by Julia Nobel
“You’re part of the Order.” She dashed toward the door, but Barlowe stepped in front of her.
“Emmy, please, let me explain.”
“HELP!” She tried to shove her way past him, but he was too strong. “Madam Boyd, come back! Barlowe’s part of the Order!”
“Calm down, Emmy, I’m not part of the Order! I’ve spent all year trying to keep you away from them.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I tried to get you away from Latin Society and tried to keep you from telling anyone about Tom. But it was already too late.”
Emmy stopped pushing. “Tom. You knew my dad?”
Barlowe nodded. “I still know him. I was the one who told him you were coming to Wellsworth. I saw your name on a late enrollment list. I’ve been helping him communicate with you all year.”
“But…but that must mean you know where he is!”
“I wish I did.” Barlowe sank into a bench. “We figured out a secure method of communication a long time ago, one that doesn’t require me to know his whereabouts. It’s safer for all of us.”
The pounding in Emmy’s chest slowed down and was replaced by a dull ache. “Does anyone else know where he is?”
Barlowe fiddled with the collar on his pajama shirt. “Thomas Allyn is a complicated man with a complicated history. He and I shared a flat with Madam Boyd and another girl. We all became very close. Margaret needed extra help at first because her knee had been badly damaged in…well, an ‘incident’ in our last year at school.”
An incident. Like an accident. “Madam Boyd was the girl who was injured in the initiation ritual. The one that went wrong.”
Barlowe tipped his head. “I didn’t know you knew about that. You probably know a lot of things that would surprise me.”
Emmy looked at the floor. She’d learned a lot about the Order, but she still didn’t know where her dad was.
“We started working against the Order, trying to undermine them. Tom was the most brazen. He was still technically a member of the Order, and when an opportunity came up to cripple them, he took it. The Order was coming after him, so he faked his death in a car crash. I was the only one who knew he was still alive. As far as I know, I’m still the only one who knows. Aside from you, now.”
“What about Madam Boyd?” Emmy asked.
Barlowe shook his head. “She always thought the Order killed Tom, although she doesn’t know what to believe now. She was completely shocked when she found out he was your father. I pretended I didn’t know anything about it. The more I tell her, the more likely it is that the Order might go after her.”
“She made me swear not to tell anyone about my dad.”
Barlowe nodded. “She was desperate to make sure no one else ever found out about your connection with Tom. She knew you’d be in danger, and she didn’t want you drawn into this mess.” He cleared his throat.
“I can only imagine how difficult it’s been for you. Wondering what had happened to him, wondering if he had just left…” His voice trailed off.
Emmy tucked her hair behind her ear. Barlowe had once said he had a complicated relationship with his father, too. Maybe he understood her situation pretty well. But she still wasn’t ready to talk about it. At least not with the person who had helped her father stay hidden all these years.
“I can tell you this, Emmy. Tom never would have left you unless it was absolutely necessary for your protection. He loves you.”
“Has he ever actually said that he loves me?”
Barlowe looked at his hands. “We don’t generally discuss things of a personal nature.”
“Then maybe you don’t know him as well as you think.”
Barlowe didn’t say anything. He just kept folding up his pajama collar and then fixing it again.
“Why didn’t you want the medallions destroyed?” Emmy asked. “Isn’t it a good thing if the Order can never get them?”
“If Tom had wanted them destroyed he would have done it ages ago. He wanted them to stay hidden until we could figure out how best to use them.” Barlowe sighed. “But it’s probably for the best. Now that they’re gone, there’s no reason for the Order to come after you.”
Emmy shifted in her chair and rubbed the back of her neck. Every inch of her ached.
“We should get you to the medical center, so you can see a nurse.”
Emmy nodded. It had been the longest night of her life.
The sun was coming up over the cliffs now, sending a little bit of warmth through Emmy’s bare arms. She and Barlowe walked along the path that led back down to the school.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” Emmy said. “If you wanted to keep me away from the Order, why did you have me wash walls where that secret entrance is?”
