Читать книгу Second Form at Malory Towers - Enid blyton - Страница 7

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The first week went slowly by. It always did go slowly, and then after that the weeks went faster and faster. All the girls had now settled in well, and were enjoying themselves.

The weather kept fine and warm and there was still bathing to be had for those who wanted it. The tennis courts were still in use too, although the winter game of lacrosse was now being played. So there was plenty to do in spare time.

Gwendoline and Daphne had become firm friends. Gwendoline had not had a proper friend during the four terms she had been at Malory Towers and she was thrilled to have Daphne. She admired the girl’s prettiness and her charming ways, and loved to hear the stories of her wealthy home.

The two girls had much in common. Neither of them liked the water and nothing would persuade them to take a dip in the Pool.

“We have to do enough of that each summer,” objected Gwendoline, one hot day, when her form tried to get her to come along and bathe. “We don’t have to swim this term, so I’m jolly well not going to. Anyway, you don’t really want me to come—all you want me for is to creep behind me and push me in!”

“No—we want Belinda to see you shivering in your bathing suit, putting one toe gingerly into the water!” said Alicia. “It would make such a comical picture for our classroom wall, Gwendoline!”

“Beast!” said Gwendoline, who hated to be made fun of. She walked off with Daphne. “Just because they like violent things like swimming and tennis and rough games, they think everyone ought to,” she said to Daphne. “After all, you and I have never been to school before we came here, and we’ll never get used to all their stupid ideas. I wish I had been born French. Then I shouldn’t have had to swim if I didn’t want to, or tire myself out trying to hit a silly ball over a net.”

“We have three courts at home,” said Daphne. “Two are hard and one is soft. You see, Mother is a marvellous hostess, and she likes to give tennis parties as well as other kinds. But, of course, the ones people really love are the ones she gives on board Daddy’s yacht.”

Gwendoline hadn’t heard about the yacht before. She gazed enviously at her friend. Perhaps Daphne would invite her to stay one summer holiday and then she too could go on this wonderful yacht. How pleased her mother would be to know she had made such a fine friend at last!

“You must have hated coming away to school, Daphne,” she said. “Leaving all your luxury, and having to pig it here. I don’t expect you ever made your bed in your life before you came here.”

“Of course I didn’t,” said Daphne, shaking back her pretty hair. “And I bet you didn’t either!”

“No, I didn’t,” said Gwendoline. “My governess Miss Winter always did things like that for me. She still does in the holidays. She’s a stupid old thing but she’s useful in those ways. She wasn’t much good at teaching me, though. I was awfully backward when I first came here.”

Gwendoline still was! Instead of getting down to things and trying to work really hard all the term to catch up with the others, she made a great show and did very little. Her parents were almost resigned to the fact that her reports always contained the words “Fair. Could work harder.” “Weak. Does not use her brains enough.” “Poor—has not tried her best.”

Her father made plenty of cutting remarks about her reports, but as her mother always sympathized with Gwendoline, and spoilt her, his remarks did no good at all, except to make Gwendoline cross. Then she would burst into tears and it would be all that Miss Winter and her mother could do to comfort her. Gwendoline knew how to turn on her tears all right.

And Daphne knew how to turn on her charming smile! It got her out of a good deal of trouble, especially with Mam’zelle Dupont, Miss Linnie the art mistress, and Mr. Young the singing master.

Mam’zelle could not resist that smile. Daphne could make it sweet, pathetic, brave, affectionate—it was extraordinary what a smile could be!

When Daphne presented a badly written French exercise to Mam’zelle, she would turn on her smile, and Mam’zelle would gaze warmly at her. Ah, the pretty child!

“I’ve done my best, Mam’zelle,” Daphne would say, still keeping on her smile. “But I’m afraid it’s not very good yet. You see—it’s so difficult my not having been to school before.”

Then the smile would become rather pathetic, and Mam’zelle, quite overcome, would pat Daphne’s arm.

‘You do your best, mon enfant! You cannot do more!’

“You do your best, mon enfant! You cannot do more! See, I will help you if you like to come to me in the evenings for extra work!”

Mam’zelle would make this generous offer, beaming all over her face. But Daphne was quick enough to deal with it at once. She would shake her head regretfully and say how sorry she was, but already she had extra work with another mistress.

Then on would come that smile again, and the blue eyes would look beseechingly at Mam’zelle.

“Do not make me do all this French work again, please, Mam’zelle,” she would say. “I have so much to do, to catch up with the others my first term.”

And, no matter who had their French exercises to do all over again, Daphne never did. She could do anything with Mam’zelle, if only she exerted her charm and put on that ravishing smile!

Unfortunately it worked the other way with Miss Parker, Miss Potts and Mam’zelle Rougier—especially with Mam’zelle Rougier, who, as a rule, made it a habit to dislike those girls that the other Mam’zelle liked, and to like those she didn’t.

