‘I don’t know,’ said Nora distractedly. ‘For I’ve completely forgotten what I was talking about. I say, Felicity, I’ve just seen someone go into the school who is the spitting image of your sister Darrell.’
‘Darrell?’ said Felicity, astonished. ‘Oh, that’s impossible! What would she be doing at Malory Towers?’
‘I don’t have the faintest idea,’ said Nora. ‘But if it wasn’t her, it was her double.’
Intrigued, Felicity got to her feet and said, ‘I’m going to investigate.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Susan. ‘It’s awfully hot out here, and I need to get into the shade.’
As the two girls walked towards the front door of the school, a voice behind them called out, ‘Excuse me, young ladies! I wonder if you might help me?’
Felicity and Susan both turned, to find themselves looking at a tall, distinguished-looking man, with a big moustache and twinkling grey eyes. He doffed his hat in a very gentlemanly manner and said, ‘Could you direct me to Miss Grayling’s study, please?’
‘Of course,’ said Felicity politely, wondering who the stranger could be. ‘Please come this way.’
The distinguished-looking gentleman proved to be very chatty as he accompanied the girls to Miss Grayling’s room.
‘I do hope this headmistress of yours isn’t a tartar,’ he said jovially, making both of them laugh.
‘Not at all,’ said Susan. ‘She’s very pleasant.’
‘That’s a relief,’ said the man. ‘For I’ve come to ask permission to take my two nieces out to tea.’
‘Oh, who are your nieces?’ asked Felicity. ‘I daresay we know them.’
‘Lizzie and Edith Mannering,’ said the man. ‘I meant to come and visit them at half-term, but what with one thing and another I couldn’t get away. So I’m hoping that Miss Grayling will take pity on me and allow me to take them out for a treat today.’
‘I am quite sure that she will,’ said Felicity, trying not to stare at the man. So this was Uncle Charles! And he was very different from the dour, rather grumpy individual that she had pictured.
The two girls left him at Miss Grayling’s door, where he thanked them politely, and went on their way. They didn’t find anyone resembling Darrell, but, on the landing, Susan paused to look out of the window, and cried, ‘My word! Isn’t that Irene? And I do believe it’s Belinda with her!’
Irene and Belinda had been in Darrell’s form, and Felicity rushed to the window to take a look, but she was too late, for the girls Susan had spotted had disappeared from view.
‘How odd!’ said Felicity. ‘First Nora thought that she saw Darrell, and now you have seen Irene and Belinda! What is going on?’
The girls found out as they went past the third-form common-room, and heard a terrific racket coming from inside.
‘My goodness!’ said Felicity. ‘Whatever are those third formers up to in there?’
‘Nothing,’ said Susan, a puzzled frown on her face. ‘Miss Peters has taken them off camping for the rest of the term.’
‘So she has!’ said Felicity, remembering. ‘Then who is in their common-room?’
Just as the girls were wondering if they should investigate, two figures came round the corner.
‘Bill and Clarissa!’ cried Susan. ‘Hallo, you two! Are you here to see Miss Peters? I’m afraid you’re out of luck, for she has taken her form camping.’
Bill and Clarissa were two old girls who ran a riding stables near Malory Towers, and they were great friends with the third-form mistress.
‘No, we’re here for the reunion,’ said Bill with a grin.
‘What reunion?’ said Felicity, puzzled.
‘Why, the old girls’ reunion, of course,’ said Clarissa, pushing open the door of the third-form common-room. ‘And here they all are!’
Felicity and Susan stared as if they couldn’t believe their eyes! There was Daphne and her little friend Mary-Lou, Irene and Belinda, June’s cousin Alicia – and Darrell, with her friend, Sally.
‘Felicity!’ cried Darrell, coming over to give her sister a hug. ‘How marvellous to see you!’
‘Well, it’s marvellous to see you, too,’ said Felicity, still feeling very surprised indeed. ‘You didn’t tell me there was going to be a reunion!’
‘No, I thought I would surprise you,’ laughed Darrell. ‘This was all arranged with Miss Grayling at the end of last term. We asked her if we might hold a reunion here, and she said that we could use the third form’s common-room and dormitory while they are away on their camping trip.’
