Ella signalled to the others to be quiet. Then she peeped round the door. She could see Lady Eggley and one of the cooks, who was wearing a large green apron. Next to Lady Eggley was a small catering trolley with wheels. Ella tried to see if there was anything on the trolley but the teacher was blocking her view.
“Oh good. You’ve done it at last,” said Lady Eggley. “I shall wheel this to my room now. Good night.” Then she left the kitchen, pushing the trolley in front of her. The click-clack of her footsteps grew fainter.
“Lady Eggley’s gone,” Ella whispered to the others.
“That lady has no manners,” muttered the cook, banging a saucepan down on the table. “No manners at all! Now, what’s all this? Who’s made a mess of my lettuces?”
Rosalind nudged Ella. “Something’s knocked over the box of lettuces – look!”
Ella saw the cook pick up the fallen lettuces and put them back in the box. “I bet that was Daisy!” she whispered. “Maybe she’s hiding somewhere.”
At last, the cook finished tidying up. She hung up her apron and switched off the light. As soon as she’d gone, the princesses switched their torches back on and dashed into the kitchen. They searched under tables and inside cupboards. They peered into the fridge and even took the lids off the saucepans to check inside.
“I can’t think of anywhere else to look,” said Rosalind.
“Where are you, Daisy?” Ella said softly.
“I don’t think she’s here,” said Summer at last. “Maybe she knocked over those lettuces and then hopped away.”
“She might have gone this way.” Lottie hurried down the passageway and the others followed.
Ella felt an uneasy wriggling deep down in her tummy. She didn’t know her way around the school very well and it was even more confusing in the dark. How had Daisy managed to hop so far without getting tired? She was only a baby rabbit after all!
“Here’s the art room and next door is the library,” said Lottie. “Rosalind and Ella, you look in the library, and Summer and I will search in here.”
Ella followed Rosalind into the library. The two girls went along every single shelf of books and checked carefully under the chairs and tables.
“This is really strange,” said Ella, pushing back her dark, wavy hair.
“What do you mean?” said Rosalind.
“I don’t understand how Daisy’s come so far.” Ella bit her lip. “It’s as if she’s just disappeared.”
“It is a bit weird,” agreed Rosalind. “But she must be somewhere.”
Lottie opened the library door. “There are no bunnies in the art room. Any luck in here?”
Ella and Rosalind shook their heads.
The princesses carried on searching. They checked three classrooms and then tiptoed on into a new corridor with thick red carpets.
“Watch out, everyone,” hissed Lottie. “This is where the teachers sleep.”
“We should go back,” said Summer. “We could get in so much trouble.”
“Maybe we can take a peek inside their bedrooms?” Lottie tiptoed up to the nearest door and pulled down the handle. “I’ll only open the door a tiny bit.”
“Lottie!” gasped Ella. “What if the teacher wakes up and sees you looking in?”
There was a low snort from inside the room, followed by a voice saying. “Hmm? What’s that? Your dirty fingernails are a disgrace!” Then there was a creaking sound followed by silence.
Lottie opened the door very slightly and there was another loud snort from the bed. “I think that’s Lady Eggley,” she whispered with a giggle.
“Not so loud,” muttered Rosalind.
Ella didn’t dare to shine her torch into the room. She peered through the darkness. “It does look like Lady Eggley,” she whispered to the others. “And look, there’s the trolley that she wheeled out of the kitchens.”
The trolley was covered by a long piece of cloth that gaped at one end, revealing another shelf underneath. Ella looked closer. Was that a small furry shape next to the trolley? “Daisy!” she whispered joyfully.
The furry shape twitched and two ears pricked up.
“Oh, Daisy! What are you doing in there?” murmured Summer.
“I bet she rode all the way here on the bottom of that trolley and Lady Eggley didn’t even know,” said Lottie, giggling. “She had no idea that she was giving a rabbit a ride!”
Rosalind nudged her. “Shh, Lottie! You’re still too loud—” She broke off as the teacher turned over in bed.
Then a muffled voice said, “Wretched girls! I can hear them talking. They should NOT be running around in the middle of the night!”
Ella gasped and flapped her hand at Lottie. “Close the door!” she mouthed. “Quickly, before she sees us!”