Goodbye Malory Towers

  Malory Towers

  St Clare’s

  1 The Twins at St Clare’s

  2 The O’Sullivan Twins

  3 Summer Term at St Clare’s

  4 The Second Form at St Clare’s

  5 The Third Form at St Clare’s (written by Pamela Cox)

  6 Kitty at St Clare’s (written by Pamela Cox)

  7 Claudine at St Clare’s

  8 Fifth Formers of St Clare’s

  9 The Sixth Form at St Clare’s (written by Pamela Cox)

  Malory Towers

  1 First Term at Malory Towers

  2 Second Form at Malory Towers

  3 ThirdYear at Malory Towers

  4 Upper Fourth at Malory Towers

  5 In the Fifth at Malory Towers

  6 Last Term at Malory Towers

  7 New Term at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  8 Summer Term at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  9 Winter Term at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  10 Fun and Games at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  11 Secrets at Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  12 Goodbye Malory Towers (written by Pamela Cox)

  Written by Pamela Cox

  Based on characters and stories created by Enid Blyton

  Copyright

  Goodbye Malory Towers first published in Great Britain 2009

  by Egmont UK Limited

  239 Kensington High Street

  London W8 6SA

  ENID BLYTON® text copyright © 2009 Chorion Rights Limited

  All rights reserved

  Written by Pamela Cox

  Cover illustration copyright © 2009 Nicola Slater

  The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

  Visit our web site at www.egmont.co.uk

  First e-book edition 2010

  ISBN 978 1 4052 49720

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1 Last term at Malory Towers

  2 The new mistress

  3 Settling in

  4 Good news for Edith

  5 Gwen’s missing letter

  6 Amy’s admirer

  7 Lizzie makes a friend

  8 Daisy is very sly

  9 A bad time for Gwen

  10 A super half-term

  11 Violet plays a trick

  12 Midnight feast

  13 A most dramatic night

  14 Miss Lacey’s strange behaviour

  15 Miss Nicholson saves the day

  16 Unexpected arrivals

  17 Reunion at Malory Towers

  18 A shock for Gwen

  19 A very successful gala

  20 Goodbye Malory Towers

  1

  Last term at Malory Towers

  ‘Well, Felicity,’ said Darrell Rivers to her younger sister. ‘Your last term at Malory Towers. How do you feel?’

  ‘My feelings are rather mixed, to be honest,’ said Felicity, taking a sip of her tea. ‘I feel excited about going to university, of course. But, at the same time, I shall be awfully sad to leave old Malory Towers. I have had so many good times there, and I shall miss my friends terribly.’

  ‘Not all of them,’ said Darrell. ‘Susan will be going to university with you, won’t she?’

  ‘Of course! I couldn’t possibly be separated from Susan,’ said Felicity. ‘June and Freddie are hoping to come to the same university as us too, and so is Pam.’

  ‘That’s good,’ said Darrell. ‘I remember how glad I was to have a few friends around me when I started university. It must be awfully daunting to go alone.’

  ‘I wonder if Bonnie will want to carry on her education?’ said Felicity thoughtfully. ‘She did awfully well in Higher Cert, you know. And the only reason she decided to take the exams in the first place was to prove a point to June.’

  ‘She’s a funny girl,’ said Darrell. ‘Judging from what you’ve told me over the years, there’s a lot more to her than meets the eye.’

  ‘There certainly is,’ said Felicity, remembering some of Bonnie’s exploits. ‘I thought her terribly spoilt and tiresome at first, but actually she’s a very strong character, and has grown stronger during her time at Malory Towers.’

  ‘That’s one of the marvellous things about going to a good school,’ said Darrell. ‘If you have a good character, and are willing to learn, it will bring out all your strengths and help you to conquer any weaknesses.’

  ‘Very true,’ said Felicity, buttering a slice of toast. ‘I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t benefited from being at Malory Towers. Even June has changed an awful lot over the last few years, and has become much more steady and responsible since she was made games captain. And as for Jo Jones – or Alice, as she calls herself now – why, you wouldn’t think she was the same person.’

