Goodbye Malory Towers Page 6

  Violet had. She had also started brushing her hair one hundred times each night, as Amy had told her to, in the hope that it would shine like the sixth former’s.

  She turned a little red now, and said, ‘Actually, I am going to get my hair cut like Amy’s. As soon as my people send me some more pocket money, I shall go to the hairdresser’s shop in town. But they are away on holiday at the moment, so I have to wait for them to come back before they can send me any money.’ The girl sighed. ‘How I wish that I didn’t, for I would so like to have it cut now.’

  ‘I bet I could cut it for you,’ said Edith, looking up. ‘My aunt has a hairdressing shop and I have often watched her cut people’s hair. I daresay I could do it just as well as she could.’

  Violet looked rather doubtful, but Ivy produced a pair of scissors from her work-basket, saying, ‘Come on, then. Violet, you sit on that chair over there, and Edith can set to work.’

  Violet hesitated. She wasn’t entirely convinced of Edith’s skill, but the girl sounded confident. And how wonderful it would be to go down to breakfast in the morning with a sleek, shining bob, just like Amy’s, and see heads turning towards her in admiration.

  So Violet sat on the chair and removed the ribbon that tied her golden hair back, while Daffy hurried to the bathroom, coming back with a towel, which she arranged over Violet’s shoulders like a cape.

  ‘So that the hair doesn’t go down your back and make you itch,’ she explained.

  Then, under the fascinated eyes of the first formers, and with a look of great concentration on her face, Edith began snipping away at Violet’s long hair.

  Alas, the girl soon discovered that it wasn’t as easy a task as it looked, and as Violet’s golden tresses piled up on the floor, the first formers began to look at one another uneasily.

  Edith had cut quite a lot off, but instead of the neat bob Violet had wanted, her hair looked uneven and ragged, one side slightly longer than the other.

  Blissfully unaware, Violet said eagerly, ‘What does it look like? Is it like Amy’s?’

  ‘Er … sort of,’ said Daffy faintly. ‘Edith, I really think that you had better stop cutting now.’

  Edith put down the scissors and stood back to survey her handiwork, her face falling as she realised that Violet’s hairdo really didn’t resemble Amy’s very much at all. In fact, it looked most peculiar.

  ‘Oh, I can’t wait to see it!’ said Violet, pulling off the towel and jumping to her feet.

  As the first formers waited with bated breath, Violet skipped happily over to the mirror that hung on the wall.

  Her happy expression turned to one of horror, then she gave a piercing shriek, crying, ‘My hair! Oh, Edith, what have you done?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ said Edith, quite aghast. ‘It looked all right when I was cutting it. It was only when I stood back that I realised … ’

  Her voice tailed off as Violet wailed, ‘What am I going to do? I can’t possibly go round looking like this! Everyone will laugh at me.’

  ‘You could wear a hat,’ suggested Daffy.

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ snapped Violet. ‘I can’t possibly wear a hat indoors. Potty would only make me take it off, anyway. Edith, I shall never forgive you for this.’

  ‘Violet, I truly am sorry,’ said Edith again, sounding very contrite. ‘Look here, if I can just snip off that little bit of hair that is sticking up at the back, it might look better.’

  She picked up the scissors again and advanced on Violet, who squealed and backed away. ‘Don’t you dare come near me with those scissors!’ she cried.

  ‘I think that Violet is right,’ said Faith, removing the scissors from Edith’s hand. ‘The only thing for it is to visit the hairdressing shop and have it put right. Edith, you should really pay for it, seeing as you messed up Violet’s hair in the first place.’

  ‘Well, I can’t,’ said Edith bluntly. ‘You know that I don’t get an awful lot of pocket money, and at the moment I’m completely broke.’

  ‘Then what’s to be done?’ said Violet in despair. ‘I shall be the laughing stock of the whole school.’

  But help was at hand. Lizzie, walking down the corridor near the first-form common-room, had heard Violet’s squeals and shrieks, and been most alarmed.

  Now she burst into the common-room, taking in Violet’s strange hairdo, her tearful expression and the crowd of girls gathered around her.

  ‘Violet!’ cried Lizzie in horror. ‘What on earth have you done? Don’t tell me that you have been foolish enough to cut your own hair?’

