Elves and Escapades (Scholars and Sorcery Book 2) (20 page)

“Cecily will forgive you.”

“Oh, Cecily’s been a wonderful lamb. Acting like it doesn’t matter to her a bit. Coals of fire, my dear.” I laugh a bit shakily.

“And Sunflame?” Rosalind asks, her own voice shaking. I realise she’s been too afraid to ask until now and I regret not telling her sooner.

“Well. That was a strange thing. She seemed to totally vanish when you reached the school. But I did hear Miss Roberts is caring for an alicorn yearling, just until her mysterious owner can take her home for the hols.”

Rosalind’s eyes fill with tears. “Truly? Oh, she is a brick!”

“She is. She’s simply wonderful.” I smile, remembering. Miss Roberts had truly raked me over the coals for our misadventure, leaving me dissolved into a puddle of mud and tears, and ended by tossing out that if that if I wanted to bring Rosalind to the Briar Stables any time soon there was a young steed eager to make her acquaintance again.

The beautific expression on Rosalind’s face dissolves into a scowl. “I know you have a grand passion for Miss Roberts, Charley, but must you blush quite so obviously when you think about her?” Rosalind wrenches her hand from mine.

“I—oh, you precious idiot.” I can’t help grinning at her. “Don’t you know by now that my only grand passion is for your own sweet self?” I reach up and brush a lock of hair form her face, suddenly serious. “I couldn’t bear it when you were so ill because of my own stupidity. You were a perfect heroine, though. I love you so much, my Rosalind.”

“I love you, too.” She reaches up and pulls my face down to hers.

I know I should pull away, but her kisses are fervent with possessiveness, and when I feel that I am completely undone. I let her pull me from my chair to sit on the edge of her bed, snake my arms around her waist and return her kisses with all my heart and soul.

I’m not recalled to myself until I hear the cubicle curtains wrenched open. Rosalind freezes and I turn my head, knowing that this is it, we’re caught, and it only remains to see who has caught us. There’s no possible way that the way we were kissing could be mistaken as one girl being relieved and happy to see her injured friend is getting well.

Cecily is leaning against the curtain frame. Her cheeks are darkened with anger and her brown eyes are blazing. I have never seen her look so furious, not even the first time Kitty and her lot were called up in front of her.

“You blithering idiots!” Cecily’s accent is far broader in her rage. “You—complete galahs!”

“Cecily, it was my fault—” I begin, but Cecily holds up a hand.

“I don’t want to hear it! You know perfectly well Matron could come in at any moment. Frances was saying she wanted to see her dear study-mate, and I only just managed to stop her walking in because I could feel you two spilling emotion all over the place! Oh, I could knock both your silly heads together!”

“Frances is nice. Perhaps she—” Rosalind begins timidly.

Cecily cuts her off too. “Frances is a very nice girl. She’d be shocked, and distressed, and wouldn’t know what to do, and eventually she’d go to a mistress and ask for advice, for your own sakes! Because she’d be worried about you! Or she’d come to me, and then what should I do? You perfect idiots.” Cecily passes a hand over the back of her eyes. “Esther and I fall over ourselves to try and protect you from your own recklessness, and you can’t take decent care of yourselves at all. I don’t know why we bother. You make me tired.”

“You—you’ve been protecting us? You mean—”

“I’m not completely stupid, you know. I’m supposed to be one of your best friends. And I am Sensitive, you know that perfectly well, Charley. I try not to feel other people’s emotions too much, but sometimes it’s very hard not to, especially when you go shouting them all over the place.” Cecily sinks into the chair I vacated. “Do you really not have any conception what will happen if this comes to a mistress’ ears?”

“We’re sorry.” I hesitate. “But Cecily, you and Esther knew? And—you don’t care?”

Cecily shrugs. “I wasn’t sure at first. It’s not something I would have thought of. There’s a lot of harmless adorations in a girls’ school, and it’s usually safe to discount them. But I knew when you came back to school after Christmas that this was something more serious, yes, and so did Esther. We weren’t really sure how serious, but we didn’t want you to get in trouble. Not that you seem to care much for consequences yourselves,” she adds, with a return of heat. “As for how I feel. . . Charley, I don’t think you realise quite how much Esther and I love you. We want you to be happy. And, well, every family has its maiden aunts. One of mine has lived with a companion since before I was born.”

I lean down and hug her, very hard. “Thanks, Cecily. I love you, too.”

“Oh, don’t get all soppy, or Rosalind will detest me as thoroughly as she does Esther,” Cecily says, and Rosalind grimaces apologetically. Even as Cecily scolds me, though, she hugs me back. “Promise me you’ll stop this nonsense, both of you, unless it’s safe?”
 

We promise like chastened schoolgirls, which I suppose we are. Cecily smiles at us and, as is her way, snaps straight into matter-of-fact forgiveness, as if nothing had happened.
 

“Right. There’s not really supposed to be two visitors in here, so I think it’s time for us to say goodbye, Charley, and we’ll let Frances in. She’s dying to visit. Tales of your courage and magic, Rosalind, have spread throughout the school.”

“Don’t blame me, it’s Esther,” I say to Rosalind, hurriedly. Daring Cecily’s wrath, I drop a quick kiss on Rosalind’s cheek, and obediently follow Cecily out.
 

I have, I realise, the two best friends in all the world—three, if you count Miss Roberts. I’m a very lucky girl.

I glance back over my shoulder at Rosalind, tucked up in her blankets and pillows. Very lucky indeed. If only I knew where to go from here.
 

I shirk hockey practice the next afternoon. I’m supposed to be still in recovery, no one will question my absence.

