Hello everyone!
I am back with the eighth chapter, and I am very excited for you all to read it. Also, I've made a small change in the story. The form have ten days in total at Malory Towers, not seven. I've edited it in the other chapters as well
Hope you like it, if so, do leave a review, please. :)
Enjoy!
-Estelle
"And day two at Malory Towers is drawing to a close." Lizzie said, as the old girls seated themselves for dinner, "Today was quite uneventful and relaxing."
"Well, I think the tennis practice was enough chaos for a day." Freddie said, "I do hope you shall speak to Elsie soon, Pam?"
"Yes. In fact, the third formers are coming in now. Do call her!" Pam said.
Felicity's brow furrowed, "You want to speak to Elsie now?"
"No, but I would like to give her the timing to meet me tomorrow morning." Pam said, waving a hand to call the child over.
Elsie sauntered up, looking irritable, "Yes, Miss Boardman?"
"I want you to meet me in my room first thing after breakfast tomorrow, Elsie." Pam said straightforwardly.
"But I didn't do anything!" Elsie protested.
"I will see you tomorrow after breakfast." Pam repeated, and Elsie nodded sullenly, glaring at June and Bonnie.
"Elsie." Delia interrupted, "Where is Emily? Is she having dinner in the San?"
The other girls turned and surveyed the students sitting down for dinner at the third form table.
"Yeah." Elsie answered, her face growing angrier, "Janet forced her into it, and Matron said it's a good thing she did, or else Emily would have gotten sick all over again."
"I'm glad we weren't too late." Gillian said, relieved, "Poor girl. I know how awful it feels to be stuck in the San. But at least we have Matron for company whenever it happens. She's a dear, isn't she? We must pop in and visit her after dinner."
"Too right, we must." Lucy agreed, "I'm sure she feels dreadful for piling Emily with mending now."
"What did she do to her clothes and sheets to receive so much stitching work?" Freddie asked.
"Her bedsheets had holes in them." Elsie shrugged nonchalantly, "And she was really tired this morning, she says she didn't sleep well, so her mending was messy. Matron's redoing it for her."
"Her bedsheets had holes?" Julie said with surprise.
"Loads." Elsie nodded, clearly not paying attention to them.
"Elsie, if you do not start respecting your elders, I shall have to give you lines. It will cut into your riding time." Pam said sternly.
Elsie looked horrified, "No, Miss Boardman, you can't do that!"
"I most certainly can. Improve your attitude, though, and there won't be a need."
"Okay, okay, sorry." Elsie said, "I brought my pony from Five Oaks to here just so I could see her more often."
"Five Oaks!" Lucy slapped her forehead, "Julie, girls, I need to return the key to Bill and Clarissa. It's in my cupboard. I feel it's a better idea to give it back."
"Why?" Amy asked, but Bonnie shot her a warning look.
Elsie seemed to be distracted, however. Janet had come running up to their table, "Elsie, do come on, your soup's getting cold, and Mam'zelle refuses to start her meal until all us youngsters do. Just get a bite so she can start."
"Why does she have to wait?" Elsie snapped.
"It's out of her kindness, and it's a custom in her family." Janet said, "Come on."
Elsie turned around to return to her table, and before Janet could follow her, June called, "Janet!"
The girl hurried back to the old girls, "Yes, June? Something you wanted?"
June, her eyes trained curiously on Elsie, asked, "How is Emily, really? Elsie mentioned there were a number of holes in her bedsheets. How did she manage that?"
"A number?" Janet looked quite surprised, "No, there were only two."
Bonnie frowned, "Two or twenty, how did she manage to tear her bedsheet into holes?"
"Honestly, I haven't a clue, Bonnie." Janet shook her head, "I don't know."
"Were they in perfect circular shape?" June asked.
"No. I'm the one who brought the mending to Emily on my way back from Matron, actually. And the holes were circular, but very messily so." Janet said, "Why?"
"No reason." June replied distractedly, "Did you get a chance to ask her about it?"
"I didn't want to." Janet said, "It was none of my business, and she looked absolutely dreadful this morning, like she hadn't slept a wink. I didn't want to interrogate her."
Bonnie bit her lip, "Is she to stay in the San tonight?"
"I don't know. I'm quite sure Matron shall keep her there, but she is sure to put up a fight. She detests sleeping there. She's spent much of the term there already, and one cough, Matron whips out the most terrible medicines. She likes the dormitory as much as the rest of us."