  ‘It wasn’t me,’ said Violet sullenly. ‘It was – ’

  Then she stopped, for even silly Violet knew that it simply wasn’t done to sneak, and everyone was aware how hard Lizzie could be on her young sister.

  But Edith stepped forward herself, a rather defiant expression on her face as she turned to Lizzie, and said, ‘It was me.’

  ‘Well, of all the idiotic tricks!’ scolded Lizzie. ‘I thought that you had more sense than that, Edith. I think it’s jolly mean of you to ruin Violet’s hair, simply for a prank.’

  ‘It wasn’t a prank!’ said Edith hotly. ‘I meant to cut it properly, and I really did think that I could make a good job of it, for I have watched Aunt Mary do it so many times.’

  ‘Well, perhaps I can tidy it up,’ said Lizzie, lifting a strand of Violet’s golden hair. ‘I have sometimes helped Aunt Mary in the shop, for extra pocket money, and she says that I am quite good at cutting hair. Sit down, Violet.’

  Violet looked very nervous indeed at the thought of another of the Mannering sisters cutting her hair, but she didn’t dare disobey a sixth former, and sat obediently.

  ‘Lizzie really is very good,’ said Edith reassuringly. ‘She cut Mother’s hair for her in the holidays.’

  Certainly, Lizzie seemed a lot more skilled than her young sister as she set to work tidying up Violet’s hair, snipping off a bit here, and a bit there. At last she was finished, and Lizzie clapped her on the shoulder, saying, ‘All done. Go and have a look in the mirror.’

  Once again, rather apprehensively, Violet went over to the mirror and looked at her reflection. What she saw there made her want to burst into tears. Lizzie had certainly done a good job, and the girl’s hair looked very neat and tidy. But, because Edith had cut it so raggedly, Lizzie had had to cut it very much shorter than Violet wanted, in order to get it even.

  Hardly able to get the words out for the lump in her throat, she said tonelessly, ‘Thank you, Lizzie.’

  ‘That’s quite all right,’ said Lizzie. Then she turned to her sister, and said sternly, ‘I hope that this has been a lesson to you, Edith. If you had been occupied with something useful, such as studying, you wouldn’t have had time on your hands to make such a mess of Violet’s hair.’

  Then she went from the room, closing the door behind her.

  ‘Take no notice of her,’ said Daffy, patting Edith on the arm. ‘I know that she’s your sister but, my goodness, she’s awfully domineering.’

  ‘Don’t I know it!’ said Edith ruefully.

  Then Daffy turned to the unhappy Violet, saying, ‘Cheer up! It suits you much better than those long curls. You look like a proper, sensible schoolgirl.’

  ‘But I don’t want to look sensible,’ moaned Violet. ‘I want to look – ’

  ‘We know!’ chorused the others in exasperation. ‘Just like Amy!’

  7

  Lizzie makes a friend

  Of course, somehow the story of how Edith had ruined Violet’s hair, and Lizzie had come to the rescue, soon flew round the school, and poor Violet had to endure a great deal of good-natured ribbing when she came down to breakfast the following morning.

  She felt rather hurt when Amy herself teased her about it. But, seeing that the girl was upset, and not wanting to lose her faithful admirer, Amy quickly said, ‘It might not look exactly like mine, but it will soon grow. I think that it would look better if you clip the front back with a hair-slide. I
have a very pretty one that would be just right, so if you would like to come to my study later, I shall give it to you.’

  So, thrilled at the thought of getting a present from Amy, Violet soon cheered up, and didn’t even mind too much when Mam’zelle Dupont exclaimed over the loss of her beautiful golden curls.

  One good result of the affair was that Lizzie went up a little in the estimation of the sixth formers, for dealing so well with the situation.

  ‘It was jolly decent of you to step in,’ said Alice to Lizzie, in the courtyard on Saturday afternoon. ‘Though I must say, I should have liked to see Violet’s hair after your young sister had cut it. My word, she must have looked a fright!’

  Even Lizzie couldn’t suppress a grin at this, as she said, ‘She did. It’s just lucky that I happened to be near the kids’ common-room and heard all the commotion.’

  Alice glanced at Lizzie, pleased to see her smile for a change.

  The other day, Felicity had spoken to Alice, and asked her how she got on with Lizzie.

