Mystery at Silver Spires

by Ann Bryant

  It worried me now that Mrs. Pridham was being so kind and still hadn’t punished me. It made me think she knew Silver wasn’t going to survive and she was letting me see her alive for the last time. The morning passed more slowly than any other morning I could remember. Or so it felt. Emily and I bolted down the smallest amount of lunch, then rushed back to Forest Ash.

  We knocked on Mrs. Pridham’s door and as we waited I glanced sideways and noticed how pale Emily’s face was beneath her freckles.

  “I’ve been up there twice,” Mrs. Pridham told us quietly, as she followed us upstairs. “She’s had her second tablet but it’s not…looking good, I’m afraid.”

  Those were the same words that Duncan had used. I didn’t like them and didn’t ever want to hear them again.

  Walking across the attic floor was awful. Emily was holding my hand and I was gripping hers tightly, dreading what I was going to find around the corner. At first, when I saw Silver, I feared the worst had happened and felt my throat tighten. Wondering how her kittens could survive without her, I crouched down and stroked her head lightly, and her eyes opened just enough to blink at me very slowly.

  “Don’t die,” I whispered, feeling my tears gathering, but blinking them away, because I never cry. “Please don’t die.”

  “Only seven hours and ten minutes to go till the danger’s over,” said Emily with a catch in her voice.

  Mrs. Pridham patted my shoulder. “The kittens are doing wonderfully well, aren’t they?”

  I know she was only trying to cheer us up but it made me cross that she didn’t seem to care about Silver.

  I turned to Emily. “What’ll happen to the kittens if…she doesn’t make it?”

  “I think they’ll have to be bottle fed,” said Emily.

  Then Mrs. Pridham’s phone rang and she moved right away from us and spoke softly.

  “That was Duncan,” she said, coming back a moment later to find us in exactly the same positions, taking turns to give Silver the gentlest of strokes. “He’s coming round later to see how she is, but in the meantime we should try to help her drink some water.”

  I was wondering how we could possibly do that when the water bowl was right next to Silver but she was just ignoring it. She’d hardly touched her food either, and Mrs. Pridham said she’d had to push the tablet into her mouth. She wasn’t even certain that Silver had swallowed it. Emily said she thought she must have done, then she dipped her finger in the bowl and put it right next to Silver’s mouth. After a moment, Silver licked off the tiny drop of water. We took turns offering our wet fingers after that, but even so she was only getting a tiny amount of water. Still, it must have been better than nothing.

  “The lady that Duncan mentioned…” Mrs. Pridham began suddenly. “Well, it turns out that it’s not convenient for her to have the kittens after all.”

  “So why can’t we keep them?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  “No…I’ve told you, that’s out of the question.” Mrs. Pridham had spoken very firmly, and I knew there was no point in pleading with her. I’d noticed she’d not mentioned Silver, just said that the lady couldn’t have the kittens. And somehow I didn’t think that was because the lady was quite happy to have Silver but not the kittens. No, it was because Mrs. Pridham didn’t think Silver was going to live. My hand shook as I dipped my fingertip into the water bowl.

  Emily and I came down from the attic feeling drained. She put her arm round me as we walked along the corridor, then we told the others the awful news in the dorm as they stood silently looking at us with big questioning eyes.

  “The kittens are going to be okay but we’re not sure about Silver,” I said immediately, because I suddenly couldn’t bear their grave faces for a second longer. I could feel tears springing to my eyes but I looked down and blinked hard to make them go away.

  Then Mrs. Pridham knocked and I noticed, as she opened the door, that there were quite a few girls hovering around on the landing just behind her. Mrs. Pridham explained to everyone that there was nothing we could do, and that the vet would be back in a little while to give Silver her next tablet.

  “What’s going to happen to the kittens?” asked Nicole.

  I swallowed. Everyone was assuming Silver wouldn’t survive. Emily’s arm tightened round my shoulder.

  All eyes were on Mrs. Pridham.

  “We’ve not decided yet,” she said firmly.

  “But why exactly can’t we keep them?” Nadia asked, pushing herself forward a bit so she was standing next to Mrs. Pridham.

