‘Will you have to report this to Miss Grayling?’ Freddie asked Felicity now, looking rather scared. June’s heart sank as she heard this. It had never even occurred to her that the Head might become involved, and June knew that Miss Grayling would not go easy on her. She might even expel her, and June felt sick at heart at the thought.
‘That’s for Amy to decide,’ answered Felicity, looking across at the girl.
‘I don’t know,’ said Amy, on whose face the strain was beginning to show. ‘I just can’t think about that at the moment. All I want is to meet my grandmother and get to know her. Freddie, you can come with me tomorrow. And I can let her know that she has been wrong about my father, and that he would like to meet her as well.’
‘No!’ cried Felicity and Freddie together.
‘Amy, you can’t,’ said Felicity. ‘Your grandmother would be terribly hurt if she knew how your mother had behaved. And she’s going to have quite enough shocks to deal with tomorrow as it is. I’m afraid that your poor father is going to have to remain the villain of the piece for the time being.’
‘Of course,’ said Amy, running a hand over her brow. ‘I’m not thinking very clearly.’
‘Well, I’m sure it’s no wonder,’ said Pam, getting up as the bell for bedtime sounded. ‘You’ve had an awful lot to take in tonight. Now it’s time for bed, and you’ll feel much better after a good night’s sleep.’
But the following morning, neither Amy nor June looked as if they had slept very well, both of them pale and heavy-eyed. Amy had had far too much going on in her mind to allow her to sleep properly, while June knew that she was going to be in disgrace with the rest of her form, and – even worse – perhaps with Miss Grayling as well. No one spoke to her as she dressed and ate her breakfast, not even Freddie, and the silence was very hard to bear. Felicity sought her out after breakfast, and led her to one of the little music-rooms.
‘I suppose you’re going to tell me off,’ said June, folding her arms across her chest, defiant to the last, even though she knew that she richly deserved a scolding.
‘Yes, I am,’ said Felicity bluntly. ‘June, what were you thinking of? How could you have been so stupid and so cruel?’
‘I admit that it was stupid,’ said June. ‘But I didn’t intend to cause Mrs Dale any hurt.’
‘Perhaps not,’ said Felicity. ‘But you certainly meant to cause trouble for Freddie. Why, June, when she’s your friend and has never shown you anything but kindness?’
June turned red, but stubbornly refused to answer, while Felicity wracked her brains for a clue that might explain the girl’s extraordinary behaviour. Then, in a flash, it came to her.
‘I know why!’ exclaimed Felicity. ‘You’re jealous of Freddie, of how clever she is at jokes and tricks. Because you desperately want to be the third form’s bad girl, the only who can play tricks and make people laugh. Well, June, you’ve certainly proved that you’re a bad girl – but no one’s laughing.’
June was now as white as she had been red, and she said harshly, ‘Very clever of you, Felicity. Have you finished now?’
‘Not quite,’ said Felicity. ‘We have yet to hear you offer an apology to Amy, or Mrs Dale, or Freddie for what you’ve done. And you must see that you owe them one, all three of them.’
‘I know that!’ said June, growing angry. ‘And I shall apologise to them, in my own time and without any prompting from you, Felicity.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Felicity. ‘And for your sake, June, I hope that Amy decides not to report the matter to Miss Grayling. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes if she does!’
June went away smarting. She always hated to be told off, and Felicity had made her feel very small indeed.
Freddie, meanwhile, wasn’t looking forward to seeing Mrs Dale at all. She and Amy made their way to her cottage after afternoon school, and were silent on the short walk, each girl lost in her own thoughts. As the little cottage came into sight, Freddie’s footsteps seemed to drag, as though she were trying to put off the dreadful moment when she would have to confess everything to the old lady. But then they were at the gate, and Freddie turned to Amy. ‘We’re here.’
Mrs Dale springs a surprise
‘Why, I wasn’t expecting to see you until Sunday!’ exclaimed Mrs Dale, as she opened the door to the two girls. ‘And you’ve brought someone else to visit me. Come along in, both of you.’
