She was delighted when, the day after the trick on Mam’zelle, June had stopped her in the corridor, and said, in a low voice, ‘What’s all this I hear about the stable cat getting into Mam’zelle Dupont’s handbag?’
For a moment Daffy had wondered if she was in for a scold, then she saw the twinkle in June’s eyes and grinned, saying innocently, ‘That was quite a mystery, June. I simply can’t imagine how the poor creature came to be trapped in there.’
June laughed out loud at this, and said, ‘You’re a monkey, Daffy Hope! Well, it’s good to know that there is someone who will keep the tradition of playing tricks going at Malory Towers once I have left. Keep up the good work!’
Daffy, of course, had seen this as praise of the highest order, and walked off with her head in such a whirl that she almost bumped into Mam’zelle Rougier.
‘Oops, sorry, Mam’zelle!’ she said. ‘I didn’t see you there.’
The thin, rather severe-looking French mistress glared at Daffy, and shook her head sternly, but the first former didn’t even notice. What did anything matter, when she was basking in the glow of June’s praise? And it was much more pleasant to be praised for jokes and tricks than for her skill at games, Daffy thought. After all, there were many good lacrosse players at Malory Towers, but there was no one who could plan a successful trick like she, Daffy, could.
June, meanwhile, went off to join a little gathering in Felicity’s study. Susan was there, of course, along with Bonnie, Amy, Delia and Gillian, all of them drinking cups of tea and happily munching on biscuits.
‘Room for one more?’ asked June, sidling in.
‘Yes, but I’m afraid you’ll have to sit on the floor,’ said Felicity. ‘Do help yourself to tea and biscuits.’
June did so, then found herself a comfortable spot on the floor, her back resting against the wall.
The sixth formers chattered amicably about anything and everything – except the forthcoming exams. It had been agreed that, when they all got together like this, the subject was out of bounds, and was only ever mentioned in passing. If anyone ever tried to discuss the exams in any depth, they were immediately shouted down and threatened with being sent from the room!
‘Yes, it’s bad enough that we have to do all this studying,’ Gillian had said. ‘When we get the chance to meet up in what little free time we have, we need to put them out of our minds completely.’
‘Half-term soon,’ said Susan, taking a bite of a ginger biscuit. ‘Goodness, haven’t the weeks just flown!’
‘I’ll say,’ said Delia. ‘I simply can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to seeing my father.’
All of the girls were looking forward to seeing their people again, and Felicity said, ‘No matter how far up the school you get, the excitement of half-term never fades.’
Alice put her head round the door just then, and, seeing that the room was so crowded, she said, ‘Oh! Sorry, Felicity, I didn’t realise that so many of the girls were in here. I’ll come back another time.’
‘No, come in, Alice,’ called Susan in a cheery voice. ‘Felicity doesn’t mind her study being used as a meeting place at all!’
So Alice squeezed in, poured herself a cup of tea and sat down next to June.
‘We were just talking about half-term, Alice,’ said June. ‘Will your parents be coming?’
‘Oh, no!’ said Alice, looking quite horrified at the thought.
This puzzled the others and, seeing their expressions, Alice said hastily, ‘They will be on holiday, you see. It was all arranged ages ago, so they can’t cancel now.’
‘What a shame,’ said Felicity, feeling sorry for the girl. ‘Well, you’re very welcome to come out with me and my people, you know. I’m not sure whether they’ll be bringing a picnic, or taking me to a restaurant, but it’s sure to be good fun.’
‘Why, thank you, Felicity,’ said Alice, her face lighting up. ‘I would like that very much.’
Delia and Gillian got up to leave, and June moved over to sit in the empty chair beside Felicity, murmuring, ‘Rather you than me.’
‘Oh, June, that’s a little unkind!’ protested Felicity. ‘Alice might be a little odd, but she’s not a bad sort.’
As she spoke, a memory of something that Alice had said to her the other day came back to Felicity. She had meant to question Alice about it, but had been so busy that it had slipped to the back of her mind. She mentioned it now to June, saying in a low voice, ‘June, you know on the first day of term I took the new girls to see Miss Grayling?’
