Cassie felt another tiny flicker of a softening towards him. Try as she might, she wasn’t as mad at him as she’d expected. Maybe she’d been wrong – maybe her new attitude would allow her to move on, as far as Richard was concerned. Maybe she wanted to.
‘When did you guys get here?’ asked Cormac.
Cassie glanced at Isabella, but she stayed silent. ‘Just this morning. We, uh … we came on Isabella’s father’s yacht.’
‘Nice! That was a beautiful-looking boat.’ Vassily was smiling at her, though, with only a brief glance at Isabella, which made Cassie a little uncomfortable.
Again she looked at Isabella, trying to draw her in. ‘Isabella’s parents are incredible. It was really kind of them to let me come along. I’m sure my friend here didn’t give them much of a choice.’
Isabella gave a small chuckle and smiled at Cassie, but didn’t inject anything further into the conversation. Cassie sighed.
‘Hey, you’re one of us now, or near enough,’ Hamid said, laughing. ‘You need to get used to this lifestyle.’
‘Yeah, I …’ Cassie smiled, with another glance at Isabella. ‘I’m not quite there yet, I don’t think, as I’m sure Isabella would tell you.’
Isabella smiled, and finally opened her mouth to respond, but the conversation had moved on again. Ayeesha set down her tiny cup of thick coffee dramatically, goggling at it.
‘Man, this gets you going in the mornin’. I’ll be buzzing all day!’
‘And all night, with any luck,’ added Cormac.
‘Hmm, you might not want to press that Irish luck though, sweetie, or Ayeesha could well get tired of you,’ India interjected with a grin.
The Few hooted with laughter, even Ayeesha, though she squeezed Cormac’s arm affectionately. Cassie found herself joining in, but noticed uneasily that Isabella’s laughter was forced and half-hearted. She looked as though she was starting to feel pretty left out.
God, Cassie really just wanted Isabella to be happy again. If she could just move past everything that had happened with Jake, then maybe things might be OK – but right now Cassie really couldn’t see that happening. Funny how, when she’d first arrived at the Academy, Isabella had tried for so long to make Cassie feel happy there, and now here they were with their roles reversed. Because she was really getting there, Cassie realised with an inward smile. She was feeling more settled, she was starting to feel at home. As though she did belong.
That’s my girl! That’s my girl, Cassandra! It’s about time we started establishing ourselves here …
Even Estelle’s aside couldn’t dampen her mood. Cassie laughed out loud again, slightly out of place, earning a quizzical look from Richard. And yet when she turned to him, he was focused on Isabella once again, arm resting nonchalantly on the back of her chair.
‘Well, I don’t know about you guys but I love it here!’ exclaimed India. ‘What an amazing place for my last term! I think I might go and take a look at the Hagia Sophia this afternoon. Who fancies it?’
‘Wish I could,’ said Yusuf with a wink, tucking his gaudy shark tooth pendant back into his shirt. ‘I’m meeting someone.’
‘Aren’t you always?’ Ayeesha pointed out, to more chortling.
‘Well, I don’t remember him ever trying it on with me,’ said Richard, faux-hurt. ‘What am I, chopped liver?’
Yusuf chuckled wryly.
‘Maybe he just has better taste,’ Cassie added, though she couldn’t stop the smile on her face from softening the blow.
Richard shrugged and nudged Isabella. ‘A little harsh, your friend, isn’t she?’ he joked, though the twinkle was missing from his eyes. Cassie tried to ignore it, which wasn’t hard as she then heard India chime up again.
‘Speaking of hot dates, Isabella! When’s that hunky Yank Jake Johnson arriving?’
Damn. India was only trying to include her at last, thought Cassie as her heart sank to her boots. But as they all looked expectantly at Isabella, the Argentinian girl’s tan skin blanched.
‘Um … I’m … I don’t know …’ Isabella looked desperately at Cassie, then down at her watch. She gave a weak laugh. ‘Actually, I’m so silly. I forgot, I’m expecting a call from … from my mother. I had better be getting back. Nice to see you guys.’
She stood up so fast she almost knocked her chair over. Richard caught it and steadied it. Vassily, Yusuf and Richard stood up awkwardly but politely as Isabella began hurriedly gathering up her bag and jacket. Cassie rose to follow.
