"What about your swimming, Gwen?" asked her mother. "You said in one of your letters that you had won a back-stroke swimming race and I did think that was clever. Back-stroke is so difficult. I remember I could never do it at school because the water kept going over my face."
Clarissa couldn"t help hearing this conversation, though she was talking to Mrs. Rivers, Darrell"s mother. She was horrified. Whatever did Gwen mean by all this?
"No, I"m not swimming today," said Gwen. "There"s a lot of jealousy, you know, Mother-often the good ones aren"t given a proper chance. Still, I don"t really mind. I can dive almost better than anyone now."
As Gwen always fell fiat on her stomach, hitting the water with a terrific smack whenever she was made to dive, this was distinctly funny-or would have been to Darrell, Sally or Alicia. But it wasn"t funny to Clarissa. It was shocking. What terrible lies-real thumping lies! However could Gwen say such things? She was very thankful that she was going out with blunt, straightforward Bill instead of having to be with Gwen and her silly, credulous mother. She saw very dearly why Gwen was as she was-this mother of hers had spoilt her, idolized her, believed every word she said-it was she-and probably that pathetic little governess too-who had made Gwendoline into the silly, conceited, untrustworthy girl she was!
Clarissa felt that she really could not go and speak to Gwen"s mother, after hearing all Gwen"s untruths. She couldn"t! Clarissa was meek, and weak in many ways, but she was straight and truthful. She was really shocked now.
She got up to slip away before Gwen could see she was going. But Gwen did see, and pulled her down again, so that she had to smile and say "How-do-you-do?" to Gwen"s mother and governess.
"I mustn"t stop, I"m afraid," said Clarissa, hurriedly. "Bill"s people have come and I mustn"t keep them waiting."
Gwendoline looked at her meaningly. Clarissa knew what that look meant. "Say something about my heart." But alas, she found that she no longer believed in Gwendoline"s heart. She was sure that the girl had lied about that now, just as she had lied about the other things a few minutes back.
"And are you in the tennis or swimming exhibitions?" asked Mrs. Lacy, her large, pale blue eyes, so like Gwen"s, looking down at Clarissa"s small face.
"No, I"m not, I"m afraid," said Clarissa.
"You see, poor Clarissa has a weak heart," said Gwen, hastily, seeing a very good opening indeed here for Clarissa to bring up the subject of Gwen"s own heart. But Clarissa didn"t say a word.
"Poor child," said Mrs. Lacy. "What a dreadful affliction for a young girl. Now Gwen has always had such a strong heart, I"m glad to say. And doesn"t she look well now-so plump and bonny."
Gwen looked at Clarissa in desperation. This was all wrong! She gave her a sharp nudge. But still Clarissa didn"t mention Gwen"s weak heart! Gwen glared at her angrily.
Clarissa was now tongue-tied. She sat there, red in the face, her eyes bunking behind their thick gla.s.ses, wondering how in the world to get away from Gwen and her silly mother.
Bill came to her rescue with a shout. "Clarissa! I say, can you come? We"re ready!"
"I must go," said Clarissa, nervously, and got up gladly. "Good-bye, Mrs. Lacy."
"But, Clarissa!" called Gwendoline after her, dismayed and angry that Clarissa hadn"t done what she had said she would do.
"Who did you say that girl was?" said Mrs. Lacy. "I didn"t catch the name."
"It"s Clarissa Carter," said Gwen, sulkily. "Why did she have to rush off like that? Rude, I call it!"
"A most unattractive child," said Mrs. Lacy. "Very plain indeed. No manners either. Gwendoline, I do hope she isn"t a friend of yours."
"Oh no, Mother!" said Gwendoline, making up her mind that after Clarissa"s failure to help her that morning she would never be friendly with her again! "I don"t like her at all. Very plain, as you say-almost ugly-and undergrown, too. Not at all clever, and rather unpopular."
"I should think so!" said Miss Winter. "She must have been very badly brought up. When I compare her with Gwendoline-well!"
Gwendoline basked in their approval. She kept a sharp watch for Mam"zelle. Mam"zelle was her only hope now!
The day went by very fast. The tennis exhibition was loudly applauded, and the swimming and diving were exclaimed at in wonder, even the fathers admiring the crisp clean strokes of the fast swimmers, and the beautiful diving.
Afterwards the dancing display was held in the amphitheatre of gra.s.s in the centre of the great courtyard. Mothers and fathers sat on the stone ledges surrounding the big circle, looking for their own girls as they came tripping in, dressed in floating tulle of different colours-and each parent, of course, felt certain that her own child was quite the nicest there!
