Secrets of Malory Towers

  Malory Towers

  St Clare’s

  1 The Twins at St Clare’s

  2 The O’Sullivan Twins

  3 Summer Term at St Clare’s

  4 The Second Form at St Clare’s

  5 The Third Form at St Clare’s (written by Pamela Cox)

  6 Kitty at St Clare’s (written by Pamela Cox)

  7 Claudine at St Clare’s

  8 Fifth Formers of St Clare’s

  9 The Sixth Form at St Clare’s (written by Pamela Cox)

  Malory Towers

  1 First Term at Malory Towers

  2 Second Form at Malory Towers

  3 ThirdYear at Malory Towers

  4 Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

  5 In the Fifth at Malory Towers

  6 Last Term at Malory Towers

  7 New Term at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  8 Summer Term at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  9 Winter Term at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  10 Fun and Games at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  11 Secrets at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  12 Goodbye Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  Written by Pamela Cox

  Based on characters and stories created by Enid Blyton

  Copyright

  Secrets at Malory Towers first published in Great Britain 2009

  by Egmont UK Limited

  239 Kensington High Street

  LondonW8 6SA

  ENID BLYTON® text copyright © 2009 Chorion Rights Limited

  All rights reserved

  Text by Pamela Cox

  Cover illustration copyright © 2009 Nicola Slater

  The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

  Visit our web site at www.egmont.co.uk

  First e-book edition 2010

  ISBN 978 1 4052 49713

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1 On the train

  2 Back at Malory Towers

  3 Who is Alice?

  4 At the pool

  5 Daffy in trouble

  6 Trouble in the first form

  7 Alice’s puzzling behaviour

  8 Daffy is deceitful

  9 A marvellous trick

  10 Puzzles and plots

  11 A super half-term

  12 Shocks and surprises

  13 Daffy is punished

  14 Getting to know Alice

  15 Midnight feast

  16 A shock for Violet

  17 A most dramatic night

  18 Daffy learns a lesson

  19 A marvellous end to the term

  1

  On the train

  ‘Well, Felicity,’ said Susan Blake. ‘How does it feel to be going back to Malory Towers as Head Girl?’

  Head Girl! No matter how often she heard the words, Felicity Rivers still felt a little thrill of pleasure at them.

  She had been astonished, disbelieving, delighted and – above all – honoured, when Miss Grayling, the Head mistress of Malory Towers, had announced at the end of last term that she was to be Head Girl. And Susan had felt exactly the same when the Head had told her that she was to be Felicity’s deputy, assisting her friend with her duties. The two girls had been best friends since they were first formers, and were very close indeed. Miss Grayling knew that they would make an excellent team, for both girls were responsible, trustworthy and kindhearted. She could certainly rely on them to do their best for Malory Towers and its pupils.

  Of course, Felicity’s parents had been proud and delighted too, and so had her sister Darrell, who had once been Head Girl of Malory Towers herself. Darrell had hugged her younger sister excitedly when Felicity arrived home for the holidays, crying, ‘Congratulations! Miss Grayling has made a splendid choice. I wonder if you feel as thrilled as I did when she told me that I was to be Head Girl?’

  ‘I should rather think I do!’ laughed Felicity, hugging Darrell back. ‘Thrilled and overwhelmed, for it is a tremendous responsibility.’

  ‘I’m sure that you will do a splendid job,’ the girls’ father had said, overhearing this. ‘Just as Darrell did, when she was Head Girl.’

  ‘And you will have Susan to back you up,’ Mrs Rivers had added. ‘My goodness, it’s becoming quite a family tradition, isn’t it? Perhaps one day, my dears, your daughters will be Head Girls of Malory Towers too.’

  This was a very pleasant thought indeed, and Felicity had beamed at her parents and sister, seeing the love and pride in their faces and feeling a warm glow inside. It was a feeling that had lasted all through the holidays and still lingered.

  ‘It’s going to be a very testing term for both of us,’ said Felicity now. ‘What with our new responsibilities and studying for Higher Cert.’

  The two girls were sitting in the little café at the railway station, waiting for the train that was to take them back to Malory Towers, and Susan gave a groan, saying, ‘Higher Cert! That’s the only thing that has spoiled what has been an otherwise marvellous holiday for me – having to spend some time studying.’

  ‘Well, it will all be worth it when we pass,’ said Felicity sensibly. ‘Though in some ways I can’t help envying those who aren’t going in for it, for they will have a nice, carefree term, while the rest of us are slaving away like mad.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Susan with a rueful grin. ‘Sometimes it pays to be a duffer! Nora and Delia aren’t going in for it, and nor is Amy.’

  ‘Bonnie is, though,’ said Felicity with a grin. ‘She didn’t intend to, then June said that she thought Bonnie was very wise, for she would never pass in a million years.’

  ‘And, of course, Bonnie saw that as a challenge, and at once changed her mind,’ laughed Susan. ‘Jolly clever of June, for Bonnie has a good brain, if she chooses to use it.’

  ‘Well, June is the one person in our form who won’t have to worry about studying,’ said Felicity rather enviously. ‘She only has to read a page once to memorise it. Darrell says that her cousin, Alicia, was exactly the same.’