  ‘I was quite astonished when you told me that Jo had returned to Malory Towers, under a different name,’ said Darrell. ‘I remember her so well from her time in the second form – my word, what a little beast she was then. But if she has changed as much as you say, Felicity, I shall look forward to meeting her again.’

  ‘Darrell!’ cried Felicity. ‘Does this mean that you are going to come with Mother and Daddy to see me at half-term? Oh, do say you will!’

  ‘Who knows?’ said Darrell teasingly. ‘I might find time to visit, or I might not. You will just have to wait and see.’

  ‘Of course, I suppose you will have to see if you can get time off from this new job of yours, won’t you?’ said Felicity. ‘Won’t I boast about it to the others when I get back to school – my sister an ace reporter!’

  ‘A very junior reporter!’ laughed Darrell. ‘I daresay shall be running errands and making the tea to start with.’

  ‘Not for long,’ said Felicity confidently. ‘You always did have a talent for writing, Darrell. Remember that super pantomime you wrote when you were in the fifth form?’

  ‘Cinderella,’ said Darrell with rather a wistful smile. ‘Yes, I still have a copy of the script. What a happy time that was!’

  Darrell seemed to grow rather quiet and thoughtful then and, at last, Felicity asked, ‘Is anything wrong, Darrell?’

  ‘Oh, I was just thinking about what you said earlier,’ replied her sister. ‘About not knowing anyone who hasn’t benefited from being at Malory Towers. You see, I can think of someone.’

  ‘Who?’ asked Felicity, surprised and curious.

  ‘Gwendoline Lacey,’ answered Darrell. ‘She was in my form all the way through the school. Remember her, Felicity?’

  ‘Oh, yes, I remember Gwen, all right!’ said Felicity. ‘Of course, I didn’t know her nearly as well as you did, but she seemed awfully spoilt and stuck-up. Sly, too.’

  ‘Yes, that just about sums up Gwendoline,’ said Darrell rather sadly. ‘She had a great many hard lessons at Malory Towers, but never seemed to learn anything from them.’

  ‘Wasn’t her father taken ill suddenly?’ said Felicity.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Darrell. ‘At one time it looked as if he wouldn’t pull through, but fortunately he recovered, though he never regained his full health. Actually, I think that Gwen did learn something from that, for she was suddenly brought to realise what is truly important in life.’

  ‘What a horrid way to learn it, though!’ said Felicity with a shudde
r. ‘Thank heavens that Mr Lacey recovered.’

  ‘Yes, but he wasn’t able to return to his job,’ said Darrell. ‘Which meant that Gwen and her mother had to learn to lead a much more simple life than they had been used to.’

  ‘That must have been very difficult for them both,’ said Felicity.

  ‘Yes, but it may also have been the making of them,’ said Darrell. ‘I certainly hope so.’

  ‘Do you still keep in touch with Gwen?’ asked Felicity curiously.

  ‘No,’ said Darrell. ‘For we weren’t close friends. Well, Gwen didn’t really have any close friends. We did exchange a few letters when her father was taken ill, and she left Malory Towers, but that sort of petered out after a while. I wonder what she is doing now?’

  ‘Well, I know what you two should be doing now!’ said the girls’ mother, coming into the kitchen in time to hear this last remark. ‘Darrell, it’s almost time for you to leave for work. And Felicity, Daddy is just loading the car up, then it will be time for us to set off for Malory Towers.’

  ‘Heavens, is that the time?’ said Felicity, glancing at the clock on the wall, before getting up from the breakfast table.

  Darrell remained at the table, a rather wistful expression on her face, and Felicity asked, ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘I was just remembering my last term,’ she said with a sigh. ‘I wanted to savour every moment and make it last as long as possible, and store up every memory so that I could think of my time at school fondly. And that’s just what I did. I really made the most of that last term, Felicity. All of us did – except poor Gwen, of course. We worked hard and played hard.’