‘Can I walk you girls back, then?’ asked Richard, but Isabella was already at the door to the café.
‘No. No, it’s fine. You stay. Just a phone call. I promised I’d, uh, let her know how we’re settling in. Bye!’ Isabella waved quickly, and then ducked speedily through the low wood-framed exit.
‘What?’ Cassie heard India say. ‘Did I say something wrong?’
‘I think you just put your size six Louboutins in it, sweetheart.’ That was Richard – but Cassie was already out of the door as well, hurrying to catch up with her roommate.
‘Wait, Isabella! I’ll come with you!’ Cassie called, catching up and linking her arm through her friend’s. She was relieved not to have lost Isabella in the thronging crowds.
‘Sorry, Cassie,’ said Isabella miserably. She sounded on the verge of tears. ‘You were enjoying yourself. I didn’t mean—’
‘Don’t be daft. It’s cool, I was getting a bit bored in there anyway,’ Cassie replied with a grin.
‘Me too.’ Footsteps slowed close behind them, and then Richard fell into step. ‘Thought you might need a big strong man to protect you from the hordes out here.’
Cassie glanced at him in mild surprise, but couldn’t help returning his ironic smile. ‘Yeah,’ she replied. ‘Do you know where we might find one?’
‘That is so sweet of you, Richard. I’m sorry,’ Isabella sniffed, ignoring their banter and walking fast.
‘Stop apologising, you silly cow,’ said Richard cheerfully, his loping stride easily keeping pace with her. ‘And hey, bella Isabella … I’m really sorry about Jake not coming back. What a prize arse, eh? And I’m not just talking about those tight glutes of his. You’re far too lovely for him, and I always said so. If you’re looking for a means by which to achieve some comfort …’ He trailed off, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Cassie half expected Isabella to stop in her tracks and slap him, but she only giggled and wiped her nose. ‘Uh, I’ll let you know. Thank you, Richard.’
‘But of course,’ he said, though his eyes kept flicking towards Cassie, as though he were checking her reaction. Cassie frowned. What did she care if he flirted with Isabella? Anyway, he was only doing it to make their friend feel better, right?
Even beyond the Bazaar the streets were hot and noisy, and already the calls to prayer were floating above the chatter and thrum of the city. Richard kept up a stream of chatter as they headed for the port – pointing out landmarks, tossing out morsels of history, making off-colour jokes. By the time they reached the waterside, Isabella was just about cheery enough to wave to the boatman and call out without a wobble in her voice.
As they began to board, Cassie caught Richard’s arm, gesturing for him to hang back beside her for a moment.
‘Listen, thanks, Richard,’ she began. ‘Really. I appreciate it. She needed cheering up.’ Cassie nodded towards Isabella ahead of them.
‘No problem.’ He cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘I meant it, anyway. Jake is an arse.’
‘He’s got reason, Richard,’ Cassie reminded him darkly.
‘I know. And I’m sorry his sister di— was killed,’ he corrected himself. ‘But he doesn’t have to take it out on Isabella. She’s nuts about him, poor thing. Sometimes it’s hard to get over someone, no matter how much has happened between you.’ He muttered the last sentence, so Cassie wasn’t sure she heard correctly.
‘I agree with you about Jake,’ she sighed. ‘But I reckon the whole situation with those two is more
than half my fault, so it’s kind of hard for me to discuss it with her.’
Glancing once again at Isabella, who was chatting amiably to the boatman who had helped her aboard, Richard lowered his voice. ‘And are you OK, Cassie?’
It seemed like that question was so loaded it could sink the launch. ‘I’m fine,’ she said stiffly.
‘Really? I hope so, Cassie, I honestly do.’ He swept a lock of hair out of his face. Following it with her eyes, Cassie was irritated at realising she found the mannerism attractive. ‘Because while we’re talking fault,’ he continued, ‘I suppose I’ve got a lot to feel guilty about myself.’
Cassie took a deep breath. He was leading, but now was as good a time as any. ‘True. But listen – I’ve been meaning to say thanks for that as well, Richard,’ she muttered quickly. ‘For last term? You telling me where to find Jake that night, at the Puppet Theatre? I’d never have thought of that. If it hadn’t been for you, he probably would have been dead before we even got to him.’
‘Yeah, well there are many things I regret in life.’ He winked.