  ‘All right,’ Alice had replied with a shrug. ‘She is very difficult to get to know, for there is something rather stand-offish about her. She never talks about her home, or her people, and even in her spare time she would rather sit with her head in a book than do something just for fun.’

  ‘Do me a favour, would you, Alice?’ Felicity had said. ‘See if you can bring Lizzie out of herself a bit, and see if you can get her to think of something other than work for a change. I really think that it would do her the world of good.’

  ‘I shall do my best,’ Alice had said, feeling rather proud that Felicity had entrusted her with the task of befriending Alice, and she had sought the girl out several times. Lizzie, who knew very well that she wasn’t enormously popular, had been surprised to find that Alice wanted her company. Her responses to Alice’s attempts at conversation were not very encouraging, however, for although Lizzie was always perfectly polite, she always managed to give the impression that she was in a hurry to get back to her books.

  Encouraged now by Lizzie’s smile, Alice said, ‘It’s a simply glorious day. How about coming for a walk along the cliffs?’

  ‘That sounds nice,’ said Lizzie, politely, ‘but I have some reading that I must be getting on with. Miss Oakes told me that we will be studying the Tudors for Higher Cert next term, so I am getting a head start on the others who will be coming up into the sixth next term.’

  ‘I didn’t go in for Higher Cert myself,’ said Alice. ‘I don’t have the brains for it, you see. But I did help some of the others study, and I remember copying down reams of notes on the Tudors for Felicity. I wonder if she still has them, for I am sure you would find them most useful.’

  ‘Oh, it would be marvellous if she would lend them to me!’ said Lizzie eagerly.

  ‘Well, I shall ask her,’ said Alice. ‘But you must do something for me in return. Slack off a bit this afternoon and come for a walk with me.’

  Lizzie bit her lip. A walk in the sunshine would be very pleasant, and if Alice really could get hold of Felicity’s notes for her, they would come in very useful. So she nodded, and said, ‘Very well. If I can get hold of Felicity’s notes it will save me an awful lot of trouble in the long run, so I daresay that I can spare a little time.’

  Felicity, watching the two girls walk towards the gates a few minutes later, was pleased. What an achievement for Alice, to get Lizzie away from her books for a while!

  Most of the sixth formers were outside, making the most of the good weather. Julie and Lucy had gone horse-riding, June and Freddie were down at the pool, coaching the first and second formers, while the others lazed on the grass.

  Only Amy and Bonnie were indoors. Bonnie was in her study, engrossed in a tablecloth that she was embroidering for her mother, and humming softly to some music on the radio as she worked. Amy, meanwhile, was making her way to Miss Lacey’s class-room, a large bunch of sweetly scented flowers in her arms.

  Miss Lacey had been showing the girls how to arrange flowers in vases, making use of ferns and foliage to create an artistic effect, and it had been decided that, each week, the girls would take turns to do a flower arrangement for her class-room.

  It had been Bonnie’s turn last week and, as the girl had a flair for such things, her arrangement had been very pretty, and Miss Lacey had been pleased with it. This week, though, it was Amy’s turn, and the teacher had condemned her effort as very poor indeed.

  ‘It doesn’t look as if you have even attempted to create anything pleasing to the eye, Amy,’ Miss Lacey had said with a sniff. ‘You have simply stuck the flowers into the nearest available vase, without any thought of arranging them prettily.’

  In fact, this was exactly what Amy had done, for she found flower-arranging a dreadful bore and simply couldn’t see the point of it!

  ‘When you are married, and have your own home, you will want it to look nice, won’t you?’ Miss Lacey had said.

  ‘Of course,’ Amy had replied, in her haughty way. ‘But I shall have a housekeeper to see to such dull chores as arranging flowers.’

  Miss Lacey had looked simply furious, two spots of red darkening her cheeks, as she glared at Amy, but before she could vent her anger on the girl, Bonnie said in her soft voice, ‘Oh, Amy, flower-arranging isn’t a chore! Why, it’s an art, isn’t that so, Miss Lacey?’

  Bonnie’s words, her soft voice and the way she looked admiringly at Miss Lacey, soothed the teacher a little.

  ‘I am glad that there is someone in the form who realises that,’ she said, giving Bonnie a warm look. Then her voice hardened as she turned back to Amy, and snapped, ‘This won’t do at all. Amy, I must insist that you pick fresh flowers and make a new arrangement tomorrow.’

