But what I was even more worried about was leaving Ariadne in the company of unscrupulous prefects for a week. Scarlet was right. We had to get permission. But how?
“We could forge a letter from our parents!” Scarlet suggested as we walked to ballet that afternoon.
“That’s just a recipe for trouble if we get found out,” I said. “Not to mention that they don’t just have to say we can go, someone has to actually pay for both of us.”
“Hmmph,” my twin folded her arms. “You haven’t made any suggestions so far.”
“I’m thinking about it,” I insisted.
Ballet was a little different these days. Our teacher, Miss Finch, had been struggling for some time with her injured leg. Then last term the strange Madame Zelda had arrived when Miss Finch disappeared – just a coincidence, it turned out, as Zelda had actually turned up hoping to apologise for being the one to cause the injury.
They must have had a long talk, because now they seemed happy to be in the same room as one another – or at the very least, they accepted it. Mrs Knight had decided that it would be best for them to share the job of teaching ballet in order to give Miss Finch a bit of a rest now and then.
We descended the steps into the chilly basement ballet studio, where Miss Finch and Madame Zelda were waiting. Miss Finch sat at the piano, while Zelda stood staring into the mirror. They weren’t talking, but the atmosphere didn’t seem too unfriendly.
“Ah, girls,” said Madame Zelda as we walked in. “Begin your warm-up, please.”
We started lacing on our shoes, never quite sure whether we had to remain silent as Madame Zelda usually insisted, or whether we could talk more freely as Miss Finch had let us in the past. I watched as Nadia and another girl came down the stairs into the room.
“I’m just so excited for the trip,” Nadia was saying. “A whole week away from school!”
Madame Zelda looked at her sharply. “I hope you will be practising extra hard this week, then, Miss Sayani. You don’t want to get behind with your ballet.”
Nadia straightened up. “No, Miss!” she said.
The new teacher seemed pleased with her answer. “Good. And you two? Will you be leaving us as well?” she asked, looking down at me and Scarlet.
“Couldn’t get permission,” said Scarlet, glaring at the floor. “Awful parents.”
“I can sympathise,” called Miss Finch from the piano.
I got to my feet, and Madame Zelda placed a thin hand lightly on my shoulder. “Then we shall enjoy having you both in class,” she said, and winked at me.
I tried to smile, but Scarlet looked so miserable that I couldn’t quite manage it.
Penny walked in then, and Madame Zelda turned to her. “What about you, Miss Winchester? Will you be going on this trip?”
Penny’s expression turned thunderous. “No,” she said.
“And why’s that?” asked Madame Zelda, her face inquisitive and open.
To my surprise, Penny actually answered her honestly. “My parents haven’t replied to the letter. And I don’t think they’re going to. I thought of writing to my uncle to see if he might pay for me to go, but …” She trailed off, and looked around at us. “It’s none of your business, anyway,” she finished.
“Careful,” Madame Zelda said, waving her finger. “We must have the composure of a ballet dancer, mustn’t we?”
Penny sighed and slumped down to lace her shoes on. “Yes, Miss. Sorry, Miss.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes, but something Penny had said stuck in my mind as we began doing our stretches. I thought of writing to my uncle. The thought grew bigger and bigger. We had two aunts now, aunts who were both kind and generous. If we wrote to them …
At the end of the lesson, I grabbed Scarlet. “I think we should write to Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Sara about the trip!”
“Why?” My twin wrinkled her nose. “To tell them our stepmother is the spawn of the devil? I think they already know that.”
“No,” I said. “To ask them for permission. They might be able to pay the fees for us.”
Scarlet’s eyes widened. “Is that allowed?”
“I have no idea.” I thought about it for a moment. “I’m hoping Aunt Phoebe might have been listed as a guardian on our records.”
Scarlet started to grin. “You’re a genius. Let’s try it!”
We composed the letters that night. We wrote to both Aunt Sara and Aunt Phoebe, telling them all about the trip and asking if we could go.
“We’ll go to the village first thing tomorrow and post them,” said Scarlet. “They won’t take long to get there.”
I crossed my fingers. Ariadne was sitting on my bed and nervously knitting. “I hope they say yes,” she said, twirling the wool round her fingers.
“Me too,” I said. “If we don’t get permission by Friday, then we’ll be taken off the list.”
We had to do it. I didn’t want our stepmother to win again.
Friday dawned, and I was desperate for assembly to start – because Friday’s assembly meant letters.
I ran into Rose in the corridor as I headed for the lavatories, feeling chilly in my nightgown. She was leaving the room she had shared with Violet, her face forlorn as she slowly pulled the door closed. Violet and Rose had been inseparable after meeting in the asylum. She must miss her.
Rose was unusual to say the least – she was an enigma, and rumours abounded throughout the school. We knew very little about her. She wasn’t one to talk, usually, and when she did, she spoke so softly that you had to strain to hear her.
“Good morning, Rose,” I said brightly.
She smiled at me.
“Did you hear about the trip?” I asked, carrying on walking as she came up beside me.
She nodded.
“Our stepmother wouldn’t give us permission,” I explained, “but we’re going to ask our aunts. I hope we’ll be able to go. Well, I was worried about going at first, but I think Ariadne needs us.”
As we reached the lavatories, I started to worry that we were having a bit of a one-sided conversation. At least, more one-sided than usual. “Do you think you’d like to go?”
Rose looked back in the direction of her room. “I would,” she whispered. “Very much. Only …”
She trailed off, but I could fill in the gaps. She didn’t have Violet any more, and she wasn’t a proper student. Even more than that, there was no one who could give her permission.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t think. It’s not long, though. Only a week.” We went inside, and I washed my face with the freezing-cold water from the sink.
She smiled again, but she seemed sad. If only there was something we could do. But if we couldn’t get on the trip ourselves, I didn’t see how we’d be able to take Rose.
After