Olive hung her head, and said in a small voice, ‘I couldn’t. I felt so ashamed of myself, and I simply couldn’t bear to see the scorn on everyone’s faces. Oh, June, I started this term with such high hopes! I had made up my mind that I was going to settle down, and make friends, and Father would realise that I wasn’t so bad after all, and would let me come home. Then the first person I met on the train was Nora, and she reminded me so much of Annabel that I simply couldn’t help being rude to her. And then I found out that Miss Tallant was teaching here, and I realised that there was no point in trying to change.’
‘Oh, Olive!’ sighed June. ‘I daresay one or two of the girls might have been a little shocked when they heard that you had been expelled, but once you had explained everything, they would have understood. And as for Miss Tallant, I feel quite certain that the Head will dismiss her immediately once she finds out what she has been up to.’
‘Do you really think so?’ said Olive, brightening.
‘I do,’ said June, getting to her feet. ‘And now we had better get you back to the school, for the police are out looking for you, and I expect that Miss Grayling has telephoned your father by now.’
Olive turned pale at this, and gave a groan. ‘And he will think that I have caused yet more trouble.’
‘Yes, but no doubt he will be so glad that you have been found that you might not get into a row,’ said June. ‘In fact, I rather think that the only person who is going to get into a row is our dear Miss Tallant.’
17
Bonnie puts things right
Miss Grayling was most astonished, a few minutes later, when someone knocked on the door of her study, and June entered, followed by a very scared-looking Olive.
After the Head had telephoned the police to tell them that the missing girl had been found, she turned to Olive and said, ‘My dear, what on earth made you run away like that? The school has been in an uproar, and your father is dreadfully worried. He is on his way here this very minute.’
‘Olive, you must tell Miss Grayling everything, at once,’ urged June.
So, haltingly at first, and with much prompting from June, Olive poured out the whole sorry tale.
Miss Grayling listened intently, her brow furrowing as the girl told of the spiteful way her step-sister had behaved. And when Olive spoke of the part Miss Tallant had played in her unhappiness, June noticed with satisfaction that the Head’s serene blue eyes grew cold and steely.
‘Well, this is a most extraordinary tale!’ said Miss Grayling at last. ‘Olive, you really should have come to me, or one of the other mistresses, and told us about Miss Tallant’s conduct.’
‘I know,’ said Olive. ‘But I thought that you would be certain to believe Miss Tallant’s word over mine. Especially as you knew that I had been expelled from my other school for making trouble.’
‘Miss Grayling, what is puzzling me is why Miss Tallant was so intent on finding out all our secrets,’ said June, who had been looking thoughtful. ‘Was it just out of spite, or did she have some other motive?’
‘I rather think that Miss Tallant wanted to be offered a permanent post at Malory Towers,’ said the Head. ‘As you know, she is only here temporarily, whilst Miss Hibbert is ill. She has lost no opportunity to point out to me, and the other mistresses, that she thinks Miss Hibbert is a poor teacher and a poor disciplinarian. It must have been a great stroke of luck for her to discover that Olive was here. She was able to use her to find out what you fourth formers were up to, punish you, and earn herself a reputation for being strict and able to keep order.’
‘Well!’ cried June. ‘Of all the nerve! Miss Hibbert is a splendid teacher, a million times better than Miss Tallant. She is just, and fair, her lessons are always interesting, and—’
‘Quite so, June,’ interrupted Miss Grayling firmly, though there was the hint of a twinkle in her eyes. ‘Fortunately I have known Miss Hibbert for very many years, so a few words from a new mistress was certainly not going to change my excellent opinion of her. In fact, I will be telephoning her shortly, to see if she is well enough to come back to Malory Towers before the end of term.’
June and Olive exchanged excited glances. This was good news, and could mean only one thing—the Head was going to dismiss Miss Tallant!
‘Now,’ said Miss Grayling. ‘Your father will be here very shortly, Olive, so I suggest you go and wash your face and hands, and brush your hair before he arrives. Then we need to talk to him about your step-sister’s behaviour towards you.’
Olive’s shoulders slumped, and she said glumly, ‘He won’t believe me. Annabel has been very convincing, you see, Miss Grayling.’