  ‘That’s exactly what I’m going to do,’ vowed Felicity, feeling a surge of excitement, as always, at the thought of being back at school. Her last term was going to be one to remember!

  The journey back to Malory Towers was very long indeed, but, to Felicity, it seemed to pass more quickly than any of the previous ones.

  When the family stopped for a picnic lunch, she said as much to her parents, and Mrs Rivers said, ‘It is probably because it is the last time that you will be making this journey. I expect your last term will simply fly by as well.’

  ‘No, for I shan’t let it,’ said Felicity firmly. ‘I am going to do as Darrell said, and make the most of every single minute – every single second!’

  As the car drew closer to Malory Towers, Felicity sat up straight and gazed out of the window, drinking in every familiar landmark. There was the first glimpse of the sea in the distance, clear and blue, with the sun reflecting off its surface. And now she could see the cliffs, along which she had enjoyed so many happy walks. Then, as the car rounded a bend in the road, Felicity could see Malory Towers itself, grand and imposing, with its four towers – South, East, West and North Tower, the best one of all, for it was the one that she belonged to. And now she was going back there for the last time. As usual, on the first day of term, there was a great deal of hustle and bustle, the grounds full of people, as girls said hallo to their friends and goodbye to their parents. A big coach had just pulled up in the drive and girls poured out, most of them first and second formers.

  ‘Oh, there’s little Daffy,’ said Mrs Rivers, as a small, dark girl sprang down from the steps of the coach and began chattering nineteen to the dozen with her friend. ‘Doesn’t she look sweet?’

  ‘Yes, she looks sweet, all right,’ murmured Felicity drily, for she knew that Daffy’s looks were deceptive and hid a very naughty streak indeed. The girl had got into so much trouble in her first term that she had come very close to being sent away from Malory Towers in disgrace. The shock had been so great that Daffy had mended her ways a little, and become a lot more thoughtful and considerate. But she still had a mischievous nature, and enjoyed playing tricks, especially on poor old Mam’zelle Dupont, one of the school’s two French mistresses.

  As Felicity and her parents got out of the car, Daffy raced across the lawn to greet a group of her friends, all of them making a great deal of noise.

  Felicity had spotted a group of her friends, too, but, as Head Girl, she couldn’t sprint across to greet them as Daffy had done, much as she wanted to. Instead, she turned to her parents, saying, ‘Well, dears, I shall see you both at half-term. And I shall write every week, of course.’

  ‘See that you do,’ said Mr Rivers gruffly, giving her a hug.

  ‘Yes, for I so look forward to your letters,’ said Mrs Rivers. ‘Do have a good term, dear – and don’t forget your night case.’

  Felicity hugged her mother, picked up her night case and said goodbye, feeling glad, as she walked across to join a group of sixth formers, that her parents were sensible, and had never been the kind to indulge in long, emotional farewells.

  ‘Felicity, you’re back!’

  ‘Nice to see you again! Had good hols?’

  ‘Isn’t it grand to be back?’

  Felicity beamed round at the others – Pam, Nora, Bonnie, Amy, June, Freddie, Alice – and, of course, her best friend, Susan. How good it was to see them all again! Even the snobbish Amy looked pleased to be back.

  ‘I say, you’ve had your hair cut, Amy!’ said Nora, admiring the girl’s sleek, golden bob. ‘Very smart, I must say!’

  ‘Are we all here?’ Felicity asked. ‘Oh, no, Julie and Lucy are missing. I daresay they are down at the stables.’

  ‘And I suppose you’ve heard that Gillian and Delia aren’t coming back?’ said Susan. ‘Gillian decided to take up a place at music college, and Delia is going with her so that she can have her voice trained.’

  ‘Yes, I had a letter from Delia in the holidays and she told me,’ said Felicity. ‘I shall miss them both, but it’s a marvellous opportunity for them.’