She was hard on Daphne, and soon it became impossible for the girl even to try to smile at her. They both disliked one another intensely. If it had not been for the unexpected help of somebody else in the class, Daphne would have had a very bad time, and have had all her work returned from Mam’zelle Rougier.

That somebody was, surprisingly enough, Mary-Lou! Mary-Lou had become exceedingly good at French, for her mother had had a French girl to look after her in the holidays for the past year, and Mary-Lou could chatter almost as well in French now, as she could in English, pleasing both Mam’zelles immensely.

Mary-Lou thought Daphne was lovely. She couldn’t help gazing and gazing at her. She would never, never like her as much as she liked Darrell and Sally, of course, but she couldn’t help warming to her prettiness and nice manners.

One day she saw Daphne almost in tears over some returned work from Mam’zelle Rougier, who had told Daphne that she would return it yet again if it was not given in perfect this time. Mary-Lou went to her.

“Can’t Gwendoline help you?” she asked timidly. “She’s not doing anything in particular. Shall I ask her to come and help you?”

Daphne dabbed her eyes and turned a watery but still charming smile on Mary-Lou. “No, it’s no good asking Gwen. She’d help if she could. But she’s not much better than I am at French!”

“Well—I suppose you wouldn’t like me to help you, would you?” asked Mary-Lou, eagerly. “I’d like to.”

“Oh, thanks awfully,” said Daphne, thrilled. “You’re frightfully good at it, I know. Simply wizard. Look, what have I done wrong here?”

Mary-Lou slipped happily into a seat beside Daphne and began to explain a few things to her. Without realizing it she had soon done the whole of the work, and Daphne smiled to herself, and thanked Mary-Lou warmly.

“That’s all right,” said Mary-Lou, shyly. She gazed at Daphne’s curling golden hair. “You’ve got beautiful hair,” she said.

Daphne was like Gwen. She loved people to admire her and say nice things. She looked at little Mary-Lou and quite liked her. Also she thought it would be extremely useful if Mary-Lou would always help her with her French.

“I suppose you wouldn’t give me a hand with my French sometimes, would you?” she asked. “I don’t want any extra coaching from either of the Mam’zelles, but I’d love to let you explain things to me. You explain very well.”

Nobody had ever asked Mary-Lou for help before in that way. She went brilliant red, and swallowed hard.

“I’d love to,” she said at last. “Fancy me helping you! I’m the one that’s usually always rushing round for help. I’d love to, Daphne.”

So, to the astonishment of the second-formers, they saw the curious sight of little Mary-Lou sitting by Daphne in the evenings at the end of the common-room, carefully explaining the mistakes made in the French exercise of the day before!

“And doing all the next day’s work for her too!” said Darrell, in disgust. She didn’t like to see the faithful Mary-Lou sitting so long with somebody else. Why, Mary-Lou had tagged along behind Darrell and Sally for terms and terms! Surely she wasn’t going to make that awful Daphne her friend.

“Let her be,” said the sensible Sally. “If she wants to help her, why not? Daphne is awful at French, but I don’t blame her for not taking extra coaching from the Mam’zelles. You know how irritable Mam’zelle Rougier gets in the evening, and you know how long Mam’zelle Dupont keeps you if you do go for extra work. You’re supposed to go for half an hour and she keeps you two hours!”

“I hope Daphne won’t put any of her silly ideas into Mary-Lou’s head,” said Darrell.

“Maybe Mary-Lou will put a few sensible ideas into Daphne’s head,” said Sally. “I know you’re longing to interfere, Darrell. Well, don’t!”

The girls soon sorted themselves out in the form, making their own friends, choosing people to sit next to and go walks with. It was nice to have a particular friend, and to have someone to confide in.

Sally had Darrell and Darrell had Sally. Irene had Belinda. The two became quite inseparable, and did one another no good. What one forgot the other certainly didn’t remember! They seemed to make one another worse.

Alicia, of course, had Betty. Alicia was not as good-tempered as usual. She still smarted because she had not been made head-girl, and she was not at all nice to Sally nor as loyal to her as she should have been. Sally took no notice, but she was not very happy about it.

Gwen had Daphne, of course—and now Mary-Lou seemed to want Daphne too! How was Gwen going to feel about that?

“You needn’t worry,” said Daphne to Gwen. “I’m only using her, silly little thing! I’ll let her come out with me sometimes, when you’re busy, because I don’t want her to think I only want her help for my French. You can use her too, Gwen. Copy my work when I’ve done it!”

So Gwendoline put up with Mary-Lou’s company at times, and even said nothing when she went off alone with Daphne. What did it matter? Daphne was only using her!

But all the same Daphne couldn’t help liking little Mary-Lou—and it was certainly a change from the silly Gwen to have good-hearted Mary-Lou trotting by her side once or twice a week!