Summer Term at 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 MaloryTowers

  3 ThirdYear at MaloryTowers

  4 Upper Fourth at MaloryTowers

  5 In the Fifth at MaloryTowers

  6 Last Term at MaloryTowers

  7 New Term at MaloryTowers (written by Pamela Cox)

  8 Summer Term at MaloryTowers (written by Pamela Cox)

  9 Winter Term at MaloryTowers (written by Pamela Cox)

  10 Fun and Games at MaloryTowers (written by Pamela Cox)

  11 Secrets at MaloryTowers (written by Pamela Cox)

  12 Goodbye MaloryTowers (written by Pamela Cox)

  Written by Pamela Cox

  Based on characters and stories created by Enid Blyton

  Copyright

  Summer Term at 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 49683

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1 Off to Malory Towers

  2 The new girls

  3 A hard time for Esme

  4 Settling in

  5 A visit to Five Oaks

  6 Secrets and surprises

  7 The third form rallies round

  8 A marvellous trick

  9 Tricks and tennis

  10 A super half-term

  11 A family reunion

  12 Mam’zelle is a sport

  13 A shock for Julie

  14 Detective work

  15 A thrilling night

  16 Heroines and villains

  17 A surprise for June

  18 A lovely end to the term

  1

  Off to Malory Towers

  ‘Where have those two girls got to?’ asked Mr Rivers impatiently, poking his head out of the car window.

  ‘They will be here any minute,’ said his wife calmly. ‘Don’t forget that they haven’t seen each other for a few weeks, so I expect that they have a lot of news to catch up on.’

  ‘Well, they’ll have plenty of time to talk on the journey,’ said Mr Rivers. ‘If we don’t leave soon, we shan’t reach Malory Towers until after tea.’

  Mr and Mrs Rivers were taking their daughter, Felicity, back to her boarding school, Malory Towers, after the holidays, and they had stopped to pick up her friend, Susan, on the way. Felicity had gone into the house to fetch her friend, and she seemed to have been in there for simply ages! At last the front door opened and two laughing, chattering girls emerged. The one with dark, bobbed hair and laughing brown eyes was Felicity, and the other, grey-eyed and snub-nosed, was Susan. Both of them wore the Malory Towers summer uniform, which was an orange and white checked dress, with short sleeves and a crisp white collar, and they looked very smart indeed as they walked arm-in-arm down the path. Behind them came Susan’s parents, her mother carrying a night case and her father huffing and puffing as he carried his daughter’s trunk to the car.

  ‘My goodness, anyone would think you were going back to school for a whole year, not just a term,’ he joked. ‘I’m sure that you must have packed the kitchen sink in here.’

  The two sets of parents greeted one another, and Mr Rivers got out of the car to help Mr Blake stow the trunk in the boot. Then Susan hugged her parents, the two girls settled themselves in the back seat of the car and they were off—back to Malory Towers.

  The school was in Cornwall, and it was a very long drive, but Felicity and Susan had so much to talk about that the first couple of hours simply sped by.

  ‘Won’t it be marvellous to see all the others again?’ said Susan. ‘Good old Pam, and Nora and Julie—not forgetting Jack, of course.’

  Jack was their friend Julie’s horse, who lived in the stables at Malory Towers during term time, and all the girls were very fond of him indeed.

  ‘I think the summer term is my favourite term of all,’ said Felicity excitedly. ‘There’s so much to do. Picnics, swimming and horse-riding—and I mean to work really hard at my tennis. I’m determined to be picked for one of the teams this term.’

  ‘Me too,’ said Susan. ‘My word, wouldn’t it be super if we were both picked?’

  ‘Super!’ agreed Felicity. ‘I wonder if there will be any new girls this term.’

  ‘There are sure to be,’ Susan said. ‘I say, Felicity, I wonder what tricks June and Freddie will have brought back with them this term. Oh, I just can’t wait to get back to Malory Towers.’

  But, after a stop for lunch, the girls’ conversation tailed off, as both of them began to feel a little drowsy from the long car journey. Susan had difficulty in keeping her eyes open, while Felicity actually dropped off to sleep for a little while. But both of them woke up completely when the car rounded a bend in the road and their beloved Malory Towers came into view.

  ‘There it is!’ cried Felicity, sitting bolt upright. ‘Doesn’t it look magnificent, with the sun right behind it?’

  Susan was so excited that she couldn’t speak, but she nodded her head vigorously, as Mr Rivers turned the car into the long driveway. In front of them was a very long, sleek, expensive-looking car and Felicity said, ‘My goodness, just look at that! I wonder who it belongs to?’

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Amy’s,’ said Susan. ‘It would be just like her to turn up to school in a showy car like that.’

  ‘That’s an American car, girls,’ Mr Rivers informed them. ‘So I doubt very much that it belongs to your friend Amy’s family.’

  Just then the big car pulled in and a pretty, smartly dressed woman emerged. She opened the back door and a tall, willowy girl with beautifully arranged blonde curls climbed out. Felicity and Susan couldn’t see her face, and were bursting with curiosity as she took the woman’s arm and walked off gracefully with her.

