Alice-Miranda on Vacation Read Online Free

down to look inside. “There’s a doll’s house in there!” she exclaimed, peering into one of the front windows on the second floor. She shielded her eyes to get a better look. “And a rocking horse, just like yours.” She stood back. “It’s
your
house!” Jacinta beamed.
    “Mr. Greening’s father made it for Mummy when she was a little girl. I think it’s the most perfect doll’shouse ever.” Alice-Miranda lifted part of the roof to reveal an attic room. “Mummy says it took him two years to build it. He used an old set of plans and Granny helped him with all the details. It’s exactly the same as the Hall, just in miniature. In fact, I suppose if I study the doll’s house I might find some more of those mysterious rooms I’ve not seen before,” she added as an afterthought.
    “Are you allowed to play with it?” Jacinta stepped back as Alice-Miranda pulled a trunk from the attic.
    “Of course,” she said. “Mummy and Aunt Charlotte played with it all the time when they were little, and it’s always been here.”
    Jacinta frowned. “Well, that’s sensible.”
    “What do you mean?” Alice-Miranda asked.
    “I have a doll’s house too, but I’m not allowed to touch it because it once belonged to a princess and Mummy says it won’t be valuable anymore if I play with it. I told her that wasn’t fair but she decided it would be best if I just looked at it—so now it’s locked away inside a glass case.” Jacinta rolled her eyes.
    “But that’s silly,” said Alice-Miranda with a shake of her head. “Of course you should play with it. I’ll talk to your mother. Maybe she just doesn’t understand about doll’s houses.” Alice-Miranda picked up a dolldressed in a navy skirt and white shirt. She looked a bit like Mrs. Shillingsworth.
    “I don’t know,” Jacinta replied. “But I’m sure you won’t change her mind.”
    “Well, you can play with this house all day long if you’d like,” Alice-Miranda said decisively, and handed Jacinta the doll.

A fter a tour of the bedrooms on the second floor, Jacinta decided that she would like to sleep in the room beside Alice-Miranda’s, which shared an adjoining bathroom.
    “I hope you don’t mind,” said Jacinta. She flopped open the lid of her suitcase. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to be back in your own room, and honestly, I’m quite fine on my own too. After school, where there’s always someone in the same room, it’s a bit of a novelty, really.”
    “Of course I don’t mind at all.” Alice-Miranda began unpacking Jacinta’s clothes into the tallboy opposite the bed.
    The room was generously proportioned and had a large carpeted area where Jacinta thought she might do some stretching and floor work. She was aiming to go to the junior world championships and couldn’t afford to stop training, even though it was holidays.
    “Besides,” said Alice-Miranda, “this room has lots of space and I thought you might want to do some stretching. It might be a bit small for tumbling, but the Great Hall downstairs would be perfect for that.”
    “Can you read minds?” Jacinta asked.
    Alice-Miranda grinned.
    After they finished unpacking, Alice-Miranda suggested they go and explore the estate.
    “I’ve got loads of people I want you to meet—and we do have that special invitation from Mrs. Greening at four o’clock. And I’ve been thinking about that boy in the laneway,” Alice-Miranda pondered out loud. “I wonder who he is.”
    “Well, whoever he is, someone needs to teach him some manners,” Jacinta replied.
    “I think I’ll go and put on my old jeans in case we find some good trees to climb. You should get changed too.” Alice-Miranda walked to the bathroom door and headed through into her own room.
    Five minutes later the girls met in the hallway. Jacinta had changed from her school dress into navypants and a short-sleeved striped navy top. Alice-Miranda wore a faded pair of denim jeans with a pink shirt. Both girls had