Mam'zelle's Imprisonment Night

Mam'zelle's Imprisonment Night is a night at St Clare's during the events of Fifth Formers of St Clares. It is seen as the climax of the book, where a lot of ongoing subplots are discovered by the headmistress, Miss Theobald, and are corrected.

The Night
The first and second formers plan to have a midnight feast. Mirabel Unwin, the games captain, gets wind of it and orders Katie, the head girl of the first form, to cancel it. Yolande, another first former, rules that they should go ahead. Mirabel suspects this and goes on the prowl that night to catch them in the act. Alma Pudden is also waiting in the wings, to try and steal food from the cupboard where they are storing the party things. Meanwhile, Jane Teal, a first former, decides to try and walk home four miles that night while the others are feasting, unaware she is beginning flu.

Anne-Marie Longden has been seeing Felicity Ray sleepwalking, which she is doing from overwork and stress. Anne-Marie supposes it is because she is a genius, so she does abnormal things, and she decides to do her own sleepwalking act, to make the other girls recognise her genius as a poet. She decides to make Mam'zelle believe her at night.

That night, Antoinette and Sally go to get the eatables from the cupboard in the fifth form study corridor. This is above Mam'zelle's room, and they drop something, alerting Mam'zelle and causing her to go and investigate. As they hear her, they dive for a nearby alcove. She almost catches the girls, but they make a bolt for it, dropping a ginger beer bottle on her foot in the process. As Mam'zelle goes to give chase, she stubs her toe again on the other foot on the bottle again. She follows the girls in the direction they fled.

Mam'zelle walks in a circle, coming back to the alcove and the cupboard. She sees Alma by the cupboard, and, thinking she has caught a burglar, locks Alma in the cupboard. She tells her she is off to call the police, and immediately sees Jane, groping for the side door to get out of St Clare's, oblivious to the fact she is ill and feverishly searching for a way out. Mam'zelle, who has burglars on the brain, decides Jane must be another one and when Jane finds not the side door, but the door to a games cupboard, Mam'zelle locks her in. Jane falls unconscious in the cupboard.

Meanwhile, Mam'zelle begins to think she is wasted as a French mistress and should have joined the police force, as she believes she has locked up two burglars. On the way to the telephone, however, she spots Felicity, who is sleepwalking. Due to Felicity's ghostly appearance in pyjamas, Mam'zelle believes she is seeing a spirit, and she runs to her bedroom in fright. Felicity follows her into the room, and as Mam'zelle has her light on, she sees at once that it is Felicity and not a ghost. Felicity gets into bed and goes back to sleep.

Mam'zelle hears commotion once more above her head: Sally and Antoinette have returned for the food. She goes once more to investigate, and sees the two small figures fleeing down the corridor. The next person she sees is Mirabel, who is trying to find if the first and second form are having their party. As she is a tall girl wearing pyjamas, in the darkness she looks like a man, and Mam'zelle decides she must be part of the gang burglars infesting St Clare's that night. Mam'zelle makes a noise as she trips over the school cat, and Mirabel slips into a bathroom. Unfortunately, Mam'zelle sees another opportunity, and locks her in. Mirabel assumes the first and second form are responsible, and sits down to wait for her release.

Mam'zelle then takes the decision to not call the police, but to go to Miss Theobald, as she feels sure the police would not believe her. However, she catches sight of another night wanderer - Anne-Marie! She glides past in pretence, leading Mam'zelle a fine dance into the second form dormitories. The second form hurriedly clear up their feast, and get into bed. When Anne-Marie enters the dorm, the light is switched on, knocking her out of her pretence and alerting the girls to the fabrication. Antoinette throws a jug of cold water over Anne-Marie, who gives her such a scolding that everyone is assured she was pretending. Mam'zelle hauls her out, failing to notice the girls squashed under beds and the remains of the feast. Mam'zelle takes Anne-Marie to Matron, who is informed of Mam'zelle's night of burglars. Matron recommends seeing Miss Theobald first.

Mam'zelle wakes Miss Theobald and takes on a tour of her captives. First to be released is Jane, who is taken to the sickbay by Matron. Next is Mirabel, who informs the two mistresses that the second form have been holding a feast. Miss Theobald sends Mirabel to begin disgrace, warning her about rudeness. The last person to be released from their prison is Alma, who, too, is sent to bed in disgrace after trying to pilfer the store cupboard. The last to be dealt with is Felicity, who is obviously overworking. She is left in Mam'zelle's bed for the night, and is taken to the sickbay the next day.