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many feet in the hallway.
    â€œHere they come!” Celia whispered very softly.
    Mr. Chadwick led the boys into the room, and they stood quietly behind their headmaster, surveying their guests.
    Mandie and Celia looked at the well-dressed young men. “I’m glad we got all dressed up,” Mandie whispered. “Just look at them!”
    â€œYoung ladies, if you please,” Mr. Chadwick began. “There are place cards on the tables. The young men know where their seats are, and they will come forward to lead you young ladies to the tables.” Turning to the boys behind him, he said, “Now if you will each please step forward and claim your partner.”
    The boys moved around the room taking the girls one by one to the table assigned to them. There were already chairs around the tables, and the group stood behind these until the last ones had been claimed. Tommy Patton and Robert Rogers were among the last to find their partners.
    Mandie and Celia, still speechless, just smiled up at the two boys and accompanied them to the table.
    After Mr. Chadwick returned thanks for the food, there was a loud shuffling noise as chairs were pulled out from the tables and everyone was seated. After they sat down, Mandie and Celia laid their gifts for the boys in their laps. Miss Prudence and Miss Hope sat on either side of Mr. Chadwick at the head table.
    Finally the tension was broken, and the room was filled with laughter and conversation as the dinner began.
    â€œHow can you live in such a castle?” Mandie asked Tommy as the maids started bringing the food to the tables.
    â€œI have to live here because my parents sent me here,” Tommy said with a sigh. “You see, my father went to school here.”
    â€œOh, I see,” Mandie said. “So did my mother—I mean she went to my school, too.” She turned to Robert. “And so did Celia’s mother.”
    â€œMy mother and Mandie’s were friends,” Celia added.
    â€œGuess I’m the outsider,” Robert said. “Nobody in my family ever went to this school.”
    â€œBy the way, did Snowball ever catch that mouse?” Tommy asked.
    Mandie and Celia brought the boys up-to-date.
    â€œThere’s April Snow over at the next table,” Mandie said, glancing in that direction.
    April, dressed in the latest New York fashion, carried on a conversation with a tall handsome lad beside her.
    â€œI wonder what she’s telling that boy,” Celia said. “She hardly ever talks to anyone.”
    â€œShe really does look pretty,” Mandie said.
    At that moment a group of musicians came in, dressed in festive costumes, and carrying musical instruments. They sat down in a corner of the room, and began playing and singing Christmas carols. The buzz of conversation died down as the group sang.
    Mr. Chadwick beckoned to the students to begin eating as the last of the savory food was placed on the tables.
    Mandie finally felt herself relaxing in the pleasant atmosphere. Celia seemed to be at ease also.
    Later, as they finished their meal, Mandie noticed various ones across the room exchanging Christmas presents, so she took her package from her lap and handed it to Tommy. “Merry Christmas, Tommy,” she said, smiling as he also withdrew a tiny package from his pocket.
    He handed it to her. “Merry Christmas, Mandie,” he said, hastily unwrapping his gift from her. “Handkerchiefs! Exquisitely done! I needed these. Thanks for being a mind reader.”
    â€œYou’re welcome,” Mandie said, pulling the paper off the present he had given her. She opened a small white box and cried, “A sand dollar on a chain! Oh, thank you, Tommy! I love it!” She held up the necklace for the others to see.
    Celia showed Mandie the gift she had just unwrapped from Robert—a filmy white silk scarf. “Look! Isn’t it beautiful?”
    â€œYes,” Mandie agreed. “Did