June nodded, and Felicity went on, ‘Well, Alice said to me the other day that the Head had said to them, You will all get a lot out of your time at Malory Towers. Make sure that you put a lot back.’
June shrugged, and said, ‘Miss Grayling always says that to the new girls on their first day. I can remember her saying it to us.’
‘But that’s just it,’ said Felicity. ‘She didn’t say it this time! The telephone in her study rang just as she was about to get to that bit. I was outside and heard everything quite clearly.’
‘That is peculiar,’ said June. ‘Have you tackled Alice about it?’
‘No, I meant to, but with one thing and another it sort of slipped my mind,’ said Felicity.
‘Do it now,’ said June.
‘No, not with so many people around,’ said Felicity firmly. ‘I shall speak to her about it when we are alone.’
Both girls glanced across at Alice, who had taken her glasses off and was rubbing at her eyes.
‘It’s very strange,’ said June. ‘But it’s only at certain times I get that feeling of familiarity about Alice. And this is one of those times.’
‘It’s because she’s taken her glasses off,’ said Felicity. ‘I always get it then as well. And when she smiles.’
June made no reply, for she was staring at Alice hard. Felicity gave her a nudge, saying, ‘What’s up with you? I thought you said that the only reason Alice seems familiar is because she reminds us of someone.’
‘I did,’ said June, bringing her gaze back to Felicity. ‘But now I’m having second thoughts. After what you have just told me, I’m beginning to think that there is a decided mystery about our Alice. And did you notice how she reacted when I asked if her people were coming at half-term?’
‘Yes,’ said Felicity. ‘Almost as if she was ashamed of them.’
‘Or terrified of us meeting them,’ said June. ‘I think that once the exams are over, we might do a little investigating.’
‘Yes,’ said Felicity, nodding. ‘My word, I was hoping for an easy time after the exams, but what with trying to find out what’s up with Alice – not to mention stopping her running round after Amy – I’m going to have my hands full!’
Soon after that, the group began to break up, until only Felicity, June and Bonnie were left.
‘I suppose I had better leave, too,’ said Bonnie, getting up and moving to the door.
‘Stop a minute, Bonnie!’ Felicity called out, suddenly spotting something. ‘Alice has left her glasses on the floor, and you almost stepped on them.’
Bonnie glanced down at the floor, picking up a pair of glasses that lay near her feet.
‘How careless of her!’ she exclaimed. ‘I say, shall I try them on?’
And, without waiting for an answer, Bonnie slipped the glasses on to her nose, much to the amusement of the other two.
‘My goodness, you do look different, Bonnie!’ laughed June. ‘Very sober and studious!’
‘Yes,’ said Felicity, grinning. ‘It’s amazing the difference that a pair of glasses can make to a face. But you’d better take them back to Alice, Bonnie. I bet she’s as blind as a bat without them.’
‘And I’ll bet she isn’t,’ said Bonnie in rather an odd voice, taking the glasses off and looking at them with a puzzled expression.
‘Why do you say that?’ asked June, frowning.
‘Because the lenses are made from plain glass,’ said Bonnie.
&
nbsp; ‘Are you quite sure?’ asked June, astonished.
‘See for yourself,’ said Bonnie, handing the glasses to June.
The girl put them on, exclaiming, ‘Bonnie is right! But why on earth would Alice wear glasses made from plain glass?’
‘It makes no sense at all,’ said Felicity, completely bewildered.
‘There are quite a few things about Alice that don’t make sense,’ said June, giving the glasses back to Bonnie. ‘She is hiding something, I’m sure of it, and it must be something bad.’
‘You can’t be certain of that, June,’ protested Felicity, who didn’t see things in quite such a black and white way as the other girl.
‘I can,’ replied June. ‘Otherwise why would she bother to hide it at all?’
Felicity couldn’t think of an answer to this, except that she felt, instinctively, that Alice wasn’t a bad person.
‘What do you think, Bonnie?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know what to think,’ said Bonnie. ‘But I can tell you one thing.’