  “It’s just not practical,” came the answer. “I know they’re sweet little kittens now, but they’re going to grow into cats and a boarding house isn’t the place for a lot of cats.”

  Then the bell went and Mrs. Pridham told us all to go off to afternoon lessons. “Try not to worry, you two. The vet will do all he can.”

  As my eyes met Emily’s, I realized it was true we were both worrying like mad. But my worry was for Silver, and Emily’s was for me.

  Afternoon school was even harder to get through than the morning had been. I’d switched my phone on in between lessons and found a text from Hannah and a message from Anna. Hannah’s text read: Whats happenin wi Silver and kitts? Anna’s voicemail was bright and breezy, saying she’d try again later, as I wasn’t picking up. And I realized I hadn’t even switched my phone on when I’d collected it from Matron that morning, I’d been so preoccupied with thoughts about Silver. I switched it off again immediately because I didn’t feel like answering Hannah’s question. It would only make her as sad as I was. Well…nearly. And I didn’t feel like talking to Anna either. Or anyone really.

  Mrs. Pridham met us as soon as we went in to Forest Ash. Even in the seconds before she spoke I was studying her face for signs of how Silver was, and I dared to allow myself the teeniest shred of hope – because her eyes were smiling.

  “It’s good news… Duncan thinks she’s going to be all right!”

  I closed my eyes with relief.

  I was still brimming with happiness and hope as we set off to the attic to see Silver, but I stopped in my tracks when Mrs. Pridham said, “Ms. Carmichael’s coming over shortly, girls. She feels, like I do, that we must make arrangements for the cat and her kittens to go to a proper home, as soon as possible.”

  I drew in my breath slowly and let it out again with a sigh. Something told me that we were getting nearer to the time when I’d be given my punishment. Why did Ms. Carmichael need to pay a personal visit to see the kittens? No, she wanted to see me and Emily. That’s why she was coming. But nothing was Emily’s fault and I would make sure I explained that straight away. I was the one who was responsible for encouraging Silver to stay in the loft.

  When Emily and I got to the attic, Silver was lying on her back suckling all six kittens at the same time. She looked exhausted, but you could tell she wasn’t struggling any more. She was still and serene, and at the sight of us she did a massive yawn, which made us both laugh.

  “Oh, Silver, you really are much better!” I said, stroking her and putting my face close to hers. I felt her wet nose rubbing on my cheek and wondered if that was a cat kiss. But then I felt sad again, because I’d only just had the lovely surprise of finding Silver better and now I had to get used to the idea of her leaving Silver Spires.

  “Maybe they won’t be able to find anyone to take them,” said Emily, reading my mind. “Then they’ll have to stay here.”

  “But we break up in under two weeks,” I reminded her. “And Mrs. Pridham said she was going away, didn’t she?”

  “Did your stepmum get back to you?” asked Emily.

  “I’d forgotten about that. I’ll ring her now.”

  Anna picked up immediately and was in her usual cheerful mood. I tried to spin the story out, making it as dramatic as possible and laying it on thickly about how Silver had nearly died. It was when I began to describe how adorable the kittens were that she said, “Sorry, Bryony, if
you’re building up to asking me if we can have Silver and the kittens at home, then I’d better stop you right there. I’m afraid the answer is no. Dad seems to have developed some kind of an allergic reaction to Fellini – you know, watery eyes and shortage of breath. So there’s no way he’d ever think about taking on one cat of our own, let alone seven! I’m sorry.”

  I’d known they’d never let me adopt Silver and the kittens really, but I still felt awful as I disconnected because that was my last tiny ray of hope gone.

  “Like we said before, we’ll just have to hope it’s someone near to Silver Spires who takes them on,” said Emily. She’d obviously guessed from my side of the conversation that the answer was a definite no.

  I didn’t answer. My spirits were too low for talking.

  “Look at the little tiny one,” Emily went on. I could tell she was trying to cheer me up. “Its fur isn’t so patchy now, is it?”

  I told Emily something I’d been keeping to myself then. “In my head I call him Silver too, because he’s the one who looks most like his mum and because if she’d died…” I could feel my voice shaking. “…I wanted there to be something kind of…left of her.”