She led both girls into her tiny living-room, where they sat side by side on a small sofa. Mrs Dale’s cat, Sooty, who had become firm friends with Freddie, jumped up on to her knee and rubbed his head against her arm, purring madly. Then he spotted Amy, and wondered if this stranger liked cats too. Sooty jumped from Freddie’s lap to Amy’s, and the girl gave a little start, for she wasn’t used to pets and was rather nervous of them. But Sooty was prepared to overlook this, and curled up on her lap, purring his approval when Amy tentatively stroked his head.
‘Well, Amy,’ said Mrs Dale, now that Sooty had settled down to his satisfaction. ‘This is an unexpected pleasure.’
‘Yes,’ began Freddie. ‘You see, I had to come today, because –’
‘Oh, I wasn’t talking to you, my dear,’ said Mrs Dale, with a strange little smile. ‘I was talking to my grand-daughter, Amy.’
Then she looked directly at Amy, whose mouth had fallen open in shock, and said, ‘That is who you are, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, Grandmother,’ answered Amy in a trembling voice. ‘Oh, it’s so lovely to meet you!’ Then she got to her feet, dislodging the cat – who merely yawned and settled down on Freddie again – and hugged the old lady for all she was worth, while Freddie looked on in the utmost astonishment, questions crowding her brain.
At last Amy and Mrs Dale sat back down again, and Freddie said, in rather a high, nervous voice, ‘How long have you known that I wasn’t Amy?’
‘I’ve known from the first,’ answered the old lady quite serenely, her shrewd eyes twinkling. ‘I might be old, but I still have all my wits about me! You see, a couple of days before you turned up on my doorstep claiming to be my granddaughter, I received a letter from Amy’s mother. And in it was a recent photograph of Amy, in her new school uniform, taken just before she left for Malory Towers.’
‘But – but why didn’t you say anything?’ asked the bewildered Freddie, absent-mindedly stroking the cat.
‘Because I wanted to know what game you were playing,’ Mrs Dale replied. ‘I was at a loss at first, but I think I know what you were up to now. I realised the other day, when you brought June to tea. She was the one who put you up to it, wasn’t she?’
Amy gave a scornful snort, while Freddie nodded and said, ‘Yes, but you must believe that I didn’t mean any harm, Mrs Dale. June said that you were lonely, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but…’
Her voice trailed off miserably and Mrs Dale said, ‘But your conscience started to trouble you.’
‘Yes, it did,’ said Freddie, looking the old lady straight in the eye. ‘It troubled me a lot. And there was something else too. I grew very fond of you – and I hadn’t expected that.’
‘Well, I’m glad to hear it,’ said Mrs Dale, her shrewd blue eyes twinkling. ‘Because I grew very fond of you, too, and came to look forward to your visits, even though I knew you weren’t really my granddaughter. Heavens!’ She gave a little laugh. ‘Do you realise that I don’t even know what your real name is?’
‘I’m Freddie,’ the girl answered. ‘And I’m so relieved that you aren’t angry with me.’
‘I could tell that you were a good girl at heart,’ said Mrs Dale. ‘And I knew that you would own up sooner or later. As for that June – well, I realised that she was a monkey the second I clapped eyes on her. That was the day she rescued my Sooty from the tree. My goodness, what a long time ago that seems now!’
‘Monkey is putting it mildly!’ said Freddie, with a grimace. ‘I was an idiot to let her talk me into this in the first place.’
‘
Oh, we all act foolishly at times,’ said Mrs Dale. ‘I just hope June comes to see the error of her ways before she gets herself into real trouble. She reminds me very much of myself when I was that age, you know.’
Both girls looked astonished at this, quite unable to picture the old lady as a mischievous schoolgirl, and Mrs Dale laughed at their wide-eyed expressions. ‘Yes, I was young once myself,’ she said. ‘And now, Freddie, I’m going to ask you to leave Amy and me alone for a while. I’d like to get to know my granddaughter.’
‘Of course,’ said Freddie, getting up at once and putting Sooty, who didn’t approve of all this activity, on the floor. ‘May I come and visit you again, please, Mrs Dale?’
