by M. J. Putney
The headmistress had white hair and shrewd eyes that studied Rebecca with interest. Offering her hand, she said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Weiss. Anne, you go along to your classroom while I discuss the proposed schedule. I understand that you want a heavy course load of math and sciences, Miss Weiss?”
Rebecca nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I am behind in my studies and wish to catch up.”
The headmistress handed her a copy of the proposed schedule. “Since you’re French, you needn’t take the French class, so I’m putting you into chemistry as well as biology, mathematics, history, English, and Latin. It’s a demanding schedule, so after a fortnight, we can decide if adjustments need to be made.”
Rebecca studied the schedule, thinking that her lessons in magic must be added to this. But she was determined to make up the time lost in captivity and to master magic in case her friends in the past needed her particular talents.
Miss Smythe rang a small bell on her desk. “I’ve arranged for a student guide to help you until you settle in.”
Rebecca was surprised when a dark-haired, dark-eyed, un-English-looking girl around her own age entered the room. It was a relief to find that not every student in the school was blond.
“Miss Weiss, this is Miss Demetrios, who has also had the experience of starting here as a new student during a term. Miss Demetrios, Miss Weiss is recently arrived from France.” The headmistress made a shooing gesture with her hand. “Now off with you both. Take a bit of time to become acquainted, then on to your next class.”
As they left the office, Rebecca said, “You’re Greek, Miss Demetrios?”
“My parents are,” the other girl said with a distinct London accent. “Me, I’m a Cockney, born within the sound of Bow bells. My name is Andromeda.”
“Andromeda is a wonderful name!”
The girl made a face as they passed through the secretary’s office and into the hallway. “It confused everyone here at first. That’s why I go by Andy.”
“My name is Rebecca. I see why you were chosen as my guide.”
“Miss Smythe is a shrewd old duck,” Andy agreed. “You’re French and Jewish? Escaping from France must have been exciting!”
“Too exciting,” Rebecca said wryly. “I look forward to quiet days in school.”
“Your English is excellent. You have hardly any French accent.” Andy pushed open a door into the washroom. “We can get acquainted here, where it’s private.”
“How did you come down from London?” Rebecca asked curiously.
“My parents wanted to get my little brother and me away from the bombing,” Andy explained. “My uncle has a small café in Lackland and he volunteered to take us. It’s not the safest place in England with German aircraft flying overhead every day, but better than London’s East End. It’s nicer to be with family than a house full of strangers, and my brother and I can help out in the café.”
Rebecca had heard that huge numbers of children had been evacuated to the countryside when the Blitz started. Despite being safer in the country, many couldn’t wait to return to their London homes.
Andy crossed her arms and leaned back against a sink. “This is a good school and most of the girls are nice, though there are exceptions. There’s a lot of competition for grades because most students hope to get places at a university. There’s a good solid air-raid shelter under the school if we need it. Do you have any questions of the sort you can’t ask a headmistress?”
Rebecca laughed. “You’re very efficient! I don’t know what else to ask.”
Andy cocked her head to one side. “Do you want to go to university?”
Rebecca nodded. “Both my parents are doctors, and I want to become one also.”
The other girl’s dark eyes rounded. “A doctor father is good, but a doctor mother is even better! What kind of physician do you want to become?”
Though Rebecca had always known that she wanted to become a doctor, she’d never thought much about what kind, but her reply was instant. “A psychiatrist. A doctor of the mind.” Knowing that she had magical ability was so new that she hadn’t thought how it would fit with her ambitions, but Andy’s questions made her realize that her talents could be used to heal minds and emotions.
“I know nothing about being a psychiatrist, but I’m sure that it’s needed.” Andy sighed. “And will be needed even more after the war is over.”
“Do you also want to go to university?”
“Yes, I want to study mathematics.” The other girl smiled shyly. “No one in my family has ever gone to university, but Miss Smythe thinks I can win a place. Perhaps even at Oxford or Cambridge.”