‘Yes, he will!’ cried June suddenly. ‘I have an idea! Miss Grayling, may I be excused, please?’
‘Of course,’ said the Head, looking rather startled. ‘Olive, you go as well, and tidy yourself up, then come straight back here.’
Both girls left the Head’s study, Olive to go to the nearest bathroom, and June to go to the common-room, where the others were sitting around looking rather gloomy, as they discussed Olive’s disappearance.
June burst in and Freddie cried, ‘Where on earth have you been, June? We were beginning to think that you had run away too!’
‘I went to look for Olive,’ said June a little breathlessly, for she had run all the way to the common-room. ‘And I found her. She is with the Head now.’
At once the fourth formers besieged June with questions and, as quickly as possible, she told them what had happened. The girls listened in open-mouthed silence, but they had plenty to say when June told them about Miss Tallant.
‘Well, I always knew she was a horrid woman, but I had no idea she was that beastly! If only we had known, we might have been able to help poor Olive.’
‘And she was scheming to take Miss Hibbert’s job from her too! Lucky that the Head is so shrewd, and saw through her.’
‘Thank goodness that Miss Grayling is going to dismiss her. Good riddance, I say!’
‘Listen, everyone!’ broke in June. ‘There is another way that we can help Olive. Bonnie, you spoke to Annabel at half-term, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, you know that I did, for I told you so,’ said Bonnie.
‘And she told you, quite plainly, that she had deliberately set out to get Olive into trouble, didn’t she?’ said June.
‘That’s right,’ said Bonnie, nodding.
‘Good,’ said June. ‘Now, Bonnie, I want you to come to Miss Grayling’s study with me, and tell Olive’s father that. You see, Olive is afraid that he won’t believe her, but you are a stranger, and what’s more, you don’t even like Olive, so you have no possible reason to lie!’
Bonnie, looking rather bewildered at the speed with which June rattled all this off, blinked and said, ‘Yes, of course I shall. It’s very true, I didn’t like Olive at all, but as soon as I saw that Annabel was to blame for everything I began to realise that she might not be so bad underneath it all. I shall enjoy telling Olive’s father what a mean little beast his step-daughter is.’
And with that, June and Bonnie left the room together. As the door closed behind them, Nora said, ‘My goodness, how I wish that I could be a fly on the wall in Miss Grayling’s study when Bonnie tells Olive’s father about Annabel.’
‘I’d like to be there when the Head gives Miss Tallant her marching orders,’ said Felicity.
‘How nice it will be to have good old Miss Hibbert back!’
Miss Grayling was seated behind her desk when June and Bonnie returned to her study, a grim-faced Mr Witherspoon and a tearful Olive sitting opposite her. The interview had not gone well, and Olive’s father had brushed aside her explanation that Annabel had been to blame for everything that had gone wrong. Miss Grayling had spoken up for Olive too, but Mr Witherspoon had said gruffly, ‘I accept that this Miss Tallant of yours is badly at fault, and I leave you to deal with her as I see fit. But little Annabel is a good girl, and she would never do the things that Olive is accusing
her of.’
June and Bonnie arrived outside Miss Grayling’s door in time to hear this, for Mr Witherspoon had a booming voice, and, as June knocked at the door, Bonnie pursed her lips.
‘Come in,’ called the Head, in answer to June’s knock.
The two girls went in, and June said politely, ‘Please, Miss Grayling, Bonnie has something that she would like to say to Mr Witherspoon.’
Mr Witherspoon looked at Bonnie and frowned. He was a big, rather serious-looking man, and he said, ‘I don’t mean to be rude, young lady, but I am here on a very serious matter and I am in no mood for pleasantries.’
Bonnie smiled sweetly at him, and said in her soft voice, ‘That’s quite all right, Mr Witherspoon. I didn’t come here to be pleasant.’
The two grown-ups and Olive looked so taken aback that it was all June could do not to burst out laughing. Mr Witherspoon opened his mouth to retort, but Bonnie spoke first, saying, ‘I don’t know why you should believe Annabel over your own daughter, but I am here to tell you that Olive is speaking the truth. You see, I spoke to your step-daughter Annabel at half-term, and she boasted to me that she has been doing mean tricks to get Olive into trouble.’