Clarissa came back after her picnic lunch with Bill and her family. She did not go near Gwen, and would not even look in her direction in case she was beckoned over. But Gwen made no sign-she had Finished with Clarissa, the horrid little two-faced thing.
Most unfortunately for Gwendoline, Mam"zelle kept quite out of reach the whole day. She was busy helping the dancing mistress, dressing the girls, arranging their tulle skirts and wings, thoroughly enjoying herself. Gwendoline had to comfort herself by thinking that she would find it easy to get Mam"zelle the next day. She would ask Mam"zelle to show her mother and Miss Winter the beautiful bedspread she was making. Mam"zelle would certainly love to do that-she was very proud of her bedspread!
"I wish this day wasn"t over," sighed Darrell that night. "It was lovely-and what a smashing tea!"
She was happy because her mother and father hadn"t said a word about her not being head-girl any longer-but each of them had managed to convey to her that they understood all about it, and were backing her valiantly-her father by an extra hard hug, and her mother by linking her arm in Darrell"s and holding it very hard as she walked round the Towers with her.
Felicity, of course, was mad with joy to see her parents again. "I love Malory Towers! " she kept saying. "Thank you for sending me here, Mummy and Daddy. I simply LOVE it!"
Before the Exam.
The next day the girls expected most of their parents again, and could go out with them the whole day long. Clarissa stood at the window, looking out eagerly.
Gwendoline saw her. "I suppose she"s looking for her mother," she thought. "Horrid thing. I shan"t even speak to her!"
She saw Clarissa suddenly wave in delight. Then she ran from the room and disappeared down the stairs. Gwen looked out to see what her mother was like-and if the car was a grand one.
To her surprise she saw an old Austin in the drive, and out of it stepped a most ordinary-looking woman. She had on a neat blue suit with a white blouse, and a scarf tied round her grey hair. She wore gla.s.ses, and had rather large feet in very sensible looking shoes.
"Well! I don"t Think much of Clarissa"s mother-or her car!" thought Gwen to herself. "Why, the car hasn"t even been cleaned] And fancy arriving with a scarf tied round her head! My mother would never dream of doing that!"
She thought of her own mother with her large flowery hats, her flowery dresses, her flowery parasol, her floating scarves and strings of pearls. She would be ashamed of anyone like Clarissa"s mother. She turned away, a sneer on her face, glad that she no longer meant to have Clarissa for a friend.
"What a lovely sneer!" said an aggravating voice, and Gwen saw Belinda whipping out her pencil. "Hold it, Gwen, hold it!"
Gwen made a noise like a dog growling, and went out of the room. Now she must find Mam"zelle and tell her that her mother wanted to see the beautiful bedspread. This went down very well indeed, and Mam"zelle hurried to get it to show "that nice kind Mrs. Lacy"!
Every single girl was out for the whole day, either with her own parents or with someone else"s. Miss Grayling was glad that the half-term came just before the School Certificate exam, so that the hard-worked girls might have a little time off to enjoy themselves. They really were working very hard, Miss Williams reported. Except Gwendoline Lacy, of course. There was an unsatisfactory girl for you!
By seven o"clock everyone was back-except Gwendoline!
"Where"s our dear Gwendoline?" asked Alicia, looking round the supper-table. n.o.body knew. Then Mam"zelle, looking rather solemn, enlightened them.
"Poor Gwendoline-she has been taken home because of her bad heart," said Mam"zelle. "She has the palpitations so bad, poor, poor child. And will you believe it, when I told Mrs. Lacy-ah, the poor woman-about Gwendoline"s affliction, she said that the dear, brave child had not complained to her, or said a single word. Truly, this poor child is to be admired!"
The girls digested this startling information in astonishment. They looked at one another. "So Gwen"s pulled it off after all," said Sally. "She"ll miss the exam!"
Mam"zelle overheard. "Yes, she will miss the exam-and how upset she was. *No, Mother," she said, so bravely, "I cannot go home with you-I must do the exam. I did not tell you of my trouble because I could not bear to miss the exam!" That is what she said. With my own ears I heard her."
The Upper Fourth felt sick. What a sham! How hateful of Gwendoline to upset her mother like that! And she had got her way after all and would miss the exam. Clever, deceitful, sly Gwendoline!
"You were right, Connie," said Alicia. "How right! Mam"zelle, what"s going to happen to our darling Gwendoline Mary then? Isn"t she coming back this term? That would be too good to be true!"
"I don"t know," said Mam"zelle. "I know nuzzings more. I am glad I was able to tell Mrs. Lacy. Just to think that if I had not taken my bedspread to show her, she would never have known."
