Miss Grayling rang a bell on her desk and, a few moments later, Daisy, the maid, appeared.
‘Daisy, please show Miss Lacey to her bedroom, so that she can unpack,’ said the Head.
‘Yes, Ma’am,’ said Daisy, politely, before stooping to pick up Gwen’s night case. ‘Come this way, please, Miss Lacey.’
‘Well, Daisy, so you are still working at Malory Towers,’ said Gwen as she followed the maid up the stairs. ‘You must have been here for quite a few years, for I was in the fifth form when you first started.’
‘That’s right, Miss Lacey,’ said Daisy. ‘I was the same age as you were then, when I began work.’
But Daisy must have led a very different life from hers, thought Gwen, considering it for the first time. There had been no boarding school or finishing school for her, instead she had had to work, to help her family. Just as she, Gwen, was doing now. Looking at the girl, dressed in her neat, plain black dress and white apron, which all the maids wore, Gwen suddenly realised that she should be grateful for the good education she had received, for it meant that she did not have to undertake the same kind of menial work as poor Daisy. Perhaps she wasn’t so badly off, after all.
Amy and Bonnie were simply thrilled at the thought of the Finishing School classes, while most of the others thought that, although they sounded like rather a waste of time, they might be good fun. Four girls, however, were very much against them. One, of course, was June. Quite apart from her dislike of Gwendoline, as games captain of the whole school she was very busy indeed and would much rather have spent the time coaching the youngsters at tennis, or arranging matches with other schools. Julie and Lucy, both of whom were rather tomboyish, couldn’t see that the classes would be of any use to them at all. As Julie said, ‘Why do I need to learn to walk like a fashion model when I shall be spending most of my time on horseback?’
The fourth was Lizzie, who was quite horrified that she would have to give up precious time that could have been devoted to studying.
‘I will be going in for Higher Cert next year,’ she said. ‘And I was rather hoping that by coming up into the sixth this term I could get a head start.’
‘Well, Lizzie, if you ask me, you spend far too much time poring over your books as it is,’ said Felicity. ‘It will do you good to think about something else. Besides, the rest of us have already taken Higher Cert, so this term is bound to be a slack one, as far as work is concerned.’
Lizzie was dismayed to hear this, and began to wonder if coming up into the sixth form had been such a good idea. She had liked being head-girl of the fifth, and had enjoyed the sense of importance and responsibility it had given her. Even if the others hadn’t always seemed very grateful when she had tried to advise or guide them. But among the sixth formers she felt very small and insignificant indeed. The others were all older than she was, and there were several very strong characters in the form. Lizzie was bossy by nature, but the very thought of trying to take the lead over people like June, or Felicity, made her shake in her shoes, for she knew that they simply wouldn’t stand for it and would put her very firmly in her place.
Still, there was one person at Malory Towers that she could offer guidance to – her young sister, Edith. Although Edith never seemed very grateful either!
Lizzie bit her lip as she thought of her encounter with the girl that morning. She hadn’t meant to be hard on her sister, but Edith was young, and silly at times, and didn’t fully realise how lucky she was to be at a good school like Malory Towers. It was vital that she made the most of the opportunity that she had been given and worked hard, and Lizzie intended to see that the girl didn’t waste her time playing the fool with Daffy Hope and her friends. It was all very well for the other sixth formers to criticise, and say that she should leave Edith alone, but they didn’t understand the situation, and didn’t know what it felt like to be kept at Malory Towers by charity.
‘I think that the classes are a marvellous idea,’ said Amy. ‘Don’t you, Bonnie?’
‘I certainly do,’ said Bonnie. ‘Miss Lacey will be able to teach us all sorts of things that will come in useful when we leave school.’
‘Just what do you mean to do when you leave school, Bonnie?’ asked Susan, curiously. ‘Are you coming to university with us?’
‘No, Amy and I have made a plan of our own,’ said Bonnie. ‘We are going to open our own dress shop. A very exclusive one, of course. Amy’s father is going to lend us the money, I shall design the clothes, and Amy and I are going to run it together. With my skills and her connections I don’t see how we can fail.’
