1 going back

“felicity! look—there’s malory towers at last!” cried darrell. “i always look out for it at this bend. this is where we catch a glimpse of it first.”

felicity gazed at the big square-looking building of grey stone standing high up on a cliff by the sea. at each end was a rounded tower.

“north tower, east tower, south tower, west tower,” said felicity. “i’m glad we’re in north tower, overlooking the sea. are you glad to be going back, darrell?”

“yes, awfully. are you?” asked her sister, still with her eyes glued to the gracious building in the distance.

“yes, i am really. but i do hate saying good-bye to mother and daddy, and cook and jane and the dogs and the cat, and . . .”

“the robin in the garden and the six hens and the ducks and the goldfish and the earwigs on the verandah!” finished darrell, with a laugh. “don’t be such a goose, felicity. you know quite well that as soon as you set foot in the grounds of malory towers you’ll love being there!”

“oh yes, i know i shall,” said felicity. “but it’s quite a different world from the world of home. and it’s a bit difficult suddenly going from one to the other.”

“well, all i can say is—we’re lucky to have two such marvellous worlds to live in!” said darrell. “home—and malory towers! look, who’s that in that car?”

felicity leaned out to see. “it’s june,” she said. “june—and alicia her cousin.”

darrell snorted. she didn’t like the first-former june. “don’t you go and get friendly with that sly, brazen little june again,” she warned felicity. “you know what happened last term. you stick to susan.”

“i’m going to,” said felicity. “you needn’t tell me things like that. i’m not a new girl now. i’m in my second term.”

“wish i was!” said darrell. “i hate to think that every term the day i leave comes nearer.”

“well, it’s the same for me,” said felicity. “only i don’t bother about it yet with so many terms in front of me. i say—fancy you being a fifth-former this term! in the fifth at malory towers—gosh, it does sound grand. and me only a first-former.”

“yes. you first-formers do seem babies to me now,” said darrell. “absolute kids! it’s funny to think how i looked up to the fifth-formers when i was in the first, and hardly dared to speak to one; and if one spoke to me i almost fell through the ground. i don’t notice anything like that about you, young felicity!”

“oh well—i suppose it’s because you’re my sister,” said felicity. “i’m not falling through the ground just because you address a few words to me—no, not even if you are made head-girl of the fifth!”

“well, i shan’t be,” said darrell. “i had my share of responsibility last term when i was head of the upper fourth. anyway, i’d like to sit back and take a bit of a rest from responsibility this term. last term was pretty hectic, what with being head-girl, and having to go in for school certificate, too!”

“but thank goodness you passed!” said felicity, proudly. “and with all those credits, too! did everyone in the upper fourth pass, do you know?”

“not gwen. nor alicia,” said darrell. “you remember she got measles during the exam? and connie, ruth’s twin, didn’t pass either. she’ll be left down in the fourth, thank goodness. now ruth will be able to say a few words on her own!”

connie and ruth had both been in the upper fourth the term before, and the girls had often felt cross because connie never gave ruth a chance to speak for herself, but always answered for her. she looked after ruth as if she were a baby sister, not a girl of her own age, nearly sixteen! now, with connie in a form below, ruth would have a chance of being herself instead of connie’s shadow. that should be interesting.

“here we are—sweeping into the drive!” said felicity. “mother—do look at malory towers. isn’t it super?”

her mother turned round from the front seat of the car and smiled at the two enthusiastic faces behind her.

“quite super, as you call it,” she said.

“in fact, smashing!” said mr. rivers, who was at the wheel. “isn’t that the right word, too, felicity? it’s the word i seem to have heard you use more than any other these holidays.”

the girls laughed. “the lower school call everything smashing or smash,” said darrell, in rather a superior voice.

“and the upper school are too la-di-da for words!” began felicity, eager to retaliate. but nobody heard because mr. rivers came to a stop near the great flight of steps, and immediately they were all swamped in crowds of excited girls running here and there from cars and coaches. the train girls had just arrived in the coaches that brought them from the station, and there was such a tremendous noise of yelling and shouting and hooting of car horns that it was impossible to hear what anyone said.

