First term at fernside, p.13
First Term at Fernside, page 13
‘I hope Enid learns to take better care of her dog,’ Fran said. ‘Anything could have happened. He could catch distemper. Or be run over.’
‘Or be caught by the evil Doctor Flynn and turned into a puppy-fur coat,’ Sadie said in a spooky voice. Babs threw a yellow bootee at her.
‘Hold on,’ Robin said. ‘Where’s Giulia?’
‘You’re not the only ones to have had an adventure,’ Mabel said. ‘Giulia’s with Matron having her hand sewn back on.’
‘What!’ Even the thirds looked up from their work.
‘Well, that’s an exaggeration,’ Mabel admitted. ‘You know the wee cupboard beside the babies’ common room? It was full of all the old junk you can imagine, and she saw something furry she thought might be Mim – or something alive – and made a grab for it.’
Some of the little ones squirmed.
‘A mouse?’ suggested the little white-haired girl. ‘How could a mouse bite her hand off?’
‘Don’t be silly, Alice,’ said her deskmate.
Evangeline said soothingly, ‘It’s all right, kiddies. I don’t think it was an animal.’
‘We’re not kiddies,’ said Betty Barbour, form captain of the third.
Mabel frowned at the interruptions. ‘The furry thing turned out to be a cardigan from the year dot; the name tape said Flora McArdle and she was a prefect when my sister Margaret was in the first form. And unfortunately it was wrapped round an old paper guillotine and Giulia managed to grab a fistful of blade. Matron’s fussing about tetanus and infection and is making her sleep in the San. Actually’ – Mabel grimaced –‘it did look pretty bad, and Giulia went green when she saw the blood, so I don’t think she minded being put to bed.’
Mademoiselle looked up from the upper fifth’s French dictations. ‘Oh, mon Dieu! La pauvre petite! You girls must stop getting into such scraps.’
‘Scrapes, Mademoiselle,’ Babs said. ‘I think Miss Rea would have something to say if we were scrapping like prize fighters.’
Mademoiselle said she had just that day received a box of French bonbons from her sister in Bordeaux. ‘I was going to keep them for the weekend,’ she said, ‘when I go to visit my friend Renée who teaches at Avery House, but no – I shall share them with you, mes filles. To take your mind off such terrible happenings and stop you having the nightmare. I go to fetch them now from my room – you are all on your honour to be good until I come back.’
Nobody wanted Nell McGreavy to come along and give them bad conduct marks, so they were quiet until Mademoiselle returned, bearing a large white box decorated with swirly French writing. ‘We must save one or two for la pauvre petite Giulia,’ she said.
‘We should really give them all to her,’ Evangeline said.
‘But no, they are too rich,’ Mademoiselle said. ‘And I want you all to have the treat.’
As she passed among them, helping them to decipher what sweet was what from the descriptions on the box – ‘What a wonderful French lesson, mes filles!’ – Linnet had a sudden, terrible thought. Terrible because she knew it was so selfish, and so babyish.
How on earth would she manage her hair in the morning without Giulia?
Chapter 24
Madame Françoise
After all the excitement, Robin looked forward to the bedtime bell. At evening cocoa, which the prefects brought to their common rooms, Nancy reported that Cook said Mim had eaten a huge supper and was curled up on her favourite armchair beside the kitchen range, looking as if she would not stir until at least Wednesday.
‘And it’s all thanks to the lower fourth,’ she said. ‘And Robin and Linnet in particular.’
Robin decided, while everyone was so pleased with them, to be bold. ‘Does that mean we’ll get good conduct marks?’ she asked.
Nancy, as head girl, had the power to award these – as well as bad ones. She considered Robin’s suggestion. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘They’re normally for good work, or playing in a match. Not for—’
‘Daring rescues?’ put in Sadie. ‘Don’t you think they should be? Not everyone can do brilliant work or play on a team.’
‘I wasn’t aware that you’d taken part in the daring rescue,’ Nancy said. ‘I thought it was Robin and Linnet.’
‘It was very much a form effort,’ Robin said. ‘And Sadie did help to look for Mim. It was just luck that Linnet and I found her.’
‘I’ll ask Miss Rea,’ Nancy said. ‘Now hurry up and drink your cocoa so I can take the tray back to the kitchen.’
‘Who cares about silly old marks, anyway?’ Linnet said.
