Nicole nodded. ‘Planning day. So we have the day off. I think we should do something fun.’
‘I think we should fight,’ Zoe said.
‘I think we should sleep.’ Lucas winked at Katie.
Planning Day. Allie swallowed hard. She had a bad feeling she knew what Isabelle meant by that.
Carter was back. Isabelle had said they would wait until then, but once he’d returned they’d need to move fast.
She lost her appetite.
As the others talked and laughed and the sunlight filtered through the towering windows, Allie’s thoughts swirled. She still hadn’t told anyone – not even Carter – that they planned to leave Cimmeria. Now that the moment was here, she didn’t want to go.
‘What’s wrong?’ Rachel nudged her. ‘You look like someone stepped on your grave.’
‘That’s a horrible saying,’ Nicole chided her.
Everyone was looking at Allie now; she had to say something to explain why she looked like she’d just bitten into her own foot.
‘What if…’ She hesitated. ‘What if we couldn’t stay here?’
Zoe frowned. ‘That’s a stupid question.’
But the others were watching her with increasing wariness. It was Katie who got it first.
‘Here it comes,’ she said quietly. Allie saw her take Lucas’ hand.
‘What do you mean?’ Rachel asked. ‘Is something happening?’
‘Something has to happen,’ Katie said, before Allie could speak. ‘We can’t keep going on like this. I’ve been saying that for weeks.’
‘No.’ Lucas shook his head, his jaw suddenly taut. ‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’
‘I’m saying…’ Allie took a deep breath. ‘I’m saying we might not have any legal right to this building.’ She tapped her hand against the heavy wood of the table. ‘Even if we did, we can’t keep putting people’s lives in danger for it.’
Rachel was watching her closely. ‘What’s the plan, Allie?’
‘We have options,’ Allie said, although her voice sounded hopeless even to her own ears. ‘There’s a place in Switzerland – Isabelle says it’s amazing…’
Her voice trailed off as the others exchanged disbelieving looks.
‘Switzerland…’ Lucas said, as if she’d suggested Mars.
Allie wanted to argue with them, but her heart wasn’t in it. She didn’t want to go, either.
‘I guess it doesn’t matter where we go. We just can’t stay here anymore. Not like this,’ she said.
‘It wouldn’t be the same,’ Nicole said, looking at Rachel.
‘Some people couldn’t go,’ Katie pointed out. ‘Their parents won’t want them to leave the country.’
‘We’d be split up,’ Rachel said.
Zoe, who suddenly looked miserable, frowned at her orange juice.
They’d all been so happy just moments before, and now all the joy had left the group. They were huddled together as if the end might happen at any second.
Allie hated this. Why couldn’t they have even a day to be normal kids in a normal school, with their A levels the biggest obstacle ahead of them? There had to be another way. A way to keep the school and end this fight with Nathaniel at the same time.
She thought of Julian Bell-Howard asking her to join Orion and continue the fight. There’d been something about him – something trustworthy. He wanted the same thing she wanted, to end this. To make Cimmeria what it was again.
In the back of her mind, an inkling of an idea began to take shape. It seemed impossible but then everything seemed impossible when you first thought about it. Imagine being the person who first thought up the television.
She stood so abruptly her chair squawked against the floor.
‘I’ve got to talk to Isabelle.’
Isabelle was in her office, reading glasses delicately perched at the end of her nose, laptop open and a stack of papers at her elbow.
‘Oh Allie, good,’ she said, glancing up. ‘I was going to send for you.’
‘I have an idea,’ Allie said without preamble. ‘Or kind of an idea. The beginning of an idea, anyway. And I need your help.’
Isabelle arched one eyebrow and gestured at the chairs facing her desk.
Allie sank into the deep leather chair. Isabelle removed her glasses and reached for the cup of tea at her elbow.
Her office was as familiar to Allie as her own bedroom – maybe more so. She loved Isabelle’s big, antique desk, the romantic tapestry on the wall, the creamy Persian rug that covered the floor, the way it always smelled faintly of Earl Grey tea and Isabelle’s lemony perfume.
