Fortunately, Felicity and Susan came into the common-room in time to overhear Millicent’s remarks. Felicity saw Delia’s rather downcast expression, and said kindly, ‘I say, Delia, why not come for a walk with Susan and me? We were thinking of popping over to see Bill and Clarissa.’
Delia cheered up at this, and asked curiously, ‘Who are Bill and Clarissa?’
‘They are two old girls who run a riding school not very far from here,’ explained Susan. ‘They were in the same form as Felicity’s older sister, Darrell.’
‘Yes, they’re jolly good sorts,’ said Felicity. ‘Do come, Delia, for we haven’t had a chance to introduce you to them yet.’
It was very pleasant to feel wanted, so Delia agreed at once, and went off happily with Felicity and Susan.
Bill and Clarissa were very pleased to see the three girls, and made them welcome. Then they had a fine time watching some children having riding-lessons and petting all the horses. Delia was a little nervous of them at first, but once she realised they weren’t going to bite her, or kick out at her, she soon relaxed. Felicity and Susan were good company, and she liked the two older girls, Bill and Clarissa, and Delia enjoyed herself very much indeed.
By the time they made their way back to Malory Towers, the girl felt in such high spirits that she began to hum cheerfully to herself. The tune that she hummed was Gillian’s violin solo from ‘Summer Serenade’ and, almost without realising it, Delia found herself softly singing the words that she had written to accompany it.
‘What is that song you’re singing, Delia?’ asked Felicity curiously. ‘I don’t think that I’ve heard it before.’
Delia could have kicked herself, for she hadn’t realised that Felicity and Susan had stopped talking and were listening to her silly little song. Of course, Delia didn’t want to admit that she had written the words herself, for the others were sure to laugh at her, so she said, ‘I don’t know. It must have been something that I heard on the radio and it just got stuck in my head.’
‘I shall have to listen out for it,’ said Felicity. ‘It’s awfully good.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Susan. ‘It really captures the spirit of summer, somehow.’
Another girl might have felt proud at this, but not Delia, who hadn’t come in for a great deal of praise in her life. She merely thought that the two girls were captivated by the tune, rather than the words, and that was to Millicent’s credit.
‘Sing a little more – louder, this time,’ said Felicity, but Delia turned red and shook her head, saying, ‘I can’t remember any more of the words. And I’m sure that my singing voice isn’t very pleasant to listen to. Let’s talk instead. I say, it’s coming up to half-term soon, isn’t it? Won’t that be fun?’
Felicity and Susan accepted the change of subject, Susan saying, ‘I simply can’t wait! Daddy may not be able to come, but Mother will. She has promised to take me to a restaurant for a slap-up meal.’
‘My parents are both coming,’ said Felicity, happily. ‘I’m so looking forward to seeing them again. How about you, Delia? Will your people be coming?’
‘I doubt if my aunt will bother,’ said Delia. ‘Not that I particularly want to see her anyway, or my cousins. My father will be on leave from his ship, though, so he is coming.’
Felicity and Susan noticed how Delia’s eyes shone when she spoke of her father, and knew that she must love him very much.
‘It must be awfully difficult for you,’ said Felicity, earnestly. ‘Having to live away from your father most of the time.’
‘Yes, but he has to earn a living,’ said Delia with a sigh. Then she brightened, and added, ‘And it does make the times that we are together so much more special. When he comes home on leave Father likes to spend as much time as possible with me, and we do so much together.’
‘Does he know that you are unhappy at your aunt’s?’ asked Felicity curiously.
Delia shook her head firmly, and said, ‘No, for it would only worry him if he knew, and then he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his job. Besides, there’s no point in making a big fuss about it, for as long as Father is at sea there really isn’t any alternative. And I suppose things could be worse. It’s not as if my aunt ill-treats me, or starves me, or anything like that. It’s just that I know she would rather I wasn’t there, and my cousins feel the same.’
Felicity and Susan said nothing, but both of them felt rather sorry for Delia. They admired her, too, for having the strength of character to accept her situation without complaining, for the sake of the father she adored.
