When Allie woke some time later, she was alone, but she had the not unpleasant feeling that Carter had been with her most of the time. She’d half-woken several times from bad dreams and in her exhausted daze thought she’d heard him whisper: ‘It’s OK. Sleep.’
Sitting up, she looked at the alarm clock. It was just before seven o’clock.
Morning? Or night?
A glance out the window revealed a summer evening. She’d slept all day.
As she stretched her tired muscles, her stomach rumbled so loudly at first she didn’t know what she was hearing.
‘Starving,’ she announced to the empty room.
Jumping out of bed, she headed straight for the door then skidded to a stop when she caught a glance of herself in the wall mirror. Her hair stood on end, her face was smudged with soot and she still wore the same clothes she’d put on in the middle of last night, now almost unrecognisably wrinkled.
She made a face at herself. Oh balls. Even I can’t go out looking like this.
Grabbing a hairbrush off the desk, she forced it through the tangled waves, then quickly changed clothes, hopping up and down on one leg and swearing under her breath when her skirt caught on the shoes she’d put on first.
Still buttoning the waistband, she rushed out of her room, stopping briefly at the mirror to wipe the soot off her face, and headed down the empty hallway to the landing, where she stopped.
It was quiet. Unnaturally quiet.
An awful thought crossed Allie’s mind: What if everybody left while I was sleeping, and they just forgot me?
Even though she knew it was absurd she felt a rush of fear as she raced down the stairs, hearing only the rubber patter of her shoes on the steps. As she neared the ground floor, though, she saw crowds of students moving in a subdued hush to the dining room and she slowed her pace. She felt ridiculous.
Of course they hadn’t left.
You’re losing it, she scolded herself, before taking a calming breath and joining the throngs.
The smell of food mingled unpleasantly with the acrid scent of scorched wood and plaster. As she looked around for a familiar face, she noticed that several of those around her had visible bandages. One hopped on crutches.
In the dining room, the night’s chaos had all been cleared away, but the tables had not been reset for supper with the usual crystal and china. Stacks of plates stood on every table, and students were handing them around to each other. No candles glimmered (after the fire she was glad of that). Everyone sat quietly as if nobody knew quite what to say.
She noticed with relief that Jo, Gabe and Lucas were at their normal table and she headed straight for them, but then Carter walked up beside her.
‘Hey.’
As she turned to look into Carter’s dark eyes her stomach flip-flopped. Suddenly shy, she shoved her hands in her skirt pockets.
‘Hey back.’
‘Did you sleep OK?’
He’d showered and changed – his cheeks were still rosy from the water, and his hair was damp on the ends. The tiredness was gone from his face.
She nodded, trying to stay cool, as if boys slept in her bedroom every day. But heat rose in her cheeks, betraying her. ‘Did you? When did you leave?’
‘An hour or so ago.’
He had a way of talking so quietly that she was forced to lean closer to him in order to hear. It made even ordinary conversations like this one feel intimate.
‘I needed to change,’ he continued. She was hyper-aware that her arm was rubbing against his. ‘I didn’t want to wake you – it took you so long to fall asleep.’
The tension between them was unbearable. One of them was going to have to look away, but Allie didn’t want to be the one.
What’s happening to me? she wondered. I can’t fancy Carter. I just … can’t.
‘Yeah,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I mean … I had to change too.’
Looking around, Carter noticed that most of the room was seated. ‘We better go or Zelazny will start shouting.’
He steered her to the table and waited until she was seated then, to her surprise, pulled out the chair next to her. He never sat with her group at meals, and she tried not to show on her face how pleased she was.
Gabe had no such qualms.
‘Carter!’ he said, leaning back in his chair with a teasing smile. ‘You do us an honour.’
Carter shrugged. ‘Oh, you know how it is, Gabe. Sometimes I just need to be close to you.’
Jo, who still looked tired, leaned towards Allie. ‘Did you sleep?’
‘Eventually,’ she said. ‘You?’
‘Not really.’ Jo gave a weary smile. ‘But I think I might be starving. Does that make me a bad person?’
