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everyone like you did today. Even though I requested you have a quiet day with the social studies class instead of going swimming.” Mrs. Walton turned off the light. “Sleep well.”
    Maddy had pulled a face in the darkness. She had never thought of Mrs. Walton as nasty before, but it was a hateful, spiteful thing to do under the pretence of worrying about swimming being too tiring. She loved swimming. It was her favourite sport.
    Miss Dewitt had been spying on her and then reporting everything she heard and noticed back to Mrs. Walton. She had drifted off to sleep, drowsily wondering whether it was a disadvantage that the Waltons had plenty of money.
    They probably paid Miss Dewitt to spy on her all the time. How did poor Jennifer always manage to look so happy and contented with everyone watching and spying on her all the time?
    Still, she had slept well and today was the start of her wonderful weekend. Maddy got out of bed and pulled on the warm tracksuit. She would take a pile of hot, buttered toast into the lounge and settle down to a peaceful Saturday morning of watching cartoons.
    â€œWhat do you think you are doing, Maddy?” Mrs. Walton asked as she came into the lounge room about an hour later.
    â€œWatching cartoon carnival,” Maddy explained. “Did I disturb you? I had the telly turned right down.”
    Mrs. Walton looked at the remains of the buttered toast on the floor beside Maddy. For a few seconds she looked bewildered and then she shrugged. To Maddy’s horror, she walked over and turned off the television.
    â€œCome and finish eating at the breakfast nook, Maddy,” she said.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with me watching it in front of telly?” Maddy protested. “That was my favourite segment you turned off.”
    â€œWe do not eat in the lounge or in front of television, that’s what,” Mrs. Walton said.
    The kitchen was pleasant with the smells of bacon and eggs. Mr. Walton sat in the breakfast nook with a paper in front of him. He was reading the financial section of his paper. He looked up and smiled at Maddy. Maddy sat down beside him.
    â€œCan I have the comic pages please?” she asked.
    â€œNo reading at the table,” Mrs. Walton said sharply.
    â€œI was just glancing through it,” Mr. Walton said, as he folded the paper and put it down. “So what’s my Princess doing this morning?”
    â€œI’m watching cartoon carnival,” Maddy said.
    She almost felt as if she was in the right family for once. Did all fathers call their daughters Princess?”
    â€œShowering and changing into a good dress and going for your piano lesson,” Mrs. Walton said.
    Maddy stuck out her bottom lip. There went her peaceful morning of cartoon carnival! She had forgotten about the way Jennifer rushed off to piano lessons every Saturday. Although Jennifer had always confided that she loved piano lessons and wouldn’t miss them for the world.
    What a shocking way to waste a perfectly good wet, Saturday morning! Maddy and her sisters were supposed to be learning the piano, but she hated every wrongly pressed key of her lessons.
    It was Grandma who kept paying for the three Matson girls to have lessons. Every now and then they were expected to play something on the dark yellow keys of Grandma’s spooky piano to prove they were still learning and practising.
    Mr. and Mrs. Walton exchanged smiles. Maddy felt the back of her neck prickle. The sort of smiles they exchanged hinted at something secret and interesting happening.
    â€œWe have a special nice surprise for you this afternoon,” Mrs. Walton said.
    â€œReally! What?”
    This was more like it, Maddy decided. The Waltons were into giving Jennifer nice surprises. They made such a fuss of Jennifer all the time.
    The Waltons always bought tickets for the most exciting things. Jennifer had seen the troupe of dancing horses when they were in town, and the big circus that