Nor did the others, for Bonnie was very skilled indeed with her needle, and designed and made most of her own clothes. She was also very determined when she set her mind to something, and the girls felt certain that her venture with Amy would be a success.
‘Well, I shall know where to come when I want a new dress,’ said Nora. ‘I wish that I had a talent like yours, Bonnie, but there’s nothing that I’m particularly good at. Mother wants me to go to secretarial college when I leave Malory Towers, but I haven’t quite decided yet.’
‘Well, I have decided what I am going to do, once I leave university,’ said Pam. ‘I would like to become a teacher.’
‘Good for you, Pam!’ said Julie, clapping her on the back. ‘I’m sure you’ll make a first-class one. And, who knows, you may end up teaching here at Malory Towers.’
‘What about you, Julie?’ asked Felicity. ‘I bet you and Lucy both want jobs that have something to do with horses.’
‘Well, my father breeds horses, as you know,’ answered Julie. ‘So Lucy and I are both going to work for him.’
‘I’m so looking forward to it,’ said Lucy, her eyes shining. ‘Julie and I will be able to live together, and work together, and – ’
‘And eat, sleep and breathe horses!’ said June, with a laugh. ‘It will suit you both down to the ground. I’m hoping to train as a games teacher after I’ve been to university.’
The others stared at her, remembering the bold, bad, careless June who had first joined Malory Towers. Who would have thought then that she would one day want to become a teacher? The girl had had some grave faults in her character as a youngster, but she had overcome them, and, although she would probably always have a malicious streak, June had learned the meaning of responsibility and team spirit. If she had gone to another school, thought Felicity, one that wasn’t as good as Malory Towers, she could have turned out very differently indeed.
Guessing at some of her friends’ thoughts, June grinned, and said, ‘I know, unbelievable, isn’t it? But this last couple of years as games captain has pointed me in the right direction and shown me what it is I really want to do with my life.’
‘Well, I can’t think of anyone who would make a better games teacher,’ said Felicity warmly. ‘You’ve always been excellent at coaching, and bringing out the best in people. And, of course, none of your pupils will get away with playing any tricks on you, for you will be able to spot them a mile off, being such a joker yourself!’
Everyone laughed at this, and Pam said, ‘Will you be following in Darrell’s footsteps, Felicity?’
‘No, because I don’t have her talent for writing,’ answered Felicity. ‘I’ve always been better at things like Science and Biology. I would like to follow in my father’s footsteps instead, and become a doctor. Not a surgeon, like he is, but a family doctor.’
The only one of her friends to whom Felicity had confided this ambition was Susan, and the others stared at her now, realising that the girl had chosen exactly the right career for herself. Felicity had always been kind and compassionate, and these qualities had grown within her over the years, and were just what a good doctor needed.
‘How wonderful to have found your vocation,’ said Alice.
‘Yes, you’re just the kind of doctor I would like to see if I was feeling under the weather,’ said Nora. ‘Always so calm and reassuring.’
‘I’m hoping
to enter the medical profession, too,’ said Susan. ‘But as a nurse. I say, Felicity, wouldn’t it be marvellous if we could both do our training at the same hospital?’
‘I wish I knew what I wanted to do,’ said Freddie with a sigh. ‘Still, I shall have a few years at university to think about it.’
‘I’m undecided too,’ said Alice. ‘But I shan’t starve, for Father will give me a job in his business while I think about it.’
Felicity was just about to ask Lizzie what she planned to do when she left school, but the girl suddenly spotted her young sister walking across the courtyard, and got to her feet, saying, ‘Excuse me, I must just have a quick word with Edith.’
Edith was on her way to join Daffy and Katie, and her shoulders slumped as she heard her name called and saw Lizzie approaching.
‘Come to tell me off again?’ she said, a hint of defiance in her tone.
‘Of course not,’ said Lizzie, keeping her tone light. ‘Why should I? Have you been up to mischief?’