‘I should like that very much,’ said the old lady with a smile. ‘Only next time come as Freddie, not as Amy. And send June to see me as well. I’d like a word with that young lady!’
Freddie felt as if the weight of the world had rolled off her shoulders as she made her way back to Malory Towers, and there was a spring in her step when she walked into the common-room. June was there alone, and she looked up as Freddie entered. It was a lovely, crisp, sunny day outside and the rest of the third form were making the most of it by getting some fresh air. But nobody had asked June if she wanted to go with them. Not that she cared tuppence, for she would much rather be on her own than with a group of girls whose disgust and disapproval of her was all too plain. There was a moment’s awkward silence, then Freddie, who felt so happy that she could almost forgive June, cleared her throat and asked, ‘Where is everyone?’
‘They’re all outside,’ answered June, heartened by the fact that Freddie had broken the ice between them. There was another pause and then she asked, ‘Er – how did it go at Mrs Dale’s? Was she very angry with you?’
‘No, surprisingly enough, she wasn’t,’ said Freddie and, unable to keep it to herself any longer, she launched into her tale. June was astonished, of course, and asked a great many questions, feeling quite as relieved as Freddie that everything was all right.
‘Of course, Amy will still have to tackle her mother,’ said Freddie, when she reached the end of her story. ‘Can you believe that anyone would be so stuck-up and snobbish as to be ashamed of her own mother? Honestly, June, doesn’t it make you feel grateful that we have ordinary, sensible parents?’
June agreed heartily with this, then, after a moment’s silence, said in a rush, ‘Freddie, I’m sorry. I placed you in a very uncomfortable situation, and one that could have got you into a lot of trouble. I hope that you’ll accept my apology, and that the two of us can still be friends. Though if you don’t want to, I won’t blame you.’
‘I would like us to carry on being friends, June,’ answered Freddie, her expression quite serious. ‘But first I must know why you put me up to impersonating Amy. Because I know that it wasn’t concern for Mrs Dale that made you do it.’
‘You’re right,’ said June, realising that she would have to be completely honest with Freddie if their friendship was ever to get back on its old footing. So she told Freddie the truth – how she had begun to feel jealous of her, and hadn’t wanted Freddie sharing in the adulation and glory June received from the others for her tricks. And how petty and spiteful it sounded when she said it aloud! No wonder Freddie looked shocked, and June wouldn’t blame the girl if she decided that she didn’t want to be her friend after all. But Freddie said, ‘Thank you for having the courage to be honest with me, June. And if we are to remain friends, you must go on being honest. Even if it means telling me things that I don’t want to hear sometimes.’
June nodded solemnly. ‘I will,’ she said. ‘And you must try to be a steadying influence on me, and try to talk me out of some of the crazy ideas I come up with.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ said Freddie, with a grin. ‘But I doubt if anyone could stop you once you’ve taken it into your head to carry out one of your madcap schemes!’
So, when the rest of the third form poured in, rosycheeked from their walk in the grounds, it was to find June and Freddie chatting together amicably. Some of them exchanged surprised glances but Felicity, who felt that there had been quite enough ill feeling in the third form recently, was pleased and, knowing that the others would follow her lead, said cheerily, ‘Hallo, you two! I say, Freddie, where’s Amy? Still at her grandmother’s?’
And Freddie had to relate, once more, all that had happened at Mrs Dale’s for the benefit of the rest of the third form.
‘Well!’ said Nora when she had finished. ‘So the old lady knew all along that you weren’t Amy. She tricked you far more successfully than you tricked her, Freddie.’
‘Good for her!’ laughed Julie.
‘And you didn’t have to go through the unpleasantness of owning up after all,’ said Susan. ‘I’ll bet that was a relief, Freddie.’
