Winter Term at Malory Towers (14 page)

Most of the fourth formers now knew of the plan to lock Olive in the dormitory while the feast took place, and they also knew that June meant to give Miss Tallant a scare.

Everyone was very excited, and found it hard to keep their mind on lessons that day.

‘Nora!' said Miss Williams sharply, in the maths lesson. ‘Is your knowledge of the maths that we are doing so great that you can afford to waste time by whispering to Pam?'

‘No, Miss Williams,' said Nora meekly.

‘Then kindly pay attention to what I am saying,' said the mistress. ‘Unless you want to come to me for extra coaching after tea?'

Nora didn't want that at all, so she bent her head over her book and did her best to concentrate for the rest of the lesson.

Bonnie also found her mind wandering in French, but as she was one of Mam'zelle Dupont's favourites, she found it quite easy to talk her way out of trouble.

‘
Ma chère
Bonnie, you are restless!' complained Mam'zelle. ‘You do not concentrate. What is the matter with you?'

Bonnie turned her large, brown eyes on the French mistress, and said in a sad tone, ‘I'm sorry, Mam'zelle. You know how much I love your French lessons, but I am just so worried about poor Sylvia. I expect you have heard that she has been taken ill.'

Of course, Bonnie had not been thinking about Sylvia at all. She had been thinking about the midnight feast, and the trick that June was going to play on Miss Tallant. But Mam'zelle, as usual, was quite taken in, and cried, ‘Ah, it is kind of you to be concerned for
la pauvre
Sylvia. But you must not worry your head, Bonnie, for Matron will take the greatest care of her.'

Olive, hearing this, threw an angry glance in the girl's direction. If it wasn't just like Bonnie to worm her way out of trouble! She was just like her beastly step-sister, Annabel, and how Olive detested them both.

Surprisingly, though, no one was scolded in Miss Tallant's class. Julie and Lucy whispered together, and June flipped a paper dart at Olive, but Miss Tallant, for once, didn't even notice, seeming quite preoccupied.

‘She was thinking of tonight, I expect,' said June scornfully, once the lesson was over.

‘And of how she is going to ruin things for the South Tower girls.'

‘What a shock she is going to get!' laughed Nora. ‘My word, I simply can't wait for tonight to come!'

Some of the girls found it very hard to get to sleep that night, for they were all thoroughly overexcited. At last, one by one, they dropped off. Susan, who was to be responsible for waking the girls in time for the feast, had set her alarm clock for ten minutes to midnight. She had placed it under her pillow, so that the sound did not disturb Olive. June also had an alarm clock under her pillow, but hers was set for half past eleven. When it went off, she awoke at once, and nudged Freddie, in the next bed. The two girls got out of bed, then put bolsters down the middle of their beds, just in case Matron or one of the mistresses should peep in.

The things that they needed for June's disguise were in a box under her bed, and she picked it up. Then the two girls tiptoed silently from the room, and went into a little bathroom at the end of the corridor.

There, they worked swiftly. Freddie rubbed the white greasepaint all over June's face, then carefully smudged some of the purple around her eyes.

‘Golly!' said Freddie, standing back to admire her handiwork. ‘You look simply ghastly!'

‘Thank you,' said June with a grin.

Then June changed into the long, white nightdress, pulling it very carefully over her head, so as not to get greasepaint on it.

‘Bonnie will be simply wild with me if I get it dirty,' she said.

Finally, she placed the wig on her head, smoothing the hair into place, and Freddie said, ‘Thank goodness it's not windy tonight. It really would give the game away if your wig blew off!'

But it was a perfectly calm, still night as the two girls crept out of a side door and, under cover of the trees, made their way to South Tower.

There, they crouched behind a hedge, and Freddie whispered, ‘It's five minutes to midnight. Do you suppose that Miss Tallant is already in South Tower?'

‘No,' whispered June. ‘She thinks that the feast is starting at midnight, and she will want to catch the girls in the act. I think that she will appear shortly after midnight. Freddie, I'm going to take my place now. You know what you need to do.'

‘You can count on me, June,' said Freddie solemnly. ‘Now, off you go.'

June darted over to the wall, slipping swiftly through the hidden gap there and disappearing from view. Freddie, still in her hiding-place, gave a shiver. June really did look like a very realistic ghost, and watching her vanish like that was very creepy indeed! The night was cold, and Freddie hoped that they would not have to wait too long for Miss Tallant to arrive.

But, as June had predicted, the mistress came into view shortly after midnight, looking over her shoulder with many nervous glances as she approached South Tower. Freddie grinned to herself in the darkness. Miss Tallant was no doubt thinking of Bonnie's ghost story, for she was evidently very uneasy indeed.

