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The swimming instructor turned her glare to my twin. “I expect better from you, Ivy.”
“I’m Scarlet,” said Scarlet.
Miss Bowler went red. “I don’t care who you are! Clean up this mess and get inside! And for goodness’ sake, put your uniforms back on!”
I looked down at myself sheepishly. Ariadne had made a brave effort with her costumes, and she was certainly a good seamstress, but she wasn’t exactly at the level of our Aunt Sara.
I hoped Miss Bowler had finished her shouting, but evidently she hadn’t. “Flitworth, if I see you messing around with that infernal gadget during lesson time again, I will take it off you! Do you understand?”
Ariadne dropped a sopping pile of flowers at her feet. “Yes, Miss! I’ll put it away, Miss!”
Miss Bowler’s face contorted with disgust. “Children,” she muttered with distaste. “I’ve a good mind to make you swim la—” She cut herself off, and looked over her shoulder, some of the tomato red draining from her cheeks. I wondered if she was remembering our new headmistress Mrs Knight’s aversion to punishments, or perhaps old Headmaster Bartholomew and the girl who had once drowned at his hands in the school lake. Either way, she seemed to change her mind. “Just get inside,” she said finally, before stomping away.
I looked back at Ariadne, expecting her to be upset. She loved that camera, and hated being told off. But her worried expression had changed to an excited grin. She waved the camera at us. “I can’t wait to see how this one turns out!”
Rookwood School was trying its best to return to normality. Or at least, what passed for normality at a place where there really was at least one actual skeleton in the cupboard.
Last term, girls had left the school in droves, their parents afraid it was unsafe. And they were right, it turned out – our terrifying headmistress Miss Fox had stopped at nothing in trying to destroy the reputation of Rookwood School, but we’d finally thwarted her.
So Rookwood was a safe place once again, but that didn’t mean everyone had come back. Some had enrolled at other schools for good, their parents horrified by the spate of poisonings and anonymous threats. Violet, former arch-enemy of Scarlet, had been taken away by her guardian, and nobody had heard from her since. Not even Rose, who Violet had rescued from the asylum and brought to Rookwood. Rose had been allowed to stay while efforts were made to find out where she came from.
Things were now as normal as they could be. Lessons, porridge and stew, detentions for Scarlet; all under the now slightly more watchful eye of Mrs Knight. And now, I supposed, under the lens of Ariadne’s camera.
The next day began, as they tended to do, with an assembly.
We were shuffling into the hall when Mrs Knight breezed past us, clutching a piece of paper.
“Looks like an announcement,” said Scarlet, craning her neck to see over the first formers.
“Oooh,” said Ariadne. “I hope it’s a good one. Perhaps they’re going to improve the school dinners.” I was amazed that she had managed to keep up her appetite after being poisoned by the stew last term.
“Maybe they’re cancelling all the lessons. Or firing all the teachers and letting us run the school,” my twin suggested, her face suddenly hopeful.
I laughed and took a seat in our row, praying the announcement would actually be about something good, and not another one of the ‘unfortunate incidents’ that Rookwood was becoming famous for.
But as Mrs Knight took to the stage, I could see a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. “Good morning, girls,” she called cheerfully.
“Good morning, Mrs Knight,” we chorused back. The chorus wasn’t quite as loud as it had been before we’d lost so many students.
“Before we go on to the hymns this morning, I have an announcement to make!” she said. “And I think this is one you’ll all enjoy.”
Scarlet nudged me. “Firing all the teachers,” she mouthed.
“We could all do with a fresh start after last term,” Mrs Knight continued. I felt that was a bit of an understatement. “And so I have prepared a special treat: a school trip!”
A ripple of excited murmurs spread across the hall. Mrs Knight held out her hands to quieten everyone down, looking unusually pleased with herself.
“Now, girls, this will be a great opportunity to show some Rookwood School spirit. We will be staying at a wonderful lakeside hotel for a week of nature activities and working together.”
Scarlet and Ariadne were grinning, but I felt a tiny shiver down my spine. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go near another lake.
“Parents have already been notified by letter so they can give permission and pay the fees.” She smiled down at her notes. “There will also be a notice in the local paper. We want to show just how great our school can be.”
Hmm. I could see what she was up to. She was putting her brave face back on, and hoping that this would rescue the school’s reputation. I wasn’t sure it would be enough. The murderous and swindling headteachers of the past had done too much damage, surely?