In fact, she loved this whole school building. She didn’t have a lifelong connection to it, the way Carter did. He’d been born here. But she’d chosen to make it her home. She couldn’t imagine not waking up and seeing the arched window, with the light flooding through it. The green grounds stretching out to the forest.
The idiosyncratic teachers. The students in their dark blue uniforms.
She loved Cimmeria Academy.
It wasn’t worth dying for. But it was worth saving.
‘I don’t want to go to Switzerland,’ Allie said, choosing her words carefully. ‘I thought about it all night, and I don’t want to do it. The thing is… I might have another idea.’
The headmistress set down her cup and waited for her to continue.
‘The thing we wanted in Switzerland was a fresh start, right?’
Isabelle nodded, but her eyes were cautious.
‘That’s what made me think of it. Julian, when he was here, he was talking about the same thing – fighting Nathaniel for Orion so we could start over. What if we could have a fresh start…’ she tapped the arm of her chair, ‘right here.’
Isabelle was watching her narrowly. ‘I don’t understand what you’re getting at.’
‘I think it’s been in my head ever since the Orion Group came to meet me, but I couldn’t, like… see it,’ Allie said, leaning forward eagerly. ‘This morning I was talking to the others about leaving and it came to me. You remember the papers Nathaniel asked me to sign? The ones that said I would never fight him for control of Orion?’
Isabelle inclined her head, a hint of impatience in the gesture.
Allie tried to get to the point. ‘What if I signed those papers,’ she said. ‘And all I asked in return is that we keep Cimmeria Academy?’
Instantly the headmistress shook her head. ‘There’s no way Nathaniel would agree to that. He is obsessed with the school.’
‘I think so, too,’ Allie said. ‘But what if we not only agreed not to fight him for Orion, but we also agreed to leave Orion forever? Not just me, but you. All of Lucinda’s supporters. Julian. Everyone who was in that room after her funeral. We would all leave. He would have power. He wouldn’t have Cimmeria, but this isn’t the only Orion school. He could have the others. Give them to him. Give him everything.’ She held Isabelle’s gaze. ‘All we would ask in return is to keep Cimmeria and be left alone.’
Her fingers pressed to her lips, Isabelle sat very still. Allie knew she was thinking it through. Looking for flaws.
‘Cimmeria would just be a school, in that case.’ Isabelle spoke slowly. ‘It would lose all of the organisation that once gave it purpose.’
For the first time in this conversation, Allie let herself smile. ‘Not exactly,’ she said. ‘Because here’s the part we wouldn’t tell Nathaniel: we’ll start a new organisation.’
Isabelle looked over at her sharply. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I was thinking about it. All this time, we’ve been fighting Nathaniel for power and control we don’t actually want. Look. Between us, we have a ridiculous amount of money. I’m guessing Julian’s loaded?’
Isabelle gave a bemused nod.
Allie gestured at the door behind them. ‘Out in that school, all those kids have families with money. Sylvain’s family are like freaking kings. If we pooled our money…’ She shrugged. ‘We could be t
he new Orion. Better than the old one. Without Nathaniel.’
This was what seemed to get through to Isabelle.
‘I see what you mean. Yes…’ she said, excitement dawning in her eyes. ‘We could form an alliance with the European Group through Sylvain’s family. We’d be backed by Demeter.’ She flipped through the papers on her desk. ‘There’s a new group in India and so far Orion hasn’t reached out to them. We could welcome them.’
Grabbing a pen, she began to scribble notes. ‘I have contacts in the Far East, there are people who could help us.’ She glanced up at Allie, fighting a smile. ‘Do you know what? This could really work.’
‘I think so, too,’ Allie said. ‘Although I’m kind of afraid to think it, after everything. I don’t want to be wrong again.’ She sat up straighter, waiting until Isabelle looked up from her papers again. ‘The main thing is, we have to know what we want from it, Isabelle.’
