12 that evening

“for goodness’ sake don’t let potty or mam’zelle guess there’s anything planned for tonight,” said darrell to the others after supper. “i saw mam’zelle looking very suspicious. come into the common-room now, and we’ll arrange the details. how gorgeous to have so much food given to us—clarissa, many thanks!”

clarissa blushed, but was too nervous to say anything. she was delighted to think that she could provide a feast for the others.

they all went to the common-room and sat about to discuss their plans. “it’s such a terrifically hot evening that it really will be lovely down by the pool,” said sally. “there won’t have to be any of the usual screeching or yelling though—sounds carry so at night, and although the pool is right down on the rocks, it’s quite possible to hear noises from there if the wind is right.”

alicia was pleased to hear sally say this. it would make it seem natural for betty and eileen and winnie to come and say they had heard sounds from the pool.

“i and sally will keep awake tonight,” planned darrell. “then when we hear the clock strike twelve, we will wake you all, and you can get into dressing-gowns and bring your bathing-things. we’d better fetch them from the changing-rooms now, or else we may wake up one of the staff, if we rummage about late at night.”

“is all the food safely down by the pool?” asked bill, who was very much looking forward to this adventure. it was the first time she had ever been to a midnight feast!

“yes. safely locked in the cubby-hole on the left,” said alicia. “i’ve got the key.”

“we’ll have a bathe first and then we’ll feast,” said darrell. “it’s a pity we haven’t anything exciting to drink.”

“i bet if i went and asked old cookie for some lemonade, she’d leave us some ready,” said irene, who was a great favourite with the kitchen staff.

“good. you go then,” said darrell. “ask her to make two big jugfuls, and stand them on the cold larder floor. we’ll fetch them when we’re ready.”

irene sped off. then alicia was sent with mavis to fetch the bathing-things from the changing-room. everyone began to feel tremendously excited. clarissa could hardly keep still.

“i wish i hadn’t had so much supper,” said gwendoline. “i’m sure i shan’t feel hungry by midnight.”

“serves you right for being a pig,” said belinda. “you had five tomatoes at supper. i counted!”

“a pity you hadn’t anything better to do,” said gwendoline, trying to be sarcastic.

“oh, it’s wonderful to watch your nice little ways,” said belinda, lazily. “no wonder you’re getting so fat, the way you gobble everything at meals. dear me, what a wonderful drawing i could make of you as a nice fat little piggy-wig with blue eyes and a ribbon on your tail.”

everyone roared. “do, do!” begged sally. gwendoline began to scowl, saw belinda looking at her, and hastily straightened her face. she wished she hadn’t tried to be sarcastic to belinda. she always came off badly if she did!

alicia and mavis came back, giggling, with the bathing-things. “anyone spot you?” asked darrell, anxiously.

“i don’t think so. that pestiferous young cousin of mine, june, was somewhere about, but i don’t think she’d spot anything was up,” said alicia. “i heard her whistling somewhere, when we were in the changing-room.”

irene came back from the kitchen, grinning all over her face. “i found cookie, and she was all alone,” she said. “she’ll have two thumping big jugs of lemonade ready for us on the floor of the larder, any time after eleven o’clock tonight. the staff go to bed then, so she says any time after that will be safe for us to get it. whoops!”

“this is going to be super,” said alicia. “what exactly did you say the food was, clarissa?”

clarissa explained, with gwen prompting her proudly. gwen really felt as if she had provided half the feast herself, and she basked in clarissa’s reflected glory.

“did you ever have midnight feasts at your last school, ruth?” asked darrell, seeing that ruth looked as excited as the others.

connie answered for her as usual. “no. we tried once, but we got caught—and my word we did get a wigging from the head.”

“i asked ruth, not you,” said darrell, annoyed with connie. “don’t keep butting in. let ruth answer for herself.” she turned to ruth again.

“was your last head very strict?” she asked. connie opened her mouth to answer for ruth again, caught the glint in darrell’s eye, and shut it.

ruth actually answered, after waiting for a moment for connie. “well,” she said, “i think probably you would call her very strict. you see. . . .”

“oh, not very strict, ruth,” interrupted connie. “don’t you remember how nice she was over . . .”

“i’m asking ruth,” said darrell, exasperated.

what would have happened next the form would dearly have loved to know—but there came an interruption that changed the subject. matron popped her head in and said she wanted gwendoline.

“oh, why, matron?” wailed gwendoline. “what haven’t i done now that i ought to have done? why do you want me?”

“just a little matter of darning,” said matron.

