The Lost Twin

by Sophie Cleverly

  A few minutes later, when everyone could be sure she was out of earshot, the whole room descended into chaos. Girls were laughing and giggling and calling “did you see that?” to each other. The teachers tried frantically to calm everyone down, waving and shushing in vain.

  And this was where my part came in. I stood up.

  “Where are you off to, Scarlet?” asked Mrs Knight, exasperated. “You’ve barely touched your stew, and there’s still pudding to come.”

  “Permission to go and see if Ariadne is all right, Miss?”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose that’s fine. But be quick.”

  I snuck out into the corridor and ran in the direction of Miss Fox’s office. With my ear to the door, I could hear her banging about in there. Ariadne had better be right about her changing her dress, I thought, otherwise we’re back to square one.

  But then I heard a louder noise nearer the door and had to fling myself out of the way as it opened. Miss Fox hurried out of her office and into the nearby door marked ‘Staff Lavatories’. She was holding another black dress over her arm, one that appeared much the same as the one she always wore that was currently dripping red gloop. She must have had a whole set of them.

  The main door to the lavatories had a big keyhole without a cover on it. Perfect. I tiptoed over and knelt down. Since everyone else was at dinner, there was no one around to notice my strange behaviour. I threw a few furtive glances over my shoulder, and then peered through the keyhole.

  Miss Fox was leaning over the sink, scrubbing furiously at her dress. Ariadne’s concoction would come out of such tough material fairly easily, but the dress really was covered in it. For a moment I feared she would just clean it off and then come back out, but then she threw her arms to the side in frustration.

  She began to pull the various keys out of her pockets and pile them on to the side of the sink. There was one big bunch and a fair few smaller ones on their own, with familiar brown paper labels. As she leant over, I spotted another key that she didn’t remove – one on a black velvet ribbon knotted around her neck. Curiouser and curiouser.

  Then, satisfied that her pockets were empty, she walked into a stall to change her dress. This was my cue. I held my breath and turned the handle of the door as gently as I could. I tiptoed across the tiles. Miss Fox was only a heartbeat away.

  The pile of keys on the sink – brass and copper and silver in colour – seemed endless. My eyes darted from one to the next. Where was the one I needed? I skimmed the labels in desperation: Kitchens, Library, Basement.

  And then I saw it, almost dangling off the side: Roof.

  I reached for it with the tips of my fingers. Rustling noises came from the stall – Miss Fox must have nearly finished changing.

  The key made an almost imperceptible glingling noise as I picked it up, but it was like an alarm bell in my head.

  Yet the stall door remained closed and, still tiptoeing, still not daring to breathe, I made my way back to the door and out into the corridor.

  I’d done it. I’d got the key! I leant against the wall, my lungs desperate to make up the breaths I’d held in.

  And then I was away, running for Ariadne, for the roof, for my sister.

  Ariadne was waiting in our room. She jumped up, grinning when I came in. “Did you see? Oh my goodness, Ivy, the look on Miss Fox’s face when I spilled that slop on her! I’d do it again any time!” A pause. “Did it work? Did you get the key?”

  Slowly, I pulled up the key by its label and dangled it in front of Ariadne.

  Her face turned deadly serious. “Let’s go,” she said.

  The key fitted the lock. I turned it, and it popped open. I looked back at my friend – my best friend – her eyes were wide with fear.

  I took her hand and squeezed it. “It’ll be okay this time. There’s no rain on the rooftop and no Penny. Just stay behind me.”

  Ariadne nodded, and together we climbed out on to the roof.

  The sky was painted with a sunset. Pinks, oranges, purples – all these delightful colours that I’d almost forgotten in a place where everything seemed to be in black and white and hues of grey. Last wisps of cloud clung to the horizon as the sun sank behind it, its dying light rippling over the landscape.

  I’d had no time to appreciate it before, in the rain and the horror of Penny stealing the diary. The fields were like a picnic blanket spread over the world, all greens and yellows in the evening light; the village and the church and the shimmering lake nestling amongst them. You could see people down there, tiny silhouettes, finishing their last jobs of the day.

