A Genius at the Chalet School (5 page)

   "Bring your chair up to mine while I go through this with you," she said. "Here's your timetable. We've had rather a tough time with it, but I think it's settled at last. Now listen carefully. As music is to be your main subject, you will take no science or art or algebra and geometry. You
must
be able to manage your own money affairs and you can't do that without arithmetic. So that stays in; but as you won't want any of the public exams, it shouldn't worry you unduly. Miss Wilmot understands and she'll see you understand all you do need."
   Nina listened with respect. This was indeed taking her intended career seriously. "I rather like arithmetic," she said shyly. "I don't mind about the rest but I know I must be able to manage for myself."
   "Good! Then that's all right. Now for languages. Miss Annersley says your guardian told her that you read and write French and German fluently and also Italian."
   "I'm not frightfully fluent in Italian yet," Nina said honestly.
   "No? Well, never mind. That can come when you're Sixth Form. Literature, history, geography - you should have all those so they've been left in. You'll have two lessons a week in German and French. The others, you'll miss. You'll take all the games and gym that the rest of the form do. You won't go far in any job without good health and those are necessary while you're growing."
   Which effectively stopped Nina's protest against this before she could utter it.
   "Handcrafts - you may please yourself whether you do those or not. I'd advise you to go to the first lesson or two and see how you like it. Most of the girls are very keen and it's always well to have something of that kind for recreation." She looked up at the girl. "You see, Nina, if things go as we all hope, you will probably have long journeys to take when you won't be able to practise. You couldn't do much of that in a train or a plane. No one can read all the time and it's soothing to have one's hands occupied at such times. So go and try it. That's my advice."
   "Yes, Miss Dene," Nina said thoughtfully. "I'll do that."
   "Good!" Miss Dene said again. "Now for the music. You will get the two hours a day that all advanced pupils get. You'll see your name on the practice timetable in Hall. Only remember; if for any reason you can't have your usual piano, you must ask one of the music mistresses which you
may
have. No taking someone else's place!"
   "Oh, no!" Nina said, rather shocked. Apart from her experience at Brettingham, she had never had to consider anyone else over practice and she was yet to experience the irritation it is to find that you can't use your instrument when you wish.
   "Then, in these other times when the rest of Va are having ordinary lessons, you will go to Hall and practise wherever you've been put down for it - see?" She rapidly indicated the places on the timetable and Nina nodded.
   "Here - and
here
- and
here
, you will have lessons in all the theoretical side with Mr. Denny, our singing master. He's very good and I think you'll like him. Oh, and by the way, you'll go to all singing lessons of course. That's part of your musical training. Then, on Saturday, Herr von Eberhardt comes up to spend the weekend with his wife who's in the San, poor soul. He'll come here at ten and take you from ten to eleven for piano."
   "Herr von Eberhardt!" Nina exclaimed, her cheeks flushing with excitement. "Oh - but - is it Herr Ernst von Eberhardt, Miss Dene?"
   "Yes. Do you know him?" Miss Dene asked.
   "Three years ago I had two terms with him. And I know Frau von Eberhardt, too, for she used to give me coffee and cakes after my lesson," Nina replied. "Is she ill? Oh, I'm so dreadfully sorry! We were in America at the time, and my father and I were so sorry when he told us that they were going back to Germany and so he could give me no more lessons. Am I really to have him? Oh, how - how
wonderful
!"
   Miss Dene laughed outright. "I'm very glad you're so keen. Well, that's your timetable. Suppose you take it and go and study it. You must try to get to know it because it's been a hard job giving you four hours a day and we can't manage a minute more, so you must make the most of it."
   "Oh, I
shall
!" Nina breathed as she took the sheet Miss Dene had rolled up and handed to her. Then she added, "And thank you very much for all your trouble, Miss Dene. I'm so grateful to you."
   "My job," Miss Dene told her brusquely. "Anyhow, you've got it now. If by any chance we
can
put in a half-hour extra at any time, we will - though I warn you it won't always be the piano in Hall which is where you will generally practise. It's away from the schoolrooms, so you won't disturb ordinary classes, and I understand you've been accustomed to a Bechstein."
   Nina's face lit up again. She had already noted the beautiful piano on the dais and to know that she was to use it for her regular practice completed her joy.
   "That's marvellous! And if I have to use some other piano for anything extra, it won't matter because I can always use it for scales and exercises."
   "Then off you go. I haven't another minute to spare just now."