Barlowe smiled. “I never dreamed you’d find the entrance, especially because I specifically told you not to wash that wall. I’m not used to students taking on extra punishment. I guess I underestimated your drive to be the best at everything, even detention.”
Barlowe stopped walking and looked at Emmy. “That drive seems to have served you well tonight. I’m sure your father will be very proud.”
Emmy shut her eyes up tight. She wasn’t sure about anything when it came to her father. But she didn’t want to cry again. She turned back toward the school, and they walked in silence the rest of the way.
CHAPTER 23
Saying Goodbye
It took half an hour for the nurse practitioner to finish examining Emmy. “You’ll be fine,” she said. “Just take it easy for a few days. I’ll make sure you get time to rest before finishing up your exams. You’d better spend the day in here, so I can keep an eye on you.”
Emmy nodded and lay down on the bed. She was just about asleep when she heard the door click and ease open.
“Hey, Emmy,” somebody whispered, “you still awake?”
Emmy opened her eyes and smiled. She was wondering how long it would take Jack and Lola to sneak in here.
“So?” Lola said. “Tell us everything you left out when the adults were listening.”
“It’s pretty much the same,” Emmy said, “other than the box, obviously.”
“You didn’t tell anyone the truth?” Jack asked.
“No way,” Emmy said. “Jonas would have killed me to get that box, and I bet he’s not the only one. I’m not telling anyone.” Emmy pulled two medallions out of her pocket. “Do you still have the ones I gave you?”
Both Jack and Lola nodded. “Good thing you thought of giving them to us in case we ran into anyone from the Order,” Jack said.
“At least the medallions are still safe,” Emmy said.
“And you’re safe, too,” Lola said. “Jonas thinks the medallions are gone, so there’s no point in coming after you.”
“It’s too bad about that pewter box, though,” Jack said. “It was so beautiful.”
Emmy smiled. “You don’t think I brought the real box down there with me, do you?”
Jack raised his eyebrows.
“It was the decoy box?” Lola asked. “The one you put the medallions in after the break-in?”
Emmy nodded. “I’m pretty sure it was too dark for Jonas to see the difference.”
“What are you going to do with the medallions now?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know,” Emmy said. “Put them back in their real box, take them home, and figure out what to do next, I guess.”
There was a knock on the door and the nurse practitioner came in. “Ahem, the patient is supposed to be resting. And I believe you two have exams to be studying for.”
Jack and Lola quickly left the room, and Emmy closed her eyes again. She should really be studying, but before she could give it a second thought, she was fast asleep.
Emmy didn’t wake up until the evening. Madam Boy
d told her she’d be given a few extra days to rest before taking her last exams. By the time they were done, it was the last day of school, and her mom was on her way to pick her up.
Emmy hadn’t told her mom about what happened in the tower—not exactly. She said someone had dared her to ring the bell and she’d lost her grip and almost fallen. Madam Boyd must not have told her what really happened, at least not yet, because her mom gave her a huge lecture on not blindly doing dares that were dangerous.
When her last exam was done, Emmy met Jack and Lola in the common room.
“How was it?” Lola asked.
“I’m just glad it’s over.”
“Are you talking about the exam or about the school year?” Jack asked.
“Both, I guess.”
Jack bit his lip. “You’re sure you want to come back?”
Emmy didn’t answer right away. She’d been giving this a lot of thought, but she hadn’t really said it out loud yet. “I’m no safer at home than I am here. At least there are people here to look out for me, and I think Barlowe’s right. Now that Jonas has been uncovered as the head of the Order, he’ll probably lay low for a while.”
“But don’t you feel…I don’t know…weird?” Jack asked. “About coming back to the place where someone tried to kill you?”
Emmy shuffled her feet. She still had trouble falling asleep, and she shuddered every time she saw the round-tower church. But when she thought of returning to Connecticut, she felt a pang in her chest that wouldn’t go away. “It doesn’t matter if it feels weird. This is my home. I’m not going to let a bunch of thugs drive me away.”
Lola put her arm around her shoulder, and Emmy winced. Her whole body still ached.
“You’