Charlotte and the Starlet 2 (14 page)

'Just say I'm sick. Act a bit.'

'I should come with you.'

'You have to cover for me here. Besides, I have
a plan.'

She told Hannah her plan.

'Okay. But you call and let me know you're fine.'
She handed Charlotte her phone. Charlotte hugged
her tight.

'Let's do it.'

As they passed Mr Graham on the way to the
stables, Hannah said loudly to Charlotte, 'You really
do look pale. Are you sure you're up to it?'

'I'll be fine. Just a bit off colour.'

'Don't you think she looks pale, Mr Graham?'

Mr Graham peered at Charlotte.

'Yes, she does a bit.'

It had been Hannah's strategy to draw Mr Graham's
attention to it. The power of suggestion, she called it.
You tell somebody something and they agree with
you. When Charlotte didn't come down for dinner, it
would be so much more believable that she was sick
in bed.

Hannah and Charlotte worked the slalom poles
and the jumps. There was a crossover period between
groups of girls coming in from other areas. Charlotte
and Hannah dawdled during the change-over period
till the arena was free. Then they galloped for the
bush, past the boundary with Milthorp, the school
where the boy JOES resided, right up to a strand of
gum trees adjoining the stable area. The boys were
just finishing up for the day. Charlotte dismounted
and handed the reins to Hannah.

'Wish me luck.'

'You got it. Remember, call me or I'll be worried.'

Charlotte waited while Hannah turned around and
rode back, leading Mikey. The plan was for Hannah to
get into the stables before any of the other girls.
Hannah would then say Charlotte hadn't felt well and
had gone straight up to bed and nobody would be any
the wiser.

Constructed on the fly, the next part of Charlotte's
plan was skimpy. If Todd got to the dining room, she
was sunk. He'd be surrounded and impossible to
contact. She had to locate him beforehand and that
meant finding his room. She had no idea where
that might be but she hoped that Milthorp, like
Thornton Downs, might have a list of everybody's
accommodation in the foyer. It was still light, so
whatever she tried would be risky. When the
stablehand had moved off, she sprinted as hard as she
could for the front door. She was panting heavily when
she arrived and was just about to open the door when
she spied a male teacher heading out. Fortunately he
didn't see her. There was nowhere to hide and no time
to run back towards the stables. She threw herself flat
against the wall as the door opened and the teacher
strode out whistling. If he turned she was dead meat.
However, he kept going. She slipped in.

And there it was just to her right by the staircase, a
floorplan of Milthorp with a list of names and their
rooms attached. Greycroft, Todd, was on the second
floor, fourth room, eastern wing. She was about to
take the stairs when she heard boys beginning to
descend. She had just enough time to charge back out
the door. There was nothing for it, she would have to
find Todd's room from the outside. The building was
made of thick sandstone foundation topped with
bricks. Flower beds trimmed the perimeter. She
darted through them, apologising to the delicate
flowers as her boots crushed them. Fortunately, on
this side of the building, as long as she crouched, all
the windows were above her head. People inside
looking out couldn't see her if she stuck close to
the wall.

She reached the corner and moved around. This
was the eastern wing where Todd's room was. She now
had to walk out backwards away from the building to
count the second-floor windows. Okay, that was the
fourth window up there. How to get up? No trees
presented themselves as a natural step ladder. But
there was a downpipe.

She got her boot into the cracks between the
sandstone slabs easily enough and hauled up. About
two metres up, the sandstone gave way to brick. It was
a lot harder to get purchase on the smooth brick with
her boots but she was able to use the downpipe to
lever herself up. It didn't take her long to reach the
window of the room directly beneath Todd's. A darkhaired
boy was sitting at a computer and, from the
look of excitement on his face, playing some game. So
absorbed was he that he failed to notice her. When she
had edged up past him, for the first time since her
climb began, she allowed herself a glance down. The
ground was a long way away. She was at the height
where real injuries would be caused if she fell. Putting
that out of her mind, she continued.

Men's voices floated up to her and with them,
something else, something that tickled her nose and
made her want to sneeze – disgusting cigarette smoke.

Two of the gardeners were smoking and chatting,
positioned directly beneath her. She had to get away
from the smoke before she gave herself away. She
pushed upwards and her head reached the windowsill.
Inside she could see Todd dressing for dinner. She
leaned forward and tapped. He looked around in
the room and called out to somebody, probably his
roommate, thinking he'd been responsible.

She tapped again. This time he saw her. His eyes
almost fell out of his head. She read his lips.
'Charlotte?'

