by Connie Glynn
The prince eased into the dance effortlessly, and Lottie found she could match his steps faultlessly, as if they were a mirror image of the other. He led her gracefully across the floor. Both in white, they were snowflakes in the cold room, gliding smoothly around the hall as if they were floating. She felt weightless in his arms, the rest of the world melting around her in a hazy cloud. She forgot Jamie; she forgot Anastacia and Raphael, her insomnia, the pressures of her role as Portman – it all dissolved with the music.
‘You know you’re far better at dancing than half the girls here.’
Lottie blushed involuntarily, feeling silly for finding the compliment so pleasing. She didn’t know how to respond. He was just so … charming.
‘You’re not so bad yourself, I suppose.’ Lottie shocked herself with how effortlessly she spoke. Where did that come from?
He chuckled, the sound vibrating softly against her ear, then he abruptly swung her into a twirl that she somehow managed to step into gracefully, spinning out and then back into his arms. Her heart was racing, her feet moving naturally in time to the music.
‘I hope I’ll get the chance to show you how not so bad I can be,’ he added, smiling. She found herself giggling as they continued dancing in their dreamy cloud.
Then the music stopped, plummeting Lottie back to reality. She blinked, then looked around to discover that everyone was staring at them – silent, except for the occasional muffled whisper with eyes like pointed fingers in their direction. Anastacia’s expression was cold, her eyebrows furrowed in what appeared to be annoyance, and then she turned to Jamie. Lottie had never seen him look as terrifying as he did then. He seemed to be radiating anger, and all her fears of him came flooding back like ice down her spine.
I must have really screwed up this time, she thought, feeling deflated.
She turned back to Edmund – and he was … smiling! He caught her eye, then took a flamboyant step back and bowed. Lottie put her hand over her chest and flushed at the gesture.
‘It was an honour to dance with you, Princess.’
Lottie felt weird being addressed in that way but couldn’t stop her cheeks and her whole face going hot as her fellow students continued to stare.
‘M-much obliged,’ she replied, trying not to let her nerves show.
Thwack!
The sharp crack of Lady Priscilla’s cane tore through the silence in the hall with a deafening echo.
‘That,’ she shrieked, all eyes turning to her abruptly, ‘was absolutely, outrageously, the most wonderful display I’ve seen in any of my classes for years.’
Lottie had to stop herself from gasping. Had Lady Priscilla just complimented her?
‘Elegant, precise – a gentleman and a lady blending into their roles effortlessly.’ Lottie found herself bristling at this statement. What roles? she thought in annoyance, but quickly quashed her feelings. ‘It was everything a waltz should be. Marvellous.’
Then Lady Priscilla clapped her hands, applauding while the rest of the students stood awkward and confused. Her face had become almost comical, gushing so much that she looked as if she would burst into tears. Prince Ashwick winked at Lottie and she felt her whole body light up and looked away quickly to hide her blushes.
The class was breezy from then on. As long as Lottie was standing by the prince, Lady Priscilla was more than satisfied with her efforts, even though Lottie was painfully aware that she was doing everything exactly as she had before.
Lottie occasionally caught Jamie’s eye. He no longer wore his disinterested blank-faced expression. Instead his jaw seemed permanently clenched, as if she were doing something very wrong, which didn’t make any sense as Lady Priscilla was clearly overjoyed with her. When the class came to an end, Lottie was feeling a little smug. She’d gone from Lady Priscilla’s most despised student to a ‘shining example of how young girls can flourish when they step up to their responsibilities’.
Raphael had to cover his mouth to stop laughing, while Anastacia looked intensely annoyed for no particular reason. She nodded to Lottie briskly as they all left the hall. Saskia smiled sweetly at her and wiggled her fingers in a little wave.
‘We have to leave. Now.’ Jamie’s voice came out low and cold behind Lottie, making her shiver.
Edmund narrowed his eyes at Jamie, then sighed dramatically.
