11 an exciting plan

“you go after them, gwen,” said clarissa, urgently. “i daren’t tear up that steep hill. they’ll be half-way up by now.”

“no, indeed, miss clarissa, i wouldn’t dream of you racing up that hill, and you only just recovering from that bad heart of yours,” said mrs. lucy at once. “i meant this other girl to go.”

gwendoline was certainly not going to go chasing up langley hill in the hot sun, to fetch back people she disliked, to enjoy a fine tea. let them go without!

she pulled rather a long face. “i will go, of course,” she said, “but i think there’s something a bit wrong with my heart, too—it flutters, you know, when i’ve done something rather energetic. it makes me feel i simply must lie down.”

“oh dear—that’s how i used to feel!” cried clarissa, sympathetically. “i forgot you spoke about your heart today, gwen. well, it can’t be helped. we can’t get the others back here to tea.”

“what a pity,” mourned mrs. lucy, and took them inside her dear little cottage. set on a table inside was a most marvellous home-made tea!

there were tongue sandwiches with lettuce, hard-boiled eggs to eat with bread-and-butter, great chunks of new-made cream cheese, potted meat, ripe tomatoes grown in mrs. lucy’s brother’s greenhouse, gingerbread cake fresh from the oven, shortbread, a great fruit cake with almonds crowding the top, biscuits of all kinds and six jam sandwiches!

“gracious!” said gwen and clarissa, in awe. “what a spread!”

“nurse, it’s too marvellous for words,” said clarissa. “but oh dear, what a waste! and such an expense, too!”

“oh now, you needn’t think about that,” said mrs. lucy at once. “your sister came to see me yesterday, her that’s married, and she gave me some money to spend on getting a good spread for you all. so here it is—and only the two of you to eat it. well, certainly, miss clarissa, you did give me to understand in your letter that the whole class were coming.”

“no, nurse—i said the whole of our form from north tower were coming for a picnic and could we (that’s gwen and i) come and have tea with you,” explained clarissa. “i suppose you thought that “we” meant the whole lot. i’m so very sorry.”

“sit you down and eat,” said mrs. lucy. but even with such a wonderful spread the two girls could not eat very much after their very good lunch. gwen looked at the masses of food in despair.

and then mrs. lucy had a brainwave.

“don’t you have midnight feasts or anything like that at your school?” she said to clarissa. “i remember your sister, her that’s married, used to tell of them when she went to boarding-school.”

“a midnight feast!” said gwen, remembering the one or two she had enjoyed at malory towers. “my word—that’s a super idea, mrs. lucy! could we really have the food for that?”

“of course you can. then it will get to the hungry mouths it was made for,” said old mrs. lucy, her eyes twinkling at the two girls. “but how will you take it?”

clarissa and gwen considered. there was far too much for them to carry by themselves. they would simply have to have help. clarissa was very excited. a midnight feast! she had read of such things—and now she was going to join in one—and provide the food, too!

“i know,” said gwen, suddenly. “we have to meet darrell and the others at half-past five, at the end of the lane down there—the one that leads up from the cove. we will bring some of the girls back here to help to carry the stuff!”

“good idea,” agreed clarissa, her eyes shining behind their thick glasses. so, just before half-past five by mrs. lucy’s clock, gwen and clarissa slipped along to the end of the lane to meet the others.

but only two were there—and very cross the two were. they were alicia and belinda.

“well! do you know it’s a quarter to six, and we’ve jolly well been waiting for you two for twenty minutes!” began alicia indignantly. “the others have gone on. we’ve had to wait behind. haven’t you got watches?”

“no,” said gwendoline. “i’m so sorry. i’m afraid mrs. lucy’s clock must have been slow.”

“well, for goodness’ sake, put your best foot forward now,” grumbled alicia.

but gwen caught at her arm.

“wait a bit, alicia. we want you and belinda to come back to mrs. lucy’s cottage with us. it isn’t far.”

alicia and belinda stared in exasperation at gwen. rapidly she told them about the feast, and all the food left over—and how mrs. lucy had offered it to them for a midnight feast.

a grin appeared on alicia’s face, and a wicked look on belinda’s. a midnight feast! that would be a fine end to a very nice day. all that food, too! it simply couldn’t be wasted.

“well, it would certainly be a sin to let all that wonderful food go stale,” said alicia, cheerfully. “i quite see you couldn’t allow that. and i’m sure we could all do with a feast tonight, after our walking, climbing and bathing. we’ll go back and help you carry the stuff.”

no more was said about being late. the four of them went quickly back to mrs. lucy’s cottage. she had packed it up as best she could in net bags and baskets. the girls exclaimed in delight and thanked her heartily.

