Page 114 of Tendu: Dancing in the Castle

“You are sure?” Aleks said quietly to me.

I looked round at him. “About what?”

“The end of our secret?”

“Oh. Yes. If you are.”

He smiled. “Shall I show you how happy I am about it?”

I nodded, and he kissed me softly, and then again, not quite so softly.

“I will see you downstairs,” he said and left to prepare for class, looking very happy indeed.

Bekah’s eyes and mouth were wide. “You and Mr. Zolotov?” she asked. “Since when?”

“Oh, forever,” answered Justin.

“But he’s so old.”

“It isn’t news to anyone else,” sniped Simone. “You thought it was such a big secret, but we all knew.”

I glanced round the table.

“Will told me,” said Sadie.

“Justin told me,” said Ruaridh.

“It was such a lovely piece of juice, Phi,” said Justin. “You can’t blame us.”

I left the table, and the discussion, to seek Aleks in the dungeon.

Colin sat alone on a bench in the large subterranean space. He brightened when he saw me.

“Miss Treadwell. I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my reputation. It would not have looked good for me to be ejected so quickly from my first teaching position.”

“No problem,” I said. “I thought Aleks was down here.”

“It seems to be a trend in this castle, not finding the person one expects in any given room at any given time.”

“Apparently so.” I had been astounded to hear that, while I’d been out at the party, Colin had finally made true his threat of turning up in my bedroom. He had been surprised to find Aleks there, saying ‘oh’ several times before turning and walking back down the stairs.

“You can’t be persuaded to keep some sort of timetable for the men in your room?” he asked now.

“There’s only one man,” I replied. “And that’s the sort of thing you’re not supposed to say. You’ve got to be professional going forward.”

“Professional like Aleks?” he said in a dry tone. “He’s not holed up in his room alone every night, is he?”

“Why don’t you ask Michelle out?” I said, a little surprised by my own spontaneous suggestion. Was I trying to get back at Michelle by sending Colin her way? If I was, it was a failed attempt. Colin’s expression was one of horror.

“Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. “Far too scary for me, that one.”

At dinnertime, Bekah was keen to put right her earlier reaction. “You’re like the mum and dad of the castle,” she said of Aleks and me. “You can’t ever split up, or it’ll scar me for life.”

“Yes,” agreed Justin. “There’s been enough hoo-ha.” There was then a pause in which, though his body didn’t actually move, he seemed to wilt, to sink in on himself and depress. “Things are too good to be credible,” he said. “Phi’s love life’s all sorted out. I’m being paid to teach musical theatre. I have a sweet new friend.” He laid his head on Bekah’s shoulder and went on. “Michelle has been stopped, Colin gagged. Something bad has to happen to balance out the universe.”

It was at this point that I became aware of a change in the atmosphere around me. I detected a familiar and cloying scent. I spun round on the bench to discover that Michelle was standing right behind me.

“Amalphia,” she said softly. “Can I speak with you?”

---