‘I hope not,’ Allie said. ‘Turns out death and destruction can really negatively impact a low-calorie diet. Who knew?’
‘Any news on Lisa?’ Carter asked.
Lucas was the one to answer. ‘I tracked down Eloise an hour ago and she said Lisa’s awake and doing OK. We should be able to visit her soon.’
Allie felt herself smile for the first time since last night. The mood lightened, and for a while conversation buzzed in an almost normal way.
Then Lucas’ voice rose above the hum. ‘Hey, did everyone hear about the announcement?’
Allie glanced around the table, but she could tell nobody knew what he was talking about.
‘What announcement?’ Carter asked.
‘Isabelle’s making some sort of big announcement tonight about what happened. There’s a rumour that they’re sending everybody home, shutting the place down for the rest of the summer.’
‘No!’ Jo sounded stricken and Allie glanced over at her, surprised by her vehement tone. Gabe put a hand on her arm and she looked up at him with wild eyes. ‘They can’t send us home. They can’t.’
‘I’m sure they won’t.’ Gabe’s voice was soothing and Allie looked away as he tried to calm her.
The doors at the end of the dining room opened and the staff emerged in their usual orderly black-clad ranks, carrying steaming bowls and platters. Even though she was ravenous, Allie watched with strange disinterest as they set food on the table. Eating seemed so pointless, somehow, after all that had happened.
Sensing movement, she glanced down to see Carter serving stew onto her plate. He caught her eye and smiled guiltily.
‘Mmm … Delicious stew,’ he said lamely, and she surprised herself by laughing.
He slipped vegetables on her plate next, but when he handed her a roll she held up her hands in surrender. ‘All right, all right. Stop. I’ll eat. I promise.’ She took a dutiful bite, chewing with false enthusiasm. ‘OK?’
Now busy clearing his own plate, Carter ignored her sarcasm. In fact, that first bite had tasted pretty good and Allie found the second went down even easier. In the end she emptied her plate and sopped up the last of the gravy with the roll, then sat back in her chair with a satisfied sigh.
‘You really were hungry,’ Carter observed, amused.
‘My brother always says I eat like a boy …’ Allie said without thinking, and her smile faded as suddenly as it arrived. She never talked about Christopher.
The low hum of conversation in the room gradually increased as rumours spread about the impending announcement, and Allie was relieved that things felt, if only momentarily, slightly more normal. But as she glanced around the table she noticed that Jo looked wan and worried as she picked at her food. Before she could say anything to her, a voice spoke from the front of the room.
‘Can I have your attention, please?’
Dressed neatly in pressed black trousers and a pale blue cardigan, Isabelle stood still until the room quieted. The man she’d been dancing with the night before stood a few feet behind her, his hands folded in a position of calm. His alert eyes seemed to miss nothing. Then Allie felt her heart pound – Sylvain walked through the door and stood nearby, as if he were part of a triumvirate.
What’s he doing?
Isabelle’s face was sombre, but Allie marvelled at how normal she looked.
‘I know many of you were up all night, and I appreciate how tired you are. We are all so grateful for your efforts in putting out the fire.’
Allie glanced over at Carter and saw that he was watching Isabelle with a slight frown.
‘What happened last night was unprecedented in the history of Cimmeria,’ Isabelle continued. ‘It is disturbing and will require considerable work on our part to set right. The fire alone has damaged ancient walls. Bits of our history are gone for ever. But we will restore this school, have no doubt, and it will continue as it has always done.’
Faltering applause from the students seemed to take her by surprise, and she waited for it to fade to silence.
‘I am very sorry the events of last night occurred. It was upsetting for all of us. Our hearts go out to those of you who were close to Ruth Jansen – she was a lovely, if disturbed girl, and we will all miss her terribly. Her suicide came as a horrible shock.’
Allie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Suicide? What is she talking about?
‘We know that some of you might have problems dealing with her death, we are all – the teachers and myself – ready to help at any time if you need counselling or just someone to listen.’ Isabelle’s eyes were suffused with understanding. ‘You don’t have to suffer alone.’
