feet. She helped Nina up and seconds later the girls were charging down the slope with Alice-Miranda in hot pursuit.

‘Go, Nina!' Lucas yelled as the girl flew off a jump that propelled her almost level with Caprice.

Caprice glanced over her shoulder and shrieked. ‘Where did you come from?'

‘You're not so clever now, Miss Smartypants.' Nina's hips swung from side to side as she powered down the snowy terrain.

‘Don't let her win!' Sloane shouted as Nina overtook Caprice.

Millie and Alice-Miranda were gaining fast. They could see Michaela at the bottom, waving her stock in the air. Suddenly, Caprice let out a scream. Everyone turned to see her hit a jump and fly into the air. She flipped backwards and miraculously landed on her feet.

Nina crossed the line first with Millie close behind.

‘It's all your fault!' Caprice wailed as the rest of the children zoomed past her. ‘You forced me over that jump.'

‘Nobody made you do anything,' Millie yelled at the girl. ‘It's called karma.'

‘Whatever,' Caprice said, shoving Millie on the shoulder. ‘It was a stupid race, anyway.'

‘Stop it!' Michaela ordered. ‘You were lucky that Alice-Miranda saw you, Caprice. You would have frozen up there overnight, and your parents must be worried sick – although, if I were them, I'd be glad for a night off.'

Caprice's mouth opened, then closed again.

‘Now, stop your nastiness, or I'll hand you over to the ski patrol and they can look after you until the morning,' Michaela said.

‘She's fantastic,' Millie whispered to the others. ‘Do you think she'd be open to teaching at our school?'

Nina grinned. ‘I'm sure Caprice is not the first spoilt brat Michaela has had to deal with up there.'