by Lyn Gardner
Evie gave a little mewl of surprise but she didn’t miss a step in the sequence.
Enjoying herself, Olivia continued. “I know all about the jewels and I know all about the house scam,” she said softly in Evie’s ear. “Maybe it’s time I called the police?”
Evie took an agitated step backwards, looking at Olivia with anxious eyes. She had turned so pale that her freckles stood out on the bridge of her nose. She attempted a twirl but as she did so, she lost her footing and plunged off the wire.
Olivia looked down at Evie dangling helplessly in her safety harness and flailing around like an overgrown baby. The wire was bouncing up and down but Olivia kept her balance. She remembered Evie’s boastful words on the day of the workshop: I never fall.
She saw a small tear fall down the cheek of Evie’s upturned face. On the ground below, Harry set up a howling that sounded as if his doggy heart was broken.
When Evie had lost her footing, Olivia had – for the merest split second – felt a surge of triumph. But now, looking down at her humiliated rival, she felt only guilt and misery. She might just as well have pushed Evie off the wire. Instead of feeling jubilant, she had never felt more ashamed of herself in her whole life. She felt even worse when they were back on the ground and all the Swans gathered around Evie, asking if she was all right after her fall. Olivia hung back and hoped no one noticed how guilty she looked.
Chapter Fifteen
Olivia sat at a table in a café picking at a baked potato. She wasn’t hungry. She could see Harry lying patiently outside, his head on his front paws, waiting for Evie. That dog loved Evie; he would die for her. Aeysha was right, thought Olivia, if Evie could inspire such loyalty in Harry, she couldn’t be all bad.
Sitting opposite Olivia were Eel and Emmy. They were planning their future careers as prima ballerinas, and getting annoyed with Kylie, who was telling them that to be a classical dancer, you had to go to the Royal Ballet School.
“The Swan’s great for acting and musical theatre,” Kylie was saying knowingly, “but if you want to be a professional ballerina, then the Royal Ballet School is the place to be. My little sister is starting there in September. You can go to White Lodge in Richmond Park when you’re eleven. It’s the best.”
“But I never want to leave the Swan and Gran,” said Eel worriedly.
“I don’t want to leave the Swan, either,” said Emmy, looking tearful.
“Well,” said Kylie, “you can’t want to be a ballet dancer enough.”
“But I do!” said Eel indignantly. “I want it mostest. Although I do like tap and modern, too, and I loved that contemporary dance show that Gran took us to see at The Place. It’s just that I could never leave the Swan.”
“Perhaps you’re just not prima ballerina material, then,” said Kylie, nodding gravely.
Eel and Emmy looked at each other in horror.
“Oh, shut up, Kylie, for goodness’ sake! They’re only eight, they don’t have to worry about all this for ages,” Olivia had snapped with such uncharacteristic rudeness that the others looked at her in surprise. Kylie flushed bright red and went off to sit at another table in a huff.
“Are you all right, Livy?” asked Eel, a worried frown on her face.
“I’m fine,” said Olivia brusquely. But she didn’t feel fine at all. She needed someone to talk to and she wished again that Tom was there. She looked longingly over at the other table where Georgia and Aeysha were sitting with Evie and Tati. They were all laughing uproariously at a story Evie was telling.
Olivia looked away. When they’d all arrived at the café, Georgia and Aeysha had bagged a table with four chairs in the far corner. Olivia was at the back of the group and was fighting her way through the crowded café towards them when Evie had slipped into one of the empty seats and Tati into the other. Olivia thought she saw Evie throw a little glance of triumph in her direction, but maybe she had imagined it.
Olivia was full of conflicting feelings about Evie. She still resented Evie for the way she had so easily wormed her way into the Swan Circus, but she felt intensely guilty when she remembered her forlorn, frightened little face when she had fallen off the wire. But, thought Olivia to herself, her shot in the dark about the necklace and the scam had clearly hit home. Evie was not to be trusted.
“Olivia! Olivia!” Lydia’s voice woke her from her reverie. She looked up and realised that everyone else was heading for the door.
