Secrets of Malory Towers

by Enid Blyton

  Daffy deeply resented seeing Ivy, or Jenny, or one of the others sneaking off to the box-room with Violet, and it was even harder to bear because she only had herself to blame.

  Only Katie remained steadfast and loyal, but Daffy knew that she would have to work hard to win back favour with the others.

  Inspiration came to her when she received a letter from her grandmother one breakfast-time, and she opened it to find that it contained a substantial postal order.

  She slipped it into her pocket without saying anything to the others, but an idea had taken root in her mind, and she thought about it all day.

  That evening, in the common-room, she stood up and clapped her hands together loudly, to get everyone’s attention.

  ‘Listen!’ she cried. ‘It seems to me that it has been a little dull around here lately, and I think that it’s time we livened things up.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’ called out Violet. ‘Start a big row by flinging wild accusations around?’

  Daffy swallowed the retort that sprang to her lips, put on a contrite expression, and said, ‘Actually, I was hoping to make amends to you all for that.’ She pulled the envelope from her pocket and waved it in the air, saying, ‘My grandmother sent me a postal order today, with instructions to spend it on anything I please. And what would please me more than anything would be to throw a midnight feast for you all!’

  Of course, this caused a perfect hubbub, the eyes of the first formers lighting up. Even Violet couldn’t help looking pleased at the prospect of a feast.

  ‘My word, that’s awfully generous of you, Daffy!’

  ‘I should say. A feast – what fun!’

  ‘Of course, we others will contribute something as well.’

  ‘When shall we have it?’

  ‘What about next Wednesday evening?’ suggested Katie. ‘Potty is away that evening, for I overheard her telling Matron so.’

  ‘Next Wednesday evening it is, then,’ said Daffy, beaming round. ‘We can have it in the dormitory, and use that big cupboard on the landing to store our goodies in.’

  There were ‘oohs’ and aaahs’ at this, and Ivy said, ‘Jenny, shall you and I pop into town before tea tomorrow, and buy some biscuits or something?’

  ‘I shall buy another of those big chocolate cakes, like the one I got for our picnic,’ said Violet. ‘I say, wouldn’t it be super if Willow could come, too?’

  Many of the girls thought that this was a splendid idea, but Daffy said, ‘Of course Willow can’t come! You would have to trail all the way up to the box-room to fetch her, and then go and put her back again once the feast was over. And the more we wander about, the more chance there is of us being caught.’

  The others reluctantly agreed with this, and Daffy muttered under her breath to Katie, ‘I don’t want that pampered little beast at my party.’

  ‘Which pampered little beast are you talking about?’ asked Katie, her eyes alight with mischief. ‘Violet or Willow?’

  Daffy laughed at this, her spirits lifting as she looked round at the happy, excited faces of the others. The thought of a feast had brightened everyone up, and put her back in their good books. And Daffy intended to see that she stayed there!

  Bonnie, true to her word, asked Alice to go into town with her the next afternoon.

  ‘Amy is busy, and I do so hate going on my own,’ said Bonnie. ‘I really would like your company, Alice, and you can help me carry my shopping.’

  Of course, the idea of helping Bonnie appealed to Alice enormously, and she agreed at once.

  Now that exams were over, Bonnie was happy to have leisure to pursue her favourite hobby of needlework and, as they reached the little town, she said to Alice, ‘I can set to work making that cushion cover I promised you now. Let’s go into the haberdashery shop, and you can choose the fabric and embroidery silks.’

  ‘Oh, Bonnie, that would be marvellous!’ cried Alice, thrilled. ‘Of course, I shall pay for all the materials. But are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to make something for yourself?’

  ‘No, for there is nothing I need at the moment,’ said Bonnie. ‘I am just happy to have something to work on. Besides, I promised you a cushion cover, and that is what you shall have.’

  The two girls spent a pleasant half hour in the haberdashers, and Bonnie was surprised to find that, for someone so diffident and timid, Alice had very definite ideas on what she wanted. Although, in Bonnie’s opinion, her taste wasn’t very good.

