Olivia's First Term (14 page)

Chapter Thirty-Five

There was a terrible silence in the rehearsal room. Everyone's faces were grave. Several people were crying with shock. Alicia had turned the colour of chalk, Miss Hanbury was shaking and Eel's face was wet with tears. She was sobbing uncontrollably and being comforted by Aeysha and William. Katie looked seriously scared.

“You could have died, Olivia,” whispered Alicia, and she shivered as if she was watching Olivia's body tumble off the wire and plummet to the ground like a stone.

“Yes, I could have done, but I didn't. It was just lucky that Tom pulled me over the window ledge.” She grinned at him. “Thanks, partner.”

“You fell over it all by yourself, more like,” said Tom, rubbing his bruised head ruefully 
“I just broke your fall.”

“Olivia,” said Alicia, “you must promise me that you'll never do anything so dangerous again.”

“I promise, Gran, I'll never do anything so dangerous again … unless I feel that I have to,” said Olivia firmly.

Alicia said nothing, she just looked at her granddaughter with a wry smile on her face. She knew she had met her match. She also knew now where Olivia had been during her long absences. She felt guilty that the child had thought she'd needed to keep such a secret from her.

“Miss Swan,” said Miss Hanbury apologetically. “We must clear up the matter of the earrings.”

“Ah, yes, the earrings,” said Alicia, her eyes flicking around the room and coming to rest on Katie. The girl tried to hold her gaze but couldn't. She flinched; Miss Swan's gaze was as penetrating as a searchlight. Alicia walked over to the table where the pearl and diamond earrings rested alongside all the money and jewellery that Olivia had rescued from the nest.

“If I'm not mistaken,” said Alicia, “all
the items reported missing are on the table. So that means the thief we thought was operating in the school was in fact our feathered friend here. Some birds are well known for their love of shiny things and this one has proved itself a most skilful thief.” Everyone nodded.

“But,” continued Alicia smoothly, “that still doesn't account for the missing earrings, does it?” Everyone looked puzzled. “It seems to me that there are only two explanations. One is that we have two thieves: the bird, who we know took all the other things, and Olivia, who has been accused of taking Katie's earrings. It does seem rather mysterious that she took the earrings, and only the earrings, and left behind all the other valuables that were there for the taking on the sill.”

Alicia let what she had said sink in, and then she continued: “The other explanation is that we have only one thief: the bird, who is quite clearly guilty, and something else entirely is going on with the earrings.” She paused, and then she said pointedly, “Perhaps they were never missing at all.”

A little gasp escaped from Katie's lips, a sort of half-cry and half-whimper.

“Whatever the truth, I intend to get to the bottom of it,” continued the headmistress.

Miss Swan looked at Olivia and Katie. “You two are to come with me to my office. If anyone has any further information that they would like to offer, perhaps they would speak now.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

The silence seemed to go on for eternity. Alicia looked around the room. “Anyone?”

Katie was gazing fiercely at Georgia as if willing her to remain silent. Georgia met her eye, and then she turned and smiled at Olivia, saying very clearly, “I've got something to say. I should have spoken up before. Yesterday Katie told me that Olivia was in for a nasty surprise and then today I saw Katie coming down the stairs before the lesson began. Katie threatened to tell everyone about a lie I'd told if I said anything about it.”

Katie's colour rose and her eyes flashed with fury. “Don't believe a word she says. She's a terrible fibber! She makes things up all the time,” she shouted. 

“Yes,” said Georgia quietly, her voice breaking with emotion. “I did make something up. And I'm really ashamed. I said that my mum was rich and that we were going to New York for Christmas. But we're not. We're poor; I wouldn't be able to come back next term if Miss Swan hadn't given me a scholarship. It was a silly lie and I only said it to make myself feel better, but it just made me feel worse and it made me weak because Katie used the fact she knew it wasn't true to make me do what she wanted.” Her voice choked. “So there, now you all know, I'm a liar and not to be trusted.”

There was a tiny bubble of silence, then Aeysha stepped forward, taking Georgia's hand tightly. “Yes, now we know,” she said, “and I for one don't care. I like you, Georgia, for who you are, not for how much money you have. And you really deserve to have a scholarship.”

“You do, Georgie girl,” said Tom. Others crowded around Georgia. Katie watched, standing all on her own, her face white with rage.  

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Abbie and Sebastian Shaw knocked on Miss Swan's study door. Inside, Alicia put down her pen and sighed. It had been a long and mostly unpleasant day. Her nerves still hadn't recovered from seeing Olivia almost plunge to her death from the tightrope wire, and her attempts to contact Jack, who she felt should know what had happened, had proved fruitless. Not only that, but she was mortified to discover that so much had been going on in the school without her knowledge and that Olivia had found her so unapproachable she had kept her
tightrope-walking
a secret.