There was a note of doubt in Mr Witherspoon’s voice now, as he said, ‘Are you sure that you’re not saying this to get your friend out of trouble?’
‘Olive isn’t my friend,’ said Bonnie. ‘She has been mean and horrible to me since the day we met, because I remind her of Annabel. But I’m not like Annabel at all inside, for I don’t lie. And, now that you can see that I have no reason at all to be nice to Olive, I hope that you will believe me.’
Mr Witherspoon looked completely dumbfounded by this, and Miss Grayling said, ‘Thank you for coming and telling us this, Bonnie. The two of you may go now.’
June and Bonnie turned, but Mr Witherspoon got to his feet and said, ‘Just a minute! I’d like to thank you as well, Bonnie. You’re a very outspoken and courageous young lady. And my Olive may not have been very nice to you, but you have been a good friend to her today. And you jolly well put me in my place too! Now I can see that I’m going to have to make things up to Olive, otherwise I shall have you after me again!’
‘Bonnie, you were simply splendid!’ said June, once they were outside in the corridor. ‘Olive should be very grateful to you, and if she isn’t, then I, for one, will wash my hands of her!’
But Olive was grateful. Very grateful indeed! She came into the common-room an hour later, her face glowing with pleasure, looking so happy that the others could hardly believe she was the same girl.
She stood on the threshold for a moment, smiling shyly round, then, spotting Bonnie, she made straight for her, and gave the surprised girl a great big hug.
‘Bonnie, I simply can’t thank you enough!’ she cried. ‘Everything has come right, and it’s all thanks to you.’
Bonnie smiled and said slyly, ‘I didn’t do too badly for a silly little doll, did I?’
Olive flushed and said, ‘I could kick myself for calling you that. I take it back, and I apologise. Please say that you forgive me!’
‘You’re forgiven,’ said Bonnie. ‘But only if you tell us what happened with your father.’
‘He was quite overcome with remorse,’ said Olive. ‘And simply couldn’t apologise enough for doubting my word and believing Annabel all the time. He is going to talk to my step-mother when he gets home, and Annabel is in for the scolding of her life tomorrow.’
‘Well, she certainly deserves it,’ said Susan. ‘I just hope that she learns something from it, and changes her ways.’
‘She had better, for Father said that he isn’t going to stand any nonsense from her,’ said Olive with a grin. ‘And the best of it is, that I am to go home when term ends, and go back to my old day school.’
‘Well, I like that!’ said Pam, in dismay. ‘You’ve just changed for the better, and gone all friendly and jolly, and now you tell us that you’re leaving!’
‘I daresay you will all be glad to see the back of me,’ said Olive rather gruffly. ‘I can’t blame you, for I’ve been quite unbearable.’
‘Yes, you have,’ said June in her usual blunt manner. ‘But at least we know that there was a reason for it. And we don’t want you becoming unbearable again, for this new, happy Olive is much more likeable than the old one, and she is the one we want to spend the rest of the term with.’
‘Hear, hear!’ cried Felicity.
‘Thanks awfully,’ said Olive, looking quite pretty now that she was smiling and her eyes were shining with happiness. ‘I promise that I shan’t go back to my old ways.’
‘Well, we’re jolly glad to hear it,’ said Nora, who had also suffered badly from Olive’s rudeness.
Olive remembered this now, and said, ‘I owe you an apology too, Nora, and you, Felicity, and…oh, it will probably take me the whole night if I apologise to everyone one by one, so I’ll just say a great big SORRY to you all!’
The others laughed at this, and Olive said, ‘I say, Miss Tallant was walking towards Miss Grayling’s study when I left. I shouldn’t be a bit surprised if she’s packing her bags this very minute.’
A great cheer went up at this, and Felicity said, ‘What a day it’s been! But Miss Tallant leaving will just round it off perfectly.’
18
The Christmas concert
‘Come along, everyone! Places, please!’ called Susan.
It was the afternoon before the end-of-term concert, and the fourth formers were having a dress rehearsal for their play.
