‘You’re on!’ said Lizzie at once, her eyes dancing.
This was the scene that greeted the old girls as they walked down the cliff path to the pool.
‘Gosh, Alicia, just look at your cousin June go!’ cried Bill. ‘She’s awfully fast.’
‘Yes, that other girl isn’t far behind her, though,’ said Alicia, watching critically.
‘What luck that the swimming gala is taking place on Wednesday,’ said Sally. ‘I shall be able to cheer on young Daffy, and Darrell and Alicia can support Felicity and June.’
‘I say, who is that seated at the side, watching?’ asked Mary-Lou. ‘I can’t quite place her.’
‘Why, that must be Jo Jones – or Alice, as she is known now,’ said Darrell.
Almost as though she knew someone was talking about her, Alice turned her head. She got politely to her feet as the old girls approached, feeling rather apprehensive. The last time she had seen any of them was when she had been in the second form, and her behaviour then had left a lot to be desired. But, thanks to the sixth formers, Darrell and the others knew that Alice had changed, and all of them were prepared to let bygones be bygones. They greeted her in a friendly manner, and stood chatting to her until Daphne said, ‘Mavis, that girl is at the top of the cliff path. The one who was waiting for you when you came out of the dormitory.’
‘Oh, she wanted an autograph,’ said Mavis with a laugh. ‘Which I was quite happy to give her, of course.’
‘Why, that’s Amy, from our form,’ said Alice, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at the figure standing at the top of the cliff path. ‘I wonder what she is doing here, for she’s not a great one for outdoor life!’
In fact, Amy was suffering from a bad dose of hero worship, and was following Mavis around in much the same way that Violet had been following her all term!
The girl had been up and dressed at a very early hour, and had waited outside the third-form dormitory for Mavis to come out, so that she might get her autograph. Mavis had been very chatty and friendly and, remembering how grand and aloof she had seemed when she arrived, Amy assumed that the young opera singer had taken a liking to her.
Now an idea had come into her head. Her mother was giving a grand summer party in the holidays. How marvellous it would be if she, Amy, could persuade Mavis to be the guest of honour, and perhaps sing at the party. Her mother would be delighted, of course. Amy could almost hear her saying, ‘Well, of course, Miss Allyson is a great friend of my daughter’s, you know, and she agreed to sing at my party as a favour to her.’
Goodness, wouldn’t that make everyone sit up and take notice!
So, as the old girls reached the top of the cliff path, on their way to Miss Lacey’s class-room, Amy was lying in wait.
‘Oh, Miss Allyson,’ she breathed. ‘I wonder if I might have a word?’
But Mavis’s attention was being claimed by Daphne, and she didn’t even hear Amy.
The sixth former trotted along patiently behind the old girls, until they were almost back at North Tower, then at last her chance came, and she said, ‘Miss Allyson!’
Mavis turned, and said, ‘Why, hallo again, Amy. Don’t tell me that you want another autograph?’
‘Oh, no,’ said Amy. ‘I just wanted to ask – ’
‘Hurry up, Mavis!’ called out Alicia. ‘We have to go and say hello to all the mistresses, and Gwen is simply itching to show us her class-room.’
‘I’m coming!’ called Mavis. Then she turned back to Amy, patting her on the arm and saying, ‘Excuse me, Amy, but I really must go. Perhaps we will have the chance to talk later.’
As Amy stood gazing worshipfully after Mavis, she, too, was being watched. Violet and Faith, sitting on a bench nearby, had witnessed the whole thing.
‘Well!’ laughed Faith. ‘It looks as though Mavis has got herself an admirer.’
Violet, who had been quite horrified by the little scene, said nothing. She had set Amy up on a pedestal, and to see her trotting after someone else with an adoring expression on her face just didn’t seem right somehow.
‘Now you see how silly you look,’ said Faith unkindly.
‘What nonsense!’ said Violet sharply. ‘I don’t talk in that silly, breathless voice, and make my eyes as big as saucers when I am with Amy.’
‘Oh yes, you do, my girl,’ said Faith with a grin.
‘Do I really?’ asked Violet, shocked.
