Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE To Violet's relief, when everyone returned from unicorn hockey, rosy-cheeked and chattering happily, they didn't mention the scene in the stables with Twinkle. "So, tonight!" Rosa said, bouncing up to Violet. "We'll start snooping after dinner. OK?" "OK," said Violet reluctantly. "You don't have to go, Violet," said Ariana. "You can stay with me and Freya." "Nope, Violet's coming with us," declared Rosa. "And that's that!" Before bedtime, Violet found herself shivering in a dark corridor in the teachers' quarters, wearing her dressing gown and fluffy polar bear slippers as

she crept behind Rosa and Matilda. Every cell in her body was wishing she was back in the dorm with Freya and Ariana. "What exactly are we looking for, Rosa?" asked Matilda. She swung her torch wildly, sending a dancing beam of light along the ceiling. "Shoes!" announced Rosa. "We're going to see if any of the teachers' shoes have a diamond pattern on the sole." Violet really didn't want to sneak into the teachers' rooms. "How about we look in the staff cloakroom?" she suggested. Rosa's eyes sparkled in the torchlight. "Ooh, yes! Good plan. The teachers will all be in the staff common room after dinner." The staff cloakroom was near the back door. It was lined with pegs with shoe racks underneath. "Look at all these shoes," Matilda whispered as they went inside and shut the door behind them. "It's going to take ages to check them." The girls set to work, using their torches to see the patterns on the soles of the riding boots, wellies and shoes. Rosa and Matilda were soon giggling. "Look at this!" said Matilda, pulling a pink, yellow and very fluffy sock out of a boot and carefully holding it up. "Whose is it?"

"Ms Bramble's?" Rosa suggested innocently, causing Matilda to snort loudly. Matilda dropped the thing back into the boot and then pulled out a pair of old green socks from some wellies. "Eew! Smelly!" she squealed, dropping them. Clutching on to Rosa, she rocked with laughter. Violet's heart was thumping and it beat even faster when she heard a creak outside. "Shhh," she said. "What's that?" But Rosa and Matilda were giggling too hard and didn't hear her.

"Quiet!" Violet hissed. The door opened and the light snapped on. Matilda squeaked and Violet's torch clattered to the floor. "Girls!" Ms Willow stood in the doorway, dressed in a thick scarf and outdoor coat and holding an empty bottle of Daffodil's tonic. "What are you doing in here?" Violet felt like crying. They were going to get into so much trouble. She'd known this was a bad

idea. "We… Um…" For once even Rosa was lost for words. Ms Willow looked at them for a moment and then her lips twitched into a smile. "Hmm. Now, let me see. Were you trying to find me, maybe? Because you were feeling ill?" Violet blinked. It sounded almost like Ms Willow was trying to give them a way out– an excuse for being there. "Yes," said Matilda, her eyes widening. "We felt unwell." Rosa nodded vigorously. "We thought… We thought we might have colds coming on." "Well, in that case, I'll overlook you all being here, provided it doesn't happen again. Now, why don't you hurry along to bed and I'll bring you some of my cold-cure medicine. Unless you're already feeling a bit better?" Ms Willow's eyes twinkled. "Actually, I think we'll be fine," Rosa gasped. Violet couldn't believe it. Thank goodness lovely Ms Willow had found them! If Ms Brambles or Ms Rivers had discovered them, they would certainly have been marched straight to Ms Nettles. Ms Willow ushered the girls from the

cloakroom. "Go back to your dorm, girls. If I hear any noise, I'll be up with that cold-cure medicine in the stamp of a unicorn's hoof. Understand?" "We understand!" they all answered as they scurried away. "Phew! That was close!" said Rosa, when they'd turned a corner. Matilda blew out a long breath. "Hurrah for Ms Willow! She really is the best." Violet nodded, feeling cross with herself. She'd known all along that Rosa's spying mission was a bad idea. So why had she gone along with it? If anyone asks me to do something I don't want to again, I'm definitely going to say no, she decided firmly, even if it's Twinkle! But would she really argue with him? Not wanting to think about it, Violet squashed her thoughts down and quickly ran upstairs with the others.