I do, Robin thought, with her mind on the Form Shield. For all they had worked so well together to find Mim, she and Linnet were never going to understand each other.
At bedtime, Robin became aware that Linnet had retreated into the kind of twitchy silence she had been prone to in the first weeks. Not as if she was about to have one of those silly outbursts, but a distracted anxiety. They were brushing their teeth side by side in the bathroom, with nobody else around for once, so Robin asked, ‘What’s up, Linnet?’
Linnet shook her head. Then nodded, pink toothpaste flecking her cheeks. She rinsed out her mouth, turned off the tap and said, ‘It’ll sound silly.’
‘Well, it might not be,’ Robin said. ‘And if it is – well, at least you know that. A month ago, you mightn’t have.’
Linnet looked round the bathroom, but there was still nobody about.
‘It’s all right,’ Robin said. ‘Sadie and Babs are having an argument about Charlie Chaplin, and Evangeline’s having one of her extra-intense praying sessions about Giulia. And Fran’s in bed. But tell me quickly, or the upper fourths will be in.’
‘It’s Giulia.’
‘Giulia?’
‘She won’t be able to do my hair!’
‘Oh, Linnet! And there was me thinking you were being all caring and concerned. Well, don’t worry. This is a good chance for you to learn to plait it yourself.’
Linnet shook her head. ‘I’ve tried. I can’t.’
‘Well, I’ll do it. It’s not a big deal,’ Robin said. Linnet looked slightly happier, but really, Robin thought, what a daft thing to fuss about! ‘I’m not that bad a hairdresser,’ she said. ‘Come on, let’s go to bed before Matron chews the faces off us.’
But next morning, she began to think she must be the worst hairdresser in the world – or Linnet the most annoying cousin – as Linnet squirmed and wriggled and winced.
‘Linnet!’ she cried, losing patience. ‘You’d think I was trying to murder you.’
‘You’re pulling!’ Linnet put her hands protectively over her hair. Her eyes were glistening with tears the way they had done at the start of term.
‘You let Giulia do it.’ Robin couldn’t help feeling miffed.
‘I’d got used to her,’ Linnet said tightly.
‘The breakfast bell’s about to go,’ stated Evangeline, making Robin grit her teeth and Linnet wriggle more than ever, even giving out a little moan of distress. It was all Robin could do not to smack her with the brush.
Fran finished brushing her own neat red bob and said, ‘Would you like me to try, Linnet? Nutmeg’s very ticklish. I’ve got used to grooming her very gently and I plait her mane for shows, so I’m sure I can do yours.’
‘Be my guest.’ Without waiting for Linnet to answer, Robin stepped aside and handed Fran the brush. She couldn’t imagine Fran succeeding where she had failed but in fact Linnet did seem to relax as Fran took over – and Robin had to admit that Fran was very calm and competent, talking softly to Linnet as though she were indeed a fretful pony.
‘There we go, I’m just going to make a parting here, Linnet, and then we’ll have those plaits done before you know it. Oh, well done.’
And before the breakfast bell went, Linnet sported two neat plaits and a cheerful expression.
‘You’re much gentler than Giulia,’ Linnet said. ‘You have soothing hands.’
‘I take after Daddy,’ Fran said.
‘Well, if you don’t manage to be a vet, you’ll always have a career as a hairdresser,’ Babs said, her eyes sparking with amusement behind her glasses. ‘Madame Françoise, coiffeuse to the stars!’
‘I might have to,’ Fran said, ‘if Miss Rea doesn’t find a science teacher for the juniors.’
‘Will you do my hair from now on?’ Linnet asked. ‘It’s silly, Giulia breaking rules to come in here.’
‘Yes, of course.’
Well, that was something, Robin thought – at least she wouldn’t have to worry about Giulia getting them all into trouble with her early morning visits.
In class, Enid handed a neatly wrapped jar of jam to Robin. ‘Mummy made it,’ she said. ‘It’s damson. It’s to thank you and Linnet for finding Rudy last night. We were so worried – he escaped from the garden and we couldn’t find him anywhere.’
‘We weren’t even looking for him,’ Linnet said. ‘We were looking for Mim and we got two lost pets for the price of one.’
Fran looked serious. ‘You shouldn’t let him out in the garden alone if there’s a chance he’ll escape,’ she said. ‘You’re lucky he wasn’t hit by a car. Quite a few people have them nowadays.’
