14 a really lovely day

soon the big drive in front of malory towers was crowded with cars of all shapes and sizes. parentsclimbed out of them and looked for their girls. there were shrieks of delighted welcome all over theplace.

'mummy! daddy! i'm so glad you've come early!'

'mother! i didn't expect you soon! oh, it's lovely to see you again!'

darrell was watching for her father and mother, too she soon saw her father's plain black car, w hichhe drove himself. and there was mother sitting beside him, looking pretty in a new dress, and excitedbecause she would so soon see darrell.

darrell shot out of the doorway and down the drive like an arrow, nearly knocking over gwendoline,who was waiting impatiently for her own mother. she flung herself on her parents. 'mother! i've beenwaiting and waiting! oh, it's lovely to see you again! hallo, daddy—did you drive all the waydown?'

'hallo, darling,' said her mother and looked at her in pleasure. darrell was brown and glowing withcolour. her warm brown eyes were filled with delighted love. she looked happy and 'on top of theworld' as her father put it to himself. both her parents were pleased.

darrell took them into the school, chattering at the top of her voice. 'you must see my dormy. youmust see the very bed i sleep in—and i must show you the view out of our dormy window. it's super!'

in her intense excitement she had forgotten all about emily,waiting patiently nearby. she suddenly saw her, and stopped.

'oh—emily! mother, you said i could choose some one to come out with us—and here she is. this isemily lake, a girl in my form.'

mrs. rivers looked at emily and was surprised. she had not expected a quiet sober little girl like thisto be darrell's chosen friend. she did not know that as yet darrell had no definite friend. she shookhands with emily, and said she was pleased she was coming out with them.

after that emily tagged along behind them, listening to darrell's excited chatter, and her parents'

amused replies. she liked darrell's parents. her mother was pretty and amusing, and sensible too—and as for her father, well, any one would trust him at sight, thought emily, gazing at his determined,good-looking face with its big dark eyes and intensly black eyebrows, just like darrell's but biggerand shaggier.

darrell was proud of her parents. she wanted to show them off. she saw gwendoline with twowomen—one obviously her mother, with bright golden hair like gwendoline's and a rather babyish,empty face. the other must be miss winter, the governess, thought darrell. what an awful person!

poor miss winter was not really awful. she was plain and poor and always eager to agree witheveryone. she adored gwendoline because she was pretty and graceful, and did not seem to see theselfishness and spoilt ways of the silly little girl.

mary-lou was with them, trying to smile, but really very unhappy. she didn't like either mrs. laceyor miss winter and she was begnning to feel horrified at some of the fibs that she had heardgwendoline tell them.

'i'm almost the best at tennis in our form,' she heard gwendoline say. t shouldn't be surprised if i'mput into a

match-team, mother!'

'oh, darling—how clever you are!' said mrs. lacey, fondly. mary-lou stared at gwendoline insurprise. why, everyone knew gwendoline was a real muff at all games!

'and mam'zelle is very pleased with my french,' went on gwendoline. 'i believe 1 might be top inthat. she says 1 have a splendid accent.'

miss winter glowed. 'oh, gwen darling! isn't that lovely now? 1 did my best with you, of course, buti was always afraid it was rather a poor best, because i've never been to france.'

mary-lou longed to say that gwendoline was always bottom in the french class, but she did not dareto. how could gwendoline stuff her people up with such a lot of lies? and how could they believethem?

'are you going to go in for the swimming-match this afternoon?' asked mrs. lacey, looking fondly atgwendoline, who today had her shining golden hair loose down her back, and looked, so her motherthought, like a real angel.

'no, i thought i wouldn't, mother,' said gwendoline. 'it's best to give the others a chance. after all,i've done well at so many things.'

'there's my sweet, unselfish girl!' said mrs. lacey, and squeezed gwendoline's arm. mary-lou feltslightly sick.

then darrell spoilt it all! she passed by with her mother and father, and mrs. lacey was struck byher good looks and happy smile.

'there's a nice girl, dear!' she said to gwendoline. 'is she one of your friends? let us speak to her.'

'oh no, she's not a friend of mine,' began gwendoline, but mary-lou, delighted at this praise ofdarrell, was calling to her. 'darrell! darrell! mrs. lacey wants to speak to you.'

darrell went over to mrs. lacey and was introduced by a glowering gwendoline. 'and are you goingto go in for the swimming-sports?' asked mrs. lacey, graciously. 'i hear dear gwendoline is not,bless her.'

'gwendoline! oh, she can't swim a stroke!' said darrell. 'we always yell at her because she takes fiveminutes putting one toe into the water. don't we, gwendoline?'

this was all said in good humour and fun—but gwendoline could willingly have pushed darrell overthe cliff at that moment! she went very red.

mrs. lacey really thought that darrell was joking. she laughed the tinkling laugh which she thoughtwas so pretty. 'i suppose if gwendoline entered she'd beat you all!' she said. 'as she does at tennis—and lessons, 1 suppose.'

darrell looked in astonishment at gwendoline, who was glaring at her, crimson in the face.

'gwendoline's been stuffing you up, i expect!' she said w ith a laugh, and went off to join her ownparty.