Then he turned back, worried perhaps that his
roommate would see. Another boy appeared, thickset
with red hair. They were talking. Todd stood with his
back to the window to block the sight of a Thornton
Downs girl hanging onto their window sill.

Hurry up! Charlotte was growing anxious, the foul
smoke was crawling into her nostrils. She could feel a
sneeze building. Through the window she saw the
other boy leave the room but it was no good, she
couldn't hold on any longer.

Her eyes shut reflexively, her mouth opened and
she sneezed so forcefully she lost her grip. Charlotte
began to tip backwards. She clutched for the pipe but
it was out of reach.

Charlotte clawed the air, arms whirling.

Whoosh! The window above her opened. Todd
leaned out, tried to grab her and missed. Charlotte's
fingers seized something ...

Todd's tie. It stopped the fall just long enough for
him to grab her arm and haul her up. His face was
turning blue as she fell over the window ledge and
into the room. Fortunately onto soft carpet.

Below the gardeners looked up, confused.

Todd gave a friendly wave and slammed the
window back down.

He turned to where Charlotte was unfolding from a
heap on the floor into a human being again.

'What on earth ...' he began but his words were
flooded by Charlotte's.

'Leila is in a forest in some illegal loggers' camp
and Strudworth called the National Parks but they're
looking in the wrong place because it wasn't a stream
but a road and now I have to get there to save Leila
myself and Strudworth isn't back and Hannah offered
to help but she has to pretend to be me or I'll be
kicked out of the JOES so I need somebody to get me
there and you're the only person who can.'

She stood panting, understandably breathless.
Todd blinked.

'Wow, you do talk fast.'

Charlotte gathered her wits.

'I'm sorry to put this on you but I figured Warrior
could carry both of us and I can take it from there
alone.'

Todd was shaking his head.

'No way.'

'You won't help me?' Charlotte's voice was
suddenly small.

'I'll help you. But I'm not letting you do this alone.'

Charlotte wasn't sure what was worse. Todd not
wanting to help her or putting himself in hot water
by doing so.

'You could get kicked out.'

'I'd like to see them try. Where do we have to go?'

'Yirramandee.'

Todd whistled.

'Then we better get moving. Have you notified
the Parks?'

'I've tried but you can only ring an office and they
didn't know when they would be in touch with the
Head Ranger.'

Todd was frowning.

'Yirramandee is a huge park. We could search for a
week and not find her. You need aerial coverage.'

From her pocket Charlotte pulled a map she had
copied from the large map on Strudworth's office wall.

'She's got to be in this region here.' She stabbed a
triangle she had coloured in pink highlighter. 'This is
the only area where the parrot and ants she described
co-exist that is also close enough to a highway for the
sound to carry.'

Todd was looking at her oddly.

'
Who
described?'

More fancy footwork required.

'An anonymous caller,' Charlotte answered his next
objection before he had a chance to voice it. 'But she
described Leila perfectly.'

Todd bought it but he was still concerned.

'It's still a very big area and the bush is incredibly
dense. That could take a day at least unless we get
lucky. Very lucky.'

'Then we need to get out of here as soon as,' smiled
Charlotte impishly.

Leila's body was racked with pain. She was bleeding
from the sores caused by the harness and more and
more flies were feasting on her. The last couple of
times she had dragged logs to the clearing, Jimmy had
taken a break for a cigarette. It seemed he was tiring
too. She was debating what to do when she saw him
fumbling in his pocket again. It might be her only
chance.

She broke as fast as her legs would carry her.

'Hey!' called the startled Jimmy but she was already
dashing away through undergrowth. She had no idea
of the direction she was taking except that it was
away from both the clearing where they camped
and the logging area. Unfortunately, she was still
harnessed. The contraption kept catching on saplings
and black boys, hooking her back. She had to twist
this way and that to free herself. In the distance she
could hear Jimmy yelling. Her legs felt like they had
concrete poured in them and she struggled to get
beyond a canter.

Whoosh!

Straight into a giant cobweb. Where there was
a cobweb there must also be a ...

SPIDER!

Right on her eyelash. She reared and threw her
head to dislodge him. That cost more valuable time.
Now she could hear pursuing trail bikes buzzing
like angry hornets. She broke to the right and plunged
on. The sound was all around her. She broke left,
stumbled in a snake hole, righted herself, burst
through a strand of tea-trees.

Right into the young, bearded guy on the trail bike.
He skidded to a halt, fan tailing dirt. She tried to turn
back the other way but another rider was there. And
this one held one of those dreaded cattle prods.