  “This is it,” I said. I somehow felt sure that Ariadne was right. This was Scarlet’s place. She was in the air and the birds and the sky all around.

  Ariadne said nothing. She was staring at the sunset, her mouth hanging a little open. Sometimes I forgot that she was just as much of a prisoner in this place as I was. But there wasn’t time to appreciate our rooftop freedom. We had a diary entry to find.

  I took my friend’s hand again and helped her over the tiles. We walked along the flat of the roof, scouring it for anything that looked like a hiding place.

  “Over there!” said Ariadne suddenly, pointing. Just over an arch in the roof (around eye level) was another flat area, and there was a square of wooden planks set into the tiles. A trapdoor?

  “It has to be how Miss Fox got away that night,” I said. “Let’s climb over and take a look.” Ariadne winced. “Okay, then,” I corrected, “I’ll climb over and take a look.”

  I scrambled up the tiles fairly easily, though I laddered my stockings on one of the sharp edges. Once at the top, I slid down the other side. It certainly wasn’t out of the question for Miss Fox to escape that way with or without Violet – after all, she was taller and stronger than me. I shivered a little, despite myself. It was unusually warm and sunny for an evening, but a chill breeze was on the air. Goose bumps prickled at my arms as I made for the trapdoor.

  Unsurprisingly, it was locked. It had an iron ring, which I pulled on with all my might, but it didn’t give.

  “Try jumping on it!” shouted Ariadne from the other side of the roof. I gave her a look. The last thing I needed was to go crashing through the ceiling.

  And after all, it was the diary I needed to find. “If Scarlet left the pages up here, they need to be inside something. Like a container or a pot.”

  Ariadne looked around. “A chimney pot?”

  I started to laugh, but then it dawned on me. Ariadne was serious. Scarlet really could have hidden them in a chimney pot, if that chimney no longer led to a fire …

  By the time I’d climbed back over to her, she’d already pulled a map of the school from her dress. “This one,” she said, pointing over at one of the chimney stacks. “It’s above the baths and some of the classrooms. I shouldn’t think there’s been a fire underneath it for quite some years.”

  Looking down at her map, I followed her fingers as she traced out what she meant. “You’re right, Ariadne! You’re right!” I almost picked her up and span her around, but I had a feeling that wasn’t advisable for a person who’d recently suffered from concussion.

  I scrambled over to the chimney. This could really be it.

  The pots on the stack were old, with crown-shaped tops. I stood on tiptoe and reached into the nearest one, the clay scratching my skin … Nothing. I turned back and looked at Ariadne, who smiled reassuringly.

  My hand shook as I tried the next chimney pot, but that too seemed empty. I began to panic. What if we’d been wrong? What if this wasn’t the final hiding place? What if …

  And then I felt something. Not pages, but an object, cold and metal.

  I managed to get my fingers around it and pull it out. It was a small box tied with an elastic band, and the words ‘THE END’ crudely scratched into the lid.

  “Oh, Scarlet,” I whispered.

  I carried the box back to Ariadne, holding it out reverently.

  She s
tared at it. “Shall we … shall we open it?”

  Ariadne and I sat down on the tiles, and looked out over the fields as the fiery glow of the sunset fell away and the world turned to black.

  It was time to find out how my sister died.

  hat little box was everything to me; the reason I was here and the reason I hadn’t run for my life as soon as I’d arrived at this awful place. All of my hopes and fears were riding on it.

  I pinged off the rubber band holding it closed and opened the lid. It was stuffed with folded pages, flowing with writing. We’d found it.

  Tears came to my eyes. “Oh, Ariadne,” I said, “should I read this? I mean, Scarlet’s death, I don’t know if I can …”

  My best friend put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Ivy Grey, if you don’t open that box right now, I will throw you off the roof myself.” She grinned.

  I unfolded the pages and flattened them out against my skirt. In the fading light, Ariadne and I began to read, together.