 
It’s not that I mind buckling in under Corona, she’s a good sort, and I’ve swallowed my medicine and taken my place in the rank and file at an earlier practice. After all, I thoroughly deserved the demotion. I’m prepared to back Corona up in every way.

What really upsets me, to be honest, is the demonstrations of loyalty from my lower formers. I want more than anything to pretend the whole shameful disaster has never happened. Instead, thanks to Esther and Kitty and their inability to keep their pretty mouths shut, I find I’m hailed as a sort of heroine by the younger girls.
 

That imp of a Rhoda even organised three cheers for me when I turned up for practice for the first time, and Mary flung herself at me. It was dreadful. Horribly awkward for Corona, and it took all my affection and care for their feelings to not knock their silly heads together. They mean well, after all. Only it brings home to me, more than anything else could, that it wasn’t just myself and my friends I’ve let down. Those kiddies look up to me. What kind of example of recklessness and rule breaking am I setting them?

I feel dreadful. I wish, more than anything, that Miss Carroll had never given me those badges. I want to be like Esther, responsible for no one but myself.

My feet make my way down to Briar Stables, as they generally do when I’m feeling low. I cross to the special paddock, which Ember now tolerantly shares with little Sunflame, and click my tongue at them.

Ember crosses directly to me, and Sunflame gambols at his feet.

“Found a new father, have you?” I ruffle the little filly’s mane. Ember snorts at me with derision.

“Ember likes the company, however it damages his dignity.” Miss Roberts appears around the corner of a stable and crosses to stand beside me, reaching up to pat Ember’s smooth neck. “Sunflame misses Rosalind, though.”

“She’ll be up and about soon. She’s just resting.” My cheeks burn. “Miss Roberts, I’m sorry.”

“Do you know what you’re sorry for?” She lifts a quizzical eyebrow.

“Oh—simply everything. Not telling you about Sunflame. Presuming on your kindness. Getting in trouble and needing you to pull us of the fire.” I swallow hard. “Letting everyone down.”

She shrugs. “You’ve behaved like a silly child. I suppose that’s fair enough; that’s what you are.” I wince. “It’s time you realised, though, Charley, that you can’t use that excuse much longer. School doesn’t last forever. And I think. . . I think you’ve grown up more than you want to admit.”

I turn to stare at my beautiful Ember, to stop tears rising in my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I say, again. “I’ve messed everything up.”

“That’s part of growing, old girl. You’ve had your first taste of real responsibility, and it hasn’t gone quite as you’d like. Well, that’s a learning process. What really matters is if you’re willing to get back up and shoulder responsibility again.”

“I wouldn’t trust me with any kind of responsibility.” The tears are going to come. They are heavy in my eyes.

“I would. And will.”

I look up into her kind face. The movement jerks the tears free, and they run down my face. “What do you mean?”

“Have you thought about what you’re doing when you leave school?”

I think about my vague thoughts of magical beasts, or teaching. And of Rosalind, vague pictures of her in riding britches or sewing by the fire. It all seems impossible. I chew on my lip.

“And Rosalind?” Miss Roberts asks, as if reading my thoughts.

“We haven’t talked about it, not really. Diana said she is going to be finished, and then...” I swallow against the sudden tightness in my throat.

“I shouldn’t worry too much about Rosalind. From what I’ve seen, if that young lady doesn’t want to be presented, she’ll find a way to avoid it. I wondered, in fact, if she’s thought about training formally as a Healer. Shame to let a Gift like that go to waste. It’s a hard road, but I think she’d like it.”

I lean my head against Ember’s warm nose, remembering how willingly Rosalind gives of her energies. “I think you’re right.”

“As for you, Charley, well, if you pull yourself up and be a bit more sensible, there might be a chance.” I raise my head. “He looks good there, in the winter sun, doesn’t he? And Sunshine. Lovely little filly. There’s a lot of young girls come down here who are just wild to ride one of these creatures, and they’ve never have the chance.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, wondering wildly if she wants me to sell Ember to her. Or Sunflame. Rosalind would never part with Sunflame.

“I’ve come into some money of my own, just lately. And I was thinking about adding some more fabled beasts to my stables. There are girls at Fernleigh whose parents would be all too willing to pay the fees to see their girl on a unicorn or pegasus. And Miss Carroll is an old pal of mine.” She grins at me, as hope dawns. “Mind you, I’d need a partner with Fabled Beast Empathy. Sunshine is enough for me, I couldn’t control all those creatures myself.”

“Oh, Miss Roberts!”

“I think it had better be Dulcie from now.” She offers me her hand to shake. “Think on it?”

I want to grab her hand, but I hesitate. Miss Roberts seems to read my mind.

“Young Rosalind might have to let her parents send her to be finished. She’s their daughter, after all. Afterwards is a different matter. Rosalind will be age of age pretty soon. Time enough for her to make her own choices and stick to them.” She smiles. “There’s a training school for Healers in the next town, did you know? It’s not too far for a good rider on a fast unicorn. Legacy or not, I could do with some money from a boarder.
 

“Oh, Miss Roberts!” I ignore her hand and fling myself into her arms, hugging her fiercely.

“Dulcie,” she corrects.

I break away. “I have to go tell Rosalind. . . Oh, thank you! You are—” I meant to say, a trump, but what comes out is: “the best of friends.”

Miss Roberts grins at me. “If I’d had a daughter, I’d like her to be like you, Charley.”

I grin back at her. I think I know why she is helping the two of us, and it isn’t just maternal feeling, but it isn’t something to speak of in words. Not yet. Perhaps, in the long future, when I’m actually capable of calling her Dulcie. We have, it seems, plenty of time.

I turn and flee back to the school.