‘No,’ answered Edith. ‘But I hadn’t been up to mischief at breakfast time either. That didn’t stop you scolding me, though.’
‘Oh, Edith, I didn’t mean to scold,’ said Lizzie, laying a hand on her sister’s arm. ‘I promised Mother and Uncle Charles that I would look out for you, that’s all.’
Lizzie had always looked out for her younger sister, and Edith had always looked up to her. But, after the incident at breakfast time, Daffy had said, ‘I never let my big sister scold me like that! If you want to get the most out of your time at Malory Towers, Edith, you need to show Lizzie that you mean to stand on your own two feet and not allow her to boss you around all the time.’
‘Daffy is quite right,’ a girl called Ivy had put in. ‘I have a cousin in the fifth, and she thought that she was going to queen it over me when I started here. But I soon set her straight and now she leaves me alone.’
Edith had realised that she was going to have to stand up to her sister if she was to win the respect of her fellow first formers. It wasn’t going to be easy, for Lizzie had always ruled the roost at home, but Edith was determined, though her voice sounded more sulky than defiant as she said, ‘You’re just trying to spoil my fun.’
‘You’re not here to have fun,’ said Lizzie sharply. ‘You are here to work, and get good results. You know how important it is that we do well, for we can’t let Uncle Charles down. It’s thanks to his kindness and generosity that we are here, remember.’
‘His charity, you mean,’ said Edith, scowling at her sister. ‘As if I am ever likely to forget.’
‘Hush, Edith!’ said Lizzie, as two girls walked by. ‘Don’t talk so loudly. We don’t want everyone to know our business.’
‘It’s all right for you,’ said Edith resentfully. ‘Because you are the oldest, and bigger than me, you always have a new uniform each term, but I have to wear your ugly hand-me-downs. And they are so worn, and so ill-fitting that I shouldn’t think it will be long before everyone guesses that we are poor.’
‘Nonsense!’ said Lizzie. ‘Why, I am sure that lots of girls wear their big sisters’ hand-me-downs.’
‘Well, it’s a pity that Uncle Charles’s generosity didn’t stretch a little further, so that I could at least have had a new blazer,’ said Edith crossly.
‘Edith, that’s not fair!’ said Lizzie. ‘You know very well that Uncle Charles would have provided you with a complete new uniform, if it had occurred to him. But it didn’t, and he has already been so kind, paying our fees, that Mother didn’t like to ask him.’
Seeing that Edith looked as if she was about to argue, Lizzie went on quickly, ‘Anyway, that is beside the point! You can work just as hard in a second-hand uniform as in a brand-new one. But not if you allow yourself to be distracted by the antics of Daffy Hope.’
‘I like Daffy,’ said Edith firmly. ‘And Mother may have asked you to keep an eye on me, but she didn’t say that you could choose my friends for me, Lizzie.’
‘I can see that Daffy has had a bad effect on you already,’ said Lizzie harshly. ‘You would never have spoken to me like that before, for you always used to respect my opinion.’
‘I still do,’ said Edith in a more gentle tone, for she was really very fond of her big sister. ‘In some things. But how am I ever to learn to make my own decisions if you won’t let me stand on my own two feet?’
Since Lizzie couldn’t think of anything to say to this, it was as well that the bell which signalled the end of break-time rang.
But, as her sister ran towards the school, Lizzie stared after her, a bleak expression on her face. She simply couldn’t allow Edith to waste the marvellous opportunity she had been given, and she was going to make jolly sure that the girl toed the line!
4
Good news for Edith
Felicity was the first of the sixth formers to meet Gwendoline. The girl was on her way to the library later that day, to return a book, when she spotted someone walking towards her. At first she didn’t recognise Gwen, but as the young woman drew closer, Felicity suddenly realised who she was.
‘Gwen!’ she cried in surprise. Then she stammered, ‘I beg your pardon! I mean, Miss Lacey.’