‘What?’ chorused Felicity and June.
‘She hasn’t been wearing glasses for long,’ said Bonnie. ‘You see, people who have been wearing glasses for a long time get little dents either side of the bridge of their nose. My aunts have them, and so does my cousin. Alice doesn’t. I noticed that the other night, when she took them off to go to bed.’
‘Yes, you’re right!’ exclaimed June. ‘My father and grandparents have them too.’
‘Well, I’ll take them across to Alice now,’ said Bonnie. ‘Do you want me to say anything to her?’
June and Felicity exchanged glances, then Felicity said, ‘No, not yet. I think that Alice has something to hide, just as you do, June, though I don’t necessarily think it’s something bad. But until we are certain, and have time to get to the bottom of things properly, I would rather not put her on her guard.’
As Bonnie left, June said to Felicity, ‘I bet you regret asking her out with you and your people at half-term now.’
‘No,’ said Felicity, after considering this for a moment. ‘If she is having a happy time and feeling relaxed, she may let something slip.’
‘Yes, you may be right,’ said June. Then she looked at her watch, saying, ‘Heavens, I’ve got lacrosse practice with the lower school in five minutes! I’ll just go and round up Freddie. Would you like to come along with us, Felicity, and give your expert opinion?’
‘I don’t know about my opinion being expert exactly!’ laughed Felicity. ‘And I really should get down to some studying. But it’s awfully tempting to play truant for an hour or two, and see how the kids are doing.’
‘Marvellous!’ said June, grinning as she hauled Felicity to her feet. ‘Come along then, let’s go and find old Freddie!’
The weather was a little chilly that afternoon, and the three sixth formers wrapped up warmly in coats, hats and scarves as they stood watching the first and second formers play lacrosse.
‘Well played, Hilda!’ yelled June. ‘Maggie, stick closer to Elizabeth – yes, that’s it!’
‘Young Daffy Hope plays jolly well,’ said Felicity, watching the girl as she ran down the field like a streak of lightning. ‘Yet I notice that you haven’t put her in the team, June.’
‘She’s marvellous,’ agreed June. ‘When she wants to be. But, at any second, she could lose interest in the game and start playing the fool to amuse her friends.’
‘Can’t afford to have anyone with that attitude on the team,’ said Freddie. ‘Imagine if she did that in a match!’
But, for once, Daffy didn’t play the fool. She wanted to show June that she had made a big mistake in leaving her out of the team, so the girl put every ounce of effort into the game and played superbly.
June noticed, and was impressed. As the game ended, she murmured to Felicity and Freddie, ‘Well, it looks as though I may have to eat my words. Daffy, come here!’
Daffy walked across to June, and the games captain took her to one side, saying, ‘Look here, Daffy, you did jolly well today. Turning over a new leaf?’
‘I am as far as lacrosse is concerned,’ answered Daffy.
‘Well, what a pity that it’s too late to put you in the team now,’ said June. ‘Now that the players have been announced, it really wouldn’t be fair of me to drop one of the others to make room for you.’
‘No, I quite see that,’ said Daphne, putting on a brave face, though she felt a little miserable. She had so hoped that June would think that she was too brilliant to leave out.
‘Cheer up!’ said June, giving the girl a little pat. ‘There’s always next term, and if you go on at this rate, you’re an absolute certainty for the team then. In fact, I shouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t turn out to be the star player!’
This did cheer up Daffy enormously, though the girl might not have felt quite so happy if she had known what Violet had in store for her.
Violet, accompanied by Faith, had been into town to collect the photographs of the first-form picnic, and the two girls now sat side by side on a sofa in the common-room, poring over them. They were alone, for the others were at lacrosse practice, or horse-riding, or walking in the fresh air. Neither Violet nor Faith, however, cared for fresh air, especially when it was cold, and much preferred being indoors, huddled up by the fire.
‘This one that Katie took of the two of us is awfully good,’ said Faith. ‘Do you think that I might have a copy to send home to my people?’
