Even though everything was still bad, even though nothing had yet been resolved, the mere fact that they were at last
With a beleaguered sigh, Sylvain pulled a polished mahogany box of chess pieces from underneath the occasional table in front of them and began to set them up on the chessboard painted directly on to the table top. Black on the right, white on the left.
Glancing up, he caught Allie’s eye and motioned for her to sit across from him on the floor. After a brief hesitation, she did as he requested.
‘We can talk about anything,’ he explained, ‘as long as we look like everyone else. People see what they want to see.’
When he looked up from the board, the light caught his eyes and fractured like sunlight on water.
‘I haven’t played chess since…’ Allie’s voice trailed off. She picked up a ceramic pawn; it was cold in her hand. The colour of snow. ‘Well. I used to play with Jo.’
‘I remember.’ The compassion in his voice made her feel better and worse all at once. She was glad when he let the topic go. ‘You be white.’
‘Now,’ he said to everyone else. ‘Pretend to watch us while you talk. And try to keep your voices low.’ He glanced back at Allie with an encouraging smile. ‘Your move.’
Seeing that he was serious, Allie’s hand hovered over the board for a moment. Then she chose a pawn and slid it forward one square. He countered instantly with one of his own.
‘They’re holding Eloise in one of the old staff cottages,’ Rachel said, her voice low and steady. ‘We saw Raj and Jerry and the whole Scooby gang heading into the school from somewhere, and then leave again. Zoe followed them.’
In the middle of a move Allie paused, a pawn forgotten in her hand. ‘By herself? Was that safe?’
‘Of course it was safe,’ Carter snapped before Zoe could speak. ‘The teachers aren’t going to hurt her.’
His tone was unnecessarily sharp and Allie shot him a reproachful look before turning back to the game. The moment in Isabelle’s office was obviously over.
She slid the pawn next to one of Sylvain’s – close, but just out of reach.
‘Whatever,’ she whispered so quietly only Sylvain could hear. Across the chessboard he smiled at her conspiratorially and she found herself smiling, too.
‘Tell them what you found,’ Nicole whispered to Zoe, who sat next to her.
‘They’re in a cottage – not Mr Ellison’s. Another one, near the pond in the woods. Kind of rundown, really overgrown.’ She studied the chessboard critically. ‘You’re not using your bishop right, Allie.’
Perplexed, Allie looked at the piece with its mitred top and wondered what would be the right way to use it.
‘I know that place,’ Carter said. ‘It used to be staff housing but then they quit using it for some reason a few years ago. I think it needed repairs or something and Isabelle never got around to it.’
‘Did you see Eloise?’ Rachel leaned closer. ‘How is she?’
Zoe shook her head. ‘I only heard her. They all went inside and then I could hear them talking. They said the key didn’t work. They kept asking her for the right key.’ She looked around the group. ‘What does that mean?’
Sylvain moved his queen forward four squares.
‘They had a key they thought would open Isabelle’s office,’ Carter said. ‘They tried it while we were in there. Scared the hell out of us but they couldn’t get in.’
‘What’s that about?’ Rachel asked. ‘Why would it matter if the key didn’t work?’
An image of Eloise standing in front of Isabelle’s door flashed in Allie’s memory.
‘Eloise had a key to Isabelle’s office,’ Allie said. ‘She was holding it in her hand when I saw her that day – the day I thought she was the spy. I told them about it.’
‘They must be trying to find that key,’ Nicole said thoughtfully. ‘They’d want to make sure it was secure so no one could use it.’
‘But she gave them the wrong key?’ Carter looked puzzled. ‘Why would she do that?’
‘Maybe she doesn’t have the right one any more,’ Rachel suggested.
‘Then who does?’ Sylvain asked.
No one had an answer to that.
Rachel broke the silence. ‘What did you two find in the office?’
Allie let Carter describe what they’d learned. When he finished, the others looked stunned.
‘So they knew this was going to happen all this time?’ Rachel sounded shocked.
Sylvain’s queen and a knight suddenly cornered Allie’s king.
‘Check,’ he murmured, arching one eyebrow.
Allie glared at the board but couldn’t find a way out. ‘Balls.’
‘What if our parents try to pull us out?’ Zoe asked.
They all fell silent.
‘That guy dragged Caroline to the car,’ Rachel said. ‘Are they going to do that to half the people in this room?’
‘What can we do, though?’ Allie asked.
Sylvain picked up a discarded chess piece. Holding the white knight in his hand, he looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. Then he held it up.
‘We can warn them.’
Sylvain’s statement caused an instant outcry. How could they do that? If they did, wouldn’t everyone know what they’d been up to? How should they say they found this information out in the first place? Besides, it wasn’t like they could send everyone an anonymous email. If they spread the word, the instructors would find out what they were up to and put a stop to it.
It was Rachel who’d found the solution.
‘Never underestimate the power of gossip,’ she said simply.
They all looked at her with blank incomprehension.
‘I do not understand?’ Nicole looked around for an explanation.
It was Carter who figured it out first. ‘Oh you are awfully clever, Rachel,’ he said, as understanding spread slowly across his face. ‘Tell the gossips and they’ll tell the world.’
‘Exactly,’ Rachel said. ‘We tell five of the biggest gossips in the school what Nathaniel’s doing, and that their parents might be coming for them next.’ She looked at them expectantly but they still didn’t get it. She rolled her eyes. ‘They’ll tell everyone else… Come
As they absorbed this information, the others exchanged looks.
‘And what happens then?’ Nicole asked the question that was in all their minds.
‘Then they can make a choice,’ Sylvain said. ‘What happens after that is up to them.’
‘What could they do, though, really?’ Carter asked. ‘Run away?’
‘They could run away,’ Allie said. ‘Or they could fight back.’
EIGHTEEN
The next morning, Allie was up and out in the frigid walled garden by six. It was the first real day of pretending everything was normal when nothing was. Her stomach was tight with nervousness and excitement – today they would put their plan into action.
She’d nearly forgotten about detention amid all the excitement, but as they all split up to their respective dorms the night before Carter had called after her, ‘See you in the garden, bright and early…’
Allie had stopped in her tracks, staring at him in disbelief.
‘Seriously? Do you think Isabelle