A murmur swept across the room and Allie noticed that some students were weeping. Turning to catch Jo’s eye, she saw that she was biting her lip and trying not to cry – Gabe had his arm around her.
‘A memorial service will be held at the chapel next week. I’m sure those of you who knew her well will want to attend.’
After waiting a moment for all of that information to be absorbed, Isabelle continued in a brisker manner. ‘Some students injured in the fire will be leaving us tomorrow to recuperate at home, and we wish them all the best. We hope to see you all back in the autumn term. For those of you remaining – the work to repair the damage done by the fire should take about a month, and I fear there will be some disruption in the meantime – it’s annoying but necessary. The great hall is, of course, off limits for now.
She took a step back. ‘For your safety, curfew is early tonight – we’d like everyone to be in their rooms by nine o’clock – and you are all to remain indoors at all times for at least the next forty-eight hours.’
As soon as she finished speaking, the teachers clustered around her and the students began trooping towards the door in a low rumble of hushed conversation.
Spinning around to face Carter, Allie whispered, ‘What the hell …?’
Tight-lipped, he shook his head.
Looking up towards Isabelle, Allie stood up. ‘I need to find out when we can see Lisa. I’ll catch up.’
Carter grabbed her arm, his eyes contained a warning. ‘Allie …’
‘I can handle it,’ she said, shaking off his hand. ‘I promise I won’t freak out. I really want to know about Lisa.’
‘I’ll find you after,’ Carter said, hurrying after Gabe and Lucas.
Standing at the edge of the group of teachers, Allie waited for a break in their conversation. They were clearly agitated, but they were whispering so quietly she could only make out a phrase here and there.
‘Send them home!’ (Said with great force by Jerry, who was shushed.)
‘… about Nathaniel.’
Then Eloise noticed her. ‘Can we help you, Allie?’
Everyone fell silent as they all turned to look at her. Allie crossed one ankle behind the other in an unconscious gesture of nervousness.
‘I was just wondering if we can see Lisa?’
Isabelle stepped through the crowd and put her arm around her. ‘She’s doing OK, Allie. She’s awake but she’s groggy. You can see her tomorrow.’
Allie held Isabelle’s eyes challengingly. Up close she looked more anxious than she’d seemed from a distance – she had dark circles under her eyes. But she didn’t back down under Allie’s gaze.
‘Is there something else you need, Allie?’ she asked evenly.
For just a second Allie imagined saying, ‘Yes. Why are you pretending Ruth slit her own throat from ear to ear?’
But something told her this wasn’t the time or place to challenge Isabelle.
‘No … Thanks,’ Allie said, hurrying to the door.
Just before she reached it, she heard the whispers begin again.
Outside the dining hall Jo stood alone, leaning against the wall. She looked less pale than she had during dinner but Allie didn’t like the way her hands clenched and unclenched. She seemed to cheer up briefly when Allie gave her the good news about Lisa, but something was still not right.
As the two climbed the stairs towards the girls’ dormitory wing, Allie glanced over to see Jo staring down, near tears.
‘What is it, Jo?’ she asked. ‘What’s going on?’
‘It’s nothing, Allie.’ Jo didn’t meet her eyes and Allie knew she wasn’t telling the truth, but she didn’t think pursuing the issue would help.
When they reached Jo’s room, Allie walked in with her, suddenly afraid to leave her alone. Something was terribly wrong. Jo sat down on the bed, kicking off her shoes in her usual way, but she was wringing her hands.
Allie leaned back against the desk. She spoke in calm tones. ‘Jo, is there anything I can do?’
‘I need to talk to Gabe,’ Jo said, then she repeated the phrase in different ways. ‘I just … I have to talk to Gabe. I need to see Gabe.’
‘But we just left Gabe,’ Allie said, puzzled.
Jo shook her head. ‘I need to talk to him alone. I’m freaking out. He’ll know what to do.’
Studying her pale face, Allie made a quick decision. ‘OK, don’t worry. I’ll go and find him. Do me a favour and just rest for a while, OK? You’re wiped out. Have you slept at all today?’
‘But I’m not tired,’ Jo said, sitting down on the bed. ‘I’m way too wired to sleep.’