“Come on, Livy.” Georgia’s mum smiled. “We need to get a move on. I’ll be in terrible trouble if I get you all back late for the afternoon performance.” They set off towards Calton Hill, with Olivia striding ahead. She came to a small road and waited for everyone to catch up before she crossed and began texting Tom.
As the others joined her, Olivia found herself standing next to Tati. Evie was just behind them. Olivia and Tatiana stepped out into the road, with Olivia just a little in front. She wasn’t taking much notice because Tom had just texted her back. Suddenly, Harry started barking frantically as a blue car came careering around the corner at high speed.
The Swans scattered like skittles. Olivia heard Tati scream as the car bore down on them and then she felt a hard yank that pulled her backwards. She couldn’t keep her balance and fell heavily on her left arm, while the car roared over the spot where she had just been standing. Aeysha and Georgia rushed to pick Olivia up.
“Are you OK?” they cried as they helped their friend to her feet.
“I’m fine,” said Olivia. “I’ve just hurt my arm a bit.” But she was shaking so much that she could hardly get the words out.
Tati was crying and trembling, too, and was being talked to fiercely by a white-faced Evie, who kept throwing anxious looks in Olivia’s direction. Olivia heard her say the words, “It’s a warning.” Eel and Emmy were in tears as well.
Olivia kept insisting that she’d just bruised her arm in the fall. But by the time they got to the big top, it was clear that Olivia’s arm was much worse than that.
Jack heard them arrive and appeared from inside the tent.“Here at last!” he said impatiently. “We’ve only got forty minutes before show time…” He stopped when he saw their shocked faces and Olivia cradling her arm protectively. “What happened, chick?” he asked, hugging his daughter, his face full of concern.
Olivia suddenly realised that she didn’t really know. It had all happened so fast. There had been the speeding car and then somebody had pulled her backwards and she had fallen and hurt her arm. She caught Evie staring at her very intently. There was something almost challenging in Evie’s look, as if she was very interested to hear what Olivia was going to tell her father. Olivia was certain it was Evie who had made her fall on her arm. But had Evie yanked her to save her from the speeding car? Or was it revenge for what had happened on the wire? What had Evie meant by “It’s a warning”? Was the accident her way of telling Olivia to back off?
She opened her mouth to speak, but Eel was already telling Jack about the car. “Thank goodness Evie knocked Livy out the way or she could have been run over. Evie’s a real hero.”
There were loud murmurs of agreement from the other Swans. Olivia felt more confused than ever. She lifted her head and her eyes met Evie’s. Evie looked away quickly as if embarrassed. Tati’s face was taut and anxious.
“We’re going to have to get you to the hospital, Liv, chick,” said Jack. “I want that arm checked out. It doesn’t look like it’s broken, but we can’t take any chances.”
“But what about the show?” asked Kylie.
“I’ll take Livy to the hospital,” said Lydia. “You stay here, Jack, and get the show up with Pablo. We’ll probably be hours in A&E.”
“But we can’t do the show without Livy!” wailed Aeysha.
“I’ll just have to walk the wire on my own,” said Jack. He looked worried. “But it’s a bit of a disaster, because we’ve got a reviewer from the Scotsman and some bloggers coming in this afternoon. The show just won’t be the same without yo
u, Liv, but nobody can fill in for you.”
“If it would help, I could take Olivia’s place,” said a quiet voice. “I pretty well know the routine. Of course, I can’t do the trapeze, but I can do the double act with you, Jack.”
Everyone turned to look at Evie and began babbling enthusiastically. Olivia suddenly felt completely invisible. She desperately wanted Jack to say that it was very kind of Evie to offer but nobody could possibly take his daughter’s place, but she could see from his anguished face that this wasn’t going to happen. He was torn between wanting to give the best performance possible for the critics and knowing how upset Olivia would feel being replaced.
“We need to ask Liv if she feels comfortable with that,” he said anxiously. Olivia felt everybody’s eyes on her. She swallowed hard. Jack had left her no choice.