"I suppose Gwen asked you to take the bedspread?" said Connie. "And I suppose one of her palpitations came on whilst you were there, Mam"zelle?"
"I do not understand why you talk in this sneering way, Connie," said Mam"zelle, surprised. "You must not be hard. You must have sympathy."
The girls made various rude noises, which surprised Mam"zelle very much. Why these poohs and pahs and pullings of faces? No, no, that was not kind! Mam"zelle pursed up her lips and said no more.
"Well," said Darrell, in the dormy that night, "Gwen"s got away with it all right-but fancy Mam"zelle falling for all that. Mam"zelle Rougier wouldn"t She sees right through Gwendoline-just like Miss Williams does!"
"All the same-she"s lucky, getting out of the exam," groaned Belinda. "Wish I could! It"s going to be awful to swot and swot all this week, after such a lovely half-term. And then-next Monday the exam! I"m surprised you can"t all hear my heart going down with a plop into my bedroom slippers!"
It was very hard to swot in such lovely weather. Alicia longed for a game of tennis. Darrell longed for the swimming-pool. Clarissa longed to go and laze in the flowery courtyard and watch the goldfish jumping. Belinda wanted to go out sketching. Irene became plagued with an enchanting tune that begged to be put down on paper-but poor Irene had to turn her back firmly on the lilting melody, and do pages and pages of French translation.
There was a lot of touchiness and irritability that week. The twins were on edge, especially Ruth, though she had less to fear in the exam than Connie, who was not nearly so well up to standard. Irene was touchy because she wanted to get at her beloved music and couldn"t. Darrell was irritable because she was too hot. Mavis was hot and bothered because she thought she was going to have a sore throat-just as her voice seemed about t0 get right too!
Only Alicia seemed really cheerful and don"t-carish, and this att.i.tude infuriated the others at times. Alicia was always the one to finish her work first and go off to swim.
She could do her work and whistle an irritating little tune all the time, which nearly drove the others frantic. She laughed at their earnest facess and their heartfelt groans.
"It"s not worth all this amount of misery," she would say. "It"s only School Cert. Cheer up, Connie-don"t look like a dying duck over that French."
Connie flared up as she had done to Gwendoline. She banged her book down on the table and shouted. "Be quiet! Just because things are easy for you to learn, you sneer at others who aren"t so lucky! Wait till you have a bad headache and have to learn pages of French poetry. Wait till your mind goes fuzzy because you"re tired and want to sleep, and you know you mustn"t. Wait till you have a bad night and have to think of things to say in a composition. Then you won"t be quite so hard and don"t-carish and sneering, and you"ll shut up that awful whistling, too!"
Alicia was startled. She opened her mouth to retaliate, but Sally spoke first.
"Connie doesn"t really mean all that," she said in her quiet calm voice. "We"re all over-working and we"re irritable and touchy. We"ll be all right when the exam is over. After all, it"s an important exam for us, and we"re all taking it seriously and doing our best. Let"s not squabble and quarrel when we want to save ourselves up for next week."
Darrel looked at Sally in admiration. How did she always know the right things to say> She had certainly poured oil on the troubled waters very successfully, because Connie spoke up at once.
"I"m sorry I said all that, Alicia. I am over-working and I"m touchy."
"It"s all right," said Alicia, rather taken aback by this swift apology. "Sorry about my whistling-and if anyone wants any help, they"ve only got to ask me. I"ll share these envied brains of mine with anyone!"
After this there was peace. Alicia shut her book quietly and crept out. The others worked on in silence. Would they ever, ever know all they ought to know for the exam? Why hadn"t they swotted more during the year? Why hadn"t they done this and that and the other! In fact their thoughts were almost exactly the same as every other exam-cla.s.s"s thoughts the week before the exam!
The week went by, and the girls worked more and more feverishly. Miss Williams forbade any work to be done on the Sunday before the exam, and there were deep groans.
And then came a surprise. Gwendoline arrived back at Malory Towers!
She came back on the Sat.u.r.day, just before supper, looking subdued and tearful. She had a short interview with Miss Grayling, and then was sent to join the others, who had just gone in to their supper.
"Why, GWEN!" said Mavis, in astonishment, seeing her first. "We thought you weren"t coming back."
"Ah, here is Gwendoline back again," said Mam"zelle. "And how is the poor heart?"
"All right, thank you," mumbled Gwen, slipping into her seat, and trying to look as if she was not there.
The girls saw that she had been crying and tried not to look at her. They knew how horrid it was to have people looking at red eyes.
"Jolly lucky you"ll be, next week," said Sally, trying to make light conversation. "Whilst we"re all answering exam papers, you"ll be lazing away in the courtyard, doing what you like!"