‘I was too,’ Allie said. ‘But try, OK? Just lie down and I’ll stay here until you’re asleep. I’ll find Gabe, I promise.’
‘I need to talk to him.’ Jo’s voice was blurred with exhaustion, and her eyes fluttered shut, even as a tear slipped down the side of her face. Finally, she leaned back against the pillows.
‘Just rest for a second,’ Allie said softly. She stood by the open window – the breeze was still cool. ‘I’ll find Carter and get him to send Gabe back.’
‘How will you find Carter?’ Jo’s voice was drowsy.
Looking out the window at the lengthening shadows on the grass below, Allie said, ‘I can always find Carter.’
When Jo’s breathing was regular and steady, Allie quietly closed the window and shutter, then tiptoed out, closing the door behind her with a nearly silent click.
Downstairs, she found the ground floor mostly empty. All the students who had been milling around had disappeared to their rooms. She wasn’t sure where to start looking – she’d never been to the guys’ dorm, and she wasn’t even sure how to get there aside from going across the roof, which didn’t seem like a great idea right now.
At that moment she heard a slapping sound down the hallway and looked up to see Jules walking purposefully, a clipboard held against her chest. The sound came from her pink Birkenstocks hitting her heels with every step.
She remembered Jo’s words when she’d asked her if any girls were in Night School. ‘Maybe Jules …’
Allie stepped into her path. ‘Hey Jules. How’s it going?’ She used her friendliest tone, and Jules looked a bit startled.
‘Hello Allie.’ She slowed her pace but didn’t stop and Allie swung into step with her.
‘Do you know where Gabe and Carter are?’
‘Why?’ Jules asked suspiciously.
Allie attempted a friendly but exasperated approach. ‘It’s a long, crazy story, but Carter has something of mine and I really need it, and Jo thought he might be with Gabe. Do you know? Like … where they are?’
Jules studied her face.
‘No,’ she said crisply, hurrying her pace.
Cursing silently, Allie rushed after her.
‘Look, Jules. It’s super-important. I wouldn’t ask otherwise.’
Jules stopped and turned to face her. ‘They’re in a meeting in the classroom wing where you’re not allowed to go, OK? But if you hang out near the door you’ll probably catch them as they come out. On the other hand, I don’t have any idea how long they’ll be.’
By now, Allie wanted to shake her, but she was not giving up.
‘So,’ she said, dragging one toe in a straight line on the floor, ‘where are you headed right now?’
Tucking the clipboard under her arm, Jules affected exaggerated patience. ‘What’s your point, Allie?’
‘Just that, if you’re going to that meeting, could you please send Carter back here. Now? Or just tell him I’m waiting here and I need to speak with him. It’s really important.’
Looking like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, Jules began walking again. ‘Of course, Allie. And would you like me to get you some tea and chocolate while I’m there? Because I’ve got nothing better to do today than to be your messenger girl.’
Dropping behind her, Allie raised two fingers at her back.
‘No thanks,’ she said, her voice cheerful and steady. ‘I can get my own tea.’
Jules’ voice floated back to her as she turned the corner. ‘How lovely.’
‘Thanks,’ Allie muttered when Jules was out of earshot, ‘and you have a great day, too, Jules.’
Leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest and the rubber sole of one foot propped on the antique wood panelling behind her, Allie waited. After ten minutes, she slid down the wall and sat on the floor, crossing her legs. In this spot she was hidden by the baroque, marble-topped occasional table next to her, so Isabelle didn’t see her when she walked by with her dancing partner a few minutes later.
‘… she needs to know that Nathaniel is out of control.’ Her voice was icy with rage. ‘Last night was unacceptable. She’s got to do something about it. At least pick a side. My God, Matthew, people got hurt. Children got hurt. This can’t continue.’
Matthew murmured something in reply that Allie couldn’t make out.
‘Well then you will just have to go and see her personally,’ Isabelle snapped as the two walked out of earshot.
Isabelle’s words had an electrifying effect on Allie, who leaned forward to peer around the heavily carved mahogany legs of the table.