‘Oh, he wasn’t alone,’ Enid said. ‘Ellie was looking after him. Only she put him in her doll’s pram and tried to wheel him around and he didn’t like it, so he jumped out, nipped her and scarpered.’ Everyone laughed, except Fran who scowled and muttered, ‘I don’t blame him.’
‘He’s so naughty,’ Enid went on, ignoring the interruption. ‘He’s chewed the corner of Mummy’s best Persian rug, and he ate all the clothes pegs.’
‘Well, that’s what puppies are like,’ Fran said. ‘They need to chew.’
‘I think dogs are horrible,’ Gillian Moffatt said. ‘Smelly things. I wouldn’t have one.’
‘Some poor dog got a lucky escape there,’ Babs said.
‘I did say collies are too lively for the town,’ Fran said. ‘Anyway, you have to let puppies chew and play. It’s in their nature.’
Before they could argue any more, Miss West came in to take the register and send them all off to Prayers.
‘How’s Giulia?’ Mabel asked, as they lined up at the door. ‘Matron wouldn’t tell me anything. She just took the sweets and told me to run along.’
‘Oh, she’s not too bad,’ Miss West said. ‘Matron’s keeping her quiet, but she should be back with you in a day or so if she’s not running a temperature. Now, girls, we must get to Prayers or Miss Rea will think you have all run away to join the circus.’
Chapter 25
The Netball Team
Miss Rea sent for Enid at lunchtime and gave her a stern lecture on responsibility. Enid told the rest of lower fourth all about it as they changed for netball.
‘It’s none of her business,’ she complained. ‘He’s my dog, in my house. Just because she’s headmistress doesn’t mean she can tell me what to do.’
‘It is her business,’ Fran said, ‘when he comes to her house and terrifies her cat.’
‘Our cat,’ Linnet said.
‘But dogs always chase cats.’ Enid wriggled out of her tunic and pulled her regulation games gymslip out of her bag. ‘It’s their nature – that’s what you’d say, Fran.’
‘But he shouldn’t have had the chance to chase Mim,’ Fran persisted. ‘Josie told me this morning she was too frightened to go outside so she did her business in the back hall. Cook’s had to put out a litter box.’
‘Ugh.’ Gillian wrinkled her nose.
‘Ugh yourself,’ Robin said.
‘Oh, hurry up, everyone,’ Mabel said. ‘Miss Curran’s promised us a proper game today and if we do well enough she’s going to pick teams and challenge Ellis House or Avery House. Lucy’s coming to see how we do.’
Robin pulled up her stockings and made sure her plimsolls were tightly laced. Lucy! The games captain! She must make sure to play her best. It might not be hockey, but there was still no sign of a new pitch, so in the meantime, if there was a netball team, Robin wanted to be in it.
‘You look very fierce.’ Enid fell into step beside her and Babs as they walked to the gym. Fran had chummed with Linnet. Sadie swung along with Evangeline. Now that Miss Curran had given her remedial exercises, she was supposed to do those quietly at the back of the gym during netball.
Robin laughed. ‘Just thinking about the game. You look fierce yourself.’
‘It’s Fran and Linnet,’ Enid said. ‘They’re so boring the way they go on. Rudy didn’t mean any harm. Anyway, Mim scratched his nose, so they’re evens.’
‘I suppose they are a bit boring,’ Robin said. ‘But it’s because they care about Mim.’
‘Well, I care about Rudy,’ Enid said hotly.
Fran and Linnet caught up with them, and had clearly overheard.
‘I don’t think you do,’ Fran said. ‘Or you’d look after him better.’
‘You can’t watch him every minute of the day,’ Enid argued. ‘Anyway, it was Ellie’s fault.’
‘Well, you shouldn’t have trusted her with him.’
‘She wanted to play with him,’ Enid said, ‘and she cries if she doesn’t get her own way. You don’t know how lucky you are not to have a wee sister.’
‘If I did have one, she wouldn’t be so spoilt,’ Fran said, ‘and my dog would be better cared for.’
‘How dare you!’ Enid flushed with anger. ‘Rudy is well cared for. Cook gave him all the chicken bones for breakfast.’
‘Chicken bones are bad for dogs,’ Fran said. ‘You’ll be lucky if that puppy lives to grow up.’
