Alice-Miranda at Sea by Jacqueline Harvey Page B

forward.
    â€˜Well, get out of my kitchen. No children allowed. Out!’
    Millie, Jacinta, Sep and Lucas were gone before he’d finished his bellowing. Only Alice-Miranda stayed behind.
    â€˜I am looking forward to eating your delicious food, Chef Vladimir. Perhaps we’ll see you again tomorrow.’ She waved and skipped off to find her friends.
    Vladimir thumped his plate-sized fist onto the steel bench. No one had told him there would be children on board. In his opinion children were akin to rats: dirty, smelly little troublemakers. There was no doubt that the world would be better off without them. He would need to make sure that this one, who seemed rather persistent, would not cause any problems and upset his grand plans for the week.

'I was so scared.’ Jacinta breathed deeply when the children were safely out of the kitchen and back on deck.
    â€˜Vladimir certainly has an interesting management style,’ Sep observed.
    â€˜Well I’m sure he’s a wonderful chef,’ Alice-Miranda enthused. ‘There were some delicious smells in that kitchen.’
    â€˜We thought he was going to squish you under his hairy paw,’ said Millie, ‘and then roast us all in the ovens and serve us for dinner tonight.’
    The children looked at each other and gulped. Only Alice-Miranda smiled.
    â€˜Hello.’ Cecelia walked over and interrupted the group. ‘So where have you lot been?’
    â€˜Hello Mummy. We’ve had the most wonderful afternoon exploring the ship. We saw the pool and the library and the ballroom and the kitchen,’ Alice-Miranda went on.
    â€˜And we met the scariest chef in the world,’ Jacinta added.
    â€˜Mr Rodgers?’ Cecelia raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve known him since I was ten years old. He doesn’t have a frightening bone in his body. You know his nickname is Jolly.’
    â€˜Well this man’s name certainly isn’t Jolly. It’s Vladimir and he’s a giant and especially fierce with his staff,’ Jacinta went on.
    Cecelia Highton-Smith called to her sister Charlotte, who was standing nearby talking with Daisy and Granny Bert.
    â€˜Cha, excuse me, darling, what happened to Mr Rodgers?’
    â€˜Oh, poor fellow has a broken leg. It was a dreadful accident – a hit-and-run on the high street a few weeks ago. Admiral Harding said Mr Rodgers simply didn’t see the car. I can’t believe the driver didn’t stop – poor man could have been killed. He wanted to do the wedding but I told Aunty Gee that would be terribly unfair. I couldn’t imagine him hopping about down there on crutches. So Lawrence organised another chef through a friend of his. The man’s a bit of a celebrity in Russia – stunning food but not known for his patience. Apparently he’s been dying to cook for Aunty Gee for ages – increase his prestige at home and all. He insisted on bringing some of his own team, too.’
    â€˜We met him a little while ago,’ Alice-Miranda piped up.
    â€˜And you’re right about him being impatient. His staff are terrified of him,’ Lucas added.
    â€˜I’m sure he’s not as bad as all that,’ Alice-Miranda insisted. ‘Chefs are just focused, that’s all.’
    Cecelia glanced up and caught sight of Millie’s mother and father talking with Mrs Oliver and Ambrose.
    â€˜Did you see your parents, Jacinta?’ Cecelia asked. She wondered where on earth they could have got to. Everyone else had managed to make it up on deck to push off and since then most of the guests had been milling about chatting, taking tea and having a lovely catch-up.
    â€˜No,’ Jacinta frowned.
    â€˜Never mind, they’re probably just taking a while to get settled. I’m sure they’ll be up shortly,’ Cecelia said reassuringly. She secretly wondered if she’d done the right thing inviting them. It didn’t seem fair that