‘Of course,’ said Violet. ‘I say, Faith, this is a nice one of the whole form. Except for me, of course, for I was taking the photograph.’
It was a very nice photograph, the first formers sitting in a row in the sand, their happy smiles showing what a marvellous time they were having. And Daffy Hope was right in the centre of it. At once, Violet decided that Felicity simply had to see that photograph – though how she was going to achieve that was something she hadn’t thought out yet.
The girl threw a sidelong glance at Faith, whose head was still bent over the photograph. She hadn’t meant to say anything to her about her plan to get Daffy into hot water, but suddenly it occurred to her that two heads might be better than one. Besides, the temptation to boast was becoming too hard for Violet to resist.
She put her head close to Faith’s, and said in a confiding tone, ‘Shall I tell you a secret?’
Faith nodded eagerly, and Violet went on, ‘I mean to make sure that this photograph falls into Felicity Rivers’s hands.’
‘Why?’ asked Faith, puzzled.
‘Don’t you remember?’ said Violet. ‘Felicity told Daffy that she wasn’t to take part in our picnic, but Daffy disobeyed her. And if Felicity sees this photograph she will know it, and come down hard on Daffy.’
Violet sat back and waited for Faith to congratulate her on this clever plan. But she was disappointed, for Faith was quite horrified.
‘Violet, you simply can’t do such a thing!’ exclaimed Faith. ‘Why, sneaking is just about the lowest thing that you can do, and if any of the others were to find out, they would never forgive you.’
Violet frowned at this, and said rather sullenly, ‘Well, I think Daffy deserves it. She has been horrible to me, and shown no respect at all towards you, as head-girl.’
Faith couldn’t deny this, and said, ‘I agree that Daffy needs a lesson, but I’m not sure that this is the way to go about it. Look here, Violet, let’s think about it for a bit. Wait until after half-term, and if you are still determined to go ahead with your plan then, I will back you up.’
Violet wasn’t entirely happy with this, but she agreed, saying, ‘I suppose I can afford to wait another week. In the meantime, I shall have to think of a way of getting that photograph to Felicity, without her knowing that it is me who is behind it.’
Violet knew Felicity’s views on sneaks only too well, for she had overheard the Head Girl scolding a second former only a few days ago. Hilda, the second former, had gone to Felicity to report that another member of her
form had played a mean trick on her, and Felicity had said rather scornfully, ‘Really, Hilda, if you are going to come running to me, or to Miss Parker, every time someone plays a childish trick on you, I’m afraid that you are going to make yourself very unpopular with the rest of your form. Sneaks are considered the lowest of the low at Malory Towers – and at every other decent school, for that matter.’
Seeing that Hilda had turned rather red, Felicity had said in a kinder tone, ‘You know that if anyone is deliberately setting out to make you unhappy you can tell me, and I will step in. But tricks like the one you have told me about are just part and parcel of school life, and you must learn to grow a thicker skin.’
No, Felicity would certainly not look favourably on Violet if she simply went and handed her the photograph. She would have to think of a much more cunning way of doing it.
In the meantime, though, there was half-term to look forward to, and the whole school, from the youngest member of the first form to the oldest member of the sixth, got caught up in the excitement.
The beginning of the week seemed to go very slowly, then there were only three days left, then two, and suddenly it was the day before half-term.
Mistresses and top formers became used to the sight of the younger girls skipping along the corridors, laughing and chattering noisily, but they were lenient with them, for they knew that the girls were just giddy with excitement at the thought of seeing their people again.
The sixth formers, of course, behaved with more restraint, but inwardly they were just as thrilled as the youngsters. Several of them found it hard to get to sleep on the night before half-term, but none of them was tempted to talk or whisper after lights out, for such things simply weren’t done when one was in the top form.
It was otherwise in the first-form dormitory, where the girls made so much noise that it brought Matron in on them.
‘My goodness, what a dreadful racket there is in here!’ cried Matron, snapping on the light and making the first formers blink. ‘Off to sleep at once, all of you, or you’ll be fit for nothing tomorrow.’