Freddie crouched down lower, to make sure that the mistress couldn't possibly spot her, then she let out a high-pitched wail. This was both to scare Miss Tallant, and to warn June that their victim had arrived. And the unearthly wail certainly succeeded in its first objective, for the mistress jumped violently, and put a hand to her heart.

‘Who is there?' she demanded, her voice quavering.

But no answer came and, with one last, scared look round, Miss Tallant put her head down and strode briskly into South Tower.

With the mistress safely out of earshot, Freddie gave a low whistle, which told June that Miss Tallant had gone inside. Now, all they had to do was wait.

Five minutes later, a red-faced Miss Tallant emerged, escorted to the door by Miss Markham, the stern head of South Tower.

Miss Markham looked even sterner than usual, and her voice carried on the still night air to the listening Freddie.

‘I find your behaviour quite extraordinary, Miss Tallant,' the mistress said coldly. ‘If you had reason to suspect that my girls were holding a midnight feast, you
should have come to me, instead of bursting into their dormitory like that and waking them all up. I don't feel that Miss Grayling will be impressed by your conduct.'

Miss Tallant mumbled something which might have been an apology, then Miss Markham bade her a frosty goodnight, before going back inside and closing the door.

Freddie put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter at the mistress's disgruntled expression. The person who had wrongly informed Miss Tallant that there was to be a feast in South Tower was certainly going to get it tomorrow!

As Miss Tallant moved forward, Freddie let out another wail, which stopped the mistress in her tracks. And this was the signal for June to come out. She slid silently through the gap in the wall, standing several yards from Miss Tallant.

And Miss Tallant, rooted to the spot in terror, was too frightened even to scream as she stared at the apparition before her, with its deathly pallor and big, hollow eyes.

June took a small step in the direction of Miss Tallant, who let out a sound between a moan and a whimper, then she turned away and vanished through the gap again.

Miss Tallant remained frozen in horror for a moment, then she let out a piercing shriek, so loud that both June and Freddie had to clap their hands over their ears.

Miss Markham, who had just reached her bedroom, gave a start and quickly made her way downstairs and outside again, where she found a pale, trembling Miss Tallant.

‘Good heavens!' cried Miss Markham. ‘What on earth has happened, Miss Tallant?'

‘A g-ghost!' stammered Miss Tallant. ‘I—I saw a ghost!'

Miss Markham, who had long ago sized Miss Tallant up as a rather silly, spiteful woman, pursed her lips. She knew that there were no such things as ghosts, and would very much have liked to give the mistress a piece of her mind. But there was no doubt that the woman had suffered a great shock, for she was as white as a sheet, and was shaking from head to foot. Miss Markham said crisply, ‘I daresay that your imagination was playing tricks on you, Miss Tallant. Still, it is quite clear that you cannot return to North Tower in this state. Come up to my room, and I shall make you some hot cocoa, and then I will walk back to North Tower with you.'

Miss Tallant was only too happy to let Miss Markham lead her inside, and as soon as the two mistresses had disappeared, Freddie crept out from behind the hedge, and went across to the wall.

‘June come out!' she hissed. ‘Let's get back to North Tower quickly, while Miss Tallant and Miss Markham are both inside.'

The ghostly June emerged, her enormous grin making her look even more frightening than she had before, as she said, ‘That went well. Did you see her face, Freddie?'

‘Yes, but do hurry, June,' begged Freddie, taking her friend's arm and beginning to run. ‘The feast will have started by now, and I don't want to miss another minute of it. I don't know why, but this midnight haunting has
made me awfully hungry!'

The feast had indeed started, and the fourth formers were enjoying themselves enormously.

Susan had gone round quickly and quietly, waking everyone up and taking great care not to disturb the sleeping Olive. June had given Susan the key to the store cupboard, and she, Felicity, Pam and Nora had got all the food out, while the rest of the girls put on dressing-gowns and slippers and padded down to the common-room.

Then Susan had taken a last look into the dormitory to make sure that Olive was still asleep, before locking the door behind her and following the others downstairs.

Someone had lit candles and closed the heavy curtains, so that nothing could be seen from outside. Bonnie, who was a great favourite with the kitchen staff, had coaxed the cook into lending her some plates and cups, and the girls set everything out on them.

Then Felicity said, ‘It doesn't seem right starting until June gets here. It is her birthday feast, after all.'

‘Yes, but she did tell us not to wait,' said Susan, eyeing the plates of food longingly.

How delicious everything looked! There was an enormous pork pie, biscuits, tins of sardines and pineapple, cake, chocolate and all kinds of goodies!

‘She won't be very long,' said Julie. ‘And we shall make sure that there is plenty left for her, and for Freddie.'

So the girls munched away happily, all the time wondering what was happening to June and Freddie.

‘I do hope that the trick went well,' said Lucy. ‘My
goodness, wouldn't it be dreadful if they got caught!'

‘June won't get caught,' said Bonnie confidently. ‘She always plans everything so carefully.'

