Alice-Miranda in Paris 7 by Jacqueline Harvey Page B

and picked up a pen. ‘What must I do?’ she wheezed.
    The man told her exactly what he wanted and that she should await further instructions regarding where and how they would make the exchange.
    Adele hung up the telephone, raced to the toilet and threw up.

Harry Lipp had slept later than he intended. When he emerged from the lift into the hotel foyer, the rest of the group was already assembled and waiting to head off to the Palace of Versailles for their first performance.
    Ophelia Grimm glanced up and flinched.
    Mr Lipp’s suit was a particularly nasty shade of electric blue, teamed with a multicoloured cravat and blue suede shoes. Clearly he was planning to compete with the palace decor because nobody was going to miss him dressed like that.
    Deidre Winterbottom shuffled through the children and found the headmistress.
    ‘Seriously?’ she whispered to her friend. ‘I wouldn’t have believed he could find anything brighter than his red suit, but this one takes the biscuit. I think I need my sunglasses.’
    Ophelia Grimm smiled. ‘Oh well, I suppose no one could accuse the man of being bland.’
    Soon the children and teachers were en route to the palace. They took the train from Notre Dame Station, and Mr Lipp and Mr Trout even contrived an impromptu rehearsal in transit, much to the delight – or annoyance – of the other passengers.
    ‘I’ll count you in,’ Mr Trout said, and began to click his fingers.
    Figgy started a drum solo on the seat in front of him and was quickly greeted with a death stare from the elderly passenger who was being thumped on the back.
    ‘Ç
a vous dérange?
’ demanded the bald man.
    ‘No, I am
not
crazy,’ Figgy protested loudly.
    Mr Plumpton leaned over and interpreted for the lad. ‘Not “deranged”. “
Dérange
.” He asked if you minded. I think he’d prefer you to stop.’
    ‘Oh, sorry. Uh,
désolé
,’ Figgy mouthed. He began drumming on his thigh instead.
    The gentleman hmphed, but when the lad began to sing the man’s eyes almost popped out of his head. It was hard to imagine such a sweet sound coming from the boofy boy. His solo at the beginning of ‘Scarborough Fair’ was mesmerising and when the rest of the children joined in there was a brief burst of applause from the other passengers.
    The group sang another two songs before Miss Grimm decided that was enough entertainment. She thought a couple of the commuters were beginning to look tetchy and she didn’t want to push their luck.
    After the excitement of their performance, the children settled back in their seats to watch the countryside whiz by.
    ‘We must be getting close,’ said Millie, as she looked out the window. ‘We were in the underground for ages and it says here it only takes forty minutes to get there.’ She tapped the cover of her trusty guidebook.
    ‘So I suppose
you’ve
been here before?’ Sloane asked Alice-Miranda.
    ‘No, but I’ve heard it’s amazing. Mummy and Daddy have visited and Aunty Gee said that it’s awful and ostentatious and she’s glad no one in her family ever built anything as revolting.’
    ‘Really? Aunty Gee said that?’ Millie frowned. ‘Versailles must be really OTT then, because her house at Chesterfield Downs is huge. And I’m sure her other places are even bigger.’
    ‘I suppose so,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘I can’t wait to see it.’
    The train pulled into the station and the children were directed to stay together. Mr Lipp and Mr Trout would go ahead and find out where they were performing. Miss Grimm and Mr Grump led the charge with Professor and Mrs Winterbottom bringing up the rear and Miss Reedy and Mr Plumpton taking care of the middle.
    There were hundreds of people heading in the same direction and Miss Reedy was already fearful of losing someone. Her suggestion that they might wear bright orange vests, like some of the other school groups they’d seen around Paris, was met with far less enthusiasm than she had hoped. Miss Grimm