by Kit Kyndall
Candace sent her a look of sympathy. It was worse than she’d imagined. Manion had preyed on her stepsister since her first year at BriarEdge.
“And we won’t hesitate to tell what we’ve been through either,” said Octavia in a strong voice as she let her contempt for Manion shine through. “Stay away from us, and we’ll stay away from you.”
Manion nodded once, not giving verbal confirmation, but he appeared broken. He looked at Candace, and the anger in his gaze revealed he wasn’t completely shattered by the confrontation. He seemed to be fulminating, and she wasn’t entirely convinced the threat was over, but she had to believe it would at least keep him in line for the rest of the semester.
“That’s the only copy of the video, isn’t it?” he asked.
Candace smirked. “Yeah, sure it is.”
He scowled. “I demand you destroy every copy.”
“I demand you behave like a teacher instead of a predator. If you can manage to do that, I’ll hand over the footage to you at the end of the semester.” She crossed her heart with her fingers. “Promise.” She left unspoken that she also intended to hand it over to Headmaster Hastings then too.
He looked like he was choking on something when he nodded. “Very well. We have a deal, mademoiselles.” He turned away from them, not even reaching out for Malone, who clearly wouldn’t have been receptive to any overtures as she stormed past Candace and then between Isis and Octavia to leave the classroom. Without speaking to him again, Candace and her friends followed Malone, rushing away from his office and not stopping to collapse against the wall until they were out of that building and back in Dorm A.
Octavia was the first to break the silence, and she started laughing, to Candace’s surprise. “Did you see his face? I think he was about to die.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to need a fresh pair of pants after that,” said Isis with a giggle of her own.
Candace allowed herself to focus on the amusement of the situation and laugh as well. She was still vaguely worried about Manion, but today had been a victory. As long as he minded his manners until the end of semester, her friends wouldn’t have to be involved, and she wouldn’t have to leave BriarEdge with a guilty conscience for not telling someone what a predator he was. She fully intended to hand over the video to Hastings, though it would be given anonymously. She doubted he’d bothered to look at it if he knew it was from her.
“Do you think it’s over?” asked Isis.
“Yes,” said Octavia with confidence. “There’s no way he’ll keep trying anything now. He’ll be too scared of what we have on him, especially now that we know he was involved with Malone.”
“Voluntarily on her part.” Candace shuddered. “I just can’t imagine what she possibly saw in him, but I still feel sorry for her.”
Isis cocked a brow. “Really? You hate Malone.”
Candace shrugged. “I guess I don’t hate her, and I sure don’t want her to have to go through this. I wouldn’t wish him on my worst enemy…which is Malone, come to think of it. I still feel sorry for the naïve girl she would have been when he seduced her.” She shuddered. “It’s not really her fault, but goodness knows she needs better taste in men.”
That comment made them all giggle again, and that finally helped them stand up and continue to their dorm rooms. Once inside, and at her desk with her books opened, she tried to banish thoughts of Manion, at least to the darkest recesses of her mind. She planned to keep an eye on him, but she no longer considered him an active threat.
Chapter Six
Candace
She half-expected Malone to confront her over the whole situation, because that was Malone’s personality. Though obvious Malone had been on the wrong side of the scenario, it was still surprising when she didn’t try to twist the situation to threaten Candace. Malone probably knew she was in the wrong. Even if it hadn’t been revealed to her in such a way, maybe she’d had suspicions all along that he was a pervert. Whatever her reasons, she seemed just as happy to avoid Candace as Candace was to avoid her.
Their mutual avoidance came to an end a few nights later when they were both in the locker room. Candace was coming back from the pool, and Malone was heading out for a swim. They ran into each other in the showers, and Malone looked like she was being hunted. She seemed as though she wanted to bolt, and Candace spoke without thought. “Wait. We need to talk.”
Malone seemed on the verge of running anyway, but then she collapsed onto a nearby bench with a sigh. She nodded her head and looked at Candace expectantly.
Before joining her, Candace made sure there was no one else in the showers or the locker room, having learned her lesson after the incident with Lex. Then she sat near Malone, but not too close. “I’m not going to tell anyone about you two.”
Malone breathed a harsh sigh, and then she looked confused. “Why not? If our situations were reversed, I’d tell everyone.”
“I figured you suffered enough after being with Manion and figuring out what a piece of crap he is. You can’t help whom you love, Malone.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so calm about it. I figured you’d use it against me.” She bit her lip and looked down. “That’s what I’d do…would’ve done.”
“I’m not the type to do that. I know you would use Kip against me, but I wouldn’t do that to you.” As soon as she said the words, Candace gasped softly and closed her eyes, realizing what she’d revealed. She held her breath as she opened her eyes, waiting for Malone’s reaction. She expected her stepsister to be malicious, and to lord it over her, but Malone appeared not to have noticed her lapse.