“How wonderful that would be!” Rebecca exclaimed, even more impressed with how well Miss Smythe had chosen a guide. “My parents and brother are in Oxford now. Both my parents are researchers at a medical laboratory.”
“Then they made it out of France, too! I’m glad to know that.” Andy sighed. “Almost everyone here has family serving in the army or navy or RAF. It’s considered polite to wait for people to volunteer rather than asking about family.”
So Andy had been wondering if Rebecca was orphaned or alone but had been too tactful to ask. “We were very lucky to escape. I’m staying with the Rainfords for a while. They’re friends of the family and Mrs. Rainford volunteered to help me adjust to an English school and give me extra tutoring if I need it.” It was the explanation they’d all agreed on and was also the truth, if not the whole truth.
“Mrs. Rainford is lovely. One of my favorite teachers.”
The conversation ended when a raucous bell blasted through the school. As Rebecca jumped, startled, Andy said, “First period is over, and I thank you for getting me out of most of it. Now it’s time for history. The teacher, Mrs. Rigley, is a right bear.”
“Every school has a few bears,” Rebecca said philosophically.
Girls began pouring into the washroom during the short break between classes. Because Rebecca was wearing the school uniform, she was obviously a new student and she attracted curious glances. Luckily, Andy was there to make introductions, and she seemed to be well liked.
As the day progressed, Rebecca sat quietly in each class, taking notes and studying the teachers and students. There was no hostility toward her foreignness—except once, when she felt a stab of revulsion from another student while changing classes. The hallway was crowded so she couldn’t identify the source, but she found the ugly emotion so upsetting that she shut down her magical abilities for a time.
But she was favorably impressed with the school. The teachers were good and the subjects challenging. She was intrigued to have a history textbook written from an English point of view rather than French. In Mrs. Rainford’s English class, students were reading and discussing a play by Shakespeare, King Lear, which was interesting even though the archaic language was confusing.
But she found it eerie to be in a school again, as if the months in a cramped cell waiting for death had never happened. Prison was where Rebecca had started sensing the emotions around her. She’d felt resignation and fear from her fellow prisoners, who were women and children of all ages, from a white-haired grandmother down to an infant not six months old.
The guards were a more mixed lot. A few were compassionate and might provide small comforts to ease captivity. Most were businesslike, intent on doing their jobs; some had ugly, lustful thoughts about the younger prisoners like Rebecca—and a few despised all Jews, thinking of them as greedy swine who oppressed good Christians and deserved to die ugly deaths.
She shuddered at the memory. She’d known the commandant had them marked for death and had not dared speak of it to anyone, even her mother, because that would have meant the end of all hope for everyone in the cell. At least, if she’d been believed.
Her last class of the day was biology. Behind the usual desks was a laboratory. Andy led her in and they walked to the front of the room, where the bald, elderly teacher was studying notes at his desk.
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Andy said, “Dr. Gordon is a retired doctor who was brought in to teach because our last science master went into the army. Sir, this is a new student, Rebecca Weiss.”
The science master stood and peered at Rebecca over his spectacles, his faded blue eyes amiable. “Weiss. You are German?”
“My father’s parents were, but I’m French, sir.”
“Then it’s good that you are here, not there. Take the empty desk beside Miss Demetrios. After class, we can discuss what you learned at your school in France.”
Rebecca nodded and followed Andy to the seats near the door. As other students filed in, she felt the same sting of revulsion she’d experienced earlier in the hallway. She studied the other girls and saw that one was frowning at her. She was tall and sharp-faced and had a tight, angry-looking mouth.
“Who is that tall girl?” she asked Andy in a whisper.
“Sylvia Crandall,” Andy replied in a matching whisper. “She’s the top student in the school, but a bad-tempered snob.”