Miss Bowler strutted on to the stage. “I don’t want any dilly-dallyers on this trip, so you need to sign up on the sheet, or you won’t be getting a place!”
Already everyone was whispering to each other in excitement. “We have to go,” Scarlet said in my ear. “A whole week away from Rookwood! No lessons!”
“It sounds good,” I muttered back.
“Oh, I do hope Daddy will let me go,” said Ariadne.
I shuffled awkwardly in my seat. That was a point. If our parents had to agree that we could go, and agree to pay the money … did we have any chance?
Mrs Knight continued: “Erm, right, yes, myself and Miss Bowler will be leading the trip, and there will be additional supervision from some of the elder prefects. Safety will be of the utmost importance, and we want everyone on their best behaviour.”
My twin’s expression was as mischievous as ever. “Easy,” she whispered. “What could possibly go wrong?”
Chapter Two (#ulink_92ddc93d-6979-5300-a2f4-c66ddee6c482)
SCARLET (#ulink_92ddc93d-6979-5300-a2f4-c66ddee6c482)
s soon as the assembly was over, we ran for the sign-up sheet.
Or at least, I ran. And I might have shoved rather a lot of people out of the way. But what mattered was that I got there first, picked up the pen dangling from a string beside it, and wrote SCARLET GREY and IVY GREY in big letters on the top two lines and ARIADNE FLITWORTH just underneath.
“You can’t write someone else’s name,” a girl behind me complained.
“I can,” I said, pointing at the sheet. “I just did.”
We had to go on this trip. There were no two ways about it. At last, an opportunity to get away from this horrible school for a whole week.
I stood back and watched as other girls began jostling to add their names to the list.
Ivy and Ariadne appeared next to me, having hurried to keep up.
“I added you both,” I told them.
“Oh, goody!” said Ariadne, clapping excitedly. Ivy just looked a bit green.
“What’s up with you, then, Ivy?” I asked.
“Do you think Father will agree to this?” she said after a pause. “Or more to the point, will Edith agree to it?”
She was right. Just having our names up there didn’t mean anything if we couldn’t get permission. I wasn’t even sure if our father would be at home right now, or if he’d be off working in the big city somewhere, and that meant the person who would receive the letter would be Edith, our stepmother. I chewed my lip. This could be difficult.
“Ugh,” I said. “You make a good point. I don’t think she’d want to open her purse strings if we were starving on the streets, let alone to send us on a school trip.”
Ivy nodded slowly. “We’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose.”
I looked back at the sheet – it was full already, and people were already trying to fit their names into the blank space round the side in the hopes that someone might drop out. Other notices had been knocked off the board and were scattered on the parquet floor of the entrance hall. I didn’t think anything like this had ever happened at Rookwood before, at least not in recent years.
I clenched my fists, determined not to let our stepmother stop me.
“We’re going,” I said confidently. “And that’s that.”
“You’re not going,” Edith’s voice sneered down the telephone, “and that’s that.”
We were sitting in Mrs Knight’s office, just me and Ivy, and we’d been allowed to make a call. Apparently our dear stepmother had received the letter already, and wasn’t impressed. “But why?” I whined. I knew I sounded childish, but I truly didn’t understand. If it had been her precious boys, she would’ve said yes without a thought.
“Because it’s a waste of my money, Scarlet,” she snapped.
You mean Father’s money, I thought, but I held my tongue for once. We stood no chance if I was rude to her. Even if she especially deserved it.
“I’m not paying for you to go off gallivanting about the countryside when you should be learning,” she continued. “Your father expects you to be getting a proper education, and we pay enough for it as it is.”
I glared up at the motivational posters on the walls. Ivy was twiddling her thumbs in the chair beside me. “It’ll be completely educational. Mrs Knight said we’re going to learn about nature.”
I could almost see Edith smirk. “Oh yes, I’m sure looking at trees will be invaluable for your future. Will it help you to get a husband or pay your way in the world?”
I must have pulled a hideous face in response, because Ivy started silently laughing. What could I say to that? My mind raced. “But what if—”
“I said NO, Scarlet. You’re staying at Rookwood. Where you belong.”
There was a click as the line cut off.
“Well, at least I’m far away from YOU, you hideous old bat!” I screeched into the receiver, slamming it down.
Ivy looked horrified. “Scarlet, you didn’t …”
I turned to her. “She hung up,” I explained.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she said.