'what a very outspoken, blunt sort of girl,' said miss winter, puzzled and worried.

gwendoline recovered herself. 'oh, she's not a nice girl,' she said. 'nobody likes her. she hasn't gotany friend of her own at all—and you can see why. she's always running other people down. jealous,1 suppose. don't you take any notice of her, mother. mary-lou here will tell you i'm first- rate attennis and the rest!'

but that was beyond even timid mary-lou! she just looked more scared than ever, and murmuredsomething about going to speak to mam'zelle—and off she went, glad to escape from the laceyfamily for a few minutes.

on the way to the car, after darrell had shown her parents every single thing she could think of, fromthe view up in north tower, to the inside of her very well-tidied desk, the rivers family saw sallyhope.

'why, isn't that sally hope?' said mrs. rivers, stopping. 'i'm sure it is. there was a very goodphotograph of her in her mother's drawing-room, when i went to tea there the other day.'

'yes. that's sally,' said darrell. 'do you want to speak to her, mother?'

'well, i have a message for her from her mother,' said mrs. rivers. so darrell raised her clear voiceand called, 'sally! sally hope! come here a minute, will you?'

sally must have heard darrell, for everyone around did. but if so, she took no notice at all. sheplunged down into a path that led through some bushes in the drive and disappeared.

'blow her!' said darrell. 'i should have thought she would have heard my yell. i asked her to comeout with us, mother, but she wouldn't.'

'come along,' said her father, opening the door of the car. 'we'll go along the cliff and then take anexciting road 1' ve found that leads right down to a lonely little cove. we'll have our lunch there.'

darrell and emily got in. emily was enjoying herself. mrs. rivers was so nice, and asked her somany questions about herself. usually people found emily dull, and left her alone. but mrs. rivers,thinking that emily was darrell's chosen friend, was very anxious to know her well.

she soon learnt that emily was very fond of sewing. darrell listened to her chattering inastonishment. she had never heard emily talk so much before! gracious, hark at her describing thecushion-cover she was making—the colours, the stitches and everything!

'it's always been a disappointment to me that darrell never took any interest in embroidery,' said mrs.

rivers to emily. 'i'm very fond of it too. i've done the seats of six of our chairs at home, in tapestrywork.'

'oh, have you!' exclaimed emily. 'i've done some too— but only two so far. i loved that work.'

'perhaps you will able to interest darrell in sewing!' said mrs. rivers, laughing. 'it's as much as i cando at home to get her to do a simple darn!'

'well, i'll teach darrell to darn, if she likes,' said emily, eager to please this nice mrs. rivers.

darrell was horrified. gracious, she hadn't brought emily out to have her planning with her mother toteach her darning! she changed the subject at once, and told them about gwendoline and how shehad been boasting to her mother and governess.

soon they were down on the beach, eating the most gorgeous lunch darrell had had that term. coldchicken and pickles — pickles! there was never a pickle to be seen at school. little cardboardcontainers full of fresh salad and mayonnaise sauce. delicious! jam-tarts and slabs of chocolate ice-cream. what a lunch!

'and ginger-beer to wash it down,' said mrs. rivers, filling up the glasses. 'more chicken, darrell?

there's plenty.'

after lunch it was time to go back for the sports. emily was not in the swimming, so she said shewould find darrell's parents good places to watch from. darrell left them in her care when she gotback to malory towers to change.

it was such a happy day. everyone seemed in a good temper, and jokes flew about everywhere. eventhe two mam'zelles went about arm-in-arm, a thing that they had not done at all that term.

the swimming-sports were exciting. mrs. rivers was delighted with darrell's strong swimming,graceful diving, and fearlessness. she was one of the best of the small girls. some of the big girlswere extremely clever in their diving, especially marilyn, the sixth-form games-captain. everyonecheered her as she did a graceful swallow-dive from the topmost board.

'and can you do all these things, darling?' darrell heardmrs. lacey ask gwendoline. gwendoline, who was near darrell and a few others, looked roundwarily, wishing her mother wouldn't ask such awkward questions in public.

'well—not quite all,' she said, and miss winter patted her fondly on the shoulder.

'always so modest,' she said, and darrell could hardly stop herself laughing outright at the thought ofgwendoline being called modest. she looked scornfully at little mary- lou sitting near gwendoline,wondering how she could possibly listen to all the bigger girl's boasting and yet say nothing.

at tea-time darrell and emily kept the plates of the grown?ups (and their own!) well supplied withstrawberries and cream, and fetched ice-creams in plenty. what a lunch they had had—and now,what a tea! besides the strawberries and ice-creams, there were little buns and cakes and biscuits ofevery kind. malory towers knew how to do things well!

'mother! there's sally hope again!' said darrell suddenly, catching sight of sally's head in thedistance. 'i'll get her in a minute. by the way, you never told me how that mistake about sally's babysister happened—the one you said she had got, and hasn't.'

'but darrell dear—she has got a baby sister!' said her mother in surprise. 'i've seen her!'

'well—whatever does sally mean!'said darrell. 'ireally must get her and find out!'