“I really thought I loved him, you know?” Malone looked down, and there was sadness on her expression. “He was so charming and sweet, and he seemed to care so much about me. He made it sound like he couldn’t bear to wait for me to be of-age, and I slept with him when I was fifteen. He was my first…only…”
Candace was having a difficult time breathing through her relief at Malone apparently not picking up on what she’d said, so it took a moment to focus. Cautiously, expecting to be rebuffed, she reached out and put a hand on Malone’s shoulder. As she did so, she anticipated her stepsister shrugging it away, so it was a surprise when Malone didn’t.
“He’s probably pretty good at this. I’m sure you’re not the first girl he’s seduced, and the ones he can’t seduce, he just conquers. You can’t blame yourself for falling for an older guy with charm and practice at seduction. He probably said just what you wanted him to say and knew just how to handle you. I’m really sorry you have to go through this.”
Malone’s lips trembled, and she burst into tears. It was a shock when she threw herself against Candace to sob. “I feel like such a fool.”
At least that’s what Candace thought she said. It was difficult to tell through the sobs and the tears.
“It’s okay. At least now you know, and you aren’t going to let him destroy you. You can get over him in no time and realize he was a stupid mistake. He didn’t break your heart, right?”
Malone looked up, her lips still trembling and tears pouring down her cheeks. She sounded a little hesitant when she said, “He didn’t?”
“Absolutely not. It was just a crush. You don’t love him, and you’ll move on. There are a lot of other, much, much better guys available.”
“Are you sure you aren’t dating them all?” The words were snarky, but there was a hint of amusement in Malone’s eyes when she said the words, though her voice was still thick with tears.
Candace thought about getting offended, but she realized Malone was tentatively offering an olive branch by trying to tease her, so she just smiled. “I have all I need. Maybe you should take the rest?”
Malone still sounded like she was crying as she laughed, but she was definitely giggling a moment later. “I don’t think I can handle more than one guy.”
Candace could’ve pointed out that she’d handled more than one guy in Manion, since he was so good at pre
senting different sides of himself, but she didn’t want to bring up the loser again. “You can handle it if you want to. The important thing is to move on and forget about him.”
Malone nodded and reached for a towel to wipe her face. “You’re right. Thanks, Candace. And I won’t say anything about Kip either.”
Candace’s stomach dipped as she realized what Malone’s words meant. Her lapse in mentioning Kip hadn’t gone unnoticed by Malone. She managed a sickly smile and nod, hoping she could believe Malone’s words.
Would Malone turn on her the moment she was angry with her again? Would her stepsister stop to think that Candace had her over the same barrel, should she choose to use the ammunition, or would she just blurt it out and try to cause as much trouble as possible if she was enraged?
Not knowing, and not knowing what to do, she finally left Malone to her swim so she could finish getting dressed and return to her dorm room. It was getting late, with curfew approaching, and as she laid in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she tried to think what to do about her big mouth, and how she might’ve potentially betrayed Kip. Only Malone’s current good will was keeping their relationship from being discovered.
That was a scary thought.
Chapter Seven
Candace
By the middle of the night, she knew she had to warn Kip about what she’d done, so she sneaked out of the dorm and across the grounds, heading to his cottage. She’d promised she wouldn’t return, but she thought it was important enough to warn him that she had to do so.
She sneaked past Suzanne’s, noting the light was still on, and went around to his patio. She knocked hard enough for him to hear, and he appeared a few minutes later wearing pajama bottoms and nothing else besides a stern frowned. “What are you doing here, Candace? We agreed this was too dangerous.”
She nodded, taking a step back. “I’m not coming in, but I had to warn you. I did something really stupid.” As quickly and quietly as possible, she told him about Manion attacking Octavia, and how they had learned about him and Malone, and how she’d accidentally let her stepsister know she was involved with Kip.
Kip was a little pale by the time she finished. “That’s…not good.”
She nodded, on the verge of tears as she looked down at her feet. “I’m so sorry, Kip. I wasn’t thinking. I was just identifying with her, and it came out and was so stupid. I don’t know what she’ll do.”
“It’s okay.”
She looked up at his words, shocked by them and his steady confidence. “It’s not. You could lose your job, and I could get expelled.”
Kip shrugged a shoulder. “That’s true, but I already have a preliminary job offer from a small academy forty-five minutes outside of Boston, and it would take a lot to lose that offer. I was going to tell you the next time I saw you, but I haven’t had a chance to spend much time with you.”
She swallowed. “Still, the disgrace of being discharged and… It could cost you your job here and there.”
“If so, we’ll figure out something else. It’s not as if my family is hurting for money. I really don’t think she’s going to tell anyone though.”
Candace’s eyes widened. “You have more faith in her than I do.”
Kip laughed softly. “She’s not going to be eager to admit to her humiliation. Malone cares very much about her appearance and her social standing. She’s been prom queen two years in a row, and she’s gunning for number-three, just for example. She’s not going to want everyone to know that she slept with Manion, who turned out to be a pervert. She might get angry with you, but Malone is motivated by self-interest first, so I don’t think we have to worry too much.”
