The Worst Witch All at Sea (11 page)

there was a lifebelt on the side of the cabin, which made Mildred feel a little less panic-stricken.

Very carefully, Mildred lowered herself into the boat, which rolled alarmingly until she had found her balance, opened the door into the cabin and squeezed herself inside.

It was surprisingly snug. The rhythmic movement of the waves and the muffled slapping of the water even felt quite soothing after all the howling wind and rain. It really did seem the perfect place to hide a striped cat who shouldn’t have come on holiday in the first place.

here’s Ebony, Mil?’ asked Maud, as Mildred arrived back in the dormitory carrying the cat-basket with the door open. ‘He’s all right, isn’t he?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Mildred. ‘He jumped out when I was on my way to Miss Hardbroom, and disappeared out of the nearest window along the battlements. I expect he’ll be back soon. He’s a more adventurous cat than Tabby.’

At least
that
part’s true! she thought miserably, feeling terrible at telling such an appalling amount of lies to her best friend.

‘
I
think Miss Cackle should have let you keep that moth-eaten stripy rug,’ jeered Ethel, whose clothes were now all folded into regimented piles on top of her suitcase at the end of her bed.

‘No wonder poor old Ebony’s made a bolt for it!’

Mildred had been working very hard on her spells and could now remember word-perfect the spells to change people into pigs, snails, frogs and centipedes, plus the antidote spells to change them back. She was sorely tempted to lash out and turn Ethel into a centipede for ten minutes, but managed to restrain herself when she remembered the other occasion, in her first term, when she had got into the most awful trouble with Miss Hardbroom for changing Ethel into a pig.

Just at that moment, as if to remind Mildred that it wouldn’t have been a good idea at all, Miss Hardbroom materialized in the middle of the room.

‘Excellent, Ethel,’ she said, a wave of her bony hand indicating Ethel’s neat pile of belongings. ‘If only you all had such organized brains as Ethel Hallow, Form Two. Ethel could make a rubbish tip look like an army barracks – even her cat knows how to arrange itself with taste.’

Ethel’s cat, Night Star, was sitting bolt upright with his head slightly bowed on top of a pile of cardigans, looking like a statue from a museum.

‘Yuk!’ whispered Mildred to Maud. ‘Doesn’t she make you feel sick?’

‘I do hope you aren’t referring to
me
, Mildred Hubble?’ said Miss Hard-broom icily.

‘Oh no, Miss Hardbroom,’ said Mildred, blushing.

‘Then who
were
you referring to, Mildred?’ asked Miss Hardbroom.

‘Ethel Hallow, Miss Hardbroom,’ muttered Mildred.

‘Envy of Ethel’s superior qualities will get you absolutely nowhere, Mildred Hubble,’ snapped Miss Hardbroom. ‘Apologize to Ethel, please.’

‘Sorry, Ethel,’ mumbled Mildred.

‘That’s all right, Mildred,’ Ethel said, smiling sweetly. ‘We all know you can’t help it.’

‘Now then, girls,’ said Miss Hardbroom. ‘The rest of the day is yours to study and rest after the long flight. Then we will have an early bedtime and hope that the weather is a little less bracing tomorrow so that we can play some games and sports on the beach.’

Having said this, she vanished.

Everyone stood around, looking nervous. No one dared to speak for several minutes, as they were never sure if she was still there or not.

Ethel was the first to speak, saying, just to be on the safe side, ‘Well, I’m going to sit on my bed and brush up on my chanting. We’ve got a test during the week, holiday or not.’

‘Good girl, Ethel,’ Miss Hardbroom’s approving tones wafted through the room making everyone jump.

There was a hasty scramble as the pupils of Form Two all dived for their beds and took out their spell and chanting books and arranged themselves in as studious-looking positions as possible.

After a while, everyone relaxed and began chatting again.

‘What will you do if Ebony doesn’t come back?’ Enid called across the other beds to Mildred.

‘Oh, he’ll be back,’ said Mildred vaguely. ‘And even if he’s gone for a few days, I’m sure he’ll be back in time to go home.’