Malory Towers is at its very best my last half- term,' Darrell said to her mother, as she took her to see the roses. 'I shall always remember it like this. Oh, Mother, thank you a thousand times for choosing this school for me. I've been so happy here.'
Her mother squeezed her arm. 'You've done very well indeed at Malory Towers,' she said. 'All the mistresses have been telling me how much they will miss you, and what a help you've always been. They are glad you have a sister to follow in your footsteps!'
Gwen went by with her mother and Miss Winter. 'My last half-term!' she was saying. 'Fancy, my next half- term will be in Switzerland. I'm sure I shall be much happier there than I've ever been here.'
Gwen's father had not come. Gwen was glad. 'I was afraid he might come and spoil everything,' she said to her mother. 'He was so horrid to us last holidays, wasn't he?'
'He would have come,' said Miss Winter. 'But he's not well. He hasn't really been well for some time, Gwen. V>u should have written to him this term, you know. I
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really do think you should.'
'It's not your business/ said Gwen, coldly. 'Honestly, you can't always tell whether Daddy isn't well, or is just bad-tempered, can you. Mother? Anyway, we shan't miss him today.'
'Where's Maureen?' asked Mrs Lacey. Maureen, so like Gwen, with her fluffy golden hair and big, pale-blue eyes, was quite a favourite with Mrs Lacey and the old governess. But Gwen wasn't going to have anything to do with Maureen that day! Maureen 'sucked up' to Gwen's people and they just loved it.
'Maureen's got her own people here today,' she said. 'Poor Maureen - I'm sorry tor her, Mother. She's not going to a finishing school, or even to college of any sort. She's just going to take a secretarial course, and go into somebody's office!'
.Jo's people came by, with Jo hanging on to her father's arm. The big, loud-voiced, vulgar man could, as usual, be heard all over the place.
'Not a bad little rose-garden this, Jo, eh?' he said. 'Course it's not a patch on ours. Let's see, Ma, how many roses have we got in our rose-garden?'
'Five thousand/ said Mrs Jones, in a low voice. She was always rather overawed by the other parents, and she was beginning to wish that her husband wasn't quite so loud and bumptious. She had caught sight of a few astonished glances, and a few sly smiles. She wondered if she had put on too much jewellery?
She had. She 'dripped with diamonds', as June said to Susan. 'I'm only surprised she doesn't have a diamond nose-ring, as well as all the rest,' said June. I've a good mind to suggest it to Jo. She could pass on the idea, perhaps.'
'No, don't,' said Susan, afraid ol June's unkind wit. 'She can't help having such parents. Oh, isn't her lather dreadlul this time?'
He really was. He had cornered Miss Parker, Jo's form mistress, and was blaring at her in his fog-horn voice.
'Well, Miss Parker - how's our Jo getting along? Naughtiest girl in the form as usual? Ah, well - they're always the most popular, aren't they? The things / used to do as a boy. My name's Charlie, so they called me Cheeky Charlie at school! The things I said to my icachers! Ha ha ha!'
Miss Parker made no reply. She merely looked disgusted. Jo felt frightened. She knew that face of Miss Parker's. She had a feeling that Miss Parker might say something that even Cheeky Charlie wouldn't like.
Her father went blundering on. 'Well, you haven't said a word about our Jo. She's a card, isn't she? Ha ha - 1 bet she calls you Nosey Parker!' And he actually gave Miss Parker a dig in the ribs!
'I have nothing to sa> about Jo except that she apparently takes after her father/ said Miss Parker, starlet with annoyance. She turned away to speak to Darrell's mother, who had come to her rescue. Everyone always hoped to be rescued from Mr Jones!
'Daddy! You shouldn't have said that/ said Jo, in great distress. 'That was awful. You made her angry. Please don't say things like that.'
'Well, 1 like
Her mother squeezed her arm. 'You've done very well indeed at Malory Towers,' she said. 'All the mistresses have been telling me how much they will miss you, and what a help you've always been. They are glad you have a sister to follow in your footsteps!'
Gwen went by with her mother and Miss Winter. 'My last half-term!' she was saying. 'Fancy, my next half- term will be in Switzerland. I'm sure I shall be much happier there than I've ever been here.'
Gwen's father had not come. Gwen was glad. 'I was afraid he might come and spoil everything,' she said to her mother. 'He was so horrid to us last holidays, wasn't he?'
'He would have come,' said Miss Winter. 'But he's not well. He hasn't really been well for some time, Gwen. V>u should have written to him this term, you know. I
91
wm^M:-'
really do think you should.'
'It's not your business/ said Gwen, coldly. 'Honestly, you can't always tell whether Daddy isn't well, or is just bad-tempered, can you. Mother? Anyway, we shan't miss him today.'
'Where's Maureen?' asked Mrs Lacey. Maureen, so like Gwen, with her fluffy golden hair and big, pale-blue eyes, was quite a favourite with Mrs Lacey and the old governess. But Gwen wasn't going to have anything to do with Maureen that day! Maureen 'sucked up' to Gwen's people and they just loved it.
'Maureen's got her own people here today,' she said. 'Poor Maureen - I'm sorry tor her, Mother. She's not going to a finishing school, or even to college of any sort. She's just going to take a secretarial course, and go into somebody's office!'
.Jo's people came by, with Jo hanging on to her father's arm. The big, loud-voiced, vulgar man could, as usual, be heard all over the place.
'Not a bad little rose-garden this, Jo, eh?' he said. 'Course it's not a patch on ours. Let's see, Ma, how many roses have we got in our rose-garden?'
'Five thousand/ said Mrs Jones, in a low voice. She was always rather overawed by the other parents, and she was beginning to wish that her husband wasn't quite so loud and bumptious. She had caught sight of a few astonished glances, and a few sly smiles. She wondered if she had put on too much jewellery?
She had. She 'dripped with diamonds', as June said to Susan. 'I'm only surprised she doesn't have a diamond nose-ring, as well as all the rest,' said June. I've a good mind to suggest it to Jo. She could pass on the idea, perhaps.'
'No, don't,' said Susan, afraid ol June's unkind wit. 'She can't help having such parents. Oh, isn't her lather dreadlul this time?'
He really was. He had cornered Miss Parker, Jo's form mistress, and was blaring at her in his fog-horn voice.
'Well, Miss Parker - how's our Jo getting along? Naughtiest girl in the form as usual? Ah, well - they're always the most popular, aren't they? The things / used to do as a boy. My name's Charlie, so they called me Cheeky Charlie at school! The things I said to my icachers! Ha ha ha!'
Miss Parker made no reply. She merely looked disgusted. Jo felt frightened. She knew that face of Miss Parker's. She had a feeling that Miss Parker might say something that even Cheeky Charlie wouldn't like.
Her father went blundering on. 'Well, you haven't said a word about our Jo. She's a card, isn't she? Ha ha - 1 bet she calls you Nosey Parker!' And he actually gave Miss Parker a dig in the ribs!
'I have nothing to sa> about Jo except that she apparently takes after her father/ said Miss Parker, starlet with annoyance. She turned away to speak to Darrell's mother, who had come to her rescue. Everyone always hoped to be rescued from Mr Jones!
'Daddy! You shouldn't have said that/ said Jo, in great distress. 'That was awful. You made her angry. Please don't say things like that.'
'Well, 1 like
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