So it wasn’t a teacher or a student after all. She drew her knees up close to her body and wrapped her arms around them as a strange feeling of relief washed over her. At least the murderer wasn’t somebody she thought of as a friend.
More footsteps.
Allie leaned forward again to see Carter standing nearby, looking up and down the wide corridor.
She scrambled to her feet. ‘Carter.’
‘Allie! Has something happened? Jules said you were looking for me.’
Allie almost smiled. I can’t believe it. She did tell him.
She stepped closer and lowered her voice. ‘Is Gabe in that meeting you were just in?’
He nodded.
‘He needs to go to Jo’s room – she’s freaking out,’ Allie said.
Carter didn’t seem surprised. ‘I’ll tell him. I could see something was wrong at dinner – he didn’t want to leave her, but …’
Allie’s eyes were worried. ‘She’s being very strange, Carter. Not like herself.’
‘I told him that would happen.’ There was a pause while he seemed to come to a decision. ‘Allie, we need to talk.’
‘Sure. What’s up?’
He looked around. ‘No, I mean, in private. Can you meet me at the chapel in twenty minutes?’
She looked at him dubiously. ‘We’re not supposed to leave the building on pain of wrath-of-Isabelle and it’s after nine already.’
‘It’s the perfect time,’ he said. ‘Everybody’s in meetings or gone to their rooms for curfew. The teachers are all distracted.’
Allie thought about saying no. The last thing she needed was detention. But Carter looked so determined. She hoped that whatever he had to say would explain some of what was going on.
‘OK, but if I get expelled I’m so grassing you up.’
Even though his lips curled up in a smile, his eyes were serious. ‘Good. See you there. Give me a ten-minute head start so that I can let Gabe know about Jo. Then run fast.’
As he walked away Allie muttered under her breath: ‘Run fast? I thought you said everyone would be too busy to notice.’
She paced impatiently (three hundred and ninety-one steps) while waiting for ten minutes to go by. At the eight-minute mark, she began walking towards the front door (thirty-three steps) with casual nonchalance. The entrance hall was quiet, but as her hand touched the door handle she heard voices coming down the hall.
Aside from large candle holders and tapestries there was little in this space save for one wrought-iron table draped in heavy fabric. Allie darted behind it just as Eloise and Zelazny rounded the corner.
‘Will this take long?’ Eloise was asking as their footsteps approached. She sounded irritated.
‘I hope not.’ Zelazny opened the door. ‘But it depends on what we find.’
‘Where do you want to start?’
As they walked out the door Allie heard Zelazny’s reply: ‘Where we found Ruth’s body.’
The click of the latch echoed in the empty, stone entry hall.
In her hiding place, Allie frowned. What are they looking for?
At first she thought there was no way she could get out of the building with Zelazny and Eloise now outside, but then it occurred to her that Ruth’s body had been found at the back of the building. The chapel was in the woods across the front lawn. Although she hadn’t heard all that Zelazny was saying, if they were starting at the back, she should have plenty of time to get to the shelter of the treeline before she could be seen.
To give them time to get away from the front, she counted to one hundred before opening the door. It swung silently on its hinges and she peeked outside.
Not a soul in sight.
Stepping out into the late evening light, she carefully closed the door behind her.
It was just after Isabelle’s nine o’clock curfew, and the sun was thinking about setting at the end of the long summer day. Standing on the top step, illuminated in the golden glow, Allie looked upward for a long minute as if she were trying to absorb the light into her soul. Then she darted across the lawn and hurled herself towards the forest.
Once she’d made it safely to the treeline (ninety-seven steps), she slowed a bit to catch her breath, then jogged down the path through the darkening shadows. All was silent and dim. When she reached the churchyard gate five minutes later the quiet was oppressive.
If Carter’s in there, I certainly can’t hear him. The metal clang the latch made when she opened the gate seemed to ring out in the peaceful glade.
Instinctively she headed to the yew tree where they’d sat talking on detention day. As she neared it she saw a foot clad in a dark shoe dangling down. Reaching up, she grabbed it and it was instantly retracted.