‘Do you have to be such a know-all?’ Enid demanded. ‘It’s really annoying.’
Mabel stepped between them. ‘What’s really annoying,’ she said, ‘is people bickering about cats and dogs when they should be getting ready for an important netball game.’
‘Bickering like cats and dogs,’ Robin said, but nobody laughed.
For the next hour or so Robin gave herself up totally to netball. Miss Curran made her centre for the yellows. Her role was to be quick and decisive, to help move the ball swiftly up the court.
At the end of the first quarter, when Miss Curran blew the whistle for a quick breather and a sip of water from the fountain in the corner, Lucy said to Robin, ‘You’ve taken to netball very well.’
‘Oh, thanks, Lucy! Um, do you have any tips for how I can improve?’
Lucy considered. ‘You could be bolder in your marking,’ she said. ‘Don’t be afraid to be really firm when you try to block.’
‘I’ll do my best.’ Her counterpart on the blues was Gillian, which was a bit scary, but she tried to forget that Gillian was anything other than a rival player she must keep the ball from at all costs. And she saw Lucy noticing and smiling, and she felt about seven feet tall.
At the end of the game, Miss Curran and Miss Taylor brought them all together. Robin was hot and sweating, her heart pounding as hard as after a hockey match. To think she’d once thought netball a sissy game!
‘Well done, everyone,’ Miss Taylor said. ‘And especially Miss Curran for getting you to such a high standard in only six weeks.’
Miss Curran looked nonchalant. ‘Well, I am a games mistress,’ she said.
‘The good news is,’ Miss Taylor went on, ‘that we’ve got you a fixture – you’re going to play the junior team from Ellis House on Friday week – just before half term.’
‘Now the bad news,’ Miss Curran said. ‘We can’t use all of you.’ People like Babs and Linnet, who would never be in a team and didn’t care, grinned. People like Enid and Evangeline, who did care, tried to look as though they didn’t. ‘We’ve chosen a squad of twelve and, when you practise together, we’ll see who will make the final team.’
‘It’s not just about skills,’ Miss Taylor said. ‘It’s about how you work together.’
‘Quite,’ Miss Curran said. ‘Anyway, we’ve chosen five from lower fourth, and we’ll finalise positions after a few practices. A warning – you’ll be expected to work hard. Ellis House have quite a reputation for netball, and I want Fernside to make a good showing. There’ll be a senior team too.’
Nerves fluttered in Robin’s tummy. Five from lower fourth! Was she good enough? Mabel was a cert. Fran was pretty good. Annoyingly, so was Gillian. Phoebe was great – long-legged and speedy. Robin swallowed and sat on her own hands so that the others couldn’t see her crossing her fingers tightly. She didn’t dare catch anyone’s eye. Oh, why didn’t Miss Curran just put up a list that they could look at in private? This public announcing was horrible; she supposed it was meant to be character building.
‘The girls chosen from lower fourth are – Mabel Stewart, Frances Elliott, Phoebe Adair, Gillian Moffatt’ – Robin hardly dared breathe, and concentrated on looking as though she didn’t mind at all – ‘and Robin Grey. Well done, girls. But the hard work starts now.’
‘Hip, hip, hooray,’ called Evangeline. ‘Well done, you four!’
Miss Curran looked at Evangeline as though she couldn’t believe such a low specimen would dare to interrupt her. ‘But,’ she looked round them very severely, ‘it goes without saying that anyone receiving bad reports – for work or conduct – will automatically lose her place.’
Robin couldn’t remember a happier moment in her three and a half terms at Fernside. But Miss Curran was right – the hard work started now. She was in the squad, not yet the team. She had no way of knowing, until they all played together, if she was one of the stronger players, or had only just scraped in. But if hard work could get her into that team, there was nothing she wouldn’t do to make sure she succeeded! As for losing her place for bad work or conduct – well, she didn’t even entertain the idea. Nobody would be so stupid!
Chapter 26
What Linnet Saw
Linnet’s adventure with Sadie had cured her of sneaking off to Rowanbank, and at first she felt mostly relief. Fear of capture had always dimmed the joy of escape, and now there was the suspicion that something horrible was happening there. She would have liked to discuss it with Robin, but since she had got into the netball squad, Robin was fanatical. She had training every day, and she and Mabel would disappear to the gym at odd moments to practise running up and down or something equally tedious and pointless.