  The girl chose a deep, purple fabric, and a variety of brightly coloured silks for the embroidery. When Bonnie ventured to suggest that perhaps fewer colours might look more effective, Alice brushed this aside, saying, ‘I like colourful things. And my father sends me as much money as I wish, so I can afford to buy a few extra skeins of silk.’

  Unseen by Alice, Bonnie raised her eyebrows at this, for it was the first time that the girl had referred to her family’s wealth. Though she had said it quite matter-of-factly, and not in a boastful way, as Amy, or that conceited little first former Violet, might.

  ‘Well, that was fun!’ said Bonnie, as the two of them left the little shop, Alice carrying her purchases in a large brown paper bag.

  ‘Yes, it was,’ said Alice, smiling. ‘I say, Bonnie, there’s a little tea-shop across the road. Let’s go in and have a cup of tea and some cake – my treat, as a thank you for being kind enough to make me one of your lovely cushion covers.’

  Bonnie accepted gratefully, and soon the two girls were comfortably seated at a little table by the window, chatting happily together as they tucked into delicious jammy buns, washed down with big cups of tea.

  A harassed-looking woman with twin daughters, aged about eight, came in and sat at a table near theirs, the two little girls talking at the tops of their voices as they vied for their mother’s attention.

  ‘Heavens, what a din!’ said Bonnie, grimacing. ‘I must say, I’m awfully glad that I’m an only child, for I should hate to have to share my parents’ affection, wouldn’t you, Alice?’

  Alice, who found Bonnie’s company very pleasant and relaxing, considered this for a moment, her head on one side. ‘I used to feel like that,’ she said at last. ‘But now I think that it might have made me a better person if I had had a brother or sister.’

  Bonnie was careful not to show any surprise at this remark, for she knew that Alice would clam up. Instead, she laughed, and said jokingly, ‘I’d rather be a spoilt brat than a good person.’

  ‘But you are a good person, Bonnie,’ said Alice earnestly. ‘I know that your parents adore you, for I saw you with them at half-term. But I’ll bet they don’t give you everything you ask for.’

  ‘No, for they can’t afford to,’ said Bonnie honestly. ‘They aren’t fabulously wealthy, as Amy’s parents are. They give me their love unstintingly, though. Sometimes too much.’

  ‘Can you give someone too much love?’ asked Alice, surprised.

  ‘Sometimes you can give them too much of the wrong kind of love,’ said Bonnie. ‘You see, Alice, when I was small I was quite ill, and had to be taken great care of. And, even when I got better, Mother would insist on wrapping me up in cotton wool.’

  ‘Oh!’ said Alice, who had had no idea of this. ‘Well, I suppose it is understandable, for she must have been very worried about you.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Bonnie. ‘And I quite see that now. But when I was younger, I often found it quite annoying and wanted to rebel against it and stand on my own two feet. And yet, I always find it comforting to know that my parents are there, ready to help me if I am in trouble, or comfort me if I am sad, just as they were when I was a small child.’

  Alice was very struck by this, and said, ‘Yes, that is how I feel about my mother and father.’ Then she went quiet, and Bonnie, sensing that she was building up to something, said nothing, but nibbled at her cake and appeared quite unconcerned. At last her patience was rewarded, and Alice blurted out, ‘I wish that I didn’t feel ashamed of them, but Father doe
s embarrass me so, at times!’

  ‘Really?’ said Bonnie, sounding as nonchalant as possible. ‘How?’

  But Alice seemed to realise that she had said too much, and retreated right back into her shell. All Bonnie could get from her after that was polite chit-chat. But the girl was not dismayed, for Alice had given away a lot more than she knew.

  Pam, Nora, June, Freddie and Susan were in Felicity’s study that evening when Bonnie went to report to her. Quickly, she told them what had happened and, in disgust, Nora said, ‘Well, what a waste of time, Bonnie! As far as I can see, all that you did was went shopping and had tea and cakes! Very nice for you, but it doesn’t really get us any further!’

  ‘My dear Nora,’ said Bonnie, shaking her head. ‘It is precisely because of that attitude that Felicity chose me to talk to Alice, and not you!’

  Nora looked rather put out, while June, who had a great deal of respect for Bonnie, laughed, and said, ‘Come along, Bonnie! Tell us what you really learned about Alice.’

