18 before the exam

the next day the girls expected most of their parents again, and could go out with them the whole day long. clarissa stood at the window, looking out eagerly.

gwendoline saw her. “i suppose she’s looking for her mother,” she thought. “horrid thing. i shan’t even speak to her!”

she saw clarissa suddenly wave in delight. then she ran from the room and disappeared down the stairs. gwen looked out to see what her mother was like—and if the car was a grand one.

to her surprise she saw an old austin in the drive, and out of it stepped a most ordinary-looking woman. she had on a neat blue suit with a white blouse, and a scarf tied round her grey hair. she wore glasses, and had rather large feet in very sensible looking shoes.

“well! i don’t think much of clarissa’s mother—or her car!” thought gwen to herself. “why, the car hasn’t even been cleaned! and fancy arriving with a scarf tied round her head! my mother would never dream of doing that!”

she thought of her own mother with her large flowery hats, her flowery dresses, her flowery parasol, her floating scarves and strings of pearls. she would be ashamed of anyone like clarissa’s mother. she turned away, a sneer on her face, glad that she no longer meant to have clarissa for a friend.

“what a lovely sneer!” said an aggravating voice, and gwen saw belinda whipping out her pencil. “hold it, gwen, hold it!”

gwen made a noise like a dog growling, and went out of the room. now she must find mam’zelle and tell her that her mother wanted to see the beautiful bedspread. this went down very well indeed, and mam’zelle hurried to get it to show “that nice kind mrs. lacy”!

every single girl was out for the whole day, either with her own parents or with someone else’s. miss grayling was glad that the half-term came just before the school certificate exam, so that the hard-worked girls might have a little time off to enjoy themselves. they really were working very hard, miss williams reported. except gwendoline lacy, of course. there was an unsatisfactory girl for you!

by seven o’clock everyone was back—except gwendoline!

“where’s our dear gwendoline?” asked alicia, looking round the supper-table. nobody knew. then mam’zelle, looking rather solemn, enlightened them.

“poor gwendoline—she has been taken home because of her bad heart,” said mam’zelle. “she has the palpitations so bad, poor, poor child. and will you believe it, when i told mrs. lacy—ah, the poor woman—about gwendoline’s affliction, she said that the dear, brave child had not complained to her, or said a single word. vraiment, this poor child is to be admired!”

the girls digested this startling information in astonishment. they looked at one another. “so gwen’s pulled it off after all,” said sally. “she’ll miss the exam!”

mam’zelle overheard. “yes, she will miss the exam—and how upset she was. ‘no, mother,’ she said, so bravely, ‘i cannot go home with you—i must do the exam. i did not tell you of my trouble because i could not bear to miss the exam!’ that is what she said. with my own ears i heard her.”

the upper fourth felt sick. what a sham! how hateful of gwendoline to upset her mother like that! and she had got her way after all and would miss the exam. clever, deceitful, sly gwendoline!

“you were right, connie,” said alicia. “how right! mam’zelle, what’s going to happen to our darling gwendoline mary then? isn’t she coming back this term? that would be too good to be true!”

“i don’t know,” said mam’zelle. “i know nuzzings more. i am glad i was able to tell mrs. lacy. just to think that if i had not taken my bedspread to show her, she would never have known.”

“i suppose gwen asked you to take the bedspread?” said connie. “and i suppose one of her palpitations came on whilst you were there, mam’zelle?”

“i do not understand why you talk in this sneering way, connie,” said mam’zelle, surprised. “you must not be hard. you must have sympathy.”

the girls made various rude noises, which surprised mam’zelle very much. why these poohs and pahs and pullings of faces? no, no, that was not kind! mam’zelle pursed up her lips and said no more.

“well,” said darrell, in the dormy that night, “gwen’s got away with it all right—but fancy mam’zelle falling for all that. mam’zelle rougier wouldn’t. she sees right through gwendoline—just like miss williams does!”

