The Worst Witch All at Sea (13 page)

reakfast consisted of the most delicious array of food. The girls were dumbfounded at the amount of choice. In fact, there was usually no choice at all, just grey porridge looking like half-set concrete.

‘Don’t just stand there gawping, Form Two,’ said Miss Hardbroom. ‘Take a plate and anything you require. Anyone would think you’d never
seen
food before.’

The feast was spread out on two long trestle-tables. There were several jugs of orange juice, two silver dishes full of kippers (Mildred made a mental note that she must get one or two for Tabby), ten silver racks stuffed with toast, pots of butter, four huge jars of marmalade, two pots of Marmite, three silver dishes full of crispy bacon, a large dish of grilled tomatoes and two more loaves in case anyone was still hungry.

There was also a large pottery urn full of Cornflakes and two pottery jugs full of milk, plus several bowls of sugar. The bowls and plates were all a beautiful shade of midnight blue with tiny gold stars on them. The girls still didn’t quite dare to help themselves.

‘Tuck in, girls!’ announced Miss Cackle. ‘
I’m
certainly not going to wait a moment longer!’

This was the signal they all needed and soon there was a noisy bustle of spoons and bowls being grabbed and everyone was piling up as much food as they could cram on to their plates.

‘Steady on, Mil!’ said Maud, as she noticed Mildred attempting to hide three kippers underneath two strategically placed pieces of toast.

‘I’m
starving
this morning,’ said Mildred. ‘It must be the sea air!’

She had a plastic bag in the pocket of her voluminous shorts, and managed to slide in all three kippers with the minimum of mess while no one was looking.

After the girls had eaten everything in sight and were lolling around feeling so full that they could hardly breathe, Miss Cackle clapped her hands and chanted the words of a spell no one had heard before. At once the trestle-tables took off like a pair of giant seagulls and flew back up the cliff, where they disappeared out of sight into the castle.

‘Mr Rowan-Webb lent me that spell, girls,’ said Miss Cackle, ‘as part of our breakfast treat – no washing-up for anyone this morning!’

Form Two cheered loudly.

‘Now then, girls!’ announced Miss Hardbroom. ‘First of all, a word of warning. When your broomsticks are near the water their magic powers are far less efficient. That is to say, they don’t work so brilliantly when their magic is damp. Of course in
some
people’s cases, they don’t work too brilliantly even in ninety degrees of heat.’ Here she shot a glance at Mildred, who dropped her eyes to the beach, feeling aware of the illicit kippers congealing in her pocket. ‘For this reason,’ Miss Hardbroom went on, ‘you will find it difficult to keep your broomsticks stable directly above the water. However, if the broomsticks are hovering a good few feet above the waves, they will be strong enough to pull you along behind on water-skis. Miss Cackle and I have stored the school skis in a crate in the cave, which you will see behind us. There are enough pairs to fit every girl, plus one piece of rope each. Please go and collect these items and come back to me.’

Thank goodness I didn’t hide Tabby in the cave, thought Mildred, as she joined the scrum of pupils grabbing their equipment.

‘This should be fun!’ exclaimed Enid, emerging laden from the cave just as Mildred was going in.

‘Has anyone tried broomstick water-skiing before?’ asked Miss Hardbroom once the girls had lined up on the beach with all their gear.

‘I don’t mean to boast, Miss Hard-broom,’ simpered Ethel, ‘but I was champion at my junior school.’

‘Excellent, my dear!’ enthused Miss Hardbroom. ‘Then perhaps you could show your fellow pupils what is required.’

Ethel set about fixing the length of rope on to the back of the broomstick. There was enough spare to leave several feet of rope, which she tied into a handle at the other end.

‘Shall I give a demonstration, Miss Hardbroom?’ asked Ethel.

‘Thank you, Ethel,’ said Miss Hardbroom. ‘That would be most kind.’

Ethel took off her sports clothes to reveal her striped bathing-costume. She bundled her hair into the black bathing-hat and carried her broomstick and the skis to the shallow water at the edge of the beach.

‘Hover!’ she commanded her broom, which remained lifeless in her hands. ‘Miss Hardbroom – it won’t hover!’ Ethel was close to tears. ‘This has never happened before, Miss Hardbroom – Miss Cackle, I’m so sorry!’

‘Don’t worry, Ethel!’ called Miss Hardbroom. ‘You’ve probably forgotten that it’s a little too close to the water. Hold it above your head, dear.’

Ethel laughed to hide her mistake. She held the broomstick as high above her head as possible while standing on tiptoe.

‘Hover!’ she commanded. This time the broomstick was perfectly happy to remain in mid-air. ‘Stay!’ Ethel brandished a finger at the disobedient broom.

Then she sat in the water, pulled on her skis, and hunched up so that her shoulders were under the water. She held on to the handle at the end of the rope. ‘Off you go!’ she called.

The broomstick shot off like a rocket.

Ethel rose out of the water, perfectly balanced on the skis and roared away, skimming the water in a cloud of spray. She executed a figure of eight, almost touching the water as she leaned into the curves, then came back

to the beach in a straight line, sinking gracefully into the waves at the edge of the shingle as she arrived.

‘Stay!’ she called to the broomstick, which screeched to a halt at once and remained hovering patiently in mid-air, with the rope dangling into the sea.

‘Was that all right, Miss Hardbroom?’ asked Ethel earnestly.

‘Superb, Ethel!’ replied Miss Hardbroom. ‘Quite simply, superb. Now then, Form Two, let’s see if you can all raise yourselves to Ethel’s standard by the end of the week. Of course, I realize that it is
unlikely
, but you can at least
try
. I will be joining you for a spin later in the morning. Will you be joining us, Miss Cackle?’

Miss Cackle looked appalled.

‘Er! Oh no, I don’t think so, Miss Hardbroom!’ she answered, looking embarrassed. ‘I’ll be going in for a quick dip though – if the weather stays pleasant!’

The girls exchanged delighted glances as they imagined Miss Cackle in a swimming-costume.

‘The sea-level will probably go up several feet if Miss Cackle goes swimming!’ giggled Mildred.

‘What was that, Mildred?’ asked Miss Hardbroom.

‘Um – I was just discussing the er – the laws of
science
!’ replied Mildred. ‘You know: when you put stones in a jar of water and the water-level goes up. I was wondering if – you know – with all this sea-water around we could try a little experiment later on, to see if –’