Chapter 16
Earlier that morning Mademoiselle had given Lucy and Susan permission to walk over to visit their brothers in the afternoon. The chalet was so close to the school that Mademoiselle had no fears for their safety, and in any case, Lucy was a sensible girl and could be trusted.
As Jo, Simone and Jack drew near to the chalet, Susan was entertaining the other three with an account of that morning's breakfast. Alixe von Elsen and Biddy O'Ryan, who were both imps of the first order, had seen fit to substitute white pepper for the sugar at their table, then sat back and awaited results. The faces of their companions, as described by Susan, when they tasted their morning coffee, was priceless. Alixe and Biddy had been found out at once, of course and Miss Wilson had condemned them to helping out in the kitchen for a week, since as she said, "they were so fond of helping out with the food preparation".
"I believe they had wanted to play the prank on Matron Besley," said Susan, "but they didn't dare touch the things on the staff table. So, they played the trick on their own table members instead. But Miss Wilson found them out straight away because they didn't put any of the stuff in their own coffees. You should have seen their faces when she called them up to her. It was a mixture of terror, and indignation that she had caught them out so quickly."
The other three laughed at this, and it was at this moment that Jack and the others arrived. Peter and Edmund sprang to their feet to welcome their friend and then introduced him to their sisters. Jack saw two girls, one quite tall, with a face alight with laughter and very fair hair. The other was smaller and seemed to be about Stacie's age, he thought.
Jack turned to Jo and Simone.
"Jo and Simone, these are Peter and Edmund Pevensie, friends of mine," he said, courteously gesturing towards the two young men."
"We're very pleased to meet you," said Peter, turning towards Jo and Simone. He recognised Jo at once, of course, but thought it best not to mention that they had met before. He rather fancied it would be difficult to explain! "I believe that you both already know our sisters," here he looked over affectionately at Lucy and Susan.
"Yes, we're acquainted with them," replied Jo icily and then turned away from him towards Jack.
"Are we going to walk on now?"
There was an awkward silence for a moment, both Jack and Simone amazed at Jo's blatant display of rudeness. Lucy flushed and looked down at the floor. By now she was very well aware that Jo disliked her, but she had not expected her to show it so publicly. Jack looked over at her and felt sorry for her obvious embarrassment.
"I think you must be tired Jo, so I'm sure the Pevensies will excuse your rudeness on this occasion," he said quietly, but with a hint of steel in his tones. It was Jo's turn to blush, feeling rather like a small child who has been scolded by a parent.
Loyal Simone sprang into the breach, anxious to draw attention away from the friend.
"Peter, Lucy tells us that you wish to become a doctor."
"Yes," replied Peter. "I have always been interested in medicine and Dr Russell and Dr Maynard here have been kind enough to take an interest in my studies."
Simone exclaimed in interest and soon was deep in conversation with Edmund, Peter, Jack and Lucy (who gradually recovered from her embarrassment). Jo was left somewhat on the sidelines and sat apart, glowering. Susan glanced over and saw that she was sitting alone and felt sorry for the Head Girl. She attempted to draw Jo into conversation, but after every attempt brought an icy snub, she relapsed into hurt silence and, after a while, joined the others.
The truth was, Jo was feeling a little embarrassed on her own account and rather silly as well. It was just that every time she was in Lucy's vicinity, she felt resentful and well, jealous, if she admitted it. The Chalet School had been her whole life since she and Madge had moved here. She had always enjoyed a sense of importance as the sister of the Headmistress/chief financial partner and this had only grown over the years, although, to do her justice, she had never tried to make use of it, knowing quite well what Madge's reaction would have been. She had been popular at school almost from the first and had gained a reputation for being clever at languages and exceptional at music, especially singing. She had grumbled at the adoration she received from such people as Simone, but deep down, gained a personal satisfaction from it, as it gave her relationships where she could be in control.
The Robin too, who Jo wholeheartedly loved and cherished, she regarded as her own personal property in terms of expecting the same adoration back from her, and only for her, Jo. Up until now, this had not been a problem. Finally, this year she had been made Head Girl and again outwardly grumbling at the fact, Jo was secretly delighted. Throughout the year her sense of self-importance had been growing and she had become rather more careless in the way she related to her school fellows. When Lucy arrived on the scene, seemingly challenging Jo in all the areas she believed she reigned supreme, something inside Jo seemed to snap. She could not seem to keep expressing the resentment that she felt.
Although she did not realise it, Jo's continued rudeness and hostility towards Lucy had not gone unnoticed by the other Seniors and they were beginning to wonder at it. It was obvious to all that Lucy had done nothing to deserve this treatment and various people began to question, to themselves, the way that Jo spoke and acted, not just to Lucy, but to others.
Jo knew nothing of this, of course, but as she sat in the small chalet and watched the others enjoying their conversation, she felt so miserable and confused. Quite suddenly, she just wanted to go back to St Clare's and shut herself up in her bedroom. She was relieved when Jack Maynard stood up.
"I must be getting back up to the Sonnalpe. You girls are due back at school too. I'll take you all over with me and then I'll head back."
Lucy and Susan looked glum at this, but knew he was right. They bade goodbye to their brothers and left with the other three.