To top it all, there had been the disturbing scene in her study when bit by bit the story of Katie's behaviour had come out, including the
revelation that she'd cheated in the maths test. At first Katie had blustered and denied everything, but she soon broke down and admitted having put the earrings in Olivia's case to frame her.

Alicia had sent Olivia away while she talked to Katie alone, but it soon became apparent that Katie wasn't really sorry for what she had done – just sorry that she had been found out.

“You realise that I have no choice but to ask you to leave the Swan?” said Alicia gently.

“That's not fair. My dad said if I came here I'd be a star,” whispered Katie.

“The Swan doesn't need stars, it needs children who will work hard and work hard together,” said Alicia sadly.

Not long after this, Katie's dad had arrived and Alicia had a long and difficult interview with him in which he first threatened to sue the school and then offered Alicia a bribe to keep his daughter there.

“I'm sure you could do with expanding your premises,” he'd said smarmily. “I've had my eye on the building next door for some time. I expect I could snap it up cheaply. I could turn a neat profit by building luxury flats at the top and you could have the bottom floors for more
rehearsal space. Maybe even a new theatre. You have to admit the old one is a bit shabby.”

“That's part of its charm,” said Alicia drily, declining the offer and showing father and daughter the door.

Mr Wilkes-Cox refused to leave quietly, shouting, “You'll regret this! Wait and see. Nobody treats my girl like this. She's going to be a big star, aren't you, Katie?”

There was a silence.

“Aren't you, Katie!” thundered Mr
Wilkes-Cox.

“Yes, Dad,” said Katie, her chin in the air, but her eyes glistened with tears.

Alicia felt sorry for Katie. No wonder the child was like she was with a father who thought money could buy you out of any sort of trouble. She sometimes wondered whether they ought to audition the parents as well as the children for places at the Swan.

She was sitting alone in her study thinking about Katie, and Olivia too, and how in very different ways she had failed them both, when she heard the knock.

“Come in,” she said a little wearily. She looked up and smiled when she saw that it
was Sebastian Shaw and Abbie, two of her favourite people. But their faces were serious and she wondered what bad news they could be bringing.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“What can I do for you?” Alicia asked, her smile dropping.

Abbie spoke quickly. “We think you should come to the upper rehearsal room. There's something you ought to see.”

“What is it?” asked Alicia, alarmed, convinced that some new catastrophe had taken place.

“It's nothing to be worried about,” said Abbie, unable to keep her face serious any more.

“No indeed,” said Sebastian, smiling. “In fact, it's rather astonishing. I haven't been quite as delighted since Toni's Juliet won her an Olivier award.”

He held open the door for Alicia. As she passed up the stairs in front of them, he said 
quietly to Abbie, “I just hope she recognises this for the wonder it is. Alicia is a remarkable woman in many ways, but she does have her blind spots.”

When Olivia had returned to the upper rehearsal room following her interview with Katie in the headmistress's office, she was only intending to grab her tightrope and leave. But she found Georgia waiting for her outside.

“Olivia,” said Georgia. “I'm truly sorry. I'll quite understand if you despise me so much you never want to talk to me again…”

Olivia put up a hand to stop her. “Of course I don't despise you, Georgia. Anyway, it's over. Katie won't be able to hurt either of us again. Alicia has seen through her at last.” She took Georgia's hand and squeezed it.

When she opened the door, she found Tom and most of the children from the class waiting for them. They broke into a cheer when she walked shyly into the room, and gathered round wanting to know what had happened. Olivia shook her head and said, “Katie is still with my grandmother. It looks bad for her.”

“But the main thing is that you're entirely
in the clear?” asked Georgia. Olivia nodded.

“That's fantabulous,” said Tom, “because you've got dozens of new pupils, Liv. They all think tightrope-walking rocks and they want to learn. I've told them that you are a complete slave driver, but they won't take no for an answer.” He grinned. “I've also told them about our
Romeo and Juliet
scene and everyone is very keen to see it.”

Olivia stared at him, shocked. “You mean, you actually want us to do it in front of an audience?”

“Don't look so worried, Liv. We don't have to keep it a secret any more. Let's enjoy it.” Olivia looked uncertain, but the others all begged them to do it, and Abbie said quietly, “Please don't disappoint us, Olivia.”

Eel jiggled about and declared loudly, “Honestly, Livy, you're being invited to show off by a bunch of people who leap at every chance to be in the spotlight even when it's only the fridge light coming on and who would never
ever
turn down an invitation to perform themselves. You should be chuffed to bits they want to watch you.”

“I am,” said Olivia, giving a little bow, and 
her serious face broke into a smile that made everyone else smile too.

While Olivia and Tom were setting up, Abbie slipped away and came back with Sebastian Shaw, and the two stood at the back of the room open-mouthed as Olivia and Tom performed their high-wire act.