She remembered what Owen Moran had said to her the day before. The look of horror in his eyes when he found out what she knew about him. The control she had because of who she was.
‘I don’t know about you but there are things about Orion that aren’t right. If we do this – if I’m going to be involved – we can’t be like that.’
Isabelle stopped writing. ‘What do you want from the group, Allie? Do you want what Lucinda wanted? A fairer version of the same thing?’
Allie shook her head. ‘It can’t be the same. There’s no reason for a group of one hundred or two hundred people to run the government and the courts. It doesn’t make sense. We can be there, and we can still help and listen, and… I don’t know. But we can’t try to be Orion. We have to be something else. Something new.’
Isabelle tapped her pen against her desk.
‘If you’re going to have a secret society, Allie, there needs to be a reason to do so. Orion’s reason was to preserve the interests of its members against the vagaries of democratic government. If some tyrant was inclined to be elected prime minister, Orion would put a stop to that.’
‘And elect its own tyrant.’ Allie held up her hands. ‘How is that OK? It’s meddling in democracy and it… bothers me.’
‘So, tell me what you want, then. You want to be part of a group that advises and listens…?’ Isabelle’s eyes challenged her.
‘I want to be part of a group,’ Allie said slowly, ‘that advises in areas where it has knowledge, lobbies for what it wants, but doesn’t just take. I’m not saying we can’t run for office, of course we can. Anyone can. But we shouldn’t be organised just to get our people elected. We should be set up to try and make the country better. Not just our bank accounts. Improve education, so it’s not just rich kids going to schools like this.’ She waved an arm at the beautifully appointed room. ‘Most people probably have no idea schools like this are even real, you know? And maybe we could work to stop corrupt politicians from getting elected. Make sure people find out when things are being covered up. There’s a lot we could do that would help other people, while helping ourselves, too. It’s like a balance.’
Isabelle’s expression was enigmatic – Allie couldn’t tell if she hated everything she was saying or not.
Heat rushed to her face. She didn’t think she was presenting this well at all. She felt put on the spot. She hadn’t had any time to really think about it before now.
‘Anyway,’ she said, losing confidence. ‘We could start with that.’
For a second, the headmistress didn’t speak. Then, a smile lit up her features.
‘I’ve never been more proud of you than I am right now, Allie Sheridan. And I believe Lucinda would have been proud of you, too. She would have disagreed with you about the bank accounts, mind you. But she would have been proud of where your heart is on this. And you’re right. It’s a bloody good start.’
Allie sagged back in her seat. Maybe she hadn’t sounded completely stupid after all.
‘If we can get the others on board,’ Isabelle said, ‘this could work. It might not be everything you’re dreaming of, but these are good people, Allie. People I believe in. We could make a difference. I really believe we could.’
Allie wanted to feel hopeful. Wanted to believe it was possible. But there was still a huge obstacle to overcome.
‘The thing is, I don’t want to end up just fighting Nathaniel again,’ she said. ‘He’s torn this school apart. Torn Orion apart. Torn my life apart, actually. How do we avoid that? Is there something I could do to make him just… stop?’
Isabelle set down her pen with a thump. ‘It saddens me to tell you this, Allie. But whether you became a high court judge, a cocktail waitress, or a street sweeper, Nathaniel will always be obsessed with you. He will always harass you and threaten you. You see, you have what he wanted – Lucinda’s love. As I had my father’s love. He will never forgive you as he has never forgiven me.’
Leaving her chair, she walked around to Allie’s side and leaned back against the desk.
‘Here are your options as I see them. You can run from Nathaniel for the rest of your life. He will never tire of chasing you, I can assure you of that. Or you can live your life, with me at your side, as part of one of the world’s great new secret societies.’ She leaned back in her chair, still holding Allie’s gaze. ‘Only you can decide what’s best for you.’
There was never any question what Allie’s answer would be.
She’d tried running away from her troubles many times. But that’s the thing about trouble: it’s fast. It’s relentless. It always finds you.
She was through running.
She raised her chin. ‘Let’s do it.’