Seeing how certain he seemed helped her find a measure of confidence as well. “You really think that’s true?”
He arched a brow. “You know her better than I do. Is she the selfish sort—”
“Is she ever,” said Candace with a grin. She was suddenly glad about that personality trait in her stepsister. She thought Kip was right now that she examined it. Malone might get angry enough to want to ruin her, but not at Malone’s own expense. She grinned at him. “I still felt like I was an idiot for doing that, but I think you’re right. She probably won’t say anything.”
“If she does, are you going to reveal her secret?” asked Kip, seeming to be inquiring strictly out of academic curiosity. There was no inflection in his tone that revealed how he wanted her to answer.
She wouldn’t have wanted to give him an answer that wasn’t true anyway, but she felt like a fool when she said, “Probably not. She’s only seventeen and has another year of school ahead of her. It could really destroy her if people found out.”
Kip reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently. “That’s what I like about you. Don’t change.”
She smiled, warmth suffusing her. “I should get back before we get caught.”
He looked to be considering it for a moment, as though he wanted to invite her inside, before he finally sighed and nodded. “That’s the smart thing to do. It would be completely dangerous and risky to have you come in and spend the night with me.” His words were sensible, but his tone was full of longing.
She allowed her regret to show as she took another step back, making it clear she wasn’t going to do that, though he was indirectly asking her to do so. “I can’t. I’ve already risked your position enough. Good night, Kip.”
With a heavy sigh, he nodded. “Good night, Candace. Make sure you get back safely. Maybe I should walk you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I don’t want to risk getting caught just for you to walk me back to my dorm.”
He seemed torn for a moment before accepting her decision. “Text me when you get back to your room. I want to make sure you’re safe. If I don’t hear from you in fifteen minutes, I’m going to come looking.”
She smiled, touched by his concern and feeling his love wrap around her like an actual embrace. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Without another word, afraid she might give in to temptation and his unspoken invitation, she turned on her heel and jogged away from his place.
She was jogging blindly for a moment, and she forgot to turn back onto the path. She ended up running behind Suzanne’s cottage. As soon as she realized she was passing a window, she froze. Candace started to duck down, but as she did so, she noticed Suzanne and Headmaster Hastings sitting at the kitchen table. They looked very cozy, with their heads close together, and their hands nearly touching.
Maybe it was nothing, but it was so late at night, and there was something so intimate about the pose that it had her reaching for her phone to take pictures. She took several and decided to shoot a video. The lighting wasn’t good, so she moved slightly, managing to get a better angle so the reflection of the light on the glass didn’t obscure the image, but as she did so, her foot slipped, and she kicked against a terracotta pot.
She was already ducking down on instinct, pulling her phone with her and tucking it in her pocket, when she heard the kitchen chairs slide back. As quickly as she could, she started running, tugging the hoodie up over her head and around her face tightly.
She heard Suzanne emerge via her patio door a moment later, but she was already out of sight. There were running footsteps, and she knew someone was attempting to chase her, so she put her head down and ran even faster, needing to get away before Hastings or Suzanne could identify her.
As she passed through the part of the trail shadowed by trees, the footsteps faded behind her, indicating whomever was chasing her had given up. By the lighter footfalls, she thought it was Suzanne who’d chased her rather than Headmaster Hastings, who had a solider build.
She raced the rest of the way back to her dorm, moving through as quietly as she could while maintaining a fast pace. She was reduced to tiptoeing past Edna’s door, but there was no sign of the resident advisor being awakened by her movement. She breathed a sigh of relief when she reentered the dorm room and locked the d
oor behind her, leaning against it for a moment as she struggled to regain her breath.
She looked at Isis, who was sleeping calmly, as she stripped off the hoodie and got back in bed. Her heart was still racing, and it was a long time before she remembered the pictures and video on her phone. When she did, she emailed them to herself for safekeeping, more convinced than ever as she stared at them that there was something more than professional regard or even friendship between Suzanne and the headmaster. With her phone opened, she remembered to text Kip she was back safely.
Sleep was a long time coming.
Valentine’s Day came and went, along with the school cupids who delivered valentines for her. All four that she received were anonymous, but she knew who they were from, and she tucked them into her dresser drawer that evening. She hadn’t sent valentines, since she couldn’t imagine skipping over Kip and Jonas, but she was certain Dalton and Lex knew she cared.
Thinking of all of them had her reaching for her phone so she could send them a heartfelt text with a loving message and lots of hearts before going to bed. It was a day for romance, and while she would’ve liked to spend time with her men, she was certain of their love, so she didn’t need this Valentine’s Day with them. There would be plenty more ahead of them, where they could openly celebrate.
March
Chapter Eight
Candace
March came with a burst of rain and chilly weather, but it also brought the return of Jonas several times a week, so she was able to spend time with him in the gazebo or in the greenhouses when she helped with the roses. It was nice to see him so much again, and she wondered how she’d survived winter. She was glad there wouldn’t be another winter separation ahead of them, at least if everything worked out as they hoped.