‘How’s that cousin of mine, Felicity?’ called out Alicia. ‘Still causing trouble?’
‘Oh no, June has settled down a great deal since she became games captain, you know.’
‘I’m jolly glad to hear it,’ said Alicia. ‘Now, who’s missing? Amanda, Gwen and Mavis.’
‘Amanda can’t come, for she is at college,’ said Sally. ‘And Mavis is going to join us later. As for Gwen, well, she is already on the premises, of course, and will be here soon. Miss Grayling has given her a few days off so that she can join our reunion.’
‘Super!’ said Irene happily. ‘My goodness, I feel like a schoolgirl again. I say, wouldn’t it be just wizard to have a midnight feast?’
‘It’s funny you should say that,’ said Alicia with a grin. ‘I feel just like playing a trick on Mam’zelle Dupont!’
‘Yes, but we’d better not discuss such things in front of the Head Girl,’ laughed Belinda, waving a hand towards Felicity. ‘She might dish out a punishment!’
Felicity and Susan laughed, and Mary-Lou called out, ‘Clear off, you kids, and leave us in peace!’
But she was smiling, so Felicity and Susan raised their hands in farewell and wandered off.
‘Well!’ said Felicity to Susan as they made their way back to their studies. ‘The very last thing expected was to see Darrell and all her friends back here at Malory Towers! That must be what she meant on the first day of term, when she said that she might see me here.’
‘I say, let’s go outside and give the others the news,’ said Susan, slipping her arm through Felicity’s. ‘Won’t June be surprised to learn that Alicia is here?’
Lizzie and Edith, meanwhile, had been startled to be summoned to Miss Grayling’s study. They were even more surprised when they entered and saw their Uncle Charles sitting there.
Edith, who had been quite young when she last saw her uncle, was delighted to find that he wasn’t nearly as alarming a figure as the one she remembered. As a small girl his booming voice and big moustache had frightened her, but now she simply couldn’t understand why, for he seemed a very jolly character.
‘Well, girls!’ he said, getting to his feet, and enveloping them both in a hug. ‘It’s very good to see you again. Miss Grayling here has kindly agreed that I may take you out to tea.’
Both girls thanked him politely, then Uncle Charles turned back to Miss Grayling and, picking up his hat, he said, ‘I will have them back here by six o’clock at the latest, Miss Grayling. You can rely on me.’
‘I’m sure that I can,’ said Miss Grayling with a smile. ‘Enjoy your outing, girls.’
The sisters did, for Uncle Charles was very entertaining company, and he treated them to a slap-up tea at the little tea-shop in town.
‘Super!’ said Edith, her eyes shining at the spread that was laid out before them. There were dainty little sandwiches, jam tarts, biscuits and cakes of every kind.
‘Tuck in, girls!’ urged Uncle Charles, beaming, and the girls did not need to be told twice!
Lizzie was a little reserved with her uncle, but the more outgoing Edith very soon lost her shyness and chattered away to him about all her doings.
‘I’m taking part in the swimming gala next week,’ she said. ‘Oh, Uncle Charles, it would be marvellous if you could come and watch. June – the games captain – thinks that I am certain to win my race. I’ve been training very hard for diving and swimming, spending every sp
are minute down at the pool.’
‘Edith!’ said Lizzie, sharply, shooting her sister a warning glance. Really, what a dreadful chatterbox her young sister was! At this rate, Uncle Charles would think that she spent no time at all studying.
Edith turned red and subsided, but Uncle Charles said, ‘I’m jolly pleased to hear that you girls are enjoying yourselves at school. Swimming, eh? Well, I used to be quite a keen swimmer myself as a boy. I will certainly come along if I can. And what about you, Lizzie? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?’
‘Oh, I don’t really have much spare time, Uncle Charles,’ said Lizzie. ‘I’m always busy studying.’
Uncle Charles frowned and said bluntly, ‘Well, that can’t be good for you! If I’d known that you were going to tire yourself out working all the time, I would never have agreed to pay your school fees.’
Lizzie and Edith looked at one another in consternation, and Lizzie said, ‘We do appreciate you lending Mother the money for our fees, Uncle Charles, and – ’
‘Lending her the money?’ said Uncle Charles. ‘What nonsense is this? Anyone would think that I expected it to be paid back, and I most certainly don’t. I have no children of my own, and I’m only too happy to do what I can for my nieces.’
