Feeling sorry for the girl, Felicity went up to her and said, ‘Is everything all right, Faith, old girl?’
The kindness in Felicity’s tone and the concerned expression on her face were too much for Faith and, quite suddenly, tears started to her eyes. Seeing them, Felicity quickly laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder, guiding her into her study.
There, she shut the door and sat Faith down, saying, ‘Well, now, whatever is all this about?’
Faith began sobbing in earnest, and it was a while before she could speak, but at last she dried her tears, and said, ‘Oh, Felicity, Daffy and the others have sent Violet and me to Coventry, and it is so unjust of them!’
At the mention of Daffy’s name, Felicity’s lips tightened, and she said, ‘Why have they sent you to Coventry, Faith?’
Faith hesitated for a moment, then she looked at Felicity’s warm, open expression, and blurted out, ‘Well, actually, Felicity, it’s because of you.’
‘Me?’ said Felicity, astonished. ‘You will have to explain more clearly, Faith, for I don’t have the slightest idea what you are talking about.’
‘Well, someone sneaked to you about Daffy going on the first-form picnic,’ said Faith. ‘And Daffy has decided that it was me. Of course, Violet stuck up for me, because she is my friend, so the first formers aren’t speaking to either of us.’
A sudden thought struck Faith, and she went on, ‘Oh, Felicity, if you were to tell Daffy that it wasn’t me who sneaked, she and the others would believe you and they would start talking to Violet and me again.’
Felicity was silent as she contemplated all sorts of dire punishments for Daffy. Really, the girl’s behaviour went from bad to worse! Not content with being naughty and disobedient, she had made a false accusation against Faith, causing great unhappiness for the girl.
The expression on Felicity’s face was so stern that, for a moment, Faith feared that she had said something wrong.
Then the girl smiled, and said, ‘Don’t worry, Faith. I will be seeing Daffy later, and I will have a great deal to say to her. One thing you may be sure of, though, is that your spell in Coventry will end today.’
Felicity sounded so determined that Faith felt quite reassured, and went off to find Violet in a much happier frame of mind.
Daffy, meanwhile, had decided that her best hope of getting off lightly was to act contritely in front of Felicity, and perhaps even squeeze out a few tears. Only the hardest-hearted people could bring themselves to be unkind to Daffy when she cried, and no one could accuse Felicity of being hard-hearted.
The girl rubbed hard at her eyes as she walked to Felicity’s study that afternoon, so that they would look red, and the Head Girl would think that Daffy had been sobbing her heart out as she waited in terror to hear what her punishment would be.
Alas for Daffy, Felicity was not taken in at all!
She steadfastly ignored Daffy’s red eyes, and her occasional doleful sniffs, and proceeded to give the girl a scolding which almost reduced her to genuine tears!
‘I am very disappointed in you, Daffy,’ said Felicity. ‘Because you have such a lot of good in you, and could become a worthwhile person, if only you wanted to be. But it seems to me that all you want to do at Malory Towers is play around and make trouble for others with your spiteful ways.’
Daffy reeled at this, for although it was certainly true that she enjoyed playing around, she didn’t consider herself a spiteful person at all. Felicity was quite wrong! Just look at how popular she was with the others, and spiteful people were never popular.
‘That’s not fair, Felicity!’ she cried, hurt. ‘I’m not spiteful, truly I’m not!’
‘No?’ said Felicity. ‘You have been very spiteful to poor Faith, and to Violet.’
Daffy turned red. How on earth did Felicity know about that?
‘Faith has been sent to Coventry because she is a sneak,’ said Daffy rather stiffly. ‘And Violet stuck up for her, so we are not speaking to her either.’
‘Faith is NOT a sneak!’ said Felicity firmly. ‘And if you are going to set out to judge people, Daffy, it would be a very good idea if you checked the facts first.’
Felicity sounded so very sure that, for the first time a doubt began to creep into Daffy’s mind, her heart sinking as she wondered if she had made a very big mistake!
‘I didn’t find out about your deceit from Faith,’ went on Felicity. ‘This is what tripped you up, Daffy.’
And Felicity pulled open the drawer of her desk, getting out the incriminating photograph, which she placed in front of Daffy.
