Fina gulped and gripped the arms of her chair again, bracing for impact.
Gliding toward her chair, Ruby rummaged around in her bag until she found her quarry. A postcard. She handed it over to Fina without a word.
The picture postcard had a bucolic scene of St George’s in Grenada on the front. Flipping it over, Fina saw it was from Ian Clavering, Ruby’s … who was Ian to Ruby? Perhaps he was her muse. They had met Ian on their first mission and mystery, at Pauncefort Hall. And then again at sea. She knew Ruby was inexorably attracted to Ian, but didn’t trust him. He popped up at the most opportune times, certainly.
“Are you sure you want me to read this? Isn’t it personal?” asked Fina.
Ruby gave her head a vigorous shake. Methinks the lady doth protest too much, thought Fina. Ruby’s eyes were narrowed, though. There must be more to it than her hot-cold feelings toward Ian.
The postcard was addressed to Ruby at her address in Quenby College:
August 1935.
Dear Ruby,
Greetings from Grenada. I’m here to visit my aunt and to spend a few days on the beach – though you know I’m having trouble relaxing. Especially without you. Hope to hear from you soon.
Yours,
Ian
Fina looked up at Ruby. “Am I missing something? It seems like a mundane – if a little insipid – postcard. Is that why you wanted me to see it?”
“No. I wondered if you noticed anything odd about it.”
Fina scrutinised the card, handwriting and words. She was concentrating so intently she noticed her mouth was hanging open. Snapping it shut, she handed the card back to Ruby.
“I’m stumped.”
“Observe the stamp,” said Ruby, holding up the card as if she were one of their lecturers. “It’s upside down. That’s a signal. A signal something is wrong, very wrong. It means danger.”
An antique clock on the mantel sounded once. The noise nearly made Fina jump out of her seat. It was as if she had never heard a clock chiming.
Ruby looked down at her tiny wristwatch. “Come, I’ll be late for my chemistry lecture.”
“But what about your news? You can’t tell me Ian sent you a warning and then not tell me more!”
“Of course,” said Ruby as she began to pack up her small bag. “You don’t have class until later, so why don’t you join me? I cannot miss the first day of class. Besides, the new chemistry don is quite dishy. Let’s hurry or I’ll be late!”
Fina sprang into action, first patting down her hair – as if that would do anything to tame it. Then she scooped up her green bouclé woollen coat and soft burgundy leather bag. It was a present from her mother for the beginning of the new term.
Spinning around once on her heel, she checked to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. The fire. She took the jug down from a nearby bookshelf and poured its contents over the smouldering embers. Those little balls of paper had disappeared.
Out on the quad, the clouds had parted and a golden autumn glow suffused the afternoon light, outlining their lengthening shadows. Michaelmas term was her favourite. She enjoyed the clash between the smell of decaying leaves and the anticipation of a new academic year. Students trundled like ants along the pathways of the college, nearly colliding with the occasional don lost in thought.
She smiled as she watched the college cat, Tiberius – or Tibby, as he was known by the undergraduates – slink toward a corner of the quad. Fina loved cats, but she generally steered clear of Tibby. He was the college curmudgeon, surpassing even the saltiest don. Tibby wiggled back and forth, preparing to pounce on some unwitting mouse near the wall. He shot his lean body underneath the building. There must be a hole underneath, she thought. A minute later, Tibby emerged, disappointed and covered in dust. As if to cover his embarrassment, he stood in the sunlight, casually licking his paw.
As they rounded the corner into the lecture hall, Fina almost bumped into someone with her head down. Fina caught herself by leaning against the rough red brick of the hall.
“Gayatri!” said Ruby and Fina in unison. They embraced each other like long-lost relatives.
“It’s been ages,” said Ruby. “I haven’t seen you since Pauncefort Hall! Where have you been? Did you go home to Tezpur?”
Gayatri shook her head. “No, unfortunately not. We simply didn’t have the money. It wasn’t a bother because Oxford is my home – for now. Besides, I had to study. My exams are coming up soon so I decided it was best to stay in college and work as hard as I could.”
“Are you at Quenby now rather than Somerville?” queried Ruby.
Gayatri pursed her lips. “I had differences of opinion with the warden of Somerville. Or rather, I should say she had some with me. So here I am – and I’m quite contented.”
She squinted at Fina. “Weren’t you studying at St Jude’s?”
Nodding sadly, Fina said, “My absences were piling up, so I’m afraid I had a disagreement with the warden as well.” She waved her hand around their surroundings. “But I find Quenby much more amenable in any case.”
Ruby enquired, “How is your sister? Is she here?”
“Unfortunately, no. Sajida went home, but I do expect her back soon.”
Fina surveyed Gayatri a little more closely. She wore her favourite earthy-brown tone. While she brimmed with that peculiar beginning-of-term energy, she looked rather gaunt. Gaunt in the sense of someone worried, and too busy to eat or take care of oneself. Must have been the studying during the summer. Not enough proper time to rest, she thought.
Gayatri glanced at her watch. “Are you on your way to the chemistry lecture, Ruby?” She looked at Fina and gently touched her shoulder. “I didn’t mean not to include you, Fina, but I didn’t think a history scholar would be joining a chemistry lecture!”
“I’m just tagging along for the ride,” said Fina with a smile. “I heard about this new professor.”
Gayatri laughed. “Yes, it does feel like royalty coming to visit.” Fina laughed to herself at Gayatri’s utter lack of self-consciousness about being a princess herself.
With that, the three made their way up the stairs, through the imposing gothic arches and down into the bowels of Wandesford Hall.