Even in the standard school uniform, Sylvia looked as if she came from a home with money. Not only did she have expensive shoes and a gold barrette in her hair, but her uniform looked as if it had been carefully ironed by a maid, and she had an irritating air of superiority.
Rebecca’s musings were interrupted when Dr. Gordon called the class to order and announced, “To keep you lovely young ladies alert, today we’ll start with a test on what we’ve learned so far this term.”
There were quiet groans as he started handing out duplicated sheets of questions. Rebecca thought gloomily that it was a bad way to start a new class. But the examination turned out to be simple, just two pages of multiple-choice questions. She marked the answers as fast as she could read through the test, then sat quietly. Other students seemed to be having much more trouble.
“Time!” Dr. Gordon said. “Exchange papers with students across the aisle so you can grade each other.”
Rebecca’s exam went to a freckled girl on her right who exchanged papers with a shy smile. “I’m Mary Hampton. Welcome to LGG.”
“I’m Rebecca,” she said, returning the smile. As Andy had said, most of the students were nice.
Dr. Gordon read through the questions, using each as an opportunity to discuss the subject while the girls graded the papers. The teacher called on students to talk and encouraged more questions. At the end, he said, “Did anyone have a perfect score?”
Mary raised her hand. “Miss Weiss did.”
“You are well taught, Miss Weiss!” Dr. Gordon said with a smile. “You shall be an asset to this class.”
Rebecca shrank back in her chair, pleased but embarrassed as all eyes turned to her with curiosity and approval. But buried within those emotions was a sharp thorn of resentful fury from Sylvia Crandall. Andy had said the school was very competitive, and Sylvia now saw her as a rival.
“Maybe Sylvia will have competition for top student,” someone whispered cattily in a voice too low for the master to hear.
“Now, how many had only one question wrong?” Dr. Gordon asked.
Andy and Sylvia Crandall fell into that group. No one in the class missed more than five questions. The students had been paying attention to their lessons.
Though the rest of the class was uneventful, Rebecca could feel anger and resentment simmering in Sylvia the whole time. It was a relief when the bell rang, ending the class and the school day.
“You must be ready to go home and collapse,” Andy said sympathetically as she stood up from her desk. “That’s how I felt after the first day here. Too much newness.”
“Tomorrow should be easier.” Rebecca stood and tucked her notebook into her book bag as other students streamed by her to the door. Sylvia was approaching, expression tight, when Andy stepped into the aisle between the desks and said sweetly, “Sylvia, have you met Rebecca Weiss? This is her first day.”
Aloud, Sylvia said brusquely, “I know who she is,” as she pushed past. But in her mind were the words Filthy Jew!
The hateful insult blasted into Rebecca’s mind as her arm brushed Sylvia’s. The vicious thought literally knocked her off balance. Instinctively she reached out to save herself from falling and caught Sylvia’s arm. A flood of new images and emotions cascaded through her.
Sylvia’s mother drank too much. Her father doted on her younger brother and her pretty older sister. He’d cursed when Sylvia was born because he didn’t want a second daughter, especially not such an ugly baby. He was fiercely anti-Semitic, despising all Jews. Sylvia studied ferociously hard to make her father proud of her, and she’d taken on his many prejudices.
Sylvia’s bitterness and lonely pain were so intense that they triggered Rebecca’s instinctive sympathy. A white current of magical energy flowed from her into the other girl. It was over in an instant, leaving Rebecca shocked and shaking. Having no idea what had just happened, she released Sylvia’s arm and stepped back. “I’m so sorry! I trip over my own feet sometimes.”
Sylvia stared at her, as disoriented as Rebecca. After a moment, she said in a tentative voice, as if uncertain how to act, “I do that, too, sometimes.”
Wanting to know more about the other girl’s state of mind, Rebecca offered her hand. “I’m pleased to meet you. Andy says you’re the best student in the school.”
“In most subjects,” Sylvia said stiffly as she took Rebecca’s hand. “Andy is better in mathematics, and you may be better in biology.”