‘Well, it seems our time together is cut short, Princess Wolfson.’ He stroked a lock of Lottie’s hair, letting the silky blonde strand intertwine in his fingers. ‘I will find a way to contact you.’ He gently took Lottie’s hand, before raising it to his lips and planting a soft kiss that sent sparks through her body. ‘I eagerly anticipate our next encounter.’ He winked at her before adding, ‘I’m sure you understand why,’ then he turned dramatically to the door as two terrifyingly large men materialized by his side to escort him out.
‘Bye …’ Lottie replied breathlessly after him.
Jamie began walking her back to the Ivy dorm. He was obviously angry, but Lottie was too elated from her encounter with Prince Edmund Ashwick to take in his sour mood.
‘I could’ve danced all day and never got bored. Did you see how impressed Lady Priscilla was?’
Jamie’s eyebrows furrowed, but Lottie simply danced around him as they walked through the grounds, skipping happily and giggling to herself in the waning rose-tinted light.
‘I was brave and kind and I was totally unstoppable – aren’t you pleased with me?’
‘Yes, Lottie, I’m very pleased. Now listen …’
‘Wasn’t it magical? Lady Priscilla’s face was priceless. It was like something out of a story, and Edmund –’
‘Lottie, listen, you can’t –’
‘He’s like no boy I’ve ever met before. He’s the real deal; he’s a real-life Prince Charming!’
‘Lottie, you can’t –’
‘I’m so happy I could just –’
‘LOTTIE, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES TO SPEAK TO PRINCE ASHWICK AGAIN.’
Lottie froze and took in the furious resolution on Jamie’s face. That had not been what she was expecting at all.
27
‘EDMUND ASHWICK?’
Ellie’s voice shrieked through their room loud enough to make Lottie’s princess mug shake on the table. ‘But he’s a complete piece of –’
‘You’re forbidden from interacting with him, Lottie,’ Jamie interrupted.
Ellie was pulling her fingers through her hair, filling the room with stress as she paced back and forth. Lottie sat firmly on her bed with her hands clasped in her lap, trying not to get annoyed that they were treating her like a stupid child.
‘I think you’re both failing to remember that he saved me in that class. Without him Lady Priscilla probably would have made me leave, blocking me from attending the Maravish Summer Ball.’ Lottie tried to keep her voice as calm as possible after Ellie’s erratic tone.
‘He’s gotta be a total sleazeball.’
‘But Lady Priscilla –’
‘Lady Priscilla is a backwards traditionalist bitch and if she likes you because of your association with Edmund then you definitely don’t want anything to do with him.’
Ellie was furious. Lottie could practically see bolts of static electrifying the air around her.
As soon as the class had finished, Jamie had demanded an emergency meeting in their dorm room. Lottie had protested on the grounds that they might get caught, but she’d been overruled as Jamie could just dive off the balcony if he needed to – something Lottie actually kind of wanted to see.
‘It’s sick, sick, I tell you, that that … slimy toad Ashwick … I bet he thinks …’ Ellie shivered then looked up at Lottie with a new conviction on her face. ‘Lottie, I think we need to explain to you about my reputation.’
Lottie’s brows furrowed. It was something she’d been curious about herself.
‘Last year …’ Ellie began, ‘gossip was spread about me, saying I did all these things I didn’t do. It s
aid I was caught drinking with a guy at a rock concert and that’s why I was being hidden away from the public. It spiralled out of control and people started saying I was going to be just like my uncle. It’s all completely stupid.’ Ellie looked away, her hands clenched in frustration.
Lottie’s heart ached for Ellie – she understood her paranoia. This is why she doesn’t trust anyone.
‘Ellie, I think we need to start trusting people,’ said Lottie gently. ‘Maybe Edmund really wants to get to know the princess. Maybe there are people who want to know the real you … He was very kind and …’
Ellie’s face softened as she saw the disappointment in Lottie’s eyes.
‘It’s not just that, Lottie. If it did go sour with Edmund, think about all the gossip. It could further damage my reputation.’ Ellie was trying to sound calmer but there was tension in her voice. Lottie didn’t understand what Ellie meant. What could go sour?