"We're just a bit worried." Pam said kindly, taking in Janet's bewildered expression, "Girls, why don't we pay Emily a quick visit after dinner, when we go to say hello to Matron?"
The girls nodded in agreement. Janet smiled, "She will be simply delighted to have a bit of company, I'm sure. Especially from you, June. She is quite a fan of yours. And Miss Boardman is her favorite teacher."
Pam smiled as well, "That's nice. Janet, run off and finish your dinner, I'm sorry for keeping you so long."
"Wait!" June said, "One more question, Janet. Did Elsie help you convince Emily to go to the San?"
"No." Janet said, puckering her forehead, "No, she didn't. In fact, she seemed very against the idea. I think she and Emily have gotten closer this week- they talk more, at least- and as Elsie doesn't have many friends, I feel sure she will miss Emily for a night or two."
June nodded slowly, "Very well. Thank you, Janet. Now, run along."
Janet did as she was told, and June frowned heavily at her plate.
"June, what on earth was that?" Julie asked, "Why were you asking Janet so many questions?"
June seemed to be thinking, "I just wanted to get as much information as possible about Elsie and her strange behavior. Every chance I get, I shall take it. Something about her just doesn't add up. I have an odd feeling that she isn't falling over herself for Emily's friendship. But then why would she protest so strongly against Emily going to the San? Does she have some ill-will against her? And if that is so, why have they been so friendly lately?"
"Those are good points." Nora conceded, "But why ask about Emily's bedsheets?"
"I was thinking..." June said, "If the holes were even and neat...do you think someone could have cut them in?"
"But who would do that?" Freddie asked, "And why?"
"Well, how else would a couple of holes appear on a bedsheet?" June asked impatiently, "It wasn't even wearing thin. It sounds as if the holes appeared overnight."
"I agree with you." Bonnie nodded, as the rest of the form processed all of this, "Maybe we should visit Bill and Clarissa later this week and ask them if they know much about Elsie."
"Oh, yes- that reminds me. Lucy, why did you want to give the key back to Bill and Clarissa?" Amy asked suddenly.
"If there really is someone going through cupboards, like they did Julie's, the key isn't safe." Lucy said gravely, "I shall keep it in the pocket of my pajamas tonight, and tomorrow we shall give it back."
"Good thinking." Amy said approvingly.
"Which reminds us that first thing is first- Julie's cupboard." Alice said firmly, "We can think about Elsie later. First, we must get to the bottom of the cupboard mystery."
"You're right, Alice." Susan said, "Heavens, we would lose focus quite quickly without you around to help us."
Alice laughed, "Well, do tuck in, everyone. We've hardly eaten at all. Faster we finish, faster we can get to the San."
The girls ate very fast indeed, before excusing themselves from the dining hall and hurrying to the San.
Lizzie pushed the door open, and Matron- who was doing mending- looked up, her face breaking into a wide smile.
"Well, you finally decided to stop by and pay me a visit, have you?" she asked, getting up, "And here I thought you'd forgotten all about me!"
"Oh, Matron, we could never!" Felicity exclaimed, laughing, "Every time Susan and I are at work, we remember your awful medicines! Did you hear we work in the field of medicine now?"
"Yes, and I couldn't be more proud." Matron said, beaming, "Miss Grayling has kept me quite up-to-date with all of you. She spoke to me this morning."
"Aunt Marietta- Alicia's mum- sends her love." June said, "She wishes she could send all my cousins, too."
Matron laughed, "Oh, June, you have changed in appearance, but you haven't changed personality-wise at all, have you?" she reached over and hugged the girl, "I am very proud of you, though, for your fabulous lacrosse game."
"Thank you, Matron. I would say I did better than you, didn't I?"
"Of all the cheeky young scamps!" she chuckled, "Not so young any more, though, are you? Getting married, I heard!"
"Yes, I am." June said, brightening up considerably. Everyone else snickered, and she scowled at them.
"Well, then, where's the ring?" Matron peered at June's hand, "Ah. It's lovely, dear. It looks beautiful. This fiancé of yours must adore you, it looks awfully expensive. He is a games player as well, Miss Grayling said. I do hope I am getting an invitation to your wedding."
"Of course." June said, "My side of the audience is quite large."
"Especially since half the school is turning up." Freddie added.
"That reminds me, Matron, did you know my oldest cousin, Sam, is going to be a father soon? His wife is expecting in less than a month, and if it's a girl, she is sure to be a student at Malory Towers." June said brightly.
Matron laughed, "Oh dear, another Johns. How am I going to deal with that? But school always does feel empty without one of you around. Fancy young, naughty Marietta becoming a grandmother! Heavens, I feel quite ancient!"
