Lottie shut ths teacher’s door. The girls stood still, holding their breath and listening out for sounds from inside.
“I can’t hear any creaking so I don’t think she’s got out of bed,” whispered Summer. “Maybe she was just talking in her sleep.”
“We need to get Daisy out of there,” said Lottie. “If Lady Eggley catches the rabbit in her room she’ll go crazy!”
“Can you get Daisy to come to you, Ella?” said Summer. “She loves you. Maybe if she sees you she’ll come over?”
“I’ll try.” Ella’s heart thumped as she slowly pulled down the door handle.
Loud snores filled the bedroom and Ella felt relieved. Lady Eggley must be asleep. She saw Lottie put her fingers over her mouth to stop a giggle.
Kneeling down, Ella held out her hand and whispered as quietly as she could, “Daisy! Come over here.” But the rabbit twitched her nose naughtily and bounced away behind the trolley.
Ella straightened up. “I’m going in to get her,” she whispered to the others. “Rosalind, could you hold the door for me?”
Rosalind held the door open, wincing when it creaked a little. Ella crept over to the trolley but Daisy wasn’t hiding there. She wasn’t on the bottom shelf or behind the dangling cloth.
Ella bit her lip. The longer it took to find the little rabbit, the more likely they all were to get caught. She tiptoed round the room, looking for Daisy on the floor. Then she knelt down and checked under the bed. She looked into all the corners and behind the wastepaper basket. She couldn’t see Daisy anywhere.
Lady Eggley was still snoring. Now and then, she muttered something in her sleep.
Lottie came in and started looking too. Ella peered behind the perfume bottles and hand mirrors on the teacher’s dressing table. She turned round, wondering where else to look. Something moved on the bed and Ella froze. On top of the sleeping teacher sat a little floppy-eared bunny!
“Can you see her?” hissed Lottie.
Ella put a finger to her lips and then pointed at Daisy, who was hopping along the blanket that covered Lady Eggley’s legs.
“She must have jumped up there,” whispered Lottie.
Ella wondered how she was going to pick up Daisy without waking the teacher. Lady Eggley grunted in her sleep and then smacked her lips together. Ella held her breath but the teacher didn’t open her eyes.
Daisy hopped over Lady Eggley’s stomach till she reached her neck. Then, to Ella’s horror, she nibbled at the teacher’s chin.
“What’s that?” muttered Lady Eggley. “Tickling is not allowed in class!”
Ella ducked down and crawled across the floor to the bed. She had to get to Daisy before the bunny did something even naughtier! She peered at the sleeping teacher just as the rabbit jumped on to the pillow and began snuffling at Lady Eggley’s ear.
Ella tried to take hold of Daisy. Her hand brushed against soft fur but the bunny slipped under her fingers and sprang off the pillow on to the bedside table. Lady Eggley rolled over in bed. Ella waited until the teacher had stopped moving, then she crawled after Daisy.
A plate of carrot sticks lay on the bedside table. Next to it was a yellow book with the title How to Look Elegant and Impress a Gentleman.
Lottie waved her arms and pointed at the carrot sticks. “Lady Eggley loves carrots,” she whispered. “She must have brought them here on the kitchen trolley. I bet Daisy was after them too!”
Lady Eggley stirred at the sound of Lottie’s whisper and muttered something in her sleep again.
Ella felt a fluttering in her tummy. If Lady Eggley woke up now she’d take them straight to the Headmistress!
Quickly, she reached over and took all the carrots off the plate. Daisy, who had nearly reached the vegetables, looked at her reproachfully. Crouching back down, Ella held the carrots close to the floor and edged backwards. After a moment, the little rabbit jumped down from the bedside table and followed the carrots.
Ella crawled backwards, holding the carrots out in front of her. She kept her eyes fixed on Daisy. Lottie tried to step out of Ella’s way and bumped into the wardrobe, making it rattle.
Lady Eggley jerked in the bed. “The princesses forgot to curtsy? Someone must be punished!”
Ella’s heart pounded so loud she wondered for a moment if everyone would hear it. Then the teacher dozed off again. Checking that Lottie was out of the way, Ella crept backwards with the carrots. Daisy hosleeppped after her with her nose twitching. At last they reached the corridor and Ella gently picked up Daisy and hugged her tight. “Silly thing!” she murmured. “I was so worried about you.”
Daisy twitched her nose. Then she took a carrot stick from Ella’s hand and crunched it.
The princesses took Daisy upstairs to Seahorse Tower. They knew that the main doors of the castle were locked at night and they’d have to wait till morning to take the baby rabbit back to the pet barn. Ella didn’t really mind. It gave her a chance for a longer cuddle with her bunny. She pressed her cheek against Daisy’s warm fur, glad that the baby animal was safe.
Summer found a small empty suitcase and padded it with a woolly scarf to make a comfortable sleeping place for Daisy.
“What a strange adventure!” yawned Summer. “It was amazing how that little golden shell opened up a whole secret passageway.”
Lottie’s eyes gleamed. “Maybe there are other golden shells hidden around the castle that will take us into more tunnels.”
“Well, I’m definitely too tired to look for them tonight,” said Rosalind. “My legs are aching. I feel like I’ve walked for miles and miles!”
“Me too,” agreed Ella. “I’m really looking forward to getting into bed! I bet even Daisy’s tired.”
They all looked over at the baby rabbit snuggled up among the folds of the woolly scarf and saw that she’d fallen fast asleep.