‘I think that’s jolly sensible of you, Delia,’ said Felicity. ‘And I don’t suppose that your father will be at sea forever, so it will all be worth it in the end.’
‘No, he plans to find a job on shore in a year or so,’ said Delia. ‘Then I shall be able to live with him all the time. In the meantime, I can’t tell you how happy I am to be at Malory Towers, for it is much nicer than going to day school with my horrid cousins. The only thing I miss is not having a friend of my own.’
‘Well, you’re quite welcome to tag along with Felicity and me sometimes,’ said Susan. ‘Though I quite understand what you mean, for it is nice to have a special friend of your own.’
‘Why don’t you try to pal up with Gillian, or Millicent?’ suggested Felicity. ‘They are both on their own as well.’
‘I don’t think that Millicent feels very friendly towards me since I forgot to take notes at her rehearsal,’ said Delia ruefully. ‘And Gillian is always so busy that she doesn’t seem to have time for any real friendships.’
‘Well, perhaps she should make time,’ said Felicity. ‘I think that it would do her good to think about something besides her music and her tennis.’
‘Felicity is quite right,’ said Susan. ‘Why don’t you try and make friends with her, Delia, and take her out of herself a bit? It would do both of you the world of good.’
‘All right, then, I shall!’ said Delia, feeling a lot more cheerful suddenly. ‘Of course, I don’t know if it will work, or if Gillian will even want to be friends with me, but I shall certainly try.’
8
A new friendship
Delia was as good as her word, and, the following afternoon, when Gillian was looking for someone to practise her serve on, she seized the opportunity.
‘Felicity and Susan are both helping June to coach the youngsters, and Freddie has promised to play with Helen Jones of the fourth form,’ complained Gillian. ‘Now what am I to do, for I do so need to practise.’
‘Will I do?’ asked Delia. ‘I probably shan’t return many of your serves, for I’m hopeless at tennis, but you are very welcome to practise on me.’
Gillian, who knew that Delia always tried to avoid playing tennis because she was afraid of showing herself up, felt very grateful indeed, and said, ‘Why, thank you, Delia. Come on, let’s go and get changed, and bag a court.’
In fact, Delia did manage to return a few of the other girl’s serves, for Gillian was off her game a little that day.
Delia, however, had no idea of this, and began to feel that she wasn’t quite as bad at tennis as she had always thought.
‘Well!’ she exclaimed, as she and Gillian got changed afterwards. ‘Who would have thought that I could get so many of your serves back?’
Delia sounded so pleased with herself that Gillian didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. Instead, she forced a smile and said lightly, ‘If you practise a little more, I daresay June will soon be giving my place on the team to you!’
Delia laughed at this, and said, ‘I don’t know about that. I say, Gillian, how about popping into town for a spot of tea? We can get a bus just along the road, and it would make a pleasant change from school tea.’
Gillian hesitated. She badly wanted to get in half an hour’s violin practice before tea, and there wouldn’t be time if they were to catch the bus.
She said as much to Delia, adding, ‘Besides, I’m broke. I had to buy a birth
day present for Mother last week, and I’m down to my last few pence.’
‘My treat,’ said Delia. ‘I’m pretty well off at the moment.’
Gillian looked surprised at this, for Delia was one of the girls who had very little money. It wasn’t that her father was poor, for he regularly sent money to Delia’s aunt for her. But her aunt was sometimes a little forgetful about sending it on to Delia, which meant that the girl had very little to spend on herself.
‘My grandmother sent me a nice, big postal order the other day,’ Delia said now. ‘And it’s no fun going off and having tea on my own, so I’d be jolly grateful if you would come with me.’
The expression in Delia’s eyes reminded Gillian of a friendly, eager-to-please puppy, and somehow she couldn’t bring herself to snub the girl. Instead, she slipped her arm through Delia’s, and said, ‘Nonsense! I’m the one who should be grateful to you for such a treat. Thanks, Delia.’
Delia turned quite red with pleasure, and the two girls went off together to catch the bus.