  ‘Heavens!’ said Susan, as she stared after the girl.‘She looked awfully glamorous, didn’t she? I wonder which form she’ll be in?’

  But there was no time to think about that, for, as Mr Rivers brought the car to a halt, Felicity spotted a group of third formers nearby and yelled, ‘There are June and Freddie—and I do believe that’s Nora!’

  ‘Don’t be in such a rush, Felicity,’ protested her mother, as everyone got out of the car.‘You have plenty of time in which to chat to your friends, but Daddy and I shan’t see you again until half-term.’

  ‘Sorry, Mu
mmy,’ said Felicity contritely.‘I shall miss you both, you know. It’s just that I get so excited about being back at school and seeing everyone again.’

  ‘I know that you do, dear, and I quite understand,’ said Mrs Rivers, smiling.‘Now, here’s your night case—and yours, Susan. Have a good term, both of you, and write soon, won’t you, Felicity?’

  ‘Of course. Goodbye, Mother! Goodbye, Daddy!’ And Felicity hugged each of her parents in turn, then she and Susan waved them off before running to join their friends, all of whom were greeting one another noisily.

  ‘Hallo, June! Hope you’ve brought some good tricks with you.’

  ‘My word, isn’t it super to be back together again?’

  ‘Pam, you’re back! Had a good Easter?’

  ‘And here are Felicity and Susan. Who’s missing?’

  ‘I haven’t seen Amy and Bonnie yet. And I wonder where Julie is?’ said Nora, looking puzzled.‘She usually gets back early so that she can settle Jack in.’

  ‘I bet she’s still down at the stables,’ said June.‘You know how she fusses over that horse of hers.’

  ‘We’d better go and give our health certificates to Matron and unpack our night cases,’ said Felicity.‘By the time we’ve done that, Julie will probably have satisfied herself that Jack isn’t going to pine away if she leaves him for a few hours, and decided to join us.’

  But by the time the girls had seen Matron and gone to their dormitory to unpack, there was still no sign of Julie, and even the placid Pam began to look worried, saying anxiously, ‘I do hope that she hasn’t been taken ill or something. Wouldn’t it be dreadful if she missed the beginning of term?’

  ‘I spoke to her on the telephone last week and she sounded perfectly fine then,’ said Nora.

  ‘Well, it’s no use standing around worrying,’ said Susan, sensibly. ‘Let’s take a walk down to the stables and see if she’s there.’

  So the group of third formers made their way to the stables, where they found several girls settling their horses in. But Julie and Jack were not among them.

  ‘The stables are all full,’ said Felicity.‘So even if Julie turns up with Jack now, there won’t be room for him here.’

  ‘How odd!’ said Freddie.‘I say, you don’t think that Miss Grayling has told Julie that she can’t have Jack with her at school any more, do you?’

  ‘The Head wouldn’t do that,’ said Nora.‘Why, Julie’s always brought him to Malory Towers with her!’

  ‘But it is queer that there isn’t a place left for him,’ said Susan, frowning, as the girls walked back up to the school. Then a thought occurred to her and she gasped, ‘Oh, my goodness! What if something has happened to Jack?’

  The others turned pale at the thought and Pam gave a shudder.‘What a dreadful thought! Why, Julie would be simply heartbroken! That horse means the world to her.‘

  But just then, the girls heard themselves being hailed and they turned to see Julie herself coming towards them, dressed in her riding gear—and the broad smile on her freckled face was enough to tell them at once that Jack was safe and sound. There was another girl with her, who the others hadn’t seen before, also dressed in riding clothes, and the third formers looked at her curiously.

  ‘Hallo, everyone!’ cried Julie.‘Sorry I’m late, but I’ve just been stabling Jack at Five Oaks.’

  The girls looked a little puzzled at this, for Five Oaks was a riding school not far from Malory Towers, which was run by two old girls, Bill and Clarissa.

  ‘We wondered where you were,’ said Felicity.‘But why is Jack staying at Five Oaks, Julie? You always have him here with you.’

  ‘Well, Miss Grayling telephoned me at home the other day and said that more girls than ever were bringing their horses to school with them this term. She said that there wouldn’t be room for all of them in the school stables, and would I mind awfully taking Jack to Five Oaks instead. Well, I’m always glad of an excuse to visit Bill and Clarissa, and I know that they’ll take jolly good care of Jack, so of course I said yes. Lucy is stabling her horse, Sandy, there as well.’

  ‘Who is Lucy?’ asked Nora.

  ‘Oh, of course, I haven’t introduced you yet!’ exclaimed Julie, taking the new girl’s arm.‘This is Lucy Carstairs and she’s going to be in our form.’

  Felicity, as head-girl of the third form, introduced the others to Lucy, who smiled happily round and said a cheery, ‘Hallo, everyone!’ She was a tall, slender girl, rather boyish in appearance, with a crop of short dark hair, brilliant blue eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. She and Julie seemed to have become firm friends, although they hadn’t known one another for very long, and June said, ‘I suppose we’ll have to listen to the two of you gabbling away endlessly about gymkhanas and pony treks and what-not now! That’s if we ever get to see you, for I daresay the pair of you will spend all of your spare time at Five Oaks this term.’