Gwen frowned, then her brow suddenly cleared and she said, with a smile, ‘Why, it’s Felicity Rivers! I hardly recognised you, for you were just a little second former when I left Malory Towers. Heavens, you’re quite a young lady now.’
Felicity gave a laugh, and said, ‘Well, perhaps I will be when I have attended some of your classes.’
‘I certainly hope so,’ said Gwen. ‘Tell me, how is Darrell?’
‘She’s very well, thank you,’ said Felicity. ‘She has just started working as a reporter on a newspaper, you know. Goodness, she will be surprised when I tell her that you are teaching here.’
Felicity had been pleasantly surprised, for Gwen had seemed quite friendly and natural. But now she gave a laugh which, to Felicity’s ears, sounded rather false, and said, ‘I expect that she will be. I have so much, so I wanted to do something to help others, and give something back to dear Malory Towers, as Miss Grayling has always urged us to do. The finishing school I went to was a first-rate one, you see, and I would like to put what I learned there to good use. Do give my regards to Darrell when you write, won’t you, Felicity? Tell her that I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch, but I daresay she knows how it is – one is always so very busy!’
And with another, rather false laugh and a toss of her golden head, Gwen went on her way.
‘It sounds as if she hasn’t changed much,’ said Nora, when Felicity told the others of the encounter at teatime.
‘I don’t know,’ said Felicity thoughtfully. ‘When I first bumped into her, she seemed very friendly and open. Then she suddenly put on this stuck-up act, just like the old Gwen.’
‘More likely the friendliness was an act, knowing Gwen,’ said June scornfully. ‘I say, there she is now! She has just come in, with Miss Nicholson, the new Geography mistress.’
‘What is she wearing?’ asked Freddie with a giggle. ‘Heavens, I’ve never seen so many bits and pieces! And that brooch she has on is the size of a dinner plate!’
‘Gwen is getting more and more like her mother,’ said Susan, smiling. ‘I remember how Mrs Lacey always used to turn up at half-term, with scarves and veils flying everywhere.’
‘I hope that Miss Grayling doesn’t expect us to copy her style of dress,’ said Amy, looking at the new teacher with disdain. ‘I think that she looks rather vulgar.’
‘Well, let’s give her a chance,’ said Felicity fair-mindedly. ‘And her classes. Who knows, they might turn out to be good fun.’
The younger girls stared at Gwen unashamedly, for they had never seen a mistress quite like her before, and a flurry of whispering and giggling broke out.
Gwen was aware of it, turning a little pink, but she held her head high and appeared quite unconcerned as she and Miss Nicholson took their seats at the mistresses’ table.
/> In fact, she felt very nervous indeed, particularly as many of the fifth and sixth formers remembered her from her time as a pupil at Malory Towers. And Gwen knew that their memories of her were not likely to do her any credit!
She had been very relieved indeed when Miss Grayling had told her that she was to share a study with Miss Nicholson, who, as well as being new, was young and very jolly. Gwen had dreaded that she might have to share with one of the mistresses who had taught her as a pupil, for she would have found that very awkward indeed!
She had already encountered several of the mistresses, including the stern Miss Potts, and they had welcomed her politely, but coolly, for all of them remembered the sly, stuck-up Gwendoline they had once taught. Only Mam’zelle Dupont had greeted her with warmth, for she had never seen through Gwen as the others had.
But, as silly as she was, Gwen knew that if she was to succeed as a teacher at Malory Towers, it was the good opinion of the girls that she had to win.
She felt heartened when Felicity caught her eye and gave her a smile, which she returned with genuine warmth. The others saw it too, and it made them think – perhaps Gwendoline really had changed for the better!
The late afternoon sun was pleasantly warm and, when she had finished her tea, June said, ‘I’m off for a quick dip in the pool before prep. Anyone else fancy coming?’
Felicity, Susan and Freddie accepted this invitation eagerly, and the four girls hurried off to fetch their swimming costumes.
There were several younger girls in the pool by the time the sixth formers had got changed, and June’s keen eye was caught by one of them in particular.