‘Well, shouldn’t you know better than anyone what it feels like to have people make assumptions about you?’
Maybe Edmund was the same. Maybe he was being misjudged.
Ellie sighed as if Lottie was being a petulant child instead of a girl wanting to confess that she’d met the love of her life.
‘You need to trust us, Lottie.’ Ellie’s voice was quieter now, but she still wore her fiery expression.
‘Maybe you have to trust me!’ Lottie exclaimed, standing up to face Ellie head-on. ‘We can’t judge a person based on rumours and hearsay. Surely you of all people can understand that.’
‘Lottie, for once in your life would you stop being so painfully naive.’
Lottie jolted at the severity of Jamie’s tone. She turned to see his face twisted into a furious scowl, and a cold feeling spread through her body. ‘You’re just a foolish little girl who’s obsessed with fairy tales. You’re being childish and you’re going to put Ellie at risk.’
Lottie found herself lost for words. She stood frozen, tears pricking her eyes as she tried to compose herself. She was used to being called naive – she was even used to people thinking her interests were childish – but it was a whole different thing when she was being told her attitude could hurt someone else. She’d worked hard in that class and thought maybe she’d finally proved to Jamie she was capable. She’d failed: she’d failed to impress him and she’d apparently failed Ellie. It took all of her willpower not to burst out sobbing in front of them.
‘I’m … so …’ Lottie whimpered.
Ellie let out a massive frustrated groan. ‘You,’ she said, pointing at Jamie, ‘shut up for a minute.’ She turned back to Lottie and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look directly into her eyes. That storm was there, thundering in the background, yet Lottie felt calmed by it.
‘Now listen to me, Lottie – really listen.’ She took a deep breath. ‘It’s OK for you to daydream about boys –’ the twitchiness in her voice suggested this was difficult for her to say – ‘and I love that you try to see the good in everyone and, who knows, maybe Edmund really doesn’t have an ulterior motive. I love you and all your wonderful quirks and I will never, ever call you naive.’ She paused to scowl at Jamie. ‘But –’ she took another breath as she mentally prepared herself – ‘I don’t want you to be disappointed if things don’t turn out the way you expect.’
‘Ellie.’ Lottie breathed her name softly, letting it clear her mind as it floated off her tongue. Guilt grew inside her as she looked at the pain on her friend’s face. She didn’t want them to worry about her; she needed to reassure them that she was capable of handling herself. She forced a smile, wondering what she’d actually do if Edmund contacted her.
‘I promise you guys can count on me,’ she said determinedly.
Ellie looked at her, her mouth breaking into her little side smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
‘Well, either way, Jamie’s not allowed to shout at you any more. I’m forbidding it.’ She paused before holding her index finger in the air. ‘That’s a royal order.’
Suddenly remembering he was in the room, Lottie turned to him, expecting to see him still furious and determined, ready to roll his eyes and lecture them both about the seriousness of their positions, but instead he looked … pained. He was looking away and one hand reached up and rubbed his forehead in a way that indicated stress. The guilty feeling in her stomach doubled. Once again she was overcome by the sad idea that Jamie had had to deal with far more responsibility than most other boys his age did. It was no wonder he reacted so harshly; Ellie and her reputation had to come first.
‘Don’t worry, Jamie.’ She waited until he looked at her. ‘I understand.’
They held their gaze for a moment and he nodded. She knew he understood what she meant, but now she had to prove it. Ellie has to come first, she repeated to herself.
‘OK … are we all calm now?’ Ellie quipped.
‘I think so.’ Lottie turned back to Jamie and put on her best happy expression. ‘Now, Jamie, you’ve got to leave. Ellie has homework to finish and I think we could all do with some downtime.’
Jamie allowed a half smile to creep on to his lips as he turned to leave.
‘Very well. I’ll see you both tomorrow morning,’ he said as he reached for the door handle. ‘Oh, and, Lottie –’ he caught her eye, the half smile still on his lips – ‘try to get some sleep tonight.’
‘Of course,’ she said cheerfully, but a thick feeling of dread filled her stomach.