34
She and Isabelle talked for nearly an hour, sorting through the details. Getting the plan in place. The headmistress wanted to have it all figured out before she broached it with the others.
‘Julian will have many questions,’ she said. ‘I have to be ready for that.’
The longer they talked, the more feasible it seemed, and the more hopeful they both became.
How could this not work? Everyone got something they wanted.
It was perfect.
There was one wildcard. And Allie brought it up. ‘What about Nathaniel? How do we get him to agree to it?’
Isabelle considered this. ‘We have to convince him it’s something he’ll benefit from. The only good Nathaniel sees in the world comes from power and profit. I think… if the others agree to this, we have to invite him here. And talk to him together.’
‘What?’ Allie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Isabelle was unbending. ‘It’s not the sort of thing you can discuss on the phone, Allie. If we’re going to do this, we have to be brave enough to look him in the eye. We’re going to have to sell this to him. It won’t be easy. We’ll keep it on our home turf, we’ll call in others to back us up. We’ll do it properly. But there’s no getting around it.’
‘How do we keep everyone safe, though?’ Allie demanded. ‘Carter and Zoe – everyone. How do we make sure he doesn’t try something?’
‘We will take care of that,’ Isabelle said. ‘You worry about making your case. You’re going to have to win Nathaniel over.’ She shot Allie a warning look. ‘It won’t be easy. We need him to want to do this. He needs to believe the battle is over.
‘And that he’s won.’
By the time Allie left Isabelle’s office, the sun was bright and high, almost blinding her when she stepped out of the building on to the front lawn. Everyone was taking advantage of the late summer warmth, and the lawn was filled with students. She found the others, standing in a cluster by the wall of the east wing, talking quietly.
At some point, Carter had joined them. Seeing him there – all dark hair and muscles – made her heart leap.
As if he’d felt her gaze, he looked up. Their eyes locked. She felt that look in every part of her body.
The others must have told him what was going on, though, because as she got closer, she could see the worried
lines on his forehead.
‘You know?’ she asked him quietly, and he nodded, squeezing her hand lightly.
‘I’ve got the gist of it.’
‘Something’s happening,’ she told him, raising her voice so the others could hear. ‘Isabelle’s got a plan and I think it could work.’
‘What’s going on?’ Rachel asked. ‘You were in there for ages.’
‘We’re going to try…’ Allie stopped as a skinny, dark-haired boy dashed up to them.
‘Come on Zoe,’ he said. ‘We’re going to play football.’
It took Allie a second to recognise Alec, the junior student from Night School. His glasses were crooked and his tie hung loose, and he looked at Zoe with a tenuous mixture of admiration and hope.
She could see the temptation in Zoe’s eyes, as she looked from him to Allie then back again. Finally, she sighed.
‘Allie has to tell us something boring,’ she explained. ‘Then I’ll come. I don’t want to be on your team.’
He looked only slightly crushed. ‘OK.’
‘Zoe,’ Nicole chided her. ‘Remember what we said about too much honesty.’
‘Yes.’ Zoe’s brow lowered stubbornly. ‘Honesty is good.’
Rachel interceded. ‘But you have to balance it with niceness.’
‘No I don’t,’ Zoe said.
‘My God, enough,’ Katie said, raising her voice. ‘I don’t have time for young love. Allie, just tell us what’s going on, for heaven’s sake.’
But there were too many people around. They needed somewhere to argue in private.
‘Let’s go to the summer house,’ she decided. ‘There won’t be anyone there.’
‘Oh good,’ Katie said, her tone heavy with sarcasm. ‘Secrets. We don’t have enough of those around here.’
‘Cimmeria,’ Lucas said, draping an arm across her slim shoulders, ‘is Greek for “Place of Secrets”.’
‘No it isn’t,’ Nicole murmured to Rachel, who smiled at her.
They struck out across the soft green lawn. Zoe was in the front, as usual. Carter was talking to Lucas and Katie a few steps away. Rachel and Nicole were walking hand in hand.