The first former gasped, and said, ‘Where did you get this from?’
‘I found it in the corridor, not far from your common-room,’ said Felicity. ‘Someone must have dropped it. So, now you see, Daffy, no one sneaked on you. Not Faith, and not any of the others.’
Daffy was horrified. She had accused Faith wrongly, and had encouraged the others to send her – and Violet – to Coventry.
‘It was very wrong of me,’ she said, sounding most subdued. And, for once, Daffy was not merely pretending to be contrite, she really meant it. And Felicity could tell from the girl’s manner that she was sincere. She didn’t need to tell Daffy that she owed the two girls an apology either, for the first former went on, ‘I shall tell them both that I am sorry, of course, and I shall do it in front of the others.’
‘I am very glad to hear it,’ said Felicity. ‘You know, Daffy, you seem to have spent rather a lot of time this term apologising to people. If only you would learn from your mistakes, you might not have to say sorry quite so often!’
Daffy nodded solemnly, and Felicity said, ‘Now we come to your punishments. Since you avoided the last one, I’m sure you will agree that it is only fair that you receive two.’
Daffy groaned inwardly, but did not protest, for she knew that Felicity was being quite fair and just.
‘You are to go to bed one hour early next Saturday night,’ said Felicity. ‘I know that the first and second formers have been given permission by Miss Grayling to hold a dance in the hall, but I am afraid that you will miss it. And this time, Daffy, I shall be checking personally to make sure that you have obeyed me.’
This was a bitter blow, for the whole form had been looking forward to the dance, but Daffy swallowed hard and said meekly, ‘Yes, Felicity.’
‘In addition,’ Felicity went on, ‘as you are so fond of sending people to Coventry, you will send yourself to Coventry for one day. This punishment will also take place on Saturday, and you are not to talk to anyone from the second you get up on Saturday morning until Sunday morning. Nor must any of the others talk to you, and I shall be asking Faith to report to me if anyone breaks the rules. Is that quite clear?’
‘Quite clear,’ said Daffy faintly. This punishment was even worse than the first, for Daffy loved to chatter, and it would be very difficult for her to keep quiet for a whole day! But she had well and truly earned her punishment, and this time she was determined to face it.
It was with a heavy heart that the girl went back to the first-form common-room. Most of the others were there, and Daffy didn’t shirk what she had to do, but went over to Violet and Faith, saying in a clear voice, ‘I owe you both an apology.’
The others immediately stopped their chatter, and came round to listen.
‘I have just been to see Felicity,’ said Daffy, ‘and I know now that it wasn’t Faith who sneaked on me. I should have made sure before I accused you, and I’m very sorry. Please will you forgive me?’
Faith was a good-natured girl, and she took the hand that Daffy held out to her at once, saying, ‘Of course. I’m just glad that it is all over now.’
‘Well, we should never have sent you to Coventry, or you either, Violet, and I am sorry about that, too,’ said Daffy.
Violet was less gracious, refusing to take Daffy’s hand, and merely inclining her head rather coldly.
Some of the others, who had been quick to follow Daffy’s lead
and only too ready to believe her accusations, murmured apologies too. The outspoken Ivy said roundly, ‘You idiot, Daffy! You made us all believe that Faith was a sneak, and we have been quite beastly to her because of it, and to Violet.’
Daffy turned red, and said, ‘Well, you may be sure that I will think twice before I accuse anyone of anything ever again.’
‘I’m very glad to hear it,’ said Violet with a disdainful sniff.
‘You will be pleased to hear that I am being punished,’ said Daffy, looking directly at Violet. ‘None of you are to speak to me at all next Saturday, and I am not allowed to go to the dance.’
Some of Daffy’s friends cried out at this, feeling that it was a very harsh punishment, but Ivy said, ‘Well, it jolly well serves you right! And this time, Daffy, I hope that you won’t try to get out of your punishment.’
‘I won’t,’ said Daffy ruefully. ‘That is another lesson I have learned.’
‘If Faith wasn’t the sneak, how did Felicity find out that you had been at the picnic?’ asked Katie curiously.
‘She found one of the photographs,’ said Daffy. ‘Someone must have dropped it.’
