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Copyright © 1999 Enid Blyton Ltd

Enid Blyton’s signature is a Registered Trade Mark ofEnid Blyton Ltd (a Chorion company). All rights reserved

First published in Great Britain in 1999by Hodder Children’s Books

This edition published in 2007

The right of Anne Digby to be identified as the Author ofthe Work has been asserted by her in accordance with

the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

For further information on Enid Blyton,please contact www.blyton.com

1

All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted underUK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced,

stored or transmitted, in any form, or by any means withprior permission in writing from the publishers or in the case of

reprographic production in accordance with the terms of licencesissued by the Copyright Licensing Agency and may not beotherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other

than that in which it is published and without a similar conditionbeing imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblanceto real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A Catalogue record for this book is available fromthe British Library

ISBN-10: 0 340 91773 3ISBN-13: 978 0 340 91773 2

Typeset in Sabon by Avon DataSet Ltd, Bidford-on-Avon, Warks

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

The paper and board used in this paperback by Hodder Children’sBooks are natural recyclable products made from wood grown insustainable forests. The manufacturing processes conform to the

environmental regulations of the country of origin.

Hodder Children’s Booksa division of Hachette Children’s Books

338 Euston RoadLondon NW1 3BH

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Contents

1 A message from William and Rita 12 Elizabeth upsets Patrick 113 Patrick makes a little joke 274 John tells Elizabeth a secret 455 Elizabeth is angry 536 Julian looks for clues 697 Elizabeth makes up her mind 818 A private letter arrives 999 The Meeting decides to punish

Elizabeth 10910 Arabella stirs up trouble again 12111 The correct conclusion 137

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1

1 A message from Williamand Rita

‘It’s still lovely and sunny!’ said Elizabethhappily, as she came out of the first formclassroom with her friend Julian and his cousin,Patrick.

It was four o’clock in the afternoon. Lessonsat Whyteleafe School had finished for the day.Along the corridor, boys and girls werebursting out of other classrooms, laughing andchattering noisily. Soon everyone wouldchange out of school uniform, go to tea, thenrace off to take part in all their summer termactivities.

There was always so much to do atWhyteleafe, thought Elizabeth. She loved it herenow. She was still a monitor, though only anhonorary one this term. There were no sillyquarrels to worry about at present, nomisunderstandings, no having to keep her

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The Naughtiest Girl Keeps a Secret2

temper. She and Patrick were just starting toget on reasonably well too. At the beginning ofterm they had been sworn enemies.

‘This is my favourite time of year!’ Elizabethtold Julian. ‘The evenings are so light and long.It gives you time to fit everything in. I think I’lldo some gardening later. I’m sure my lettucesneed watering . . .’

‘You’ve got to come and watch my tennismatch first,’ Patrick butted in.

Elizabeth nodded that she would, thencontinued.

‘To think how much I hated it here at thebeginning. It seems so strange now. I did every-thing I could to try and get myself sent home.’

‘You mean, last summer, when you were thenaughtiest girl in the school?’ asked Julian, hisgreen eyes showing his amusement. ‘Wish I’dbeen here then. Poor Elizabeth. You’ve beentrying to live it down ever since.’

‘Well, I have lived it down,’ said Elizabethfirmly.

‘She wouldn’t be a monitor if she hadn’t,’Patrick pointed out. ‘Anyway, it wasn’t all thatstrange. Hating it here at the beginning, I mean.

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3A message from William and Rita

Look at me: three weeks ago I couldn’t standthe place!’

It was true. Julian’s cousin was new this term.And, although the two cousins looked ratheralike, their characters were very different. Julianwas lively and jokey, full of a self-confidencewhich came from being so clever and good ateverything. He didn’t, for example, in the leastmind Elizabeth being a monitor. Patrick, whenhe’d first arrived, had been sullen and lackingin confidence. And he had deeply resented agirl telling him what to do.

‘But you do like it here now, don’t you,Patrick?’ said Elizabeth.

‘Not so terrible having a school with girls init, is it?’ said Julian, wryly. ‘And you’ve gotyour trial for the second tennis team. Already!I call that good going.’

‘Yes, not bad.’ Patrick flushed with pride.‘Don’t you two forget to come and watch me,either. I need supporters.’

‘We’ll come and support you,’ piped up avoice in the corridor, just behind them. It wasArabella Buckley, with a friend. ‘We’ll comeand cheer Patrick on, won’t we, Rosemary?’

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The Naughtiest Girl Keeps a Secret4

‘Of course we’ll come!’ said Rosemary,who always agreed with everything Arabellasaid.