  Gillian was a very talented musician, while her friend, Delia, had an excellent singing voice, and both girls had been very popular with the others.

  ‘I wonder if we will have any new girls this term?’ said Pam. ‘Probably not, for it would be most unusual for someone to change schools in their last term.’

  But, as it turned out, the girls were to have a new addition to their form, as they found out when they went to Matron’s room to hand in their health certificates.

  ‘Well, girls!’ said Matron in her crisp tone. ‘This is the very last time that I shall ask you for your health certificates. And my word, won’t I be glad to see the back of you, for you’ve been an awfully troublesome lot!’

  But Matron was smiling, and the girls knew that she was joking.

  Making her eyes wide and innocent, June said, ‘Matron, you surely aren’t suggesting that I have been troublesome! Why, I have been as good as gold.’

  ‘June, you are responsible for more of my grey hairs than any other girl in the school!’ said Matron, shaking her head. ‘And your cousin, Alicia, was just as bad in her day. I’m just thankful that you don’t have a younger sister to follow in your footsteps! Now, let me have your health certificates and you can go and unpack. You are all in the same dormitory, along with Julie and Lucy, and Lizzie Mannering.’

  ‘Lizzie Mannering?’ said Nora, puzzled. ‘But she’s a fifth former, Matron.’

  ‘Not any more,’ said Matron. ‘Miss Grayling has decided to put her up into the sixth form a term early.’

  ‘How odd!’ said Freddie as the girls made their way to the dormitory. ‘I know that Lizzie is supposed to be awfully clever and studious, but it seems rather strange to separate her from her friends and put her with us.’

  ‘Actually, I don’t think that Lizzie has many friends among the fifth formers,’ said Felicity. ‘She was head of the form, you know, and she took it all a little too seriously for their liking.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Bonnie. ‘I remember Elsie of the fifth saying that Lizzie is frightfully domineering, and doesn’t care for fun and jokes.’

  ‘Apparently she used to spend all of her spare time in the common-room studying,’ said Nora. ‘Imagine! And she was most disapproving of the othe
rs when they chose not to follow her lead and wanted to relax and have a little fun instead.’

  ‘She sounds like a bit of a wet blanket,’ said June, pulling a face. ‘Just what we need in our last term!’

  ‘I don’t think she will try throwing her weight around with us, as she did with the fifth formers,’ said Felicity. ‘For we are all older than her and have been in the top form for two terms already.’

  ‘She had better not!’ said June, rather belligerently. ‘Or she’ll be sat on, good and hard.’

  Lizzie was already in the dormitory when the others arrived and, looking at her hard, Felicity thought that she didn’t look domineering at all. In fact, she looked rather scared and nervous.

  Lizzie was a tall, slim girl with long, dark hair, which she wore in a thick plait over one shoulder. She had clear skin and bright blue eyes, and would have been very pretty indeed if only she didn’t look so terribly serious all the time.

  The girl had been arranging some things in her bedside locker, but straightened up as the others entered, looking at them rather warily.

  ‘Hallo, Lizzie,’ said Felicity in her friendly way. ‘Welcome to the sixth!’

  The others welcomed her too, and Lizzie said, ‘Thank you. I feel awfully honoured to be here.’

  ‘Why are you here?’ asked June rather bluntly. ‘I mean to say, what made Miss Grayling take you out of the fifth form a term early?’

  ‘She said that, as my work was so far in advance of the others, she thought that it would do me good to go up into the sixth,’ said Lizzie. ‘I must say, I’m very pleased that she did, for you all seem so much more mature and sensible than the fifth formers.’

  ‘Appearances can be deceptive,’ murmured June to Freddie. Aloud, she said smoothly, ‘What a shame that the fifth formers didn’t live up to your high standards. I hope that we don’t let you down, Lizzie.’

  Lizzie was unsure how to take this, and looked a little puzzled, so Felicity stepped in, saying, ‘Let’s unpack quickly, girls, before the bell goes for tea. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!’