I frowned at the telephone, as if it were responsible for all our problems. This was quite the setback.
“Are you sure you want to go on this trip?” Ivy asked, suddenly.
Was she mad? “Of course! We’ve wanted to get away from Rookwood this whole time, haven’t we?”
I half expected my twin to bring up the fact that it was at least preferable to being locked in an asylum, as I had been when Miss Fox had convinced everyone I was crazy. But she didn’t say that, and there was a faraway look in her eyes. “I’ve just got a bad feeling about this,” she said hazily. Then she blinked and came back to reality. “Maybe it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Edith is never going to agree to it.”
“I bet she would if we bribed her,” I growled. We were almost certain that our stepmother had accepted a bribe from Miss Fox to keep quiet about the asylum incident.
“Perhaps we should just give up,” Ivy replied, and she looked strangely hopeful.
“Give up? Since when do we just give up?” I said. “No. We’ll think of something.”
Friday’s assembly brought letters. I shuffled in my seat as Mrs Knight called out the names, and each person went up to collect their post as others filed out of the hall.
Ariadne’s name was called, and she came rushing back looking like an excited puppy. “Daddy’s given me permission!” she said, flapping the letter at us. “I can go on the trip!” I think she noticed our downcast faces, because she slowly stopped flapping the paper. “Ah,” she said. “You didn’t get a letter, did you?”
Ivy shook her head. “Our stepmother is determined to stop us from going.”
“Well, rats,” said Ariadne. “I’m not sure if I want to go on my own.”
I looked around at the other girls in our year. Nadia appeared to be celebrating, so I supposed her parents had agreed to let her go. Penny was slumped in her seat looking dejected. I almost felt sorry for her, but … no, I wasn’t quite there yet. Not after all her bullying.
“You might avoid being stuck with Penny, at least. It looks like her parents haven’t given their permission,” I said.
We stood up to head for the first lesson, but someone was in the way, blocking our exit from the row.
“You’re going on the trip, then, are you, Flitworth?” It was Elsie Sparks, the prissy prefect, flanked by two others whose names I didn’t know. Their shiny prefect badges glinted on their lapels.
“Yes, I am,” Ariadne said, clutching her letter to her dress.
“Hmm,” Elsie smirked at her friends. “Another one we’ve got to keep an eye on. They’re trouble this lot.” Her eyes flicked over to me and Ivy. “But I didn’t see a letter for you two, did I? Are you leaving her to come all alone?”
“Actually—” Ivy started, but I interrupted her.
“Actually we will be going. Just as soon as we get the permission slip. It probably got lost in the post.”
“Ha!” snorted Elsie. “I’m sure it did.”
One of the other prefects beside her peered at me down her nose. She was very tall, with unreasonably long legs and perfectly curled short brown hair. Her satchel was neatly labelled CASSANDRA CLARKSON, so I presumed that was her name, unless she’d pinched the bag from someone else. “I know you two,” she said, in a voice that sounded like it was giving us an exam. “You’re the twins who got rid of the headmaster, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I said. “What’s your point?”
“Hmmph,” she sniffed. “I liked him. He chose me as a prefect, after all.”
Mr Bartholomew, the old head, had tried to bring back the prefect system when he took over the school back from Miss Fox. His choices were utterly terrible, but the teachers wouldn’t be picking new prefects until next year.
Ivy gaped at Cassandra, while I just stared daggers at her. She was mad if she actually liked the old man. “He murdered a student!” Ivy pointed out.
“Well, perhaps she should have behaved,” the tall girl said with a wry smile.
Elsie smacked her on the arm. “You’re such a card, Cassie!”
Cassandra giggled, as if she’d been terribly funny. I wanted to give her a smack myself, but it would have been a lot harder, and probably round the face area.
“Right,” I said. “Will you lot get out of our way so we can get to class?” I wasn’t particularly in a rush to learn, but I was fed up with being taunted.
The other prefect, who had dark hair and a horse-riding rosette pinned to her uniform, spread her arms out wide. “Is that any way to talk to your betters?”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” I said. I wasn’t about to let them walk all over us. I pushed the horsey girl out of the way and stomped into the aisle. Ivy and Ariadne darted behind me.
“Watch it, Grey,” Elsie hissed, as her friend dusted herself off in mock horror. “We’ll be keeping an eye on your little friend on the trip, and you wouldn’t want her to get into trouble, would you?” She glanced pointedly at Ariadne, who gulped.