‘Heavens, that must have been me!’ gasped Faith. ‘Violet and I were putting them in an album the other week, and I dropped it when I was taking it up to the dorm. One must have fallen out. So it was my fault that you got into trouble with Felicity after all!’
‘Yes, but you didn’t get me into trouble deliberately,’ said Daffy, patting the girl on the shoulder. ‘And that makes a huge difference!’
Felicity, meanwhile, was in her study, telling Susan all that had happened.
‘I think that you handled it very well,’ said Susan. ‘I really do. The thing is, with people like Daffy, you have to come down hard on them or they just take advantage of you.’
‘Don’t I know it!’ said Felicity. ‘I say, Susan, what about a walk in the grounds before tea? I could do with some fresh air.’
Susan agreed at once, and as the two girls walked to the door, her sharp eyes suddenly spotted something lying on the floor.
‘Here, what’s this?’ she said, stooping to pick it up. ‘Why, it’s a silver locket. Rather a nice one, too.’
Felicity took the locket from Susan and inspected it, saying, ‘The chain has snapped. I wonder if it belongs to Daffy? She could have dropped it when she was in here earlier.’
‘No, for there are some initials engraved on the back,’ Susan pointed out. ‘And they aren’t Daffy’s. It says JJ. I don’t think I know anyone with those initials, do you?’
Felicity thought hard for a moment, and said, ‘There’s a girl in the fourth form called Julia Jenks, but she certainly hasn’t been in my study, so I don’t know how she could have dropped it here.’
‘How odd!’ said Susan. Then a thought occurred to her, and she said, ‘I say, Felicity, you don’t suppose that this could have been stolen from Julia, do you? Perhaps the thief dropped it.’
‘It’s a possibility, I suppose,’ said Felicity. ‘Though rather a horrible one. And, for all her faults, I don’t think that Daffy is a thief.’
‘Well, who else has been in your study today?’ asked Susan.
‘June and Freddie popped in this morning,’ said Felicity. ‘So did Delia. Oh, and Alice came in to give me back a book that she had borrowed.’
‘Well, we can certainly rule out June, Freddie and Delia,’ said Susan. ‘Though it’s true that we don’t know much about Alice.’
The two girls looked at one another rather uneasily for a moment, then Felicity said firmly, ‘I’ve just been telling young Daffy off for jumping to conclusions and accusing people wrongly, so I don’t intend to fall into the same trap myself. I think that the best thing to do would be to hand it in to Matron, then she can put a notice up.’
As luck would have it, the two girls bumped into Julia Jenks on their way to Matron’s room, and Felicity said, ‘Julia, have you lost a locket just lately? We have found one with your initials on it.’
Felicity took the locket from her pocket, and Julia said, ‘No, it’s not mine, Felicity. I only wish it was, for I don’t own anything half as pretty as that.’
‘Well, what a mystery!’ said Susan, as she and Felicity went on their way. ‘There is no other girl in the school with the initials JJ, so who on earth can it belong to?’
14
Getting to know Alice
Felicity soon put the mystery of the locket to the back of her mind, as she had plenty of other things to think about.
Now that exams were over, Amy and Bonnie were spending a lot more time together. But Felicity knew that Alice was still a frequent visitor in Amy’s study, and that Amy hadn’t invited her there simply for the pleasure of her company.
She sent for Amy one day, and wasted no time in getting to the point.
‘You are taking advantage of Alice,’ she said bluntly. ‘I know that she does all the little jobs that you want to get out of, and it simply isn’t fair.’
Amy turned red, and said rather haughtily, ‘If Alice chooses to do my jobs for me, I don’t see what business it is of yours, Felicity.’
‘It’s my business because I am Head Girl,’ Felicity told her. ‘And it seems to me that it is all very one-sided, for Alice isn’t getting anything in return.’
‘She has my company,’ said Amy with a shrug. ‘And that is what she really wants, you know – company and friendship. Besides, I don’t see any of you others rushing to make friends with her.’
‘That’s not fair, Amy,’ said Felicity. ‘You know very well that we have all been busy studying. And now that the exams are over, all that is going to change. I want every sixth former to make an effort with Alice, and try to bring her out of her shell. That includes you, Amy. But I don’t want to see you using her as a slave, however willing she is, and I would be grateful if you would respect my wishes.’