“darrell!” screamed somebody, putting an excited face in at the window. “good! i hoped you wouldn’t be late. sally’s here somewhere.”

the face disappeared, and another one came. “felicity! i thought it was you. come on out!”

“susan! i’m just coming!” shouted felicity, and leapt out so suddenly that she fell over a pile of lacrosse sticks and almost knocked over a tall girl standing nearby saying good-bye to her people.

“felicity rivers! look where you’re going,” said a wrathful voice, and felicity blushed and almost fell through the ground. it was irene speaking, irene who was now a fifth-former. darrell grinned to herself. aha! felicity might cheek one fifth-former, her own sister—but she was still in awe of the big girls after all!

“sorry, irene,” said felicity in a meek voice. “frightfully sorry.”

darrell jumped out too and was immediately surrounded by her friends.

“darrell! i’ll help you in with your things!”

“hallo, darrell, did you have good hols? i say, you passed your school cert. jolly well. congratulations!”

“darrell rivers! you never answered my letter last hols! and i wrote you pages!”

darrell grinned round at the laughing faces. “hallo, alicia! hallo, sally! irene, you nearly made my people fall out of the car when you screamed in at the window just now. hallo, belinda! done any good sketching in the hols?”

mrs. rivers called out of the car, “darrell! we shall be going in a few minutes, dear. tell sally to come and have a word with me.”

sally was darrell’s best friend, and her mother was a great friend of mrs. rivers. she came up to the car and mrs. rivers looked at her with approval. sally had once been such a prim, plain little first-former—now she had blossomed out into a pretty, bonny girl, sturdy and dependable, with very nice manners.

mrs. rivers had a few words with her and then looked round for darrell, who was still talking away to a crowd of her friends. felicity was nowhere to be seen.

“we must go now,” she said to sally. “just tell darrell and felicity, will you?”

“darrell! you’re wanted!” shouted sally, and darrell turned and ran to the car. she was already half-lost in the world of malory towers.

“oh, mother—are you going? thanks for most lovely hols. where’s felicity?”

felicity was not to be found. so thrilled was she at being back and hearing the excited voices of her friends that she had gone off with them without another thought! darrell went to look for her.

“anyone seen felicity?”

plenty of people had but nobody knew where she was. “blow her! she’s gone up to her dormy, i suppose, to see what bed she’s got this term,” thought darrell and sped up to find her. but she wasn’t there. darrell went down again and out to the car.

“i can’t find her anywhere, mother,” she said. “can you wait a bit?”

“no, we can’t,” said mr. rivers, impatiently. “i’ve got to get back. tell felicity we wanted to say good-bye. we must go.”

he gave darrell a hug and then she hugged her mother, too. mr. rivers put in the clutch and the car moved slowly off.

there was a shriek behind him. “daddy! don’t go without saying good-bye. you were!”

“i was,” said her father, with a grin exactly like darrell’s. “can’t wait about for girls who forget their mother and father a quarter of a minute after arriving.”

“i didn’t forget you, of course i didn’t,” protested felicity, still hanging on the running-board. “i just wanted to go and see our form-room. it’s all been done up in the hols and looks super. good-bye, daddy.” she gave him a bear-hug that almost knocked off his hat.

she ran round to the other side and gave her mother a hug, too. “i’ll write on sunday. give my love to cook and jane and the gardener, and the dogs, and . . .”

the car was moving! “jump off unless you want to come back home again!” called her father. “if you do, get in at the back!”

but she didn’t want to! she jumped off, laughing. she and darrell stood waving as the car made its way slowly down the crowded drive. then it moved out of the gate with other cars, and was gone.

felicity turned to darrell with shining eyes. “isn’t it fun to be back again? did you feel like that your second term, darrell? i’m not nervous or shy any more as i was last term. i belong now. i know everyone. it’s smashing!”

she tore up the steps at top speed and collided with mam’zelle dupont.

“tiens! another mad girl! felicity, i will not have you . . .”

but felicity was gone. mam’zelle’s face broke into a smile as she gazed after her. “these girls! anyone would think they were glad to be back.”