  Dear Diary,

  Violet never came back. Miss Fox called an assembly and casually mentioned in the notices that Violet’s guardian, a lawyer named Mister Roberts, had whisked her abroad to attend an exclusive academy in France. I sat there open-mouthed. I glanced around at everyone else – couldn’t they tell she was lying? To the whole school, no less?

  Penny was the only one who didn’t look as though she believed it either. When our eyes met, she stared at me furiously until I had to look away. She’s convinced that I had something to do with it. And why wouldn’t she be? As far as she knows, I was the last person to see Violet.

  Later, in the hallway, Penny took me by the collar and started screaming at me, demanding answers. It was cowardly, I know, but I didn’t tell her. Partly because I was scared of what Miss Fox would do to me, and partly because Penny still thought she could treat me like dirt. I stamped on her foot and twisted away from her.

  To my surprise, she started to cry. Proper, ugly crying. I thought I’d hurt her, but I soon realised – she was truly upset. She couldn’t understand why Violet had abandoned her.

  Then that new girl came over, the one from India, Nadia Sayani. She put her arm around Penny and glared at me, started whispering to her. “You leave her alone,” she said to me, fiercely. “I don’t know what you’ve done, but I’ll find out.” Then she marched Penny away, still sobbing.

  I tried to go back to the roof, but I couldn’t bear it. To my surprise, the hatch was open again. It was like none of it had even happened.

  So there’s no other choice. I have to confront Miss Fox. I already know too much, and I’m certain that it’s only a matter of time before she finds a way to get rid of me too. Perhaps I can threaten her with what I saw, what I heard …

  Besides all that, something deep inside tells me that it’s the right thing to do. Maybe I should stay away and save myself. But what would Ivy do? She would get to the truth. She would try to help Violet, no matter how much of an awful person Violet was.

  I hope Miss Fox is ready for me.

  Ariadne and I shared a fearful glance.

  Dear Diary,

  I feared the worst, but this … this is something else. I’m not sure how much time I have.

  I walked into Miss Fox’s office like a criminal going to the gallows. I wondered if she’d throw me out, but she just shut the door and demanded to know what I wanted.

  Well, I gave it my best shot. I pretended I knew what Violet had been getting at. “You can’t keep your secrets locked up forever!” I yelled at her. “You can’t just make your problems disappear! Why don’t you show me what’s in your drawer?” Her eyes flickered to the top one, just for a moment, and I knew Violet was right. “Yes, that one,” I said, pointing.

  Her expression became blank. “I can make things very unpleasant for you, Scarlet Grey,” she said.

  I swallowed.

  “I think perhaps your mind doesn’t work properly. Perhaps you need to see a doctor.”

  “I saw what you did to Violet, Miss,” I snarled. “I saw you take her, maybe you even killed her. You won’t get away with it, and you won’t convince me that I didn’t see what I saw.”

  She grabbed me by the front of my dress. I tried to back away, but she had an iron grip. “Oh, do you really think so?” she said, and I had never heard her sound so nasty. My stomach lurched and I felt my body contract with fear. “You … you can’t hurt me,” was all I could say.

  She smiled, and it was the most unpleasant thing I had ever seen. “If you think I can’t, then you have grossly underestimated me.”

  I went to push her, and I think I caught her off guard, but as I ran to the door I tripped on her cane. My ankle twisted as I slammed into the ground, and a sharp pain ripped through it.

  Miss Fox stood over me. “I’m giving you an ultimatum, Miss Grey. I don’t want a single soul to hear of this. If you leave, go somewhere far away and never mention Rookwood again, we can forget about this matter.”

  I blinked up at her, disbelieving. “I can’t leave. Everyone will want to know where I’ve gone! What about school? What about my father? You can’t just replace me!”

  At this point she sat down in her chair, and after a long pause she pulled out a file from her desk and rifled through it. “You have a twin, I see. Didn’t quite get the best marks in the entrance exam. It seems that you may, in fact, be easily replaceable.”

  Replaceable. She wants to replace me. With Ivy.