  ‘That’s the idea,’ said Lucy, with a grin.‘I simply can’t be away from Sandy for too long, or I’ll just pine away.’

  ‘Well, I’ve heard of horses pining for their owners, but never an owner pining for her horse!’ said Felicity, with a chuckle.‘Anyway, welcome to Malory Towers, Lucy. I hope you’ll settle in and be happy here.’

  ‘I’m sure that I shall,’ said Lucy, with her ready smile, and the others warmed to her at once.

  ‘Well, it looks as if Julie has found a special friend of her own,’ said Felicity to Susan, as the girls made their way down to the swimming-pool, which they were eager to show off to Lucy.‘Which is a very good thing. I know that she’s always had Jack but, even though he’s lovely, you can’t really have a conversation with a horse.’

  ‘Well, you can, but they tend to be pretty one-sided,’ laughed Susan.‘I know what you mean, though. Julie gets along well with everyone, but it’s so nice to have a special person to share jokes and secrets with. We’re all paired up now, aren’t we? There’s June and Freddie, Pam and Nora, Amy and Bonnie, Julie and Lucy—oh, and not forgetting the two of us, of course!’

  It was a glorious day, and the swimming-pool, of which Malory Towers was justly proud, was at its finest. The pool was hollowed out of rocks and filled naturally by the sea, and as she watched the sun glinting on the surface of the water, Felicity longed to plunge in. So did June, who said, ‘It’s so warm today. A dip in the pool would just cool me down nicely.’

  ‘Jump in, then,’ said Freddie, her eyes alight with mischief.‘I bet you daren’t!’

  Of course, it simply wasn’t in June’s nature to refuse a dare, and before the others realised what was happening, she had jumped into the pool fully clothed, making a terrific splash and sending a shower of water over Freddie, who was standing nearest.

  ‘June!’ cried Felicity, between shock and laughter.‘Come out of there at once! My goodness, you’ll get into the most terrific row from Matron if she sees you in those wet clothes! Freddie, you’re absolutely soaked too.’

  Lucy was staring at June as if she couldn’t believe her eyes and, seeing her expression, Nora laughed and said, ‘June’s a real dare-devil. You never know what she’ll do next, but she certainly livens things up in the third form.’

  ‘I’ll just bet she does,’ said Lucy, beginning to laugh as well.‘My goodness, I’m so glad that my parents decided to send me to Malory Towers. I’ve only been here a short while, but I know already that I’m going to love it.’

  ‘Glad to hear it,’ said Felicity.‘I’ve a feeling you’re going to fit in here just fine, Lucy.’ Then she gave a squeal, as June, who was still fooling around in the swimming-pool, sent a spray of water in her direction. Leaping back she yelled, ‘That’s quite enough, June. I don’t want to get into trouble on my first day back, even if you do.’

  ‘Yes, come on out now,’ said Susan.‘It’ll be time for tea soon, and you can’t go into the dining-room looking like a drowned rat!’

  Grinning, June climbed out of the pool, shaking herself to get rid of some of the
water, and Pam said, ‘You remind me of my dog, Monty! He shakes himself like that when he’s had a bath.’

  ‘Well, I feel as if I’ve had a shower!’ complained Freddie, who had taken her socks off and was trying to wring the water out of them.‘You beast, June! Now I shall have to get changed too.’

  ‘You two will have to get out of your riding gear as well,’ said Felicity to Julie and Lucy.‘Let’s be quick, for I don’t want to be late for tea. I’m starving!’

  ‘And let’s hope we don’t bump into Matron, or any of the mistresses on the way back,’ said Susan.

  The girls didn’t, but they did have the misfortune to meet a particularly unpleasant fifth former, Eleanor Banks, and she turned her nose up in disgust as she spotted the two dripping-wet girls. Eleanor had joined the fifth form last term, and had lost no time in making herself unpopular with the younger girls. She had a very cold, haughty manner and that, along with her pale colouring and silvery-blonde hair, had led June to nickname her the Ice Queen. Somehow this had got back to Eleanor, and there was no love lost between June and her at all!

  ‘What on earth have you third formers been up to?’ Eleanor asked now, her cold stare fixed on June.

  ‘I’ve been up to my neck in water, Eleanor,’ answered June cheekily, quite unabashed by the older girl’s cool manner.‘And poor Freddie here caught the backlash.’

  ‘June slipped and fell into the pool,’ said Felicity hastily, seeing two spots of angry red appear on Eleanor’s pale cheeks.‘She’s just off to get changed now.’

  Eleanor didn’t believe that June had fallen into the pool by accident for a moment. The wretched girl was always acting the goat! But since she couldn’t prove anything, she was unable to dish out a punishment, which made her feel extremely disappointed. Instead she had to content herself with a few sharp words.‘Well, hurry up about it,’ she snapped.‘Or you’ll be late for tea. And you two,’ she turned to Julie and Lucy now.‘Change out of those riding clothes before you go into the dining-room. Come on, now—shake a leg!’