Pam noticed that they were missing at tea-time, and said with a frown, ‘If Gillian is missing her tea so that she can practise the violin, or play tennis, I shall be cross with her.’
‘I think that she’s gone out with Delia,’ said Julie. ‘Lucy and I saw them waiting at the bus stop along the road when we came back from our ride earlier.’
Felicity and Susan exchanged pleased glances. It seemed that Delia had taken their advice and was going out of her way to befriend Gillian.
‘It will be jolly good for both of them,’ said Felicity. ‘I really hope that they hit it off.’
‘And that will only leave Millicent without a friend of her own,’ said Susan. ‘Although she doesn’t seem to need one, for she is so wrapped up in her music.’
‘Even Millicent must have times when she needs someone to talk to, and confide in,’ said Felicity. ‘But really, it’s quite her own fault that she doesn’t have one, for she isn’t the easiest of people to get on with.’
Delia and Gillian, meanwhile, were getting along like a house on fire. For the first time in weeks, Gillian’s head wasn’t full of music scores or tennis shots, as she and Delia chattered away together. Delia really could be very funny at times, thought Gillian, as the two girls sat in the little tea shop feasting on the most delicious crumpets, dripping with melted butter, and little scones, warm from the oven, filled with jam and cream.
‘Thank you so much for inviting me, Delia,’ said Gillian, as the two of them finished their tea. ‘I’ve had a super time and it has really taken me out of myself.’
‘Well, I’m jolly glad to hear it,’ said Delia a little gruffly, feeling very pleased that Gillian had enjoyed herself so much.
She took a five pound note out of her purse and got up to go and pay the bill, but as she did so, she knocked Gillian’s bag on to the floor, sending the contents everywhere.
‘Oh, dear!’ she wailed. ‘I’m so clumsy.’
‘Don’t worry,’ laughed Gillian, as the two girls crouched down to pick everything up. ‘Anyone can have an accident, and there’s no harm done.’
There had been a bag of sweets in the bag, and they had rolled all over the floor, and as Gillian scrabbled around picking them up, Delia spotted something that made her give a little gasp. Millicent’s notebook! But what on earth was it doing in Gillian’s bag? There was no time to puzzle over that just now, though. While Gillian was looking the other way, Delia grabbed it and slipped it into her pocket, giving a sigh of relief. As soon as she had a moment to herself, she would tear out the page that she needed, then she would leave the book somewhere Millicent would be sure to find it.
Delia felt horribly guilty as she and Gillian made their way back to Malory Towers, for she was an honest girl and she didn’t like being in possession of something that didn’t belong to her. She simply couldn’t think what Gillian had been doing with Millicent’s notebook, but the sooner it was back in the hands of its rightful owner, the better.
Delia slipped up to the dormitory when she and Gillian got back to the school, relieved to find that it was empty. Swiftly she ripped out the page at the back, crumpling it up and stuffing it in one of her drawers. Then she placed the notebook on Millicent’s bedside cabinet. No doubt Millicent would wonder how it had got there, but that couldn’t be helped!
Gillian wasn’t in the common-room when Delia joined the others, and the girl guessed that she must be shut away in one of the little music-rooms, playing her violin.
There was a low hum of noise in the common-room – nothing like the hubbub that the lower forms created, for the fifth formers would certainly have considered it beneath their dignity to make such a racket. Instead it was rather a pleasant, soothing noise, thought Delia, of girls in low-voiced, friendly conversation, while the radio played soft music in the background. Little did she know that the peace was about to be rudely shattered!
‘I say, Millicent!’ said Nora. ‘I hate to ask, but are you able to let me have that five shillings I lent you the other day? I need to buy some new stockings, for even Matron agrees that the ones I have are beyond repair!’
Millicent looked up from the music score she had been working on, and said, ‘Of course. Sorry, Nora, it completely slipped my mind, but you can have it back now.’
Millicent rummaged in her bag for her purse, then she gave a little cry. ‘It’s gone!’ she said. ‘My purse is gone.’
‘It can’t be,’ said Susan. ‘Check in your pockets.’