‘Doesn’t everything look splendid?’ said Felicity happily.
‘Yes, the scenery looks absolutely super,’ said Sylvia.
‘And Bonnie has done a marvellous job with the costumes,’ said Susan. ‘I don’t see how our play can fail to be a hit.’
‘It’s going to be a wonderful ending to the term,’ said Felicity. ‘At last everything seems to be going right for us. Olive has changed her ways and become one of us now, Miss Tallant has gone, Miss Hibbert is back and everything is working out perfectly!’
Miss Tallant had left Malory Towers the morning after Olive had run away, and the fourth formers had watched her go from their common-room window.
‘Good riddance!’ Freddie had said with satisfaction.
‘Yes, she is undoubtedly the most unpopular mistress Malory Towers has ever had,’ Felicity had said. ‘I, for one, won’t miss her.’
Sylvia, released from the San by Matron, had added, ‘Now perhaps you can understand why I didn’t want to admit that she is my aunt. I feel quite ashamed to be related to her. Especially now that I know how she treated poor Olive.’
Olive had clapped Sylvia on the back and said, ‘There’s no need for you to be ashamed, Sylvia, old girl. It wasn’t your fault.’
Miss Hibbert had taken a keen interest in the fourth formers’ play, but unlike Miss Tallant she had not pushed herself forward or tried to take over. Instead, she had let it be known that she was willing to help if she was needed, and had remained in the background.
‘Because Miss Hibbert is a jolly good teacher,’ Susan had said. ‘And she understands that we are going to learn far more if we do this for ourselves.’
Now the actors trooped on to the stage, and the three producers felt a thrill of pride.
There was Lucy in her teddy-bear costume and Julie, dressed as the toy soldier. Little Molly looked very sweet in her white nightdress, while Pam, wearing a grey wig and an apron, made a very convincing old lady. As for Nora, she looked very pretty indeed in her fairy costume, and Bonnie fussed round her, arranging the skirt and making sure that the wings were in position.
At last everyone was ready, and Susan called out, ‘Righto, we are going to do the whole play from beginning to end, so I hope that everyone is word perfect. Olive, are you ready, just in case anyone forgets her lines?’
Olive—a cheerful, friendly Olive—had volunteered to act as prompter, and was sitting in the wings now with her script
at the ready.
‘I’m here, Susan!’ she called cheerily.
And the rehearsal began. It wasn’t quite perfect, for Julie tripped over during the dance, Pam forgot one of her lines and Mary, at the piano, dropped her music on the floor and lost her place. But the most worrying thing was Molly. She knew all her lines perfectly, and didn’t make any mistakes, but she had been suffering from a sore throat and her voice was little more than a croak.
‘Oh dear!’ said Felicity, sounding very worried. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Molly lost her voice altogether by tomorrow.’
‘Don’t say that!’ begged Susan. ‘Why, if that happens we shan’t be able to perform our play, for no one could possibly learn all of Molly’s lines and take her place at such short notice.’
‘I’m sure that she will be perfectly fine,’ said Sylvia, trying her hardest to sound optimistic. ‘Why, I had a sore throat myself just recently, but after a couple of days in the San I was as right as rain.’
‘But we don’t have a couple of days,’ said Felicity. ‘Our play is tomorrow!’
But, as the day wore on, poor Molly’s throat became steadily worse, until she could hardly speak at all, and after tea Miss Williams came to the common-room, with bad news.
‘Girls, I’m awfully sorry, but I have just heard that Molly has been taken to the San. Miss Grayling has telephoned her parents and, as it is the last day of term tomorrow, they are coming to take her home in the morning.’
There was consternation at this, of course. Everyone felt terribly sorry for Molly, for they knew how much she had wanted her mother and father to see her perform. But they were also very concerned about their play.
‘June, you must do it!’ said Felicity. ‘You have a better memory than anyone in the form, and if anyone can learn the lines in time you can.’
‘I might have a good memory, but I couldn’t possibly learn all those lines in time,’ said June, quite horrified. ‘What about asking Molly’s friend Harriet? I know that she helped Molly to learn her lines, so she must know them very well.’