‘We’ll be there, Patrick,’ said Elizabethquietly. ‘You know you can do it. I’m sure youcan beat Roger.’

Roger Brown was a big boy, in his last termat Whyteleafe. But even so, he was only clingingon to his place in the school’s second team byhis fingertips.

Mr Warlow, the sports master, had watchedPatrick play. He had also noted how hard thenew boy practised each day. So a trial had beenarranged.

After tea today, Roger and Patrick were toplay singles against each other. Everybodyknew that if Patrick proved to be the strongerplayer, he would be awarded that preciousplace in the second team.

‘You’ll need that special racket of yoursthough, Patrick,’ said Julian. ‘Better not letElizabeth get anywhere near it. You know whatshe’s like.’

He kept a straight face as he said it. For amoment Elizabeth took him seriously.

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5A message from William and Rita

‘Julian Holland, what a hateful thing tosay—’

Once, in a fit of rage with Patrick, Elizabethhad caused his lovely new racket to get soakedwith rain. She hated to be reminded of itnow.

It was Patrick who quickly smoothed thingsover. ‘Don’t worry! I’ll guard it with my life!’he smiled.

Elizabeth smiled then, too, and the awkwardmoment passed.

At teatime, she even managed to make a jokeat her own expense.

Patrick had changed into his tennis thingsand come over to join Elizabeth’s table,carrying his precious tennis racket. It really washis pride and joy.

‘If anything can bring me luck, it’s this,’ hetold John McTavish. ‘I’m useless with any otherracket.’

‘Better not leave it by my chair then, Patrick,’said Elizabeth. ‘I think you ought to padlock itto the table leg. You know what I’m like!’

All the boys and girls at the table laughed.Julian gave Elizabeth’s arm an approving

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pinch. He was pleased to see his friend nottaking herself too seriously.

Arabella, however, turned her pretty littledoll-like face towards Patrick and smiledprimly.

‘It wasn’t so funny at the time, though, wasit, Patrick?’ she said.

Elizabeth ground her teeth.She tried hard to think of something clever to

say, to get back at Arabella. But at that moment,someone came hurrying over to their table.

‘Elizabeth?’‘Joan!’Elizabeth was always pleased to see her

special friend. But Joan was older and had goneup to the second form quite quickly, so the twogirls saw less of each other these days. Elizabethknew that if she did well at lessons this termshe, too, would go up in September. Then sheand Joan would be together again. Elizabethwas looking forward to that.

‘I’ve got a message for you,’ said Joan softly.She was always quietly spoken. ‘It’s fromWilliam and Rita. They would like you to comealong to their study after tea, please.’

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7A message from William and Rita

Elizabeth frowned in surprise. William andRita were the head boy and the head girl ofWhyteleafe School.

‘Are you coming too? Are all the monitorscoming?’ Elizabeth asked. She was puzzledbecause there was no school Meeting due for aday or two yet.

Sometimes all the monitors were called in ifthere was something important to discussbefore the Meeting. The Meeting was held oncea week. All pupils had to attend. It was a kindof Parliament. At Whyteleafe it was the boysand girls themselves who made many of theimportant rules and saw that they were appliedfairly. When problems arose, they sorted themout themselves. The teachers rarely had to beinvolved.

‘No, they just want you,’ said Joan. ‘I don’tknow what it’s about.’

Elizabeth rushed through her tea after that.What did William and Rita want to see herabout?

‘Hey, Monitor, don’t gobble your food.You’re supposed to set a good example,’ teasedJulian. ‘William and Rita aren’t going to

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disappear down a big hole. They can wait,’ headded, carelessly.

‘I’ll finish up your scrambled egg if youcan’t manage it all, Elizabeth,’ said herfriend Kathleen, all smiles and rosy cheeks asusual.

‘Would you really like it?’ asked Elizabeth,gratefully. ‘Cook’s given me too much. Then Ican slip off and see what they want with me.I haven’t done anything bad lately, have I,Kathleen?’

She picked up her remaining chocolatebiscuits, put them in her pocket, scraped herchair back, then got up and left the table.

‘If you’d done anything bad it would have towait for the Meeting, Elizabeth!’ Julian calledafter her, ‘and the whole school would have tohear about it. You know that’s the system here.See you later!’

‘Come straight on to the tennis-courts!’Patrick added. ‘I’ll be playing soon.’

But Elizabeth, hurrying out of the hall,didn’t hear them. The chatter and clatter fromother tables filled her ears and drowned outthe boys’ voices.

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9

There was only one thought in her mind atpresent.

Why had the head boy and girl asked her tocome and see them?

A message from William and Rita

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