Faith nodded, and, quite suddenly, Violet did see how silly she had been. And, just as suddenly, her admiration for Amy completely disappeared, as though it had never existed. Amy wasn’t some marvellous, extraordinary person, she was just an ordinary schoolgirl with rather a high opinion of herself. And, by hanging around after Mavis, she had fallen off her pedestal, and Violet had seen her quite clearly.
The old girls, meanwhile, were having a marvellous time. They had already spoken to Mam’zelle Dupont, of course, and now they went to visit Mam’zelle Rougier, Miss Potts, Miss Linnie, the art mistress – and last, but not least, Matron.
‘Well, well, well!’ said Matron, beaming at them. ‘How grown-up you all look. It’s nice to be able to welcome you back here without having to warn you against having midnight feasts, or asking for your health certificates!’
‘Matron, have you been dyeing your hair?’ asked Alicia cheekily. ‘I’m sure you had more grey hairs last time I saw you.’
‘The grey has slowed down a little since you left, Alicia,’ retorted Matron. ‘Although that cousin of yours has done her best to take over where you left off. Thank heavens she’s settled down a bit now that she is in the sixth form!’
Then, of course, the girls had to see Gwen’s classroom. Gwen unlocked the door, and stood back for the others to go in before her.
They exclaimed over the furnishings and ornaments, then Clarissa said, ‘It looks as if you have forgotten to clean the blackboard after your last lesson.’
‘Oh no, that’s impossible, for Bonnie cleaned it for me.’
‘Well, there’s certainly something written here now,’ said Sally, going up to the blackboard. Then she turned pale, and, as the others gathered round and read what was written there, a shocked silence fell.
The words were chalked in big, capital letters, and said:
‘HALLO, OLD GIRLS. I’M SURE THAT MISS LACEY DOESN’T WANT TO SPOIL YOUR REUNION BY TELLING YOU WHY SHE WAS DISMISSED FROM HER LAST POSITION, SO I WILL. MISS LACEY IS A COMMON THIEF.’
19
A very successful gala
The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of sobbing, and everyone turned, horrified to see that Gwen had burst into noisy tears.
Darrell took charge at once, leading Gwen to a sofa.
‘I’m not a thief,’ Gwen sobbed piteously. ‘I’m not.’
‘Of course you’re not,’ said Mary-Lou, who always hated to see anyone upset. ‘We know that, and I can’t think why someone would write such a thing.’
Some of the others, however, weren’t so sure, and they exchanged glances. Gwen had played some mean tricks during her time as a pupil at the school, and her nature had been a sly and spiteful one. Perhaps she hadn’t changed so much after all.
‘Gwen, dear,’ said Darrell, sitting down beside the young woman and taking her hand. ‘You must tell us what this is all about. I may as well tell you, I know that someone has been playing horrid tricks on you since you came back to Malory Towers. Is this another of them?’
Gwen produced a dainty handkerchief from her bag and blew her nose, before looking round at the watching girls.
‘Yes, it is,’ she said. ‘But it’s true. I was dismissed from my last post for stealing.’
A gasp went round, and Gwen said defiantly, ‘But I was falsely accused, and stole nothing.’
‘What happened, Gwen?’ asked Sally. ‘It might help if you tell us.’
‘Very well,’ said Gwen, giving a sniff. ‘But would one of you fetch Miss Nicholson, please? She has been a true friend to me, and I would
like her to hear this too.’
‘I’ll go,’ said Mary-Lou at once, dashing from the room.
There was an awkward silence while the others waited for Mary-Lou to return with Miss Nicholson. Fortunately, as it was Sunday, she had no classes to teach, and Mary-Lou soon found her in her study, where she told her what had happened.
Gwen had composed herself a little by the time they returned and, once everyone had seated themselves on the chairs and sofas, she began, ‘After I left finishing school, I took a job as companion to an elderly widow, Mrs Carruthers. She was a friend of Mother’s, you see, and I thought that she would treat me as one of the family.’
‘But she didn’t?’ prompted Alicia as Gwen’s eyes began to fill up again.
‘No, she made it clear that she thought she was doing me a great favour by giving me the job,’ said Gwen. ‘She even hinted that she was doing Mother a favour by not ending their friendship once Father was taken ill, and we were no longer wealthy.’
‘What a horrible woman!’ cried Miss Nicholson.