  “But now you can think of another name for him!” said Emily, and I felt sorry for her that she was having to work so hard at trying to cheer me up. “He looks the exact colour of old ash that you see in a fireplace, doesn’t he?” she went on. “Not quite as silver as his mum, more greyish.”

  “Ash,” I repeated thoughtfully. “Yes.”

  Then we looked at each other and grinned. “Forest Ash!” said Emily with a note of triumph in her voice. “That makes sense. Only…Ash for short!”

  And that’s when we heard two voices and two sets of footsteps coming upstairs. Emily’s eyes widened. “Ms. Carmichael!” she mouthed.

  “Ah, so this is where it’s been happening,” came Ms. Carmichael’s calm, deep voice.

  “Uh-huh,” said Mrs. Pridham.

  I gulped as I looked round, hearing this new, unfamiliar set of footsteps, surprisingly quiet, approaching our precious corner of the loft.

  “Hello, girls,” said Ms. Carmichael. But she scarcely gave us a glance. Her eyes were on Silver and the kittens. They were still nudging Silver for milk while she tried to clean herself. Ms. Carmichael broke into a smile as she bent down and tickled the side of Silver’s face. I was glad that she did that before she said anything about the kittens. Mrs. Pridham was staring in surprise. “Oh my goodness, she’s made an improvement even in the last hour!”

  “Six of them!” said Ms. Carmichael. “What a job!” Then she reached towards the black one that was lying down quietly and very gently stroked the top of his head. “You’re a calm little chap, aren’t you?” she said. “Or chap-ess!” she added with a chuckle.

  “He’s called Lucky,” said Emily.

  “Lucky, eh?” Ms. Carmichael looked at us and asked which one we liked best.

  It felt so odd having this conversation with the Head of school. I couldn’t relax. My insides were completely knotted and my body was stiff and tense, still waiting for my telling-off. “That one…” I said carefully, pointing to Ash, who was curled up by Silver’s tail.

  “Ah! And what have you called it?”

  “Ash,” I answered quietly.

  Ms. Carmichael reached out for him and very gently put him in my hands. “There you are. I think that’s a very appropriate name!”

  Emily did the smallest of gasps and I quickly looked at her. “I thought Silver might object,” she explained, “but actually, she seems okay about it.”

  Ash was making little mewing sounds and wriggling like mad, but once he’d got used to the feel of my hands he was completely still so I snuggled him into my neck and felt his wet nose on my skin, just as I had with Silver. Then, all of a sudden, I felt like bursting into tears, because I wasn’t going to see him or Silver again after we broke up for the holidays.

  “Don’t you think that’s appropriate, Mrs. Pridham?” Ms. Carmichael was saying.

  “I certainly do,” said Mrs. Pridham.

  There was something in their voices that made me look from one to the other of them. Something jokey that was connecting them both. Emily must have noticed it too, because she was eyeing them almost suspiciously.

  Ms. Carmichael stood up briskly and brushed herself down. “Right, that’s settled then. Forest Ash naturally gets first choice and they have chosen Ash.”

  It was as though I was dreaming. Or maybe I’d gone mad. I didn’t seem to be able to understand what Ms. Carmichael meant.

  “You mean…” Emily began, turning to me with shining eyes.

  “You mean…” I echoed faintly, not daring to believe my ears. Not yet.

  Mrs. Pridham broke into a chuckle. “We thought you’d be pleased. I explained to Ms. Carmichael that you’d broken a lot of rules, but it was for the right reasons…”

  “Yes, she was trying to protect Silver,” said Emily, standing closer to me.

  “Exactly,” said Ms. Carmichael. “And I didn’t think we could have our students going to such lengths without making sure there was a happy outcome!”

  “So each house will have a kitten. Like a kind of mascot,” Mrs. Pridham finished off.

  Except that it wasn’t finished. No one had mentioned poor Silver.