“all the same—she’s lucky, getting out of the exam,” groaned belinda. “wish i could! it’s going to be awful to swot and swot all this week, after such a lovely half-term. and then—next monday the exam! i’m surprised you can’t all hear my heart going down with a plop into my bedroom slippers!”

it was very hard to swot in such lovely weather. alicia longed for a game of tennis. darrell longed for the swimming-pool. clarissa longed to go and laze in the flowery courtyard and watch the goldfish jumping. belinda wanted to go out sketching. irene became plagued with an enchanting tune that begged to be put down on paper—but poor irene had to turn her back firmly on the lilting melody, and do pages and pages of french translation.

there was a lot of touchiness and irritability that week. the twins were on edge, especially ruth, though she had less to fear in the exam than connie, who was not nearly so well up to standard. irene was touchy because she wanted to get at her beloved music and couldn’t. darrell was irritable because she was too hot. mavis was hot and bothered because she thought she was going to have a sore throat—just as her voice seemed about to get right too!

only alicia seemed really cheerful and don’t-carish, and this attitude infuriated the others at times. alicia was always the one to finish her work first and go off to swim. she could do her work and whistle an irritating little tune all the time, which nearly drove the others frantic. she laughed at their earnest faces, and their heartfelt groans.

“it’s not worth all this amount of misery,” she would say. “it’s only school cert. cheer up, connie—don’t look like a dying duck over that french.”

connie flared up as she had done to gwendoline. she banged her book down on the table and shouted. “be quiet! just because things are easy for you to learn, you sneer at others who aren’t so lucky! wait till you have a bad headache and have to learn pages of french poetry. wait till your mind goes fuzzy because you’re tired and want to sleep, and you know you mustn’t. wait till you have a bad night and have to think of things to say in a composition. then you won’t be quite so hard and don’t-carish and sneering, and you’ll shut up that awful whistling, too!”

alicia was startled. she opened her mouth to retaliate, but sally spoke first.

“connie doesn’t really mean all that,” she said in her quiet calm voice. “we’re all over-working and we’re irritable and touchy. we’ll be all right when the exam is over. after all, it’s an important exam for us, and we’re all taking it seriously and doing our best. let’s not squabble and quarrel when we want to save ourselves up for next week.”

darrel looked at sally in admiration. how did she always know the right things to say? she had certainly poured oil on the troubled waters very successfully, because connie spoke up at once.

“i’m sorry i said all that, alicia. i am over-working and i’m touchy.”

“it’s all right,” said alicia, rather taken aback by this swift apology. “sorry about my whistling—and if anyone wants any help, they’ve only got to ask me. i’ll share these envied brains of mine with anyone!”

after this there was peace. alicia shut her book quietly and crept out. the others worked on in silence. would they ever, ever know all they ought to know for the exam? why hadn’t they swotted more during the year? why hadn’t they done this and that and the other! in fact their thoughts were almost exactly the same as every other exam-class’s thoughts the week before the exam!

the week went by, and the girls worked more and more feverishly. miss williams forbade any work to be done on the sunday before the exam, and there were deep groans.

and then came a surprise. gwendoline arrived back at malory towers!

she came back on the saturday, just before supper, looking subdued and tearful. she had a short interview with miss grayling, and then was sent to join the others, who had just gone in to their supper.

“why, gwen!” said mavis, in astonishment, seeing her first. “we thought you weren’t coming back.”

“ah, here is gwendoline back again,” said mam’zelle. “and how is the poor heart?”

“all right, thank you,” mumbled gwen, slipping into her seat, and trying to look as if she was not there.

the girls saw that she had been crying and tried not to look at her. they knew how horrid it was to have people looking at red eyes.

“jolly lucky you’ll be, next week,” said sally, trying to make light conversation. “whilst we’re all answering exam papers, you’ll be lazing away in the courtyard, doing what you like!”

there was a little pause. “i’ve got to go in for the exam,” said gwen, in a choking voice. “that’s why they’ve sent me back. it’s too bad.”

to the girls’ dismay gwendoline’s tears began to fall fast into her plate of salad. they looked uncomfortably at one another. whatever had happened?

“better not say any more,” whispered darrell. “don’t take any notice of her. poor gwen!”