   "Oh, I beg your pardon!" Nina jumped up and put her chair back in its place. "I'll go at once. But, oh, you have been kind to me!"
   Miss Dene nodded, laughed, and turned to her next job and Nina slid out of the door feeling that, after all, Cousin Guy had been right in sending her to school - so long as it was
here
.
   Mary-Lou was waiting for her. "All O.K.?" she asked, with a quick look at the new girl's face. "But I can see it is. Now come on! Matey has probably been shrieking for us and there's no point in getting her goat.
Scram
!"

CHAPTER 6

"Well!" said Betsy Lucy - and she said it expressively.
   "Don't mind us," Blossom Willoughby rejoined sweetly.
   "I haven't the least intention of doing so. Really, things are at such sixes and sevens this term, that half the time I dont' know whether I'm coming or going!"
   "The Head did say at the beginning of the first term we came up here that things would take a little time to sort themselves," Carola Johnstone reminded her. "She said a lot of our first arrangements were experiments and there would almost certainly be changes. I suppose its taken them till now to decide what should be changed and what not."
   "Including the prefect arrangements," Katharine Gordon chimed in. "You can't grumble, Bets. At St. Briavel's, we always did have at least twelve prees and we had more at Plas Gwyn, according to all I've heard."
   "True for you!" Hilary Wilson's dark eyes danced as she remembered old times. "And of course we were all in the one building there, Houses or not. Now we're divided up properly for living, I suppose we really do need more prees."
   "I should imagine it was more than necessary, remembering what some of the Middles can be like," Carola said. "Anyhow, it;s only giving us three full prees and one sub to each House. That's none too many Bets!"
   "How right you are! But we'd better drop this conversation and get cracking on the real business. Bring up chairs, you three, and let's begin. There's a good deal to settle and we haven't any too much time."
   It was Saturday morning and the prefects were having a full-dress prefects' meeting. At Prayers that morning, the Head had announced the appointment of three new sub-prefects and the promotion of Ailsa Thompson, Lalla Winterton and Elinor Pennel to full-blown prefectship. Sybil Russell, eldest daughter of Lady Russell, who, as Madge Bettany, had founded the school in what all the girls called "the Dark Ages", had been appointed a sub-prefect half-way through the previous term. The other three were new to the job. They pulled up chairs and sat down at the foot of the table and Betsy brought the meeting to order by tapping her pen on the pad in front of her.
   "Well, everyone," she began, standing up, "I'm glad to see you all once more - and to welcome our new additions. That being that, I now call on Jean Ackroyd to read the Minutes of the last meeting."
   She sat down with a puckish grin at Jean who returned it as she rose in her turn. Jean was Second prefect, a tall, brawny Scotswoman with reddish hair and the peppery temper that goes with such hair and the keen blue eyes under her reddish lashes. For all that, she was a favourite with the girls, for if she was quick-tempered, she possessed an innate sense of justice and would apologize if her temper had led her into any unfairness.
   She read the Minutes of the last meeting as the Christmas term in a voice pleasantly tinged with a Scots lilt and sat down, pushing the Minute-Book before Betsy who scrawled her signature to them when the rest had waved their hands in agreement.
   "That's done!" the Head Girl said as she closed the book and returned it to Jean. "The next thing is to appoint the duties. In view of the changes, I think we shall have to shuffle them round a little. Jean, Katharine, Carola and I are all Head's appointments so we shan't be affected. But with three new people to call on
and
Sybs who might be described as half-new - or would you call it second-hand?" with a grin at Sybil who promptly made a face at her - "we can afford to make a few alterations and additions. For one thing, what do you think of having a second library prefect?"
   "I couldn't agree more!" This was the Library prefect, Peggy Adams. "It takes me all my time to keep track of the Junior Library and the Senior has had to look after itself more or less. And what happened at the end of last term?" Her voice grew shrill with indignation. "No fewer than seventeen books were missing when I came to check up! That won't do, you know. I spent the best part of the last day hunting up criminals who hadn't bothered to return the books they were down for, not to speak of the pair of beauties who had never entered their last borrowings at all! A second pree for Library is a jolly good idea!"
   "Very well, then," said Betsy, having listened to this diatribe unmoved. "The point is, does any full pree feel like giving up her present job and taking that on? Don't all speak at once!"
   "I do!" Hilary Wilson leapt to it promptly. "I'm not exactly sold on Stationery and I'd far rather be on Library. So you can think of my name, Betsy."