  ‘Very well,’ said Bonnie. ‘I learned that she has been spoilt, and used to having her own way, but that she has tried hard to change. I learned that she loves her parents, but is ashamed of them. And, perhaps more importantly than anything else, I learned that she is ashamed of herself – or, at any rate, of something that she did in the past, which she would now like to make amends for.’

  Freddie gaped at Bonnie, open-mouthed, and said, ‘How on earth can you know all that?’

  ‘Bonnie listens to people,’ said Felicity, getting up and giving the girl a pat on the shoulder. ‘And there is no one quite as good as her at reading between the lines. Well done, Bonnie.’

  ‘Yes, I take my hat off to you,’ said Pam. ‘I don’t think that any of us others would have been quite as successful as you at getting Alice to open up.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Susan. ‘But, despite Bonnie’s efforts, we are really no further forward, for we still don’t know why Alice is so familiar to us. Well, to most of us, anyway.’

  ‘Yes, we are,’ said June, a very thoughtful look on her face. ‘It’s as if we have a jigsaw, and must put the pieces together. Bonnie has given us a few of the pieces, but there are still some missing. All we have to do is find them.’

  Several of the first formers had been into town that day, too, to buy food for their midnight feast.

  The big cupboard outside the first-form dormitory gradually filled up with goodies over the next few days, and as Daffy and Katie opened it one morning, to put in a tin of biscuits that Ivy had just given them, their eyes lit up.

  ‘Scrumptious!’ sighed Katie happily. ‘Tinned sardines and pineapple, chocolate, gingerbread cake – ooh, and an enormous pork pie! How marvellous!’

  ‘It’s going to be the best feast ever,’ said Daffy, placing the tin of biscuits on a shelf.

  And it would clinch her place as leader of the first form, thought the girl, though she did not say this to Katie.

  As the day of the feast dawned, the first formers grew increasingly excitable and giggly, almost driving Miss Potts and Mam’zelle Dupont to distraction.

  ‘Really, I don’t know what is the matter with this class today,’ said Miss Potts in Maths on Wednesday morning. ‘I have already had to tell Maggie off for daydreaming, and Ivy for chattering. And it is quite obvious to me that none of you have your minds on your work. Well, if you don’t knuckle down and give me your full attention, I’m afraid that you will have to make up for it by doing an hour’s extra prep tonight.’

  Of course, none of the first formers wanted that, so they decided that they had better settle down and behave.

  Mam’zelle, who took the first form for the last lesson of the day, grew very vexed at their restlessness and threatened all kinds of dire punishments. Even the quiet Faith chattered animatedly to Violet, bringing the French mistress’s wrath upon her head.

  ‘Ah, even you, Faith, who are normally so good and so obedient – even you plague me today. I shall send you to bed one – no, two – hours early tonight. I shall send the whole class to bed two hours early!’

  As the whole form was simply dying for bedtime to come, this amused them greatly, and Faith thought that Mam’zelle was going to explode with anger when they all started giggling.

  Fortunately, Daffy saved the situation, by keeping a straight face and saying piously, ‘Come, now, girls, you are all taking advantage of Mam’zelle’s good nature, and it won’t do!’

  Then she smiled sweetly at the French mistress, and said, ‘The thing is, Mam’zelle, we are going on a lovely, long nature walk tomorrow afternoon, and we are all looking forward to it so much that I am afraid everyone has become a little over-excited.’

  Mam’zelle accepted this explanation readily, for she knew how these English girls adored their country walks, even when the weather was bad. Though it seemed very odd indeed to her! But Daffy’s contrition, coupled with her pretty smile, soothed her a little, and she said more calmly, ‘Well, you will all please forget about your walk for the moment, and concentrate on your French. Anyone who displeases me will miss the walk, and come to me tomorrow afternoon for extra coaching instead!’

  Violet, who did not care to be outside in the cold weather, didn’t know which was worse – a nature walk, or extra French coaching! But as the others had no intention of missing out on their walk and settled down, the girl decided that she had better do the same.