  ‘Yes, it’s so unfair,’ said Susan. ‘June will get top marks without even trying, while the rest of us will be burning the midnight oil and worrying whether we will manage to scrape through.’

  ‘June won’t get off completely scot-free, though,’ said Felicity. ‘She is still games captain, and will have to work hard at that.’

  Just then the door of the little café opened, and a girl wearing the Malory Towers uniform entered.

  She was thin, and rather plain, with straight, mousy-brown hair, and her eyes looked very scared behind the big glasses she wore.

  Felicity and Susan guessed that she must be a new girl, and felt rather sorry for her, as she looked so nervous. As Head Girl, it was Felicity’s duty to make her feel at ease, so she called out, ‘Hallo there! You must be waiting for the train to Malory Towers.’

  The girl looked at Felicity, then at Susan, her expression becoming even more scared, then she advanced rather timidly, and said in a very quiet voice, ‘That’s right. I’m starting in the sixth form.’

  ‘Well, we are in the sixth form too,’ said Susan. ‘Do sit down and join us. This is Felicity Rivers, Head Girl of Malory Towers, and I am Susan Blake, her best friend and deputy.’

  This information seemed to startle the girl a li
ttle, for she blinked rapidly, before sitting down and saying, ‘I’m Alice Johnson. My goodness, what luck to bump into the two most important girls in the school.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know that I would go that far,’ laughed Felicity. ‘Miss Grayling, our Head mistress, would most certainly say that each girl at Malory Towers is as important as the next, and she is quite right.’

  ‘And a lot of the lower school would argue that our fellow sixth former, June, is the most important person in the school,’ said Susan. ‘She is games captain, you see, and most of the youngsters simply adore her.’

  Alice smiled rather nervously at this, and, quite suddenly, it struck Felicity that there was something oddly familiar about her. Then the smile disappeared, and so did Felicity’s feeling that she had seen the girl somewhere before. It really was most strange!

  Susan glanced at the big clock that hung on the wall, saying, ‘I would offer you a cup of tea, Alice, but the train will be here any minute. We really should go.’

  So the three girls left the café, weaving their way through groups of Malory Towers girls, mistresses and parents, until they reached the platform from which their train would leave.

  Miss Potts, the house-mistress of North Tower, was there, with a small group of excited, chattering first formers, and she greeted Felicity and Susan with a smile.

  ‘Well, girls,’ she said. ‘It is nice to see you back. I never got the opportunity at the end of last term to congratulate you both. Felicity, I am sure that you will make a fine Head Girl, and Susan, I know that you will do everything that you can to help.’

  The two girls thanked Miss Potts, and, nodding towards the unruly first formers, Felicity said, ‘It seems strange to think that one of these youngsters will one day be Head Girl.’

  ‘At the moment, it seems quite impossible to believe!’ said Miss Potts drily. ‘Daphne, is there any need to yell like that? Katie is standing right next to you and she isn’t deaf, though she may well end up that way if you keep shouting in her ear like that.’

  ‘Sorry, Miss Potts,’ said Daphne, a slim, pretty girl with short dark curls and merry brown eyes.

  ‘Why, it’s Daffy Hope!’ said Felicity. ‘Hello, Daffy. Sally told me that you were starting at Malory Towers this term, and asked me to look out for you.’

  ‘Is that Sally’s young sister?’ asked Susan as she, Felicity and Alice boarded the train. ‘She seems a bit of a handful.’

  ‘Oh no, I’ve met her heaps of times and she’s a very nice, well-behaved kid,’ said Felicity. ‘I daresay she’s just excited at going off to boarding school for the first time.’

  Sally Hope was Darrell’s best friend, and the two families had become very close over the years, so when Sally had asked Felicity to keep an eye on her young sister, she had agreed at once. It wouldn’t be a very difficult task, she thought, for Daphne – or Daffy, as most people called her – was such a good kid, and not the kind of girl to get into mischief.

  The three sixth formers quickly found an empty carriage, and, as they took their seats, Susan looked out of the window and said, ‘I can see June and Freddie coming along the platform. We must save a couple of seats for them.’

  But June and Freddie did not get on the train immediately, for they were distracted by a little by-play on the platform. While the two girls stopped to greet Miss Potts, a latecomer arrived, accompanied by her mother, and it soon became evident that she wasn’t in the best of moods.

  ‘I don’t see why the chauffeur couldn’t have driven me to school,’ she complained loudly. ‘It’s simply beastly having to rough it on the train.’

  ‘Now, Violet dear,’ said her mother rather nervously. ‘You know very well that Benson had to drive Daddy to an important meeting today.’

  ‘He could quite easily have taken a taxi,’ said Violet, looking sullen. ‘Then I shouldn’t have had to get up so early. You know how I hate getting up early, Mummy.’

  ‘Yes, darling, but you know that you will have to get used to it when you are at school,’ her mother said. ‘You will get into awful trouble if you sleep in and are late for breakfast, you know.’