Rather sullenly, Amy agreed, and when she had left, Felicity went to Alice’s study and tapped on the door.
‘Come in!’ called out Alice, in her high, rather nervous voice. ‘Oh, hallo, Felicity. Do sit down.’
Felicity sat, noticing as she did so that Alice had a small photograph album on the desk in front of her. The girl hastily shut it, and Felicity said, ‘Are those photographs of your people? May I have a look?’
But Alice quickly slid the album into a drawer, saying hastily, ‘It’s empty. I bought it the other day, because Mother said that she was going to send me some photographs from home. I’m still waiting for them to arrive, though.’
Felicity knew that this was untrue, for she had seen quite clearly that there were photographs in the album, just before Alice shut it. But if the girl wished to keep them private, Felicity could hardly insist on seeing them.
So she changed the subject, saying, ‘You never talk much about your home, or your people, Alice.’
‘Well, there’s not much to say,’ said Alice, blinking rapidly behind her glasses. ‘My parents are quite ordinary, and so is my home.’
Yet Amy was convinced that Alice came from a wealthy family, because of her expensive clothes. Well, perhaps she didn’t want to boast about it, thought Felicity, and that was very much to her credit.
‘Do you have any brothers or sisters?’ she asked.
‘Oh no,’ said Alice. ‘It’s just my parents and me. You have a sister, though, don’t you? I’ve heard the others talk about her, and she sounds marvellous.’
So it went on. Each time Felicity tried to draw Alice out, the girl responded with the briefest of answers, before asking a question of her own. So when Felicity left Alice’s study a little while later, she knew no more about the girl than she had before. She was standing in the corridor puzzling over this, when a small voice behind her said, ‘What are you doing standing there, Felicity?’
Felicity turned, to see that Bonnie had come up behind her, and she was struck by a sudden brainwave.
‘Bonnie!’ she said, taking the girl’s arm. ‘Do come i
nto my study for a moment. I want to ask you a favour.’
‘What is it, Felicity?’ asked Bonnie, sitting down in an armchair.
Felicity looked at little Bonnie for a moment. The girl was very small and dainty, with a childish, lisping voice. In many ways she appeared more like a first former than a sixth former. But Bonnie was very shrewd indeed, and extremely good at sizing people up. She also had a knack of getting people to open up and confide in her, and Felicity had decided that she might come in very useful now.
‘Bonnie, I would like you to have a chat with Alice,’ she said. ‘See if you can get her to talk about herself a bit.’
‘Find out what her secret is, you mean,’ said Bonnie, with a smile. ‘All right, I’ll do my best. It won’t be easy, for as soon as anyone tries to get her to talk about herself, she clams up, or changes the subject.’
‘Some of us feel that she is familiar, as if we have met her before,’ said Felicity.
‘Yes, I heard some of the others talking about it,’ said Bonnie. ‘Though I am quite certain that I don’t know her. Nor does Amy, and Freddie is sure that she has never met her before. Lucy, Gillian and Delia don’t recognise her either.’
Felicity frowned over this, then said slowly, ‘You, Freddie and Amy joined Malory Towers in the third form, didn’t you? And Lucy came when we were in the fourth.’
‘That’s right,’ said Bonnie. ‘And Gillian and Delia didn’t join us until the fifth form. What are you getting at, Felicity?’
‘Well, as none of you seem to recognise Alice, perhaps she was someone we knew when we were in the first or second form.’
‘I suppose that makes sense,’ said Bonnie. ‘Well, Felicity, leave it to me and I’ll see if I can get anything out of her.’
While the sixth formers puzzled over Alice, Daffy was not having an easy time of it in the first form. Some of the others had been very annoyed with her for falsely accusing Faith of sneaking, and, when her day of being sent to Coventry arrived, found it all too easy to ignore her.
Violet’s popularity, on the other hand, had gone up, for the girls were missing Willow and all of them begged to be allowed to help care for her again. Violet had been a little stiff with them at first, but, at last, knowing that it would annoy Daffy, she had graciously forgiven them.