‘Hey – you made it.’ He was sitting on the same broad branch, his back against the tree trunk. As he leaned down to help her up she marvelled again at his strength – he lifted her easily into place next to him. She shifted herself back onto a smooth spot and sat facing him, her knees bent and her feet flat on the branch between them.
‘So … what’s this all about, Carter?’ she asked, cocking her head. ‘Why did you want to meet all the way out here in detention-land?’
‘Because I didn’t want to be overheard, and this is about the only place I know of where I can be a hundred per cent sure we can talk safely.’
Something in Carter’s posture looked uncomfortable. He seemed to have trouble deciding what to say and she couldn’t catch his eye.
‘It’s just …’ he said, then stopped. After a moment he tried again. ‘There are some things you need to know.’
Thank God for that, Allie thought. Some answers at last.
She didn’t wait for him to start. ‘Carter, what do you know about all of this? Why are they pretending Ruth killed herself? Her throat was … There is no way she did that to herself. And there were others there. I heard them. And Isabelle knows about them.’
Carter had started to interrupt her before she mentioned Isabelle. Now he stopped and stared at her. ‘What makes you think Isabelle knows?’
Quickly she told him about overhearing the teachers and then Isabelle talking about someone named Nathaniel, and the implication that he was involved in what had happened.
Carter raked his fingers through his hair. ‘So, they don’t think anybody at the school had anything to do with Ruth’s death but they’re going to tell everyone she killed herself.’
Allie leaned forward. ‘Why, though? Won’t the police be able to take one look at her and know it wasn’t a suicide?’
He met her gaze. ‘What police?’
She gaped at him. ‘Are you serious? You think they haven’t called the cops?’
‘Haven’t. Won’t.’
‘But … how …?’
His reply was immediate. ‘The police haven’t been here because the police have no idea what’s going on here and nobody’s going to tell them. They will never know Ruth died here. Her body will turn up in an alley somewhere and her parents, who spend most of their time in France, will tell the cops she was a runaway. And the cops will believe them because her dad’s an investment banker and her mum wears designer clothes and those kinds of people don’t lie, right?’
Allie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. ‘Are you serious? Carter, are you saying this will all be covered up?’
‘Of course it will, Allie. There’s a reason you’d never heard of Cimmeria before you came here.’ His tone was bitter. ‘Don’t you get it yet? Don’t you know where you are?’
Allie didn’t know what to say. She searched for the right words. ‘Carter, what is going on here, really?’
‘That is what I’m trying to figure out,’ he said, staring out over the churchyard. ‘Look, Cimmeria is a very unusual, tightly knit place. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody is here for a reason. Remember when we had that sort of argument, when we first met? You thought I was saying that you didn’t have a right to be here?’
Flushing at the memory of her humiliation, Allie nodded.
‘We don’t get new students here in the middle of summer term who don’t have a strong connection to the school. Like their parents are on the board. Or their whole family studied here. Something like that,’ Carter explained. ‘All I was trying to find out was which one of those you were. But you’re none of them. You don’t have any connections to the school at all.’
He met her gaze directly. ‘That just doesn’t happen.’
Clinging to the branch with her knees, Allie chewed on her thumbnail as she tried to process what he was telling her. Evening was encroaching on the summer sun, and it was getting harder to make out his features in the fading light.
‘I don’t know what to tell you,’ Allie said. ‘My parents said the police recommended Cimmeria – or at least,’ she stopped to think, ‘they sort of said that. But they were all top secret about it before we came here. They wouldn’t even tell me where the school was. I still don’t know the name of the nearest town. The whole thing was all rushed and weird and James Bond-y.’
Carter shook his head. ‘The police in London wouldn’t have recommended this school because they wouldn’t ever have heard of this school. So your parents lied to you. Now, why would they do a thing like that?’
Feeling her heart pound crazily, Allie tried to breathe normally and not panic. (Five breaths in, four breaths out.)
‘You know what, Carter?’ Her voice was tight and she swallowed hard. ‘You’re right. I really don’t know where I am.’
‘Then you need to find out,’ Carter said. ‘And you need to decide pretty fast who you’re going to trust.’