  Shortly before tea that day, Miss Potts came up to Felicity, and said, ‘I am sorry to ask you this at such short notice, Felicity, but I wonder if you would mind looking in on the first formers before you go to bed tonight? I am going to the theatre with a friend, you see, and shall be staying the night with her. Miss Parker had agreed to look in on them for me, but she has been taken ill with flu and is in bed.’

  ‘Yes, of course I will do it, Miss Potts,’ said Felicity at once. ‘You can rely on me.’

  Jenny of the first form, who happened to be walking by, overheard this, and dashed off to tell the others the news.

  ‘Jolly good!’ said Ivy. ‘I daresay Felicity will want to get off to bed, so she will probably just pop her head in at the door on her way up and not trouble us again.’

  ‘Yes, and she’s a jolly good sport anyway,’ said Maggie. ‘I bet that even if she did catch us having a feast she wouldn’t split.’

  Daffy, who knew only too well just how stern Felicity could be on occasion, wasn’t so certain of this. But, as the Head Girl would be safely tucked up in bed by the time the feast began, she wasn’t terribly worried about it.

  There was a great deal of laughing and chattering after lights out that evening in the first-form dormitory. Daffy, of course, was in the thick of it, and Faith, who had just about given up trying to control the unruly first formers, lay silently in her bed and said nothing. But, as time went on, she nerved herself to raise her voice, saying, ‘I say! Hadn’t we better settle down before Felicity does her rounds?’

  Many of the others ignored this, and carried on talking, but when Daffy backed Faith up and said, ‘Faith is quite right. Besides, we had better get some sleep or we shall never be able to wake at midnight,’ there was immediate silence.

  Faith did not mind this at all, but Violet felt resentful on her behalf, and, in the darkness, her lips tightened. She made no comment, though, for the girl had something else up her sleeve, and, when the feast began, Daffy would soon see who was the most popular girl in the first form.

  At last, one by one, the first formers dropped off to sleep, and when Felicity gently pushed open the door, shortly before eleven o’clock, there wasn’t a sound to be heard. Felicity smiled to herself as she pulled the door softly to behind her. The first formers were such little monkeys this term that she had half-expected to be called upon to break up a pillow fight, or some such thing. Thank heavens that they were all fast asleep, for she was longing for her own bed.

  An hour after Felicity had looked in, the little alarm clock that Daffy had placed under he
r pillow went off, startling her into wakefulness. For a moment she couldn’t think why the clock had gone off when it was still pitch dark, then she remembered, and sat up excitedly in bed, hugging her knees and smiling to herself. It was time for the midnight feast – her midnight feast!

  15

  Midnight feast

  Quickly, Daffy padded round the dormitory, waking all the sleeping girls. Silently, they climbed out of bed, putting on dressing-gowns and slippers.

  ‘Katie and I will fetch the things from the cupboard,’ whispered Daffy. ‘Ivy, there are some plates under my bed that I managed to borrow from the kitchen. Jenny and Maggie, you fetch tooth mugs, so that we have something to drink out of. Faith, you and Violet … I say, where is Violet?’

  ‘She can’t have gone far,’ said Faith. ‘For she was here a minute ago. Perhaps she has gone to the bathroom.’

  But Violet hadn’t gone to the bathroom. The girl was quite determined that Willow would be at the feast, and she was tiptoeing upstairs to the box-room to fetch her pet.

  The little cat was very pleased to see her mistress, for she was feeling rather bored and restless, and she mewed as Violet stooped to pick her up. It sounded very loud in the still of the night, and Violet whispered, ‘Shush now, Willow, or you will get me into the most awful trouble. Come along, let’s go and join the feast.’

  Then Violet tucked the cat into the front of her dressing-gown and made her way back to the dormitory.

  The others were busy setting all the food out on plates in the middle of the floor when she returned, and everyone looked up in alarm as the door opened.

  ‘Oh, it’s you, Violet!’ said Katie. ‘My goodness, what a start you gave me. Where have you been?’

  ‘Never mind that,’ said Daffy crossly. ‘For heaven’s sake, shut the door behind you, quickly, Violet. And someone had better put a couple of pillows along the bottom, where the gap is, then we can put the light on.’