“we’ll bring back the baskets and bags as soon as we can,” promised clarissa. “my, what a load we’ve got!”

they had indeed. it was all the four could do to lug it back to malory towers. sally was waiting for them as they came down the cliff-path. “whatever have you been doing?” she asked. “darrell’s in an awful wax, thinking you’d got lost or something. she was just about to go and report that you’d all fallen over the cliff!”

alicia laughed. “take a look at this basket,” she said. “and this bag! clarissa’s old nurse gave us the whole lot for a midnight feast!”

“golly!” said sally, thrilled. “how super! you’d better hide the things somewhere. we don’t want potty or mam’zelle finding them.”

“where shall we put them?” wondered alicia. “and where shall we have the feast! it would be better to have it out-of-doors tonight, it’s so hot. i know! let’s have it down by the pool. we might even have a midnight swim!”

this sounded absolutely grand. “you go and tell darrell we’re safe,” said alicia, “and we four will slip down to the pool, and hide these things in the cubby-holes there where we keep the life-belts and things.”

sally sped off, and gwen, clarissa, alicia and belinda swiftly made their way down to the pool. the tide was out—but at midnight it would be in again, and they could splash about in the pool, and have their feast with the waves running over their toes. the moon was full, too—everything was just right!

alicia packed the food into a cubby-hole and shut the door. then she and the others went up the cliff-path, but half-way up alicia remembered that she hadn’t locked the door of the cubby-hole she had used.

“blow!” she said. “i suppose i’d better, in case anyone goes snooping round. you go on, you three—and i’ll come as soon as i’ve locked up.”

she went down and locked the cubby-hole, slipping the key into her pocket. she heard footsteps near her as she pocketed the key and turned round hastily.

thank goodness it was only betty, her west tower friend! “hallo! what are you doing here?” said betty.

alicia grinned and told her about the hoard of food. “why don’t you ask me to come along?” said betty. “any objection?”

“no. it’s just that darrell mightn’t like it,” said alicia, hesitating. “you know that we aren’t supposed to leave our towers and join up together at night. that’s always been a very strict rule.”

“well—is there anything to stop me from looking out of my dormy window, hearing something going on at the pool, and coming along to see what it is?” said betty, with her wicked grin. “then i don’t see how you can prevent everyone from say, ‘come along and join us.’?”

“yes—that’s a wizard idea,” said alicia. “you do that. then nobody will know i told you! i’ll call out, “come and join us,” and that will make everyone else join in—and darrell won’t be able to say no!”

“right,” said betty, and chuckled. “i could do with a spree like this, couldn’t you? where did you go today? langley hill? we went to longbottom, and had some good fun. i say—i suppose i couldn’t bring one or two more west tower girls with me, i suppose, could i? after all, it’s not like being invited if we just pop along to see what the noise is. no one will ever know.”

“all right. bring eileen and winnie,” said alicia. “they’ll enjoy it. but for goodness’ sake don’t say i told you, or darrell will blow my head off! she’s taking her head-girl’s duties very, very seriously!”

“she would!” said betty, and laughed. “well, see you tonight—and mind you’re very surprised when we appear!”

she sped off and alicia went to join the others. “whatever made you so long?” demanded belinda. “we thought you must have thrown a fit and fallen into the pool. you’ll be late for supper now if you aren’t quick.”

“have you told darrell about the food and the midnight feast?” asked alicia.

“yes,” said belinda. “she looked a bit doubtful at first, and then when we reminded her that the great fifth had had one last term, she laughed and said, ‘all right! a feast it shall be then!’?”

“good for darrell,” said alicia, pleased. “did you suggest that down by the pool would be a good place?”

“yes. she agreed that it would,” said belinda. “so we’re all set!”

the upper fourth winked at one another so continually that supper-time that mam’zelle, who was taking the supper-table, looked down at her person several times to see if she had forgotten some article of apparel. had she lost a few buttons? was her belt crooked? was her hair coming down? then why did these bad girls wink and wink?

but it was nothing to do with mam’zelle or her clothing or hair—it was just that the girls were thrilled and excited, and full of giggles and nudges and winks, enough to drive any mistress to distraction.

mam’zelle was indulgent. “they are excited after their picnic,” she thought. “ah, how well they will sleep tonight!”

but mam’zelle was wrong. they didn’t intend to sleep at all well that night!