“Of course Evie must do it,” she whispered. When Jack came to hug her as the taxi arrived to take her and Georgia’s mum to the hospital, he whispered how proud he was of her, but she closed her eyes and turned away from his embrace.
Chapter Sixteen
“There’s a brilliant review in the Scotsman!” shouted Aeysha. “Five stars! Look!”
There were whoops of delight as she waved the page that included a big picture of the Swans in the silks sequence. The Swans had been busy warming up for the lunchtime show but at Aeysha’s words they’d all stopped what they were doing and crowded round. Aeysha began to read the review out loud. She glanced apologetically at Olivia as she read out: “The highlight of the show is undoubtedly the tightrope Tempest scene with Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, which was played out with thrilling grace by the famed high-wire walker, Jack Marvell, and the astonishing thirteen-year-old Evie Purcarete, a real circus star of the future.”
The others cheered delightedly, and Olivia put on a bright, fixed smile so that nobody would see how much it hurt. She stiffened when Jack put a discreet but sympathetic arm around her and whispered that reviewers often didn’t really know anything about the circus. She looked at Evie, expecting her to look horribly smug at the glowing review. But in fact she looked really worried, and Olivia heard her anxiously asking Pablo how the critic had known her name. Pablo explained that they’d given him a special sheet detailing each segment of the show and listing all the performers’ names.
Evie chewed her bottom lip and went rather quiet. A few minutes later, while the other Swans were all still poring over the review and dissecting every detail, she sought out Jack, who was standing with Eel while she rang Alicia with the good news about the review. Olivia had kept her distance to avoid having to speak to her grandmother and therefore bursting into tears, but when she saw Evie go over to Jack she moved in closer.
“But how can you be sure it’s safe?” Evie was asking, her dark eyes full of anxiety.
“Well, I can’t be completely certain, of course,” said Jack. “I was worried about the big top myself at the start. Thought it might be a target for vandals. But it’s been fine so far, so I’ve no reason to think it won’t be in the future.” He peered closely at her anxious face. “What’s suddenly brought this on, Evie?” he asked kindly.
Evie shook her head. “Nothing. I just wondered.”
“Well, don’t worry about it,” said Jack, with a smile. “If somebody wanted to get into the big top at night I guess it would be relatively easy. But who on earth would want to do harm to a circus?” He patted her on the shoulder as Eel handed him the phone.
Olivia didn’t move.
“I can think of someone,” she heard Evie mutter grimly to Tati.
Tati’s eyes widened anxiously. “You think he might see your name in the paper and come here to find us? Oh, I’d never forgive myself if…” She put her hand over her mouth as she realised that Olivia was listening. The two sisters moved away.
Olivia watched them go, thoughtfully. It sounded as if Evie and Tati were mixed up with some pretty nasty people.
The excitement over the review refused to die down. Kylie Morris was reading the best bits out loud for at least the fourth time to the Swans’ delight. Olivia was so afraid that the others would see tears glistening in her eyes that she said she had to go and help Georgia’s mum. She didn’t want her friends to feel sorry for her, so she made herself scarce until the show began and she didn’t even reply when Eel sent her a text saying, Are u all right? Dad worried u might be upset. PS Evie is no way as good as u, all of us think so.
Olivia finished counting the money in the cash box, locked it and dragged her feet towards the big top. The show had been on for over twenty minutes and she couldn’t expect any more latecomers. It was quite a good house. More than 150 people, many of them families whose children had attended the circus-skills workshop that morning. The numbers were an improvement but still not enough to break even. She could tell from Jack’s tense face how worried he was about money. Maybe the review would make all the difference?
Olivia shivered as she crossed the grass, the first big drops of rain plopping on her head from a dark, threatening sky. The brilliant spell of good weather, so unusual during an Edinburgh August, was clearly breaking with a vengeance. She shifted her arm in its sling. It wasn’t broken. Just badly bruised. At the hospital they’d said she should rest it but she would soon be right as rain. It was a funny expression, thought Olivia, because rain was seldom right, unless perhaps you lived in a desert.