  ‘It’s too bad!’ said Violet, looking as if she were about to burst into tears. ‘There will be all sorts of beastly rules that I shall have to keep, and I shan’t be able to have my own way at all.’

  And Violet was used to getting her own way, thought June, watching the little scene in amusement. A little too used to it, by the look of things.

  Violet was a short, plump girl, with carefully curled golden hair, rather small grey eyes and a turned-up nose.

  ‘As though she has a bad smell under it,’ murmured Daffy Hope to the little group of first formers, giving a sniff and imitating Violet’s high and mighty expression.

  The first formers giggled at this, and June, overhearing, had to hide a grin as she glanced at Daffy. She didn’t know who this cheeky little first former was, but she had certainly hit the nail on the head!

  The spoilt Violet, meanwhile, was just complaining to her mother about how ugly the school uniform was, and as she stamped her foot angrily, Miss Potts decided to take a hand in the matter.

  ‘Good morning,’ she said, going across and holding out her hand to Violet’s mother. ‘You must be Mrs Forsyth, and this, I presume, is Violet. I am Miss Potts, housemistress of North Tower.’

  Mrs Forsyth shook Miss Potts’s hand and said, ‘I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Potts. I’m afraid that Violet is feeling a little under the weather today. You see, she has always had a governess before, and has never been to school. You must understand that she is rather nervous.’

  Miss Potts had met Violet’s type before, and quickly sized her up as a spoilt mother’s girl. The child wasn’t nervous at all, merely furious that she was being sent away to school, where she would have to do as the others did, and wouldn’t be able to get her own way by throwing tantrums. Well, perhaps Malory Towers would do her good, and Violet would learn to settle down and be sensible. Miss Potts, glancing round at the other first formers, who were looking at Violet with a mixture of contempt and amusement, certainly hoped so, or things would be very difficult for the girl.

  The mistress had also sized up Mrs Forsyth – a pleasant enough woman, but rather weak and silly. Her lips were beginning to tremble now, and Miss Potts knew that, if she was not firm, there would be a long and emotional farewell, which would not do either Violet or her mother any good at all.

  So she laid a firm hand on Violet’s shoulder and said briskly, ‘Come along then, Violet. Say goodbye to your mother quickly, please, then pick up your night case and get on the train.’

  Both Violet and her mother looked rather affronted at being robbed of their dramatic farewell, but neither of them dared flout the stern Miss Potts, so they had to content themselves with a brief hug and promises to write.

  Then the first formers, along with June and Freddie, moved towards the train, Daffy Hope managing to position herself behind Violet, and sticking her tongue out behind her back.

  Once again, June’s lips twitched. What a naughty little monkey that girl was, yet there was something rather likeable about her.

  Violet, however, thought differently, for she turned round just in time to see Daffy with her tongue out, and scowled at her. Before she could say anything to Daffy, though, June said firmly, ‘Get on the train at once, please. You’re holding everyone up.’

  Violet turned her scowl on June, but one look at the sixth former’s face warned her that it would be most unwise to argue! Quickly lowering her eyes from June’s, Violet turned away and clambered aboard the train.

  Miss Potts remained on the platform, waiting for any stragglers, while June and Freddie, joining the other three sixth formers, were greeted warmly.

  The two newcomers looked at Alice curiously, and Felicity said, ‘This is Alice Johnson, our new girl. Alice, this is June, our school games captain, and her friend, Freddie Holmes.’

  Alice gave her nervous smile, and greeted th
e two girls in her quiet voice, while June’s sharp eyes narrowed.

  ‘Have I met you somewhere before?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, no,’ said Alice, shaking her head. ‘We have never met before.’

  ‘That’s odd,’ said June. ‘For there’s something familiar about you. Perhaps you remind me of someone, though I can’t for the life of me think who it is at the moment. Never mind, I’m sure it will come to me.’

  Alice looked quite terrified at this thought, and Felicity said, ‘That’s funny, because earlier on I thought that I recognised you too, though I’m quite sure we have never met. Have you ever had a sister at Malory Towers?’

  ‘No, I’m an only child,’ answered Alice.

  She had turned rather red, and Freddie, guessing that the girl didn’t like being the centre of attention, quickly changed the subject and began telling the girls about Violet Forsyth.

  ‘My goodness, she sounds a perfect little beast,’ said Susan.

  ‘Well, Miss Potts won’t stand any nonsense from her,’ said Felicity.

  ‘I don’t think the first-form kids will, either,’ said June with a smile. ‘One of them in particular seems an imp, and she soon let Violet know what she thought of her. I don’t know the kid’s name, but she was a pretty little thing – dark, curly hair and laughing brown eyes.’

  ‘Why, that sounds like Daffy Hope,’ said Felicity. ‘Sally’s sister.’

  ‘Really?’ said June, raising her dark brows in surprise and saying rather mockingly, ‘I would never have guessed, for she is the opposite of solid, sensible Sally.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ said Felicity. ‘I can’t think why you believe that she’s an imp, June. And Susan, you said that she looked like a handful, but you’re both quite wrong, for she is every bit as sensible and responsible as Sally.’