“but i’ve done the beastly darning you told me to,” said gwen, indignantly.

“well then—shall we say a little matter of unpicking and re-darning?” said matron, aggravatingly. the girls grinned. they had seen gwen’s last effort at darning a pair of navy-blue knickers with grey wool, and had wondered if matron would notice.

gwendoline had to get up and go, grumbling under her breath. “i could do her darning for her,” suggested clarissa to darrell. “i don’t play games or do gym—i’ve plenty of time.”

“don’t you dare!” said darrell at once. “you help her too much as it is—she’s always copying from you.”

clarissa looked shocked. “oh—she doesn’t copy,” she said loyally, going red at the idea of her daring to argue with darrell.

“don’t be such a mutt,” said alicia, bluntly. “gwendoline’s a turnip-head—and she’s always picked other people’s brains and always will. take off your rose-coloured glasses and see gwen through your proper eyes, my dear clarissa!”

thinking that alicia really meant her to take off her glasses for some reason, clarissa removed her spectacles most obediently! the girls were about to laugh loudly, when darrell bent forward in surprise.

“clarissa! you’ve got real green eyes! i’ve never seen proper green eyes before! you must be related to the pixy-folk—people with green eyes always are!”

everyone roared—but on looking closely at clarissa’s eyes, they saw that they were indeed a lovely clear green, that somehow went remarkably well with her wavy auburn hair.

“my word—i wish i had stunning eyes like that,” said alicia enviously. “they’re marvellous. how sickening that you’ve got to wear glasses.”

“oh, it’s only for a time,” said clarissa, putting them on again, looking rather shy but pleased at alicia’s admiration. “i’m glad you like my green eyes! gwendoline thinks it’s awful to have green eyes like a cat.”

“if all cats have green eyes, then our dear gwendoline certainly ought to have them,” said belinda at once.

clarissa looked distressed.

“oh, but gwendoline has been very kind to me,” she began, and then everyone shushed her. gwen was coming in at the door, scowling, holding a pair of games knickers and a pair of games stockings in her hands.

“i do think matron’s an absolute beast,” she began. “i spent hours darning these last week—and now i’ve got to unpick all my darns and re-do them.”

“well, don’t darn navy knickers with grey wool, or red stockings with navy wool this time,” said alicia. “anyone would think you were colour-blind.”

clarissa longed to help gwen, but after darrell’s remark she didn’t like to offer, and gwen certainly didn’t dare to ask for help. the girls sat about, yawning, trying to read, longing for bed because they really felt tired. but not too tired to wake up at twelve and have a bathe and a feast.

they didn’t take long getting into bed that night. even slow gwendoline was quick. irene was the quickest of the lot, much to darrell’s surprise. but it was discovered that she had absentmindedly got into bed half-undressed, so out she had to get again.

the bathing-things were stacked in someone’s cupboard, waiting. dressing-gowns and slippers were set ready on the ends of each bed.

“sorry for you, darrell, and you, too, sally, having to keep awake till twelve!” said irene, yawning. “goodnight, all—see you in a little while!”

sally said she would keep awake for the first hour, and then wake darrell, who would keep awake till twelve. then each would get a little rest.

sally valiantly kept awake, and then shook darrell, who slept in the next bed. darrell was so sound asleep that she could hardly open her eyes. but she did at last, and then decided she had better get out of bed and walk up and down a little, or she might fall off to sleep again—and then there would be no feast, for she was quite certain no-one else would be awake at twelve!

at last she heard the clock at the top of the tower striking twelve. good. midnight at last! she woke up sally and then the two of them woke everyone else up. gwendoline was the hardest to wake—she always was. darrell debated whether or not to leave her, as she seemed determined not to wake—but decided that clarissa might be upset—and after all, it was clarissa’s feast!

they all put on dressing-gowns and slippers. they got their bathing-things out of the cupboard and sent irene and belinda for the jugs of lemonade. the dormy was full of giggles and whisperings and shushings. everybody was now wide awake and very excited.

“come on—we’ll go down to the side-door, out into the garden, and through the gate to the cliff-path down to the pool,” whispered darrell. “and for goodness’ sake don’t fall down the stairs or do anything idiotic.”

it wasn’t long before they were down by the pool, which was gleaming in the moonlight, and looked too tempting for words. irene and belinda had the jugs of lemonade.

“let’s get out the food and have a look at it,” said sally. “i’m longing to see it!”

“alicia! where’s the key of the cubby-hole?” said darrell.

“blow!” said alicia. “i’ve left it in my tunic pocket. i’ll skip back and get it. won’t be half a minute!”