The weather fitted her mood. Lightning flashed above the castle as Olivia dipped inside the tent. She handed the cash box to Georgia’s mum and settled herself in the darkness in a seat right at the back of the ring. When the interval came she would be expected to help serve drinks and snacks to the audience. She could feel the audience like an animal in the dark. An audience might be made up of many individuals, but somehow when they came together in a theatre or big top they seemed like one big, powerful creature.
It should be me up there, thought Olivia fiercely as Kasha’s music swelled and Jack and Evie stepped on to the wire. She could hardly bear to watch them. Since she’d been tiny, she’d dreamed of doing a double act with her dad and now Evie had usurped her. She thought how often she, Aeysha and Georgia said, “I’m so jealous,” when one or the other of them had got a fabulous new pair of shoes or something, but of course she had always been really pleased for the other person’s good fortune. But she didn’t feel like that about Evie. Her bad luck had been Evie’s lucky break. If it had been bad luck? Maybe Evie had pushed her deliberately?
The crowd broke into applause as Jack lifted Evie effortlessly on to his shoulders and the girl stood there proudly without even the hint of a wobble. A boy a few feet in front of Olivia said very loudly: “That girl is brilliant, Mum, isn’t she? Do you think that man’s her dad?” Olivia’s eyes glazed with tears and she fled the big top, running blindly across the car park before banging straight into someone who was also hurrying away from the circus.
“You!” said Olivia, forgetting to apologise to the boy-magician in her surprise. “What are you doing here again?”
The boy blushed, and pushed back his unruly hair. He looked more like a young version of Jack than ever. “How do you know that I’ve been before?” he asked.
“I spotted you in the crowd when I was up on the high wire,” said Olivia.
“I just really wanted to see it again.” The boy looked dreamy. “It’s so magical. It makes me feel as if someone has cast a spell over me.”
“Then why are you leaving so early?” asked Olivia. “We haven’t even got to the interval yet.”
The boy looked embarrassed. “I’m supposed to be at home. I slipped out without permission. I’m going to get into big trouble. And anyway, it’s not the same without you. I can see that girl’s very good, but I don’t feel the same when I watch her. When you were on the wire I felt as if I was up there with you.” Olivia’s heart gave a little skip. He glanced at her hurt arm. “Is that why she’s doing it instead?”
Olivia nodded. “I had an accident,” she said
, before adding darkly: “If it was an accident.”
The boy was wide-eyed. “Don’t you believe it was?”
“I don’t know what to believe any more,” said Olivia in a small voice.
“Is that why you’re crying?” The boy’s likeness to Jack and his directness unnerved Olivia, but she smiled and nodded. The boy might be a good couple of years younger than her, but he was so easy to talk to. She felt as if she had known him all her life.
“That, and because I’m so jealous of Evie being up there with my dad.” From the tent they could hear the music reach the crescendo that marked the end of the double act, followed by a brief silence and then rapturous applause. “I feel…I feel as if she’s pushed me out like a cuckoo pushes an egg out of a nest.”
“You don’t look like an egg,” said the boy with a smile. “You’re much too pretty to be an egg.” He sighed. “It must be amazing to share something like high-wire walking with your dad.” Olivia’s stomach tightened. She wanted to ask about the boy’s father, but she was also desperately afraid of what she might find out. What if he was Jack’s son? It would make her feel as if they had all somehow been living a lie, that they weren’t the family she had thought they were. She’d never be able to trust her dad again.
“You said the other day that you aren’t allowed to go to the circus,” said Olivia. “Why is that?”
The boy shrugged. His phone bleeped and then immediately started to ring, but he ignored it. “I don’t know. My family are just really against it.” His phone bleeped urgently again.
“Do you live in Edinburgh?” asked Olivia.
“Yes,” said the boy. “I live in one of those big houses in Stockbridge. You could come visit if you like, if you get time off from the circus.” His phone bleeped furiously again.
Olivia took a deep breath. She was desperate to ask more questions, but she didn’t want to frighten him away. “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”