‘But I don’t understand,’ said Lizzie, looking most perplexed. ‘Mother told us that we had to repay you.’
Uncle Charles frowned heavily, then his brow cleared and he gave a guffaw of laughter.
‘My dears, your mother has got things quite wrong! I did say that I wanted you both to repay me, but I meant by making the most of your time at Malory Towers – and that means working hard and playing hard. It looks to me, Lizzie, as if you have been doing too much of one and not enough of the other.’
As Lizzie stared at her uncle in astonishment, it was as if a great weight had rolled off her shoulders. Her mother had completely misunderstood Uncle Charles, and because of it she had missed out on an awful lot of fun – and she had given poor Edith a bad time, all for nothing.
Uncle Charles was wagging his finger now, saying, ‘I insist that you slack off a bit and have some fun this last week of term. Is that clear?’
Although her uncle’s tone was stern, there was a twinkle in his eye, and Lizzie answered it with a broad grin, as she said, ‘Perfectly clear, Uncle Charles.’
Edith, looking at her sister, marvelled at the sudden change in her. How much younger and prettier she looked when she smiled. And Edith had a feeling that she would be smiling a lot more from now on!
While the Mannering sisters were having tea with their uncle, Felicity and Susan were strolling along the cliffs when they heard footsteps behind them, and turned to see Darrell walking towards them.
‘Hallo there, you two!’ she called. ‘Felicity, I was hoping to catch you.’
‘Would you like to spend some time alone with Felicity?’ asked Susan tactfully.
‘No, you stay, Susan,’ said Darrell. ‘For you might be able to help me too. You see, it’s about Gwen.’
The two sixth formers looked at Darrell curiously, and she went on, ‘Gwen joined our little reunion soon after you two had gone. And it seems to me that something is troubling her. You were right, Felicity, when you wrote to me and said that you thought she had changed. She seems more humble and less boastful, somehow. But when she doesn’t realise that anyone is watching her, there is a wistful, rather sad expression on her face.’
‘Gwen hasn’t had an easy time of it here,’ said Felicity. Then she and Susan went on to explain about the class-room being damaged, and about someone dressing up in her clothes to lock Lizzie in the shed and spoil the first formers’ midnight feast.
‘There’s something else, too,’ said Susan. ‘I bumped into Daisy, the maid, in the hall a little earlier. You know how she loves a gossip! Somehow she had got to hear about poor Lizzie being locked in the shed, and she was digging for information, though of course I didn’t tell her anything!’
‘Heavens, is Daisy still here?’ said Darrell. ‘I remember her starting work at Malory Towers when I was in the fifth form.’
‘Yes, but the thing is, Darrell, she told me something jolly interesting,’ said Susan. ‘Apparently Miss Lacey’s room was ransacked a little while ago.’
‘I know that,’ said Darrell with a frown. ‘You’ve just told me.’
‘No, not her class-room – her bedroom,’ said Susan. ‘She never reported it to the Head, though.’
‘Well, this is certainly a piece of news!’ exclaimed Felicity. ‘I wonder how Daisy came to hear about it?’
‘Oh, the domestic staff seem to hear about everything that goes on at Malory Towers,’ said Darrell with a laugh. ‘It has always been that way.’
Then her expression grew more serious, and she said, ‘It certainly sounds as if someone has it in for poor old Gwen, though. Do you know if she has made any enemies here?’
‘Well, a few of the girls aren’t too keen on her,’ said Felicity. ‘But I don’t think that any of them would go to those lengths to get back at her.’
‘Well, what you have both told me has been very helpful,’ said Darrell. ‘I wonder if I can encourage Gwen to open up and tell us all of this herself. No doubt she has her own views on who is behind it.’
‘I do hope so,’ said Susan. Then she glanced at her watch, and said, ‘Heavens, just look at the time! We had better turn back, or we’ll be late for tea.’
‘Are you old girls joining us in the dining-room?’ asked Felicity. ‘Or are you too grand for us?’