‘Seriously. For all we’ve said about him, I am grateful. And of course, so’s Isabella.’
‘Even though you two nearly got killed yourselves?’
‘But we didn’t. That was a good thing you did, Richard.’ And more than Ranjit bloody Singh managed, she thought bitterly.
‘I owed you that much, didn’t I?’ He made a rueful face.
She laughed dryly. ‘Yeah. I guess.’
Very lightly, he touched her arm, then dropped his hand. ‘And look, Cassie, I know I was a pain last term, asking you to forgive me all the time, but I promise not to give you a hard time any more. OK? I’ll leave you alone now. On my honour.’
‘Richard, that’s not—’
‘Yeah, I know. My honour’s not worth that much.’
Not what I was trying to say, she thought, smiling with a touch of regret. But he was already grinning and striding towards the boat where Isabella was waving from the stern.
Inferior, Estelle’s voice injected. Inferior stuff, my dear. He won’t get us anywhere.
Ignoring her, Cassie jumped down into the launch after Richard. As he began chatting easily with the young boatman, exchanging opinions about some dreary football match, Cassie went to Isabella’s side.
‘God, Cassie, did I overreact? I’ve just got to stop thinking about him,’ Isabella announced fiercely, eyes on the horizon as the sea breeze tangled her mahogany hair.
Cassie hesitated. ‘Well yeah, I think you might be right. Though I understand, babe. I really do.’
Isabella paused, and then spoke again. ‘And you need to do the same, you know.’
‘Huh?’
‘Maybe I’m wrong, Cassie. But somewhere deep down, aren’t you still thinking about Ranjit?’ Isabella watched her with concern.
‘No.’
Cassie’s cheekbones reddened as Isabella raised an eyebrow.
‘OK. Well I hope not. Seriously,’ Isabella said, winding her fingers into Cassie’s and squeezed them. ‘Because that would just be a fine thing, wouldn’t it? Staying in one of the most exciting cities on earth, and both of us pining for a pair of deadbeats who don’t even deserve us? No. Tell you what, Cassie, I promise I’m going to try and snap out of it. I’m going to be like you. Single and ready to tingle.’
Cassie burst into laughter. ‘Mingle!’
Isabella grinned. ‘Deliberate mistake.’
‘Freudian slip, more like!’ Cassie found herself giggling with her roommate. ‘Deadbeats who don’t deserve us, eh? So Richard’s got to you!’
‘I think he’s getting to you, too.’ Isabella gave her one of her lethal rib-nudges.
Cassie gasped and laughed. ‘As if!’
‘Whatever you say, Cassie Bell. Still, perhaps you should let him …’ Isabella turned haughtily away, but a small smirk was playing on her lips.
Cassie frowned at the island as it drew closer. She hadn’t been thinking about Richard, and she sure as hell hadn’t been thinking about Ranjit. Hadn’t. Except to be angry, no, furious at him. Other than that, she couldn’t bear to think about the boy. Mustn’t. She couldn’t deal with thoughts of his betrayal, his cowardice; not right now.
A small chuckle interrupted her thoughts.
It’s all right, dearest. I’ll take care of things for both of us!
CHAPTER THREE
‘Feel your clay, ladies and gentlemen! Feel what it wants to be!’
Signor Poldino was full of the joys of early summer, bouncing excitedly on his heels. Did the man never run out of energy? wondered Cassie. The light that poured in at the open windows of the elegant room had a green tinge from the lush gardens, and she could catch glimpses of bright sky, but if she had to be in a classroom, this was one of the better ones.
She was aware of stifled giggles behind her – the sculpture class was barely containing its collective hilarity at whatever Richard was working on, but the arts master didn’t seem to have noticed. Cassie, for her part, made every effort not to turn around and catch Richard’s eye. Off to her right, Cormac was studiously forming an out-of-proportion pair of legs. He seemed to be taking it unusually seriously till he quipped out of the corner of his mouth, ‘Feet of clay, Cassie.’
‘Har har,’ she whispered back sarcastically.
‘You know what my clay feels like?’ hissed Isabella, examining her piece as she stood next to Cassie. ‘It feels like crawling under the table and dying. Look at this thing. It’s terrible!’