There was more good news when Amy came back, just in time for supper. Felicity had been a little afraid that Amy, once she got to know her grandmother, might not get on with her because she was not as grand as the rest of her family. But it was plain from the bright smile on the girl’s face that she had had a very happy time with Mrs Dale, and was overjoyed to have met her at last. Amy also announced graciously that she was not going to report Freddie and June to Miss Grayling. Freddie, who guessed that she had Mrs Dale to thank for this, was extremely grateful, while June got up and said, ‘Thank you, Amy. Freddie and I appreciate it. And I want you to know that I’m really very sorry for the part that I played in this business. It was completely my fault, and Freddie would never have thought of pretending to be you if I hadn’t put the idea into her head.’
After only a slight hesitation, Amy took June’s outstretched hand and shook it, while Felicity breathed a sigh of relief. June’s frank, open apology had done much to lighten the mood of the third formers and they admired her for being brave enough to make it in front of them all. Perhaps, at last, things were beginning to settle down a bit.
But not everything was sorted out, of course. Bonnie and Veronica were still very cool towards Felicity, and towards one another, while Amy still flatly refused to make up with Bonnie. Felicity, who felt rather guilty about the rift between the two girls, tactfully broached the subject with Amy later that evening, suggesting that she and Bonnie clear the air between them, but she was brushed off.
‘I know that you mean well, Felicity,’ said Amy stiffly. ‘But Bonnie deceived me. And, quite frankly, I’ve had enough of deceitful people to last me a lifetime!’
Felicity guessed, of course, that Amy was referring to her mother and said no more, deciding that it would be foolish to push the matter when the girl had so much on her mind.
And Bonnie herself went up to Amy in the dormitory, as the third formers got ready for bed. Bonnie had been deeply shocked at the way Amy had been kept apart from her grandmother, and the incident had made her think of her own doting grandparents, who had always played a large part in her life and whose spoiling she had rather taken for granted. She felt very sorry for Amy, who had missed out on her own grandmother’s loving companionship for so many years. For probably the first time in her life, Bonnie genuinely wanted to be of help and comfort to someone else.
‘Amy, I’m so pleased that your meeting with your grandmother went well today,’ she said in her soft voice. ‘Have you decided what you’re going to say to your mother?’
But Amy merely looked at Bonnie coldly and said, ‘Did Felicity tell you to come and speak to me?’
‘Of course not!’ said Bonnie, deeply offended. ‘I’m just concerned for you, that’s all.’
‘Amy doesn’t need your concern,’ butted in Veronica, who had been hovering nearby, listening jealously. ‘She knows that she can always rely on me in times of trouble.’
‘I’m sure that Amy can speak for herself,’ snapped Bonnie, giving Veronica a look of dislike. ‘Amy, you might not be my friend any more, but I’m yours, whether you want me to be or not. And I shall be here if you need me.’
But B
onnie received no response other than a look of icy disdain so, rather despondently, she went off to her own bed, while Amy and Veronica each climbed into theirs.
‘What are you going to do about your parents?’ whispered Veronica to Amy. ‘My word, your father’s going to be simply furious with your mother when he finds out what has been going on all these years.’
‘Yes, he is,’ answered Amy in a low voice. ‘But I’m afraid that can’t be helped. Mummy has brought it all on herself. I’ve decided that I’m going to tackle her at the weekend, when she and Daddy come over for my birthday. Really, Veronica, I don’t know how she can have imagined, even for a second, that Daddy would look down on Grandmother! He may be wealthy, but he’s awfully kind-hearted, and would never disapprove of someone simply because they don’t have very much money.’
‘And what about you, Amy?’ asked Veronica curiously. ‘How do you feel about your gran?’
‘Why, I love her, of course,’ said Amy, sounding rather surprised at the question. ‘I did from the moment I saw her. She is my grandmother, after all!’
‘Of course,’ said Veronica. ‘But what I really meant was –’
She stopped suddenly, realising that the question she wanted to ask wasn’t very tactful, and Amy gave a soft laugh, realising all at once what Veronica wanted to know.
‘You mean do I look down on her because she isn’t wealthy, don’t you?’ she said. ‘Well, I don’t, surprising as it may seem. I know that I’m stuck-up and snobbish, and all of the other things that people say about me – and I probably always will be. But somehow it’s impossible to look down on someone you love.’