‘Oh, we shall be there, all right,’ laughed Darrell. ‘We will be sitting at the third formers’ table while they are away. I must say, I’m looking forward to sitting down and enjoying a Malory Towers tea again!
17
Reunion at Malory Towers
There was a shock in store for Daffy as she went in to tea that afternoon.
‘I say, where is Edith?’ she asked the others, as they made their way to the dining-room.
‘Oh, her uncle came to visit, and he has taken Edith and her sister out to tea,’ said Ivy. ‘Lucky Edith! I bet he will have taken them to that little tea-shop in town, where they do those marvellous chocolate cakes.’
‘Well, I can’t say that I envy her,’ said Daffy, pulling a face. ‘I wouldn’t want to go out to tea with some stern old uncle and a bossy older sister.’
‘Yes, Lizzie is rather a wet blanket,’ said Katie. ‘Though I must say, it’s partly Edith’s own fault for not standing up to her more.’
‘Yes, I gather that Lizzie has always ruled the roost at home,’ said Daffy. ‘And Edith allowed her to get away with it. My goodness, I would never stand for it if my sister, Sally, spoke to me the way that Lizzie does to Edith. Sally’s an awfully good sort, but she would boss me around too, if I let her, for that is what big sisters are like. I showed her right from the start that I wouldn’t put up with that sort of nonsense, though. I told her – ’
‘Daffy!’
Hearing her name called from behind brought Daffy to a halt, and she turned sharply, her mouth dropping open when she saw that the person who had hailed her was none other than Sally.
‘S-Sally!’ gasped Daffy, staring at her sister as if she couldn’t believe her eyes. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’
‘Why, I am here for the old girls’ reunion,’ said Sally, ruffling her sister’s curly hair. ‘Mother was going to write and tell you that I was coming, but I thought it would be a nice surprise if I just turned up unexpectedly.’
‘Well, it’s certainly a surprise,’ said Daffy, who didn’t quite know whether to feel dismayed or delighted.
She was terribly fond of her big sister, of course, but she certainly didn’t want Sally keeping a watchful eye on her!
‘Goodness me, Daffy!’ said Sally, eyeing Daffy critically. ‘Whatever have you been doing, with one sock up and one sock down? Do tidy yourself up!’
Hastily, Daffy bent over and pulled up the offending sock. The
n, to the amusement of the watching first formers, Sally straightened the girl’s tie, before standing back and saying, ‘There, that looks much neater. Off you go now, or you will be late for tea, and that will never do!’
‘Yes, Sally,’ said Daffy meekly, her cheeks turning pink as she saw the others struggling to control their mirth.
Sally strode past the first formers and went to join the others, who were already seated at the third formers’ table.
Mam’zelle Dupont, quite overcome with delight at seeing so many of her old favourites again, was standing by Darrell’s chair, her hand on the girl’s shoulder and a beam of pleasure on her face.
‘Ah, how good it is to see you again – and what fine young ladies you have all grown into!’ she cried. ‘But where is Mavis?’
‘She will be along later,’ said Irene. ‘Of course, Mam’zelle, you know that our Mavis is now a great opera singer, don’t you?’
‘Yes, indeed,’ said Mam’zelle. ‘The dear girl sent me one of her records, and what pleasure it gives me to listen to her voice.’
‘I bet that Mavis has gone all high-and-mighty boastful again now that she is famous,’ murmured Alicia to Darrell and Sally.
‘Well, if she has, we shall soon bring her back down to earth with a good dose of Malory Towers common sense!’ said Sally firmly.
‘I say, who is that young woman over at the mistresses’ table?’ asked Mary-Lou. ‘She must be new.’
‘Yes, she looks rather jolly,’ said Belinda.
‘Oh, that’s Miss Nicholson,’ said Gwen, helping herself to a slice of bread and butter. ‘She is the Geography mistress, and a very good sort. She and I are the best of friends.’
The others looked at one another in surprise, for the plain, sensible-looking Miss Nicholson was the very last person they would have expected Gwen to be friends with.
‘Heavens!’ whispered Daphne to Mary-Lou. ‘Gwen really has changed!’
As it was such a warm and pleasant evening, many of the girls went for a stroll in the grounds after tea.
Darrell and her friends picked a sunny spot on the lawn near the big driveway and sat down.