‘Yes, she was horrible,’ said Gwen, managing a little smile. ‘She treated me like dirt, expecting me to be at her beck and call at all hours. Then one day a valuable antique vase went missing from her drawing-room, and I was accused.’
‘But why did she think it was you, Gwen?’ asked Mavis.
‘Because the cook and the maids had worked for Mrs Carruthers for years,’ said Gwen. ‘And nothing had ever gone missing before. Besides, she knew that my family had fallen on hard times, so I suppose she thought that gave me a motive.’
‘And she dismissed you?’ said Sally.
Gwen nodded, and said bitterly, ‘She searched my bedroom first, but even though the vase wasn’t there, Mrs Carruthers refused to believe in my innocence. I was sent packing, without a reference or the wages that she owed me, and was told that I was lucky the police hadn’t been called.’
‘Well!’ said Irene, shocked. ‘I wonder who did steal the vase, then?’
‘That’s just it,’ said Gwen. ‘No one did. Miss Winter, my old governess, bumped into Mrs Carruthers’ cook about a month after I had been dismissed. It turned out that one of the maids had broken the vase and been afraid to own up to it straight away. She was away visiting her family when I was accused, but when she came back and heard what had happened she was awfully upset, and admitted breaking the vase at once.’
‘I see,’ said Belinda. ‘And did Mrs Carruthers offer you your job back?’
Gwen shook her head. ‘No, not that I would have accepted the offer. She didn’t contact me at all, or apologise, or send me the wages I was owed. In fact, if Miss Winter hadn’t bumped into the cook that day, I would never have known that my name had been cleared.’
‘Well, it sounds to me as if you are well out of it,’ said Darrell. ‘Gwen, does Miss Grayling know about this?’
‘Yes,’ said Gwen. ‘I had to explain why I didn’t have a reference, you see. And I wanted to be honest about it from the start. But I asked her not to tell anyone else, for I know that there are always some people who will say that there is no smoke without fire.’
‘I am quite sure none of us think that,’ said Miss Nicholson, looking round the room.
Everyone agreed at once, for even those who had doubted Gwen believed her now.
‘The question is, who wrote that message on the blackboard?’ said Miss Nicholson. ‘For whoever it is must be the person who has played those other beastly tricks on you.’
‘What other tricks?’ asked Daphne, her eyes wide.
Aided by Miss Nicholson, Gwen told the others of the things that had happened to her.
‘We think that Amy of the sixth form might be responsible, for it’s no secret that she dislikes me intensely,’ finished Gwen.
The girls were very shocked, of course, and there were a great many exclamations of disgust. One person who said nothing, however, was Alicia, who sat gazing thoughtfully into space. As Alicia was someone who usually had plenty to say for herself, Darrell asked, ‘What are you thinking, Alicia?’
‘I’m thinking that perhaps Amy isn’t the culprit,’ said Alicia, frowning. ‘There’s another person whose name seems to come into this rather a lot – Daisy. She took Gwen’s clothes to be cleaned, and it was her word that proved Amy wasn’t responsible for damaging the flower arrangement.’
‘Well, one thing is for certain,’ said Bill. ‘Whoever wrote that message on the blackboard had a key to this room. And I would imagine that it would be an easy matter for Daisy to get hold of the key.’
‘Yes, but it would be quite an easy matter for anyone to get hold of it,’ pointed out Miss Nicholson. ‘The housekeeper has the key on a hook in her room, it would only take an instant to slip in and get it while she wasn’t there.’
‘Yes, but how could Daisy – or anyone else, for that matter – have known about Gwen being dismissed from her last position?’ asked Belinda.
‘I never thought of that,’ said Gwen, looking puzzled. ‘I can’t imagine … yes, I can, though! Shortly after I arrived here I had a letter from my mother, and it went missing. Mother mentioned Mrs Carruthers and the whole incident in the letter. That was why I was so concerned when it disappeared, for I was worried that it would fall into the wrong hands.’
‘And it seems that it did,’ said Miss Nicholson gravely.
‘Susan told me yesterday that Daisy was trying to get information out of her,’ said Darrell, rubbing her nose. ‘She was talking about the time Lizzie was locked in the shed, and the time someone got into Gwen’s bedroom … ’
‘But Daisy didn’t know about that,’ Miss Nicholson interrupted. ‘No one did, apart from Gwen and me, for she didn’t report it.’