There was a little pause. "I"ve got to go in for the exam," said Gwen, in a choking voice. "That"s why they"ve sent me back. It"s too bad."
To the girls" dismay Gwendoline"s tears began to fall fast into her plate of salad. They looked uncomfortably at one another. Whatever had happened?
"Better not say any more," whispered Darrell. "Don"t take any notice of her. Poor Gwen!"
The Exam Week.
n.o.body ever knew what exactly had happened to Gwen. She was much too hurt and ashamed to tell anyone the story. So she said nothing,, but went about subdued and red-eyed the whole week-end.
Everything had gone so well at first! Her frightened mother had taken her straight home, after Mam"zelle had mentioned Gwen"s strange heart fluttering and palpitations. She had made her lie down and rest, and she and Miss Winter had fussed over her like a hen with one chick. Gwendoline had loved every minute, and had at once produced the languid ways and the feeble voice of the invalid.
She was rather pleased to know that her father was away and not likely to be back at all that week. By that time Gwen hoped she would be established as a semi-invalid, would miss all the exam, and might then gradually get better, once the exam danger was over.
The doctor came and listened solemnly to Gwen"s mother"s frightened explanations. "I"m so afraid it"s her heart that"s wrong, Doctor," she said. "The games are very strenuous at school, you know."
The doctor examined Gwen carefully. "Well, I can"t find anything wrong," he said. "Nothing that a week"s rest won"t put right, anyway. She"s a bit fat, isn"t she-she could do with a bit of dieting, I should think."
"Oh, but Doctor-there must be something wrong with the child"s heart.," insisted Mrs. Lacy. "Miss Winter and I have been very troubled to see how she loses her breath, and can hardly get up to the top stair when she goes to her bedroom."
"Well-why not get another opinion then?" said the doctor. "I should like you to satisfy yourself about Gwendoline."
"I"ll take her to a specialist," said Mrs. Lacy, at once. "Can you recommend one, Doctor?"
The doctor could and did, and on Wednesday the languid invalid was carefully driven up to London to see the specialist recommended. He took one quick glance at Gwendoline and sized her up at once.
He examined her very carefully indeed, with so many "hm"s" and "ha"s" that Gwendoline began to feel frightened. Surely she hadn"t really got something the matter with her? She would die if she had!
The specialist had a short talk with Mrs. Lacy alone. "I will think over this, and will write to your doctor full details and let him know the result of my considerations. In the meantime, don"t worry," he said.
On Friday the doctor got a letter from the specialist, and it made him smile. There was nothing wrong with Gwendoline"s heart, of course, in fact nothing wrong anywhere at all, except that she was too fat, and needed very much more exercise. "Games, and more games, gym, walks, no rich food, no sweets, plenty of hard work, and no thinking about herself at all!" wrote the specialist. "She"s just a little humbug! Swimming especially would be good for her. It would take some fat off her tummy!"
The doctor had to paraphrase all this considerably, of course, when he telephoned the news to Mrs. Lacy that there was nothing the matter with Gwen. "I should send her back to school at once," he said. "It"s not good for the girl to lie about like this."
Gwen was angry and miserable when she heard all this. She laid her hand to her heart as if it pained her. "Oh, Mother!" she said. "I"ll go back if you say so-but give me one more week-I feel so much better for the rest."
Mrs. Lacy promised Gwen that she should not go back for another week or more. Gwen was satisfied. So long as she missed the exam she didn"t mind!
Then her father arrived home, anxious because of his wife"s letters and telephone calls about Gwen. Gwen lay on the couch and gave him a pathetic smile. He kissed her, and inquired anxiously what the specialist had said.
"What! Nothing wrong," he said in astonishment. "I"ll go round and see the doctor. I"d like to see the specialist"s letter myself. I shall feel more satisfied then."
And so it came about that Gwen"s father actually read the candid letter-saw that Gwen was called a "little humbug"-knew very clearly indeed that once more his daughter had tried a little deception-a cruel deception, that had caused her parents much anxiety-and all because she had merely wanted to get out of working for the exam.
What he said to Gwendoline the girl never forgot. He was angry and scornful and bitter-and at the end he was sad. "You are my only child.," he said. "I want to love you and be proud of you like all parents. Why do you make it so hard for me to be proud of you, and to love you, Gwendoline? You have made your mother ill with this, and you have made me angry and disgusted-and very sad."
"I won"t do it again," sobbed Gwendoline, terrified and ashamed.
"You must go back to school tomorrow," said her father.
"Oh no, Daddy! I can"t! It"s the exam," wailed Gwendoline. "I haven"t done any work for it."