"Me too, though Aunt Marietta is one of the younger grandmothers." June said, "Imagine Sam as a father! Quite a lot of changes going on at this time of our lives. Alicia says hello as well."
"Return the sentiments. How are the rest of you?"
Everyone else launched into detailed accounts of their lives, and Matron had a very good time indeed as she listened to how well the girls were doing in their lives.
"What are you doing, Matron?" Amy surveyed the various torn clothes she was mending.
"Emily's mending. She didn't have much. A few socks, stockings, and a large tear on her blazer from lacrosse. And a bedsheet." Matron said.
"We did hear about that. What happened to her bedsheet? It's the first I've heard of bedsheets with holes." Bonnie said.
"Two holes." Matron frowned, "I found it confusing as well. But the poor girl was so sick this morning that I didn't want to question her. I feel terrible about making her do so much mending. I don't mind having to redo it, but she must have gone through some trouble to finish it."
"Where is the bedsheet?" June asked, staring at the pile of unfinished mending, "Matron, surely you didn't use brown thread to mend her bedsheet?"
"No, no, of course not. I finished her bedsheet, and I've given it to her. It will take me a bit longer to complete the clothes, because I have to take out her darns and do them again."
"Can we- can we go inside and see Emily?" Delia asked tentatively, "She is here, isn't she? Still resting?"
"Yes, she is, and I'm quite sure she would be delighted to see you all." Matron assured them, "Go on. But only fifteen minutes. I don't want to tire her out, as there are so many of you."
"Only fifteen minutes." Freddie promised, "Thanks, Matron."
The girls made there way further inside the San, and saw Emily lying down on a bed. Sitting on a char a bit away from the bed was-
"Elsie?" Lucy asked, astonished, "What are you doing here? You were just at dinner!"
"I finished." Elsie said monotonously, "And I came here to see Emily."
"As have we." Felicity said, turning to Emily, "How are you feeling? We missed you at tennis this morning."
Emily looked quite delighted, "I've been better. I absolutely detest sleeping in the San. I've spent much of the term here already, what with my flu and all. It's jolly decent for all of you to come see me, though!"
"I haven't given English prep in a few days, so you aren't missing anything." Pam smiled, "Do get well soon."
"I'm feeling quite a bit better already. I think I needed rest."
"I'm glad your getting some." June said. She eyed a white mound on Emily's bedside table, "Emily, what is that?"
"Oh, it's my bedsheet. I'd given it to Matron for mending, and she's just given it back to me." Emily explained.
"What on earth did you need to mend you bedsheets for?" June asked, as if she had no idea about the holes.
The others eyed her with admiration. She could pull off a very tactful interrogation indeed. Then Bonnie's sharp eyes narrowed on Elsie, who looked slightly suspicious.
"There were two holes in her bedsheet, June!" Bonnie said quickly, before Emily could answer, "I remember Elsie mentioning it to us."
"Oh, yes, that slipped my mind." June smiled at Emily, "You must be quite the monkey. I was mischievous in school, but I never managed to create holes in my bedsheets. How on earth did they appear?"
"Oh-um, they..." Emily stammered, "Well, I'm not quite sure, actually, it was-"
"She tore them on a sharp edge when she was making her bed." Elsie cut in.
Emily threw the girl a furtive look before nodding furiously, "Erm, yes, that's right. Matron caught sight of the holes during her morning inspection."
The old girls exchanged quick, suspicious glances, before June said, "Poor Matron. When cloth is torn on sharp objects, the tears are always jagged. It's difficult to mend it then."
"Oh, yes, but you know Matron." Emily said, "A dab hand at everything."
"May I see it?" Bonnie asked, "If she can mend things like that, than I shall certainly take some darning lessons from her. It shall come in handy for mine and Amy's shop."
"Of course you may see it." Emily said.
Bonnie picked up the bedsheet and unfolded it. It was clean and white, except for two darns in the center of the sheet. It was stitched very neatly and evenly, with light grey thread.
"She's done a clever job indeed." Bonnie said approvingly, "I shall have to ask her about it on the way out."
Susan hid a smile. Bonnie and June were quite a pair. The old girls knew what Emily and Elsie didn't- Bonnie had no interest in Matron's darning!
She and June had simply wanted to get a good look at the bedsheet, because they never passed an opportunity to inspect any clues or suspicious object, or to interrogate anyone related to some suspicious happenings.