The door clicked shut and she pulled out the sleeping tablets Anastacia had given her. Something told her things were not going to get any less exhausting any time soon.
28
The end of the first term was fast approaching. Icicles lined the eaves of the school buildings and the pond outside the Ivy dorm had frozen over. Every day the sky threatened to snow, yet every day the air remained icy and still. It turned out it was easy not to speak to Edmund as there was no obvious way for them to stay in touch with the phone ban. Lottie had been working extra hard to be a ‘perfect princess’ since Jamie had lost his temper with her, partly because she didn’t want anyone to see how tired she was but mostly because she realized how important it was to help fix Ellie’s tarnished image.
Be kind, she reminded herself.
One Thursday evening was particularly quiet so the girls took the opportunity, before the rush of winter exams and the approaching fencing try-outs, to solve Binah’s puzzle. Lottie reread the passage she thought contained the clue, hoping the answer would reveal itself.
And now within the master’s office,
Where he looks down on his house,
His gaze on them with a gaze on him
Of the Vixen and the Delicate Mouse.
Ellie stared at Lottie as she recited the poem again. They stood at the foot of the stone stairs to the headmaster’s office. The heart of the school.
‘So “he” must be William Tufty,’ Lottie deduced. ‘And surely this must be “the master’s office”, right? I don’t think it’s talking about the one in Ivy Wood. So there has to be a painting of Tufty in the head’s office,’ she added. ‘It’s the only plausible interpretation.’
‘I’ll have to take your word for it.’ Ellie raised her eyebrows. She was not the best at finding symbolism and hidden meaning in words, preferring numbers over letters.
‘You really should brush up on riddles and clues,’ Lottie cautioned. ‘What if you need to solve one to get out of a sticky situation some day?’ The scenario seemed unlikely but it was something she’d read in the Portman’s diary. An old story of an eastern European royal’s Partizan, who’d sent a coded message in a letter back to the kingdom by spelling the family dog’s name wrong so they’d know she was being held captive. After reading this, Lottie had decided that you could never be too ready.
Ellie smirked, clearly not taking her riddle advice seriously.
‘How did your first tutoring session with Saskia go?’ she asked unexpectedly. Something about the way
she said Saskia’s name irritated Lottie.
‘It was fine.’ I wish it was with you, though, she added in her head.
‘Just fine? I thought it was really cool of Saskia to offer to tutor you. I’d be thrilled.’
Lottie couldn’t figure out why she was being so cagey about it. Saskia was a great teacher; she just felt weird when Ellie talked about her.
‘It was great – she’s great and I’m learning loads. Is that better?’ Lottie realized she sounded an awful lot like Anastacia had back in the library and looked away embarrassed. ‘Sorry, I think I’m just … tired, and I don’t want you thinking her tutoring is better than yours.’
Ellie’s face softened and she chuckled sympathetically. ‘Well, of course she’s not better than me,’ she said, laughing. ‘I just want to make sure she’s good enough to tutor you.’ Lottie couldn’t help grinning at this. ‘Now come on. We have some mysteries to solve.’ Ellie grabbed her hand and they marched up the stone stairs together.
The plan was simple. They would knock on the door under the guise of wanting to ask about the history of the school for a class project. While they were inside, Lottie would examine the painting and look for any clues.
The large curved oak door to the headmaster’s office had two twisted metal handles in the middle. The carved thorns and roses on them had been worn away over four hundred years of use, and were barely visible. Lottie took a deep breath as she knocked. The headmaster was a mystery to her. She was now so familiar with Dame Bolter, Ms Kuma and Professor Devine, but Headmaster Croak kept to himself, an invisible force quietly working away in the background.
She knocked twice and waited. There was no answer. Ellie looked at the door in annoyance then knocked even louder. Still no response.
‘Hellooo! Anyone in? Excuse meee!’ Ellie bellowed as she banged on the door with her fists.
Lottie nudged her. ‘Ellie!’ she whispered harshly.
Ellie laughed, giving her the side smile that made it impossible to stay mad at her.