   "Right you are!" Betsy made a note on her pad. "Anyone else feel she's a heaven-sent librarian?"
   "I wouldn't mind taking it on," Sally Winslow replied. "What about putting Sybil in as Art prefect instead of me? If you
could
say that Herr Laubach has a blue-eyed boy in this establishment, it's Sybil Russell."
   "Heavens! If you call the way he regards me as being his blue-eyed boy, I'm sorry for the rest of you!" Sybil cried. "I'd rather be excused, Sal, thanks all the same!"
   "In any case with the Sale in the offing, I think we'll have to have a second Hobbies prefect. Some of the kids need a lot of help," Betsy pointed out. "That sort of thing is right up Sybil's street. Oh, no, Sal, you must be Art prefect. Herr Laubach likes you as much as he likes any pupil. But I agree with Hilary about the stationery. Shall we vote on that? Hands up everyone who thinks Hilary could take on the Senior Library? - I suppose that's what you want her for, Peggy?"
   "Either she likes. We can arrange it between us later," Peggy said amiably. She and Hilary were very good friends.
   "Right! It;s your affair, after all. Vote, please!"
   Every hand but Hilary's was hoisted and she nodded. "Carried unanimously! That's so much settled. And now what about Sybs for second Hobbies pree?"
   There was no objection to that, either. Sybil was an expert needlewoman, very artistic, and with skilled fingers. Also, she seemed to be possessed of endless patience where helping the Juniors was concerned. She received a unanimous vote and Freda Lund, who was first Hobbies prefect, moved down one in case there was any chance of a side-chat.
   "And now," Katharine Gordon observed, "Miss Burnett told me last night to remind you that we really needed a third Games prefect. I take the tennis and Carola sees to most of the rest but we want help with coaching the Juniors in both ski-ing and tennis. Some of those kids didn't get nearly enough proper coaching last summer and Miss Burnett can't do it all."
   "Will someone propose someone?" Betsy asked, looking round the table.
   "I will." Amy Dunne, a roundabout girl with a cosy manner, stood up. "Ladies, I should like to propose Blossom Willoughby for the post."
   "I'll second that," added Freda. "Blossom's tennis is awfully good - no; I'm not flattering her. It really is! - and she doesn't mind helping the duds. And now she's begun to think before she does anything, she ought to make an excellent coach."
   Blossom reddened to the roots of her fair curls at this handsome tribute, but she said nothing.
   "I'll second that," said Ailsa Thompson who was music prefect and had no wish to change.
   So that was decided and Betsy turned to Leila Norris and Nan Herbert, the last of the newcomers. "Then that means one of you for Stationery and one for Magazine."
   "What, exactly, does Magazine mean?" Nan asked cautiously.
   "You collect in all the stories and poems and articles and so on and sort them out and choose which you think most suitable," Betsy replied. "Then you arrange them in order and hand them over to Miss Derwent for vetting. Then you have to see to getting the thing printed - but I rather think Miss Dene helps you there. You'll have to find that out for yourself. I've never had anything to do with Magazine, though Julie was Magazine prefect that last year at St. Briavel's. I
think
that's how it goes though."
   "I see. Thanks!" Nan relapsed into silence and Betsy glanced at Leila.
   "It lies between you two. What about it Leila? Feel like taking on Stationery?"
   Leila nodded. "I don't mind in the least. Certainly, Nan would be much better at that sort of thing than I would. She
can
write quite decent essays and it's all I can do to keep in Miss Derwent's good books there. Besides, her father's a journalist. She ought to inherit that sort of mind." She gave the blushing Nan a broad grin.
   "Daddy edits a scientific magazine," said Nan with dignity. "It isn't at all the same thing - at least, I don't think so."
   "No; but I imagine you have to have the same sort of tidy mind for any kind of magazine," Leila retorted, "and that's what
you
have, my girl!"
   "Well, what about it?" Betsy asked patiently. "And I'd like to point out that tempus is fugiting like made and we've still got to do something about the Sale. Hurry up and make up your minds. No one else will worry."
   "Oh, I'll take over Stationery," Leila said. "Nan can have
The Chaletian
."
   "What about duties?" Jean asked.
   "That has to be arranged between the prefects of each House," Betsy said. She had had a talk with the Head about it the previous evening. "Splashery and ordinary rules duties are all we have to worry about now. There are fifteen of us and three lots of splasheries to attend to. I propose that we divide up into five lots of three each and keep on the job for a week at a time. That would mean that it would come only once in five weeks for anyone."