And it was soon seen that Bonnie was quite right, for June and Freddie joined them, and the girls gasped to see June dressed up as a ghost.

Bonnie and Amy shrieked so loudly that Susan had to tick them off.

‘Idiots!' she hissed. ‘Do you want to wake up the whole of North Tower?'

‘Sorry, Susan,' said Bonnie. ‘But really, June looks so frightening that I simply couldn't help myself.'

June grinned and said, ‘Miss Tallant screamed too—much more loudly than you, Bonnie.'

She and Freddie sat down and began to eat, while the fourth formers clamoured to know what had happened.

Assisted by Freddie, June told them, and the listening girls gasped as June told the tale.

‘Well!' said Pam. ‘All the years I've been at Malory Towers, and I didn't know that there was a gap in the wall by South Tower.'

‘Well, we fourth formers will keep it to ourselves,' said Susan. ‘Who knows when we may need to use it again.'

‘I expect Miss Markham will be bringing Miss Tallant back to North Tower soon,' said Freddie, tucking into a slice of pork pie. ‘But we have nothing to fear, because her room is at the other side of the building, and she will come in at the door over there.'

‘Perhaps I should go and wait for her,' said June, with
a smile. ‘Just to see her jump out of her skin.'

The others laughed at this, but Susan said, ‘I don't think we had better risk any more wandering around. It's jolly lucky that you two didn't get caught outside, June and Freddie, for you know that there is a strict rule forbidding any girl to leave her tower at night.'

‘I wonder if dear Olive is still sleeping peacefully?' said Amy.

‘She must be,' said Nora. ‘Or we should have heard her banging at the dormitory door by now.'

‘Gosh, I never thought of that,' said Felicity, looking alarmed. ‘What are we to do if she starts banging at the door?'

‘I suppose I shall have to go up and unlock the door,' said Susan with a grimace. ‘And then I will have to tell Olive why she wasn't invited to our feast, and warn her what will happen if she splits on us.'

But there was not a sound to be heard from upstairs, and the girls finished their feast in peace, until there was hardly anything left. Then they sat around eating the chocolates, finishing the lemonade and chatting idly.

At last, Susan said, ‘I suppose we had better clear up now.'

Nora gave a groan and said, ‘This is the part of midnight feasts that I always hate.'

‘Come on, lazybones,' said Pam, giving her a nudge. ‘If we all pitch in, it shouldn't take long.'

So the fourth formers got to work, sweeping up the crumbs, piling up the plates and collecting up the empty
lemonade bottles. Lucy put them into a cupboard, saying, ‘I'll get rid of these tomorrow.'

‘And I will take the plates and cups back to Cook in the morning,' said Bonnie. ‘My goodness, my first midnight feast! What fun it's been!'

Everyone agreed to that, as, tired and happy, they tiptoed upstairs. Susan unlocked the door very quietly, feeling relieved when she saw that Olive was still fast asleep and didn't appear to have stirred. Tomorrow, she thought, getting into bed, she would have to try and think of a way of getting either Olive or Sylvia to own up to being Miss Tallant's niece. But, at the moment, she was just too tired to think, falling asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. So did the others, for it had been a very tiring evening and they were quite worn out.

And all of them had great difficulty in getting up the following morning! Olive, who was awake bright and early, simply couldn't understand why the others were so sluggish.

Even Julie and Lucy, who liked to race down to the stables before breakfast to see their horses, couldn't get out of bed. At last, Susan sat up and said, ‘Come on, girls, we must get a move on or we shall be late for breakfast.'

There were moans and groans at this, but most of the girls got out of bed and began to get ready. Only Amy and Nora stayed put, but they always hated getting up anyway.

‘I don't want any breakfast,' muttered Amy, turning over and closing her eyes. ‘I would much rather have an extra hour in bed.'

‘Amy, it doesn't matter whether you actually
want
breakfast or not, you must put in an appearance, or Miss Williams will come looking for you,' said Felicity. ‘And if she finds you in bed, it will mean an order mark against the whole form.'

‘The same goes for you, Nora,' said Pam to her friend. ‘Do get up.'

‘I can't!' wailed Nora. ‘I feel sick.'

‘Well, it jolly well serves you right for eating six chocolate biscuits,' said Pam, bending her head close to Nora's, so that Olive could not overhear. ‘Do come along now!'

At last everyone was ready, and the girls trooped down to breakfast. They cast several interested glances Miss Tallant's way, for all of them were curious to know how she was feeling after her ordeal last night.

She looked very pale indeed, and there were dark circles under her eyes, as though she had not slept well.

June noticed too, with satisfaction, that her hand shook slightly as she picked up her cup of tea. She pointed this out to Freddie, who said, ‘Serves her right. At least she won't be snooping around at night in future. I shouldn't be at all surprised if she is afraid to leave her bedroom now!'