Bonnie folded it again and left it on the bedside table, "We should best be going now, girls. Do get well soon, Emily."
"Thank you all so much for stopping by." Emily said sincerely.
"It was no trouble at all." Julie said, "We were glad to see you."
"Elsie, see to it that you leave before 9:00. You should be in your dormitory by 9:15." Pam said, "Am I clear?"
"Yes, Miss Boardman."
"And do meet me tomorrow after breakfast."
"Okay." Elsie said sullenly.
The old girls quietly trooped out of the Sick-Area, and into Matron's working space.
"Well, we shall take leave now, Matron." Gillian said, "See you tomorrow."
"Of course." Matron said, "Good night, dears. Sleep well."
As they walked back to the dormitory, Nora said, "If only she knew how little sleep we are going to catch tonight."
"Why do you say that?" Amy frowned.
"We are going to lock the doors and stay up late to see if anyone tries to intrude, remember?"
"Oh, yes, we are, aren't we?" Amy looked quite excited by this possibility, "I do hope we catch someone."
June was oddly silent, so Freddie said, "Anything wrong, old girl?"
"Did any of you see how nervous Emily was when I asked her how she got holed in her bedspread?" June asked.
Bonnie nodded, "Yes, of course. Something just doesn't add up about all this."
"But as Alice said, we must focus on Julie's cupboard first, before dwelling onto the mystery of Elsie's strange behavior." June sighed.
"Well, we are quite good at multi-tasking." Bonnie pointed out, as they turned into the corridor where their dormitory was, "But I suppose it's a good idea to give one thing our undivided attention before moving on to the next. It will give us time to- ouch!"
"Bonnie!" Amy cried, "What happened?"
The form gathered around the small girl.
"No, it's nothing I'm fine." Bonnie wiped a tiny drop of blood from her forearm, "Just this awful nail sticking out of the wall."
June frowned at it, "It's quite the safety hazard, I must say. It's sharp, and could hurt somebody."
"It already did." Lizzie said ruefully, "Are you alright, Bonnie?"
"Yes, it's hardly a scratch." Bonnie replied, "Come on girls, let's go."
They walked to the end of the corridor, and entered the dormitory, quickly changing into night-clothes, before shutting the door, and locking it with a little click.
"There." Julie said with satisfaction, "Now no one can enter. Remind me why we are staying up late when we know our possessions are safe?"
"Because if someone does try to enter, we can unlock the door and catch them!" June said impatiently.
"But won't they run?"
"Alright, we can try to catch them. There's a 50% chance we can." June conceded.
"Alright, alright." Julie grumbled, "Remember, you are responsible if I wake up late again tomorrow."
"Very well." June said, "I shall take the risk."
And so the girls sat, wide awake. They whispered quietly, and kept a watchful eye on the door.
"It looks as if no one is going to show." Lucy said, half-irritable and half-satisfied, "I don't know whether to be upset we shan't be able to catch this intruder, or happy that she is not trying to intrude again."
"If it is an intruder." Amy said, and June groaned.
"Shhh!" Pam warned, "Keep it down, girls, we never know when someone might-"
Rattle.
The girls stopped talking. "That's the sound I heard last night!" Pam exclaimed under her breath.
Rattle.
The girls turned, wide-eyed to the door.
Rattle.
Someone was trying to open the door from outside! They seemed to realize it was futile, because they stopped when it didn't open. The girls heard footsteps as the mysterious intruder tried to make a dash back to her dormitory.
June sprang into action, bolting to the door, Felicity and Bonnie close behind her, "The door isn't unlocking!" she hissed.
With Felicity's help, she managed to unlock the door and force it open. The girls rushed out, just in time to see a small shapeless figure making a turn out of the corridor.
"Get her!" Bonnie cried softly, so as to not wake anyone else.
Before they could do so, they heard the figure give a sharp cry, mingled with the sound of rustling. Then the footsteps picked up again, and the girl was out of sight.
"We missed our chance!" Alice groaned, "We could have caught her, but we were too busy gaping! I, for one, was rather startled by how shapeless she was."
"No, we weren't too busy gaping." Bonnie said firmly, "We might have caught her if the beastly lock didn't stick. I think that's what set the timing- June? Where are you going?"
June was hurrying to the end of the corridor, "I heard the girl give a sort of cry at the turning. Didn't you?"
"Of course, it would be quite hard to miss." Amy drawled, as they followed June.
"Well, on the bright side." Lizzie said sensibly, "We know that it is an intruder for sure who snuck in last night."