And it really was unidentifiably awful. Cassie shrugged.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I thought it might have been a Rodin pastiche!’ She started to laugh, but it died on her lips. It was as if a black veil had been thrown over her, closing her off from the rest of the class, and out of nowhere, Cassie’s light mood vanished.
The feeling in her chest was dark and intense and … yearning. Something was calling to her, tugging on her like a magnet. Cassie lifted her head and looked back, though she knew exactly whom she would see.
Ranjit.
A jolt of electric lust raced through her body, and she had to suppress an involuntary shudder of excitement. Where had he come from? How long had he been there? She certainly hadn’t noticed him being there at the start of the class, and in fact she hadn’t seen him at all around the Academy in the couple of days before the start of term. Not that she’d been looking, of course. Cassie had assumed he was off being dark and mysterious or doing Sir Alric Darke’s bidding, which was usually his default position around this school.
But here he was now, tall and beautiful, his amber eyes boring into her soul, and she couldn’t look away. He gave her a single hesitant nod. There was something indefinable in his expression: hope, and longing, and fear, all mixed up into one desperate silent cry. It was a cry that got an answer from deep inside her:
No! No! He rejected us, Cassandra! It doesn’t matter if we want him. We’re strong without him. More than strong enough just us, together!
Cassie swallowed hard and forced herself to tear her eyes off him and concentrate on her work. She didn’t need Estelle for a cheerleader. Of course she was strong enough. It was nothing more than a minor infuriation that he still made her nerve-endings crackle and her heart crash against her ribcage.
Yes, my dear girl! More than strong, we’re better than him! You and me! TOGETHER!
‘For God’s sake!’ she hissed out loud. Blushing as surprised faces turned to her, she muttered, ‘Can’t get this to work.’
‘I know the feeling,’ mumbled Isabella crossly, jabbing a forefinger into the mess of her sculpture. Then she looked up and followed Cassie’s gaze as she glanced once again at the handsome face behind her. Isabella’s own face darkened, and she touched Cassie’s arm, smearing it with wet clay. Lowering her voice, she said, ‘Ah. Cassie, are you OK?’
Cassie blinked. Was she that obvious? ‘I’m fine. Fine.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes! Stop it. I’m fine,’ said Cassie, raising her voice more than she intended. She flushed as more students turned to look at her, and as she saw Isabella’s hurt expression.
‘Look, I’m sorry, Isabella,’ she whispered. ‘I just—You’re right, it’s a bit weird. Let’s talk about it later, eh?’
Isabella nodded and turned back to her clay with a sigh. Feeling another stare, Cassie flicked her gaze towards Richard. He seemed very solemn, till she caught his eye. Then he winked, and smiled proudly down at his creation.
Cassie followed his gaze, and a moment later flung her hands to her mouth to stifle her explosion of laughter. She just about managed to disguise it as a coughing fit, and Signor Poldino hurried across to pat her back and reassure himself that his favourite student wasn’t about to expire. As he fussed, Cassie turned back to Richard with a deadly look. His eyes opened wide, innocent, and he splayed his hands questioningly above his suggestive sculpture. This might look like a fine pair of taut buttocks, his pleading eyes seemed to say, but that’s only your dirty mind. To prove it, he slapped his hands on to them, closing his eyes briefly, then opening them and grinning.
‘You,’ she mouthed through her smile, ‘are disgusting!’
It only made his grin all the wider.
Grudgingly, Cassie couldn’t help but think that she was glad Richard was in class that morning. She couldn’t deny that he’d cheered her right back up, and she wasn’t sure she would have lasted the class without his lewd mischief-making to distract her. Not with Ranjit’s lethal, beautiful eyes boring into her back. As soon as they’d cleared up and the class was dismissed, Cassie bolted. She wasn’t going to hang about and risk a grisly confrontation with her ex.
Her ex. Yes, that was all he was. Cassie gritted her teeth and dodged swiftly through the corridor crowds, ignoring the wrench of misery in her gut. The spirit’s gloating voice wasn’t really helping; that only served to remind Cassie of how strong the pull of him had been, for Estelle as well as herself. Frankly, she thought, Estelle was protesting too much. But how might she expect a vicious spirit to behave when it was scorned and rejected? No wonder the old bat was bitter. No wonder she wanted herself and Cassie to triumph alone. If only Estelle didn’t keep reminding her of his attractions.
Darke Academy 3: Divided Souls Page 3