Leila stopped in her tracks, offering her biggest and
most winning smile.

Emma Cross liked nothing more than another's
misfortune. Even that of one of her best friends. She
had found Lucinda's tumble quite amusing and, while
it did engender some sympathy, that was counterbalanced
by the knowledge that in the highly
competitive world of equestrian competition, she had
just got a few steps up on Lucinda. Emma stopped to
tighten the girth and had consequently fallen behind
the rest of her group as they moved off to tackle the
hedgerows. From the direction of the bush to the west,
she was surprised to see the silhouette of a rider
returning with another horse in tow.

Her initial hope was that somebody else had fallen.
But now she could see the rider was not so much
alarmed as wary, looking this way and that. Interesting.

Emma pulled the grey mare she rode behind a
flowering gum. The rider's golden hair was now
visible. No mistaking Hannah. She and Charlotte
Richards were thick as thieves so perhaps the other
mount was Charlotte's. But no sign of Outback Annie
anywhere.

'Come on, Emma.'

It was Mr Graham riding up from the other
direction. Emma was forced to remount and ride off
but she filed away what she had just witnessed. It bore
further investigation.

Warrior was a powerful horse, easily capable of
carrying both Todd and Charlotte at the gallop.
Charlotte sat right up behind Todd, trying to balance
without using her hands, but when Todd threw
Warrior around a tight bend she was thrust forward
into Todd and had no alternative but to hold his waist.
Charlotte had never had a boyfriend and she didn't
really think of Todd as one but she had to admit that it
felt nice to hang on to him.

It was approaching sunset and they were resigned
to not reaching Yirramandee before nightfall. They
were following an old riding trail which ran all the
way from the back of Milthorp to the park. With
Warrior at top gallop they figured it would be around
an hour and a half to the section of the park they
sought. The time passed in a flash, Charlotte growing
more hopeful with every stride. At least she was doing
something and not just waiting around.

From the direction they were arriving, there was no
sign of where the park started. It bordered private
properties, all with their own thick bush so you
couldn't tell when you'd entered it. They debated
diverting to the north-east, which would take them to
the public road that led to the park entrance where the
ranger's cottage was located, but decided against it. It
would add another half hour to their journey and
there was no guarantee the ranger would be about
anyway.

Dusk settled. They heard the crashing of wallabies
in the distant bush and invisible birds chattering to
one another, probably warning of the approach of the
strange beast with three heads.

Todd checked his watch.

'We must be in the park by now,' he called over his
shoulder and slowed Warrior to a trot. Todd slapped
Warrior on the neck affectionately. 'Well done, boy.'

They came to a halt and dismounted. Charlotte
gave Warrior the biggest kiss but he was more
interested in the water Todd offered.

Charlotte was starving.

'Wish I'd brought food.'

Todd reached in his saddlebag and produced an
apple.

'Go you halves.'

They stood eating the apple. A piece fell onto the
ground and was immediately surrounded by a swarm
of black and green ants. With her mouth full,
Charlotte couldn't talk but she jumped up and down,
pointing.

'They bite you?' asked Todd.

Charlotte swallowed a chunk of apple.

'No. But they are the ants she described. It's a good
sign.'

Todd looked around him, aware that he'd already
said what he was about to say again.

'It's a big park.'

'I've spent my whole life in the bush,' Charlotte
said. 'We have to keep our eyes open for a parrot with
a yellow breast. From here we should go slowly.'

They remounted and continued. After about twenty
minutes, with it growing darker by the second, they
spied a 'walking trail' sign.

Todd said, 'That makes it official. We're in the
park.'

'We can be pretty sure the loggers aren't going to be
anywhere near a walking trail.'

Charlotte suggested they take the opposite direction
to the trail.

'Maybe we'll be able to hear them logging?' Todd
asked hopefully.

'I think they would have shut up shop by now.'
Charlotte checked her watch. It was ten to seven.
Back at Thornton Downs they'd just be finishing up in
the dining room. She pushed the image out of her
mind. Food was something she dare not contemplate.

Hannah had finished dinner. She made a point of
letting Mr Graham see her pick up some bread rolls
and fruit.

'No Charlotte?'

Mr Graham raised his eyebrows.

'She ended up not being well after all. I said I'd get
her a couple of things in case she gets hungry.'

'Perhaps we should call the doctor?' Mr Graham
didn't like the responsibility of a sick child on his
watch and Mrs Stapleton had gone home for the day
so there was no nurse to consult.