“One test doesn’t prove that.” As they shook hands, Rebecca sensed that some of the darkness of Sylvia’s spirit was gone. The other girl had always bitterly resented that her family never acknowledged or respected her intelligence or hard work. If Rebecca was reading Sylvia correctly, much of that resentment had dissolved, leaving more acceptance of her situation.
Not at all sure what she’d done, Rebecca imagined more light flowing into the other girl until the handshake ended. She didn’t think healing light could do any damage.
“There was an odd number of students in this class, and I was the one who didn’t have a laboratory partner, so you’ll be paired off with me.” Sylvia’s expression was wary. Rebecca had the sense that in the past, no one wanted to work with her.
“Excellent! Since I’m new, I need to work with someone who is skilled,” Rebecca said with a warm smile. “We’ll be the best pair in the class.”
Sylvia looked startled, then smiled uncertainly, as if she didn’t know quite how it was done. “That’s settled, then. I’ll see you in class.”
When the other girl was gone, Andy asked with amazement, “What did you do to Sylvia? She was practically civil!”
“Maybe she’s tired of being bad-tempered.” Rebecca pressed a hand to her midriff. Apparently she had made changes in Sylvia’s mind so the other girl was less unhappy, though she didn’t know how she’d done it.
She didn’t know whether to be proud of herself or horrified.
CHAPTER 7
Lackland, 1804
“I wonder what our storm has done to the French squadrons?” Jack asked in an overhearty voice as the Irregulars gathered around the circular table.
“Let’s join hands and find out.” Tory kept her voice light as she sorted out her friends and they built another circle. As she’d suspected, Jack was trying to conceal the fact that two days of rest had only partially restored his magical power. The rest of the Irregulars, including her, were close to normal, but Jack had been drained the most, and he was still well short of his usual ability.
“And so we begin…,” she intoned as energy flowed through their clasped hands, creating a power that was greater than the sum of the individuals. Once more Elspeth used a bowl of water to scry, and Tory enhanced the images to help others see them.
“The storm struck the fleet full-on,” Elspeth said with approval. “You did a good job of aiming it, Cynthia. Most of the ships have lost sails and masts, and several seem to have crashed on shoals south of Ireland. The storm is passi
ng now. Some Royal Navy ships are pursuing them, and they should be able to capture the remaining vessels once the weather clears.”
Relief ran through the circle. “What about the smaller group of ships that left Brest later?” Tory asked. “Were they also stopped by the storm?”
“Let me see…” Elspeth cleared her mind, then sought the smaller group of ships.
Suddenly she gasped. “Dear God, the French are landing in Wales right now!” Her horrified words were accompanied by images of ships moored in a protected cove and small boats transferring soldiers to the shore.
Shock seared through the circle as everyone saw the grim evidence of invasion. Jack growled, “They were too far from the center of the storm to be badly damaged. Where are they landing?”
“Instead of Bristol, they’ve landed … somewhere near Carmarthen, I think,” Miss Wheaton said tautly. “I doubt there are many coastal defenses in that area. If the French ships are carrying a thousand or more trained troops, they can easily take control of a sizable area before British troops can be mustered to fight them.”
“Can weather magic be used to damage the ships?” Mr. Stephens asked.
Cynthia shook her head. “It’s too late. By the time we could bring in another storm, all the soldiers and weapons will have landed.”
Jack swore under his breath. “Is there anything we can do to stop them before they get a foothold?”
An idea struck Tory. She closed her eyes and visualized the network of portals connected by Merlin’s Mirror. “The legends say that Merlin was born in a cave near Carmarthen. One of the mirror portals is very near there.”
“Then we go now!” Cynthia said firmly. “Our only distance weapon is weather, but if several of us are there on the spot, there is much we could do to foil the invasion.”
Silence fell at her words. Tory shivered at the thought of going on another mission when she’d just returned from their perilous sojourn to occupied France.