   No one objected, so Betsy said that she would get out the lists as soon as she could - before Monday, anyway - and it was left at that.
   The great subject for discussion was the Sale. All the official jobs having been got out of the way, the girls relaxed a little, but Betsy, with one eye on the clock, thumped on the table. "Order, you people! Freda and Sybil, you can natter about Hobbies all you like, once this meeting is over, but there just isn't time for it now! We've got to discuss the Sale."
   The meeting came to order in a hurry. Apart from the pantomime, and St. Mildred's was mainly responsible for that, the Easter Sale was always the big event of this term. It was held in aid of the poor children who came to the big Sanatorium at the end of the Gornetz Platz and the girls were accustomed to straining every nerve to make it a huge success.
   It always had to be a Fancy Fair. They could have had an ordinary bazaar, but there would have been an immediate outcry from the rest if that had been proposed. Half the fun, to the younger girls at any rate, lay in the dressing-up and making the setting. Last year, they had revived a much earlier idea and illustrated the
Willow Pattern Legend
. The year before, when they had still been on St. Briavel's, they had used the charming allegory,
The Crown of Success
by the once popular author, A.L.O.E. There had been others, notably a
Fairy Tales
Sale when Joey Maynard, then Joey Bettany and a sinful Middle, had done her best during the preparations to slay Miss Wilson who was co-Head of the school and now Head of the finishing branch at St. Mildred's. It had been an accident, of course, but as Joey herself had complained more than once, no one ever let her forget it and it had passed into the legends of the Chalet School. Now the girls set their brains to work to consider what they could provide for this year's Sale.
   "Let's be original if we can," Betsy urged. "Yes; I know it's difficult, but let's have a shot at it all the same. Suggestions, please!"
   Naturally this bland request paralysed all original thought and a dead silence followed. It was broken by Freda.
   "Could we do a Georgian Sale, do you think?" she asked.
   "Where would you get all the dresses and wigs?" Sally wanted to know. "We've only about a dozen all told in Acting Cupboard and who's going to have time to sit down and manufacture any more?"
   So that was out A proposal from Amy Dunne that they should do
Little Women
scenes was vetoed as too much like
The Crown of Success
. Jean's idea of a Scottish Sale held the same objection as the Georgian one. It would be a hard matter to provide kilts and sporrans for everyone and Acting Cupboard held only two such dresses. Nor did Nan Herbert's suggestion that they should do scenes from Jane Austen meet with any greater success.
   At length Elinor Pennell, who had been staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, suddenly directed her gaze at Betsy. "I wonder - do you think we could manage an Old English Fair?" she said with a little diffidence. "We might have a May Queen and a maypole. And we could use all the stage cottages - we might even manage one or two more. The men would make the frames and it's easy enough to get canvas and paint them."
   "That's an idea!" Betsy said. "And it would be something quite new."
   "And what about having a merry-go-round?" Sybil put in excitedly. "Oh - not a real one, idiots!" as they protested at this. "I meant we might manage to cut horses out of cardboard and fix up a canopy top. Someone could use it as a stall and arrange the goods for sale on the horses."
   "Gaudenz and the other men could move that swingboat stand the Juniors have," added Katharine. "And the kids could have a wishing-well for a lucky dip."
   Suggestions followed thick and fast and they made so much noise over it that no one heard a light tapping on the door. It opened finally to admit a tall, dark person who wore a great silk shawl flung round her, sweeping in graceful folds to the hem of her skirt. She stood for a moment, watching the excited girls with dancing eyes. Then she chuckled long and loud and they heard and swung round.
   "Mrs. Maynard! - Joey! - Auntie Jo!" exclaimed a dozen voices while Sybil sprang up and pulled out her chair with an eager, "Auntie Joey! How lovely to see you so soon! Come on and sit down here! I can use the table."
   "Oh, I had to tool along and welcome you all back again," said the newcomer as she sat down, tossing off her shawl which she laid on the table. "Admire my Christmas gift from Madeira! How many of you remember Miss Stewart who used to be our history mistress? What - none of you? But you've all heard of her, I know. It was she who wished our one and only Emerence on to us, more or less."
   "Do you mean Mrs. Mackenzie?" Betsy asked. "Oh, but I do remember her faintly. Sybs,
you
ought to. You must have known her in Tirol. She married the first year the school was in England and went to Singapore with her husband - not that they were there long," she added thoughtfully.