  I tried to edge away, the pain shooting from my ankle. I’ll run away, I told myself. I’ll just run from the school as soon as she lets me out of here, and I’ll find someone and get them to tell the police.

  Miss Fox’s eyes flicked up at me then, as if she had plucked my thoughts straight out of my head. “If you’re thinking of running away, Miss Grey, I assure you, you will not get far. I have people watching the gates and patrolling the grounds for students that cannot follow the rules. I have teachers who will do whatever I tell them.”

  Was she bluffing? I couldn’t tell.

  Miss Fox had won.

  I’m in my room now, alone, gazing at the side of the room with the empty bed and the bare cupboard.

  One thing is certain. I need Ivy to know what’s happened. I need the world to know I existed, in case Miss Fox makes me disappear, just like Violet.

  I don’t want to be lost forever.

  The final two pages were different. Different paper. It was another letter, addressed to me with the words ‘The Beginning’ at the top of the page. I looked at Ariadne, and she averted her eyes.

  Dearest Ivy, you are my only hope.

  We’ve always been together, and I know I’ve never really done anything for you, but now I must rely on you completely.

  I’m going to hide my diary pages in secret places so that hopefully you will be the only one to find it. Just like when we were little. And if anyone else finds a piece, I pray that they won’t understand what it is they’ve found. Otherwise everything will be lost.

  Someone has to know the truth. The whole truth. About me, and Violet.

  And speaking of truth – Ivy, I’m so sorry. I switched our entrance exam papers. I saw the chance to be better and I took it. So I’m responsible for this whole mess. All of it.

  I just hope that one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me. If anyone can solve this, you can.

  Your twin,

  Scarlet

  I thought I would cry. I thought I would cry until my eyes were empty.

  Oh, Scarlet, of course I forgive you. She had more than paid for her mistake. I would forgive her everything and more, just to have her back again.

  Unexpectedly, I then began to feel strangely calm. This wasn’t the serene calm of lazy Sundays at Aunt Phoebe’s. This was the calm before the storm.

  Miss Fox thought she could take my sister away from me? She thought she could control everything and replace anyone who got in the way? I stood up, fists clenched. It was getting cold up there on the roof
as it grew dark, but I wasn’t shivering any longer.

  “Ariadne,” I said, my voice level. “I know what we have to do.”

  hurried down from the roof, the little metal box clutched in my hands. “Think about it, Ariadne. What was the mistake that Scarlet made?”

  Ariadne trotted after me. “I don’t know, what?”

  “She went alone.” That was Scarlet, always wanting to do things by herself. “She didn’t tell anyone that she was going to confront the Fox. She only wrote it in her diary.”

  “Because she didn’t trust anyone! She …” I turned back to Ariadne.

  “She only trusted you,” she finished.

  I bit my lip, and nodded. We carried on down the corridor until we got to our dorm room. Dinner had finished, and giggles about the incident with Miss Fox and Ariadne’s concoction were still spreading. A couple of girls pointed and laughed as they caught sight of us. Ariadne, in an unexpected gesture, bowed at them, and they gave her a round of applause.

  As we darted into room thirteen, I pulled the pages out of the box. “I have to finish what Scarlet started. I have to face Miss Fox, but I won’t be alone. I’ll have you.”

  I looked up at Ariadne, expectantly. She grinned. “Always.”

  I couldn’t help but smile, then. Nothing could make up for losing a twin, but gaining such a friend as Ariadne had made a real difference to me.

  Crouching down by my bed, I stuffed the little box into the mattress with the rest of the diary. I’d kept the final pages, the letter from Scarlet, tucked inside my waistband.

  “What are you doing?” asked Ariadne. “Don’t we need to show that to Miss Fox? To get her to confess?”

  I brushed my hands off on my skirt as I stood up. “No, it’s too risky. If she gets her hands on the box and the diary then there’d be no proof that any of this ever happened. And –” I stared down at my mattress – “there’s someone who already knows about the diary and where I hide it, someone who owes us …”

  Ariadne raised her eyebrows, making her look like a puzzled owl.