‘Then the only way Daisy could have known about it is if she was the culprit,’ said Darrell heavily. ‘That settles it.’
‘It seems that I was wrong,’ said Miss Nicholson, looking upset. ‘Daisy has been holding a grudge.’
‘And she has slipped up by telling Susan about the bedroom incident,’ said Belinda. ‘Well, if she has slipped up once, she can slip up again.’
‘Yes, but we can’t leave it to chance, with only a few days to go until the end of term,’ said Alicia. ‘Daisy must be made to slip up.’
‘But how, Alicia?’ asked Sally.
‘I think those very valuable diamonds of Mavis’s might provide the answer,’ said Alicia.
‘But they’re not valuable, Alicia,’ said Mavis, puzzled. ‘I told you, they are just paste.’
‘My dear Mavis,’ said Alicia, going across and laying a hand on the girl’s shoulder, ‘you are quite mistaken. That jewellery is very valuable indeed – worth a fortune, in fact. And we are going to use it to bait a trap for Daisy.’
‘I think I see what you are getting at,’ said Mary-Lou excitedly. ‘We know that Daisy has stolen once, for she took the cufflinks that Gwen had bought for her father. And if she has stolen once, she may do so again.’
‘Especially if temptation is put in her way,’ said Alicia with a grin.
The last week of term was a very busy one. There were desks and cupboards to clear out, trunks to be packed, and – of course – the swimming gala to look forward to. June was very wrapped up in the organisation, for it would be her last duty as games captain, and she was determined that it should go smoothly. Felicity and Susan, as well as taking part, were helping her, but June always seemed to find something to worry about.
‘What if more parents than we expect turn up?’
‘What if no one turns up at all?’
‘Felicity, have you had the programmes printed yet?’
‘Susan, can you check that the life-belt has come back from being mended?’
‘Do stop fretting,’ said the placid Pam. ‘I’m quite sure that everything will go – er – swimmingly.’
Everyone groaned at this but, as June had feared, things did not go quite as swimmingly as she had hoped!
‘Disaster has struck!’ she cri
ed, bursting into Felicity’s study on the day before the gala.
‘Heavens!’ said Felicity, who had been enjoying a chat with Susan. ‘What on earth has happened, June?’
‘Cathy of the fifth form has gone down with chicken pox and been sent home,’ said June, sinking down into a chair and burying her face in her hands. ‘And she was taking part in the senior backstroke race tomorrow.’
‘Call on one of the reserves,’ said Susan sensibly.
‘They have both gone down with chicken pox too,’ said June glumly. ‘There seems to have been an outbreak in the fifth form. Oh, what am I to do?’
While the others considered this, someone knocked on the door, and Lizzie came in, saying in a breezy manner, ‘Has anyone seen Alice? We were supposed to be going for a walk together.’
No one had, but a light came into June’s eyes as they rested on Lizzie, and she leaped up with a cry that made the others jump.
‘Never mind going for a walk, my girl,’ said June, taking Lizzie by the shoulders. ‘You are going to get some swimming practice in, for you’re taking part in the gala tomorrow.’
‘Am I?’ said Lizzie, startled.
‘You are,’ said June firmly. ‘And you need to practise your backstroke. Any objections?’
‘None at all,’ said Lizzie. ‘My uncle may be coming to watch, and it will be nice for him to have both nieces taking part.’
‘I simply can’t get over the change in Lizzie,’ laughed Felicity, when June had led Lizzie off to the pool. ‘What a pity that her uncle didn’t turn up earlier in the term!’
There was a surprise in store for the Mannering sisters on the day of the gala, for not only did Uncle Charles turn up, but he brought their mother with him!
‘Mother!’ cried both girls, flinging their arms around her. ‘What a wonderful surprise!’
‘Well, when your uncle telephoned and offered to drive me to the school, I simply couldn’t resist,’ said Mrs Mannering, a pretty woman, who looked very like her daughters. ‘I thought that it would make up for missing half-term. Edith, darling, I am simply dying to watch you swim.’
‘Oh, it’s not just me that you will be watching,’ laughed Edith. ‘Lizzie is in one of the races as well.’