"It's quite strange." Nora said, "To think this person snuck into the room last night, opened Julie's cupboard, rummaged about, and yet nobody heard her."
June gave a shriek from the turning of the corridor, and the other girls picked up their pace, reaching her side in seconds.
"Are you alright?" Freddie asked anxiously.
June didn't speak, instead pointing to the edge of the turning. Bonnie and Amy let out shrieks to, while Gilliam hushed them crossly.
Hanging on the wall, off the very nail on which Bonnie had hurt herself, was a white bedsheet.
"I knew it!' June breathed, "I knew they had to be connected somehow!"
"Sorry?" Delia said, confused, "Connected?"
Bonnie wordlessly pulled the bedsheet of the hook, "It must have gotten caught while the girl ran, and if she had stopped to pull it off the hook, we would have caught her."
"I think we already did." June said, as she examined the bedsheet over Bonnie's shoulder, "Look at this."
The others peered at the sheet. In the center of the sheet, there were two lines of stitching in grey thread.
"Oh my goodness." Susan whispered, "Emily's bedsheet?"
"Look, two more holes." Bonnie pointed, "Apart from the place where it got ripped on the hook. Emily must have cut them into the bedsheet so she could see where she was going."
"I can't believe this." Delia said hoarsely, "I can see quite plainly that this is Emily's bedsheet, but isn't she in the San?"
"You can sneak out of the San easily." Amy waved a dismissive hand, "Alice snuck out to save Violet, remember?"
"True.." Alice bit her lip, "But it's awful to think that a third former is responsible for this. Why would she need to drape a bedsheet over herself, anyway?"
"Because if we did catch sight of her, we wouldn't be able to see her face or make out who it was from the size. We'd never find out who it was." June said, "I must admit, it's jolly clever."
"Emily has always been such a sweet student." Pam looked extremely troubled, "Do you mean to say she is the one who snuck in yesterday as well?"
"I've learnt my lesson about jumping to conclusions over the years, Pam." June said grimly, "So I am not going to say that it was definitely Emily. But for now, it certainly does look as if it is."
Gillian gave a sudden gasp, "Remember what Janet said this morning at tennis practice? She said Emily looked dreadful this morning!"
"Because she hadn't slept a wink!" Freddie realized, "Oh my goodness, it seems as if it really is Emily!"
"Don't you think we need a little more proof?" Felicity asked carefully.
"Felicity, doesn't this look like proof enough?" Amy asked heatedly, "One can see quite clearly that this is Emily's bedsheet, and it was obvious how tired she was this morning."
"No, Amy, wait." June said, "From what I've learnt at the Police Force, even if all clues point to something, we must give a small amount of time to make sure we are indeed correct."
"We don't have time, June!" Amy exclaimed, "We have 8 days!"
"Eight days will have to be enough." Susan interjected firmly, "For now, we shall take the sheet back inside, and get a good rest for the remainder of the night."
"When shall we confront Emily, then?" Delia asked, "I'm not looking forward to it."
"Nor am I." Freddie said morosely, as they walked back to their dormitory, "But we must do it. How about after Pam has her chat with Elsie tomorrow morning? Emily shall be in the San, anyway."
"Good idea." Julie said, and everyone nodded.
"I still wonder where Elsie fits into all this." Bonnie frowned, "We've deduced that Emily is the culprit, but why was Elsie acting so odd?"
"Perhaps she has nothing to do with this." Nora suggested.
"No, I agree with Bonnie." June said, "Elsie was acting very strange indeed."
"Maybe Emily confided in Elsie about her plans to enter our dormitory." Gillian mused, "Janet did say they've been talking more lately."
"Yes, that is possible..." Bonnie said, "And Elsie was awfully reluctant to let Emily sleep in the San, remember?"
Felicity frowned, "But why did Emily want to intrude in the first place? It's obvious she's looking for something-"
"And tell me, dear Felicity, how is that obvious?" Amy interrupted smoothly.
"Because." June said before Felicity could speak, "She came in yesterday, rummaged through Julie's cupboards, and yet, she did not take anything. If she is back today, it is obvious she is looking for something which she could not find in Julie's shelf."
By this time, the girls had entered there dormitory, and were tucking into their beds.
"I can't think what she would be looking for, though." Julie said, "It must be something she thought would be in my shelf."
"Let's try and forget about it for now, girls." Susan said, "Let us get some sleep. Delia, do switch off the lights."
Delia did as she was told, but the girls did not sleep well.
Their sleep was fitful, because they were all thinking about the events of the day, and wondering what tomorrow would bring.