  Amy had scowled, and as Miss Lacey moved away Bonnie hissed under her breath, ‘Idiot! Why do you persist in getting on the wrong side of Miss Lacey? You know that she will only end up punishing you.’

  ‘I don’t care,’ said Amy with a shrug. ‘At least I don’t suck up to her like you do.’

  ‘You can think yourself jolly lucky that I stepped in just then,’ said Bonnie severely. ‘If I hadn’t, I think you might have got a worse punishment than just having to do the flowers again!’

  Amy was forced to admit that this was true. She also knew that she was only hurting herself by antagonising Miss Lacey, but somehow she couldn’t seem to stop herself, for her dislike of the young teacher grew more intense with every day. But the feeling was entirely mutual, for Miss Lacey didn’t like Amy, either, and showed it very plainly.

  Now, as Amy went towards Miss Lacey’s class-room, she saw Violet Forsyth approaching, and smiled at the girl.

  ‘Hallo, Amy,’ said Violet. ‘My word, what lovely flowers.’

  ‘Yes, it is my turn to do the flowers for this week,’ said Amy. ‘But my efforts at arranging them didn’t meet with Miss Lacey’s approval, so I have to do them all over again. It’s utterly pointless doing them on a Saturday, for by the time the class-room is used again they will be all wilted. It’s just spite on Miss Lacey’s part, so that I have to give up part of my weekend.’

  ‘What a shame that I can’t help you,’ said Violet. ‘I sometimes help Mummy to do our flowers at home, and I have quite a knack, you know.’

  Amy looked down into Violet’s eager face, and a thought occurred to her. Miss Lacey’s classroom was strictly out of bounds to all but the sixth formers, and it was kept locked when there were no classes taking place. Amy had got the key from Daisy, the maid, so that she could do the flowers. But it had suddenly occurred to the girl that she could finish her task much more quickly with Violet’s help.

  So she leaned forward, and said in a conspiratorial whisper, ‘Violet, how would you like to see inside Miss Lacey’s class-room?’

  Violet, of course, was simply thrilled, for she – like the rest of the first form – was very curious indeed to see inside the locked room. How marvellous to be able to boast to the others that she had actual
ly been inside!

  This hope was dashed, though, when Amy held up a warning finger, and said, ‘You mustn’t let anyone know that I have taken you in there, or I would be in the most awful trouble! It must be our secret.’

  Violet was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to tell the first formers of her adventure but, in a way, it would be just as nice to have a secret from them, something that only she and Amy knew about.

  So the girl promised solemnly that she would not tell anyone at all, and Amy gave her the flowers to hold while she quickly unlocked the door. Then – after glancing swiftly up and down the corridor, to make sure that no one was about – she ushered Violet inside, closing the door.

  Violet had never seen a class-room like this one before, with its armchairs and sofas, and the elegant velvet curtains hanging at the windows.

  ‘How marvellous!’ she breathed, gazing around her.

  Amy, extremely gratified at the younger girl’s reaction, quite forgot that she had criticised the furnishings as being shabby and said airily, ‘Much nicer than an ordinary class-room, isn’t it?’

  ‘I should say!’ breathed Violet. ‘Amy, do you think I might try one of the sofas? They look so comfortable!’

  Amy looked on indulgently as Violet tried the sofas and the armchairs, pronouncing that they were very comfortable indeed, and so much more elegant than the hard chairs in the first-form class-room. Then Amy glanced at her watch, and said, ‘I suppose we had better get on and arrange these flowers. Violet, be a dear and fetch a vase from that cupboard, would you?’

  Violet did as she was asked, then Amy sighed, and said, ‘Oh dear, how difficult it is to know where to start! I really have no talent for this sort of thing at all.’

  ‘Let’s start by putting the taller flowers in the vase,’ said Violet, picking one up. ‘Then we can arrange the smaller ones around them.’

  The first former proved to be surprisingly nimble-fingered, and Amy soon found that she had nothing to do but stand back and watch, which – of course – suited her perfectly.

  Violet, meanwhile, was in her element, for not only was she doing something which she genuinely enjoyed, but she was spending time with Amy, revelling in the honeyed words of praise that fell from the sixth former’s lips.