Page 13 of Ruthless Legacy

Laughter pulls my attention up the stone steps to a group of boys and girls who are hanging around the entrance. I freeze in place as I recognise them. The Aces. Archer, Rafe and Seb all hold centre court with their minions around them. I notice the bitch, Georgie, who pushed me off the cliff is there, too. I push my shoulders back and hold my head up high. Start as you meant to go on, Eliza, I tell myself. I climb the steps and as we near them; I feel three sets of eyes on us. Our path is blocked, and my gaze travels up the navy blazer to a set of cold, dark eyes.

“I think you’re a little lost, Scarlet. The state school is over in the next village.”

I raise my head and meet the eyes of Archer Savage, and then cock a brow. “Thank you, but I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my brother and I need to enrol.”

He doesn’t budge and just glares coldly down at me.

“Ah, you must be the Alderman’s.” I pull my attention from Savage’s frosty glare and up to the man who has appeared in the entranceway, who I presume is the headmaster.

“Come on up. Welcome to Hawk Bay.”

Savage’s nostrils flare and, honestly, I’m surprised steam doesn’t come out of his ears. I hear gasps and whispers from behind me where his friends are all gathered.

“Excuse me,” I say in a falsely positive voice. Out of the corner of my eye I can see his fists clench at his side. His glare has gone from frosty to downright hostile. He takes a step back and I shoulder check him on my way past. Arsehole. Last night I was good enough to drag along on their escapades, but today, because I have turned up on tehri territory, he is pissed off. Maybe he shouldn’t have judged me and made assumptions about who I am.

As we pass his friends, I cast a sideways glance their way; Seb and Rafe are glaring at me with looks that could cut glass. I shrug my shoulders and keep my head high. They can kiss my poor arse because I’m here to stay.

“Welcome,” the headteacher says in greeting as we reach him. “Please join me in my office and we’ll get you set up for your first day.”

I can’t help but glance over my shoulder, and when I do, I see the three Aces with their heads together, talking and looking at me like I am a complete shock and surprise to them. Turning my back on them, I follow behind my brother. I’m not going to lie; it feels good throwing a curveball their way.

Half hour later we have our timetables and our iPads — yes, that’s right, an iPad. The headteacher also gives us that talk that the school is a very elite school and that comes with expectations in regard to behaviour. His eyes focused on me when he talked about behaviours. I guess my school record doesn’t read so well. I have been excluded a few times.

There’s a knock on his office door and a girl pops her head inside. She’s tall, about five-foot-seven, and she has a blonde, wavy, sharp bob that stops an inch below her chin. She also has pale blue eyes and a full, wide mouth; I notice my brother’s attention shift upon her arrival.

“Ah, Verity. Just in time” The headteacher beckons her in and she smiles warmly at my brother and me. “Verity will be your guide for the day, Eliza. Maxon should be here any minute to take you, Kit.”

Verity offers her hand out to me. “Hi.”

I get to my feet and place my hand in hers, and she gives it a firm shake. “Welcome to Hawk Bay Private School. We’re in English Literature together this morning and then we have Business Studies afterwards. Come on, let’s get you to class.”

Grabbing my bag off the floor, I glance at my brother. I smother my brother; I can’t help it. “Will you be okay?”

He eyeballs me in embarrassment before glancing over to Verity and blushing. “Sure.”

I nod my head and squeeze his shoulders as I pass him. I really want him to be happy here. I know he desperately wants to belong somewhere and finally settle.

“Okay,” Verity says as we step outside, “first, welcome to HBA. In case you didn’t know, the school building is over three hundred years old. It was once the home of Lord and Lady Carrington. The school is big, but you will get used to it, eventually. Some pupils do dorm here, there are rooms up in the east and west towers.”

I bob my head in surprise. I am amazed to hear it is also a boarding school. “Really?”

Verity nods her head, her blonde waves bouncing as she does. “Oh, yes, we have students from all across Europe. There are even a couple of students from America studying here. Our English teacher, Miss Hammond, is really great. She’s so passionate about books.” Verity beams when she talks about our teacher. “Our Business Studies teacher, Mr Harlow, not so much.”

We walk for another ten minutes, and what seems like miles, until we come to a large mahogany door. “Lesson has already started, so we’ll have to slip in quietly.” She puts her finger to her lips to signal me to be quiet.

When we enter the room, everyone’s eyes lift to us. The teacher stops mid-sentence, and smiling at both of us, gestures with her hand to the only two empty desks in the room. Verity heads to the one towards the back, and I take a seat in one in the second row from the front.

“Welcome, Eliza, I’m Miss Hammond. If you could open your book on your tablet to page one-hundred-and-fifty, we are currently analysing chapter four.”

Letting my hair fall like a curtain, I pull out my iPad and open the book at the correct chapter. I can feel the stares of the rest of my classmates from behind me. I settle into the class, and Verity is right. You can’t help but enjoy the class — Miss Hammond has a passion for the subject she teaches and it’s somewhat infectious. Before I know it, the bell for the next class is ringing, and everyone jumps up, grabs their bags, and heads to their next class.

Verity appears at my desk, clutching the straps of her bag. “Ready for Harlow?” She casts a sideways glance at Miss Hammond. “Great class, Miss Hammond.”

The teacher looks up from her notes and smiles warmly. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Verity. How have you got with that book I lent you?”

Verity lights up before my eyes. “Oh, I’m already on chapter twenty. I could not put it down.”

Miss Hammond nods her head in agreement. “I knew you would like it and you haven’t even got to the best parts of it yet.”

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