  “What about…”

  “I thought I’d like to have this clever mum myself at home,” said Ms. Carmichael, bending down again to give Silver a stroke. “I lost my old cat last year and I’ve missed having a companion about the place. I’ll have to take all the kittens as well once we’ve broken up, because of course they can’t be separated from their mum just yet.”

  My heart seemed suddenly too big for my body and my eyes were filling up with tears. “Thank you very much,” I managed to say in a shaky voice as one or two tears spilled out and rolled down my cheeks.

  Then more and more followed until I was properly crying. And Mrs. Pridham folded me into her and said, “There we are, there we are,” and Emily held tight to my hand just like Dad had done when we were burying Lana. And that was when the clearest picture of Mum’s face came into my mind and I realized I was crying for Mum and also for Lana, shedding all the tears that the five-year-old me hadn’t shed, and the more I cried, the more I felt myself letting go of the past and coming back to the present, where the tears were not of sadness, but of happiness, because of what Ms. Carmichael had said.

  Emily gave my hand one last squeeze, then let go of it and went to hug an amazed Ms. Carmichael, as only my best friend would dare to. “Thank you soooooooooo much!” she said dramatically. “For ever and ever, amen!” she added.

  So then everything seemed to fall into place and I couldn’t wait to text Hannah the good news. Now she could come to Silver Spires next term without worrying about the unknown, because Silver would be there and so would all her kittens.

  “You know how the shamrock is the emblem of Ireland,” Emily suddenly said, staring out of the window. “Well, Silver will be the emblem of Silver Spires, won’t she?”

  I nodded, because those words had slotted perfectly into my thoughts, like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

  “And all the new Year Sevens will feel a kind of special connection because they’ll have their own cat in their boarding house,” I added.

  Ms. Carmichael nodded. “Exactly,” she said.

  Then Emily and I whizzed downstairs, along the landing and into Emerald, where the other four were waiting for us, their faces getting ready to hear the worst. So it was absolutely the best feeling ever telling them the best.

  “Silver’s better and Ms. Carmichael is going to take her, and each boarding house is going to have one of the kittens to keep for ever!” I gabbled, watching their faces break into massive smiles.

  “Yay!” said Izzy, grabbing hold of Sasha’s hands and spinning round with her.

  “That’s so brilliant!” said Nicole.

  “Fantastico!” said Antonia. �
�Meraviglioso!”

  “Good old Ms. Carmichael!” breathed Nicole.

  “Good old Silver Spires,” I added.

  Emily hugged me tight, then pulled away suddenly and held up my hand like I’d just won a boxing match. “And good old Bryony Price!” she said in a big announcer’s voice. “For sticking to her guns and solving the mystery of the Forest Ash ghost – and, more importantly, for turning it into a lovely future for Silver Spires.” She dropped my hand suddenly and also dropped her voice back to normal. “Come on, let’s go and spread the word round the whole school!”

  “Yes! Come on!”

  My friends plunged out of Emerald and spilled onto the landing, with me at the back. I was going slowly so I could reply to Hannah’s text at the same time.

  Silver and all kittens def staying at SS! Xx

  I knew she’d be over the moon. And so was I.

  I raced to catch up with the others and, when we were just outside the main building, looking up at the spires glinting in the sun, Emily suddenly stopped in her tracks. “I think it’ll be easier if I just make one big announcement,” she said. Then she flung out her arms and yelled out, “Silver’s here for ever!”

  And suddenly a window opened on the top floor of the main building and Katy popped her head out of it. I could see she had a few of her Year Eight friends with her, all peering out curiously.

  “Silver Spires for ever!” called back one of them, who I think is called Georgie.

  “She didn’t say that!” we all heard Katy correcting Georgie and laughing. “She said ‘Silver’s here for ever!’”

  “But that’ll do fine!” I yelled up to them.

  “Okay,” said Georgie, grinning. “Three… two…one!”

  Then the Year Eights from Hazeldean and us six Year Sevens from Forest Ash all called out together, “Silver Spires for ever!”

  Bryony’s Pet Quiz

  It’s so amazing having gorgeous Ash as our Forest Ash house pet! I always find it really comforting having a cat around. But what sort of pet suits you?

  Q1. How would you describe yourself?