Millicent stood up and felt in her pockets, but the missing purse wasn’t there. ‘Blow!’ she said, frowning. ‘I had a few pounds in there, too, for my mother had just sent me some money.’
‘Are you sure it’s not in the dormitory?’ said Felicity. ‘Perhaps it’s in your cabinet.’
Millicent ran upstairs to take a look, and was back within minutes.
‘No purse, but I did find this,’ said Millicent, brandishing the notebook that Delia had left on her cabinet earlier. ‘I lost it several weeks ago, and now it has suddenly turned up again.’
‘How queer!’ said Pam, who had begun to feel rather uneasy. How she hoped that Millicent’s purse would turn up, for if it didn’t that might mean that there was a thief in the fifth form.
Delia turned very red when Millicent produced the notebook, and lowered her eyes, hoping that none of the others were looking in her direction, for she felt that she must look very guilty indeed.
But some of the girls were looking at her. Julie and Lucy, who had caught Delia going through Millicent’s bag, and Amy and Bonnie, who had seen her looking in the girl’s desk, were watching her with suspicion. When Delia turned red and looked down, Amy and Bonnie exchanged meaningful glances, while Julie nudged Lucy and murmured, ‘Just look at Delia’s face! The picture of guilt.’
‘Millicent, when did you have your purse last?’ asked Pam, taking charge of the situation. ‘Think carefully.’
Millicent thought, and said, ‘I had it yesterday morning, for one of the sixth formers came round to collect for Miss Potts’s birthday present, and I put a shilling in.’
‘That’s right,’ said Bonnie. ‘I saw you, and I remember that you put your purse in your bag afterwards.’
‘So it could have been taken any time after that,’ said Felicity. ‘Millicent, was your bag out of your sight at any time?’
‘Only when I went to bed,’ said poor Millicent, who was looking very upset now. ‘I left it here, in the common-room.’
‘Oh, Millicent, how silly!’ said Pam. ‘You should always take it up to the dormitory with you.’
‘I know,’ said Millicent rather sheepishly. ‘I usually do, but I simply forgot last night.’
‘Well, I suppose there is still a chance that it will turn up somewhere,’ said Felicity, trying to sound cheery, though she didn’t feel very hopeful.
‘Perhaps, but in the meantime I can’t pay Nora back,’ said Millicent. ‘I’m awfully sorry, Nora. I shall write to Mother,
of course, and explain what has happened. She will send me some more money, and I shall give it to you as soon as I can, but I’m afraid that I won’t get it for a while.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Nora. ‘I’m only sorry that your purse has gone missing. And I shall be sorry when Matron sees me going around in holey stockings and gives me a row!’
The others laughed at that, and Pam said, ‘I will lend you the money to buy some new stockings, Nora. We can’t have you disgracing the fifth by wearing ragged ones.’
The girls began to talk about other things, for no one quite liked to mention the one thing that was on all their minds in front of everyone – the possibility that there was a thief in the fifth form.
Some of the girls discussed it among themselves, though, and Amy remarked to Bonnie, ‘Things look black for Delia.’
‘I suppose they do,’ said Bonnie. ‘She doesn’t strike me as dishonest, I must say, though her behaviour was most peculiar the day we caught her in Millicent’s desk.’
Julie and Lucy, standing nearby, overheard this, and Julie moved closer to Bonnie, saying in a low voice, ‘What was that, Bonnie? Did I hear you say that you had caught Delia in Millicent’s desk?’
‘Yes,’ said Bonnie. ‘It looked as if she was searching for something.’
Lucy gave a low whistle, and said, ‘Well, Julie and I found her looking in Millicent’s bag not very long ago. She came up with some tale to explain it away, but it wasn’t very convincing.’
‘How beastly that this should happen now, just as we are all looking forward to half-term next weekend,’ said Julie, looking worried.
‘Do you think that we should tell Pam that we suspect Delia?’ asked Amy. ‘As head-girl, she really ought to be informed, for she is the one who will have to decide what to do.’
‘I think that we should wait until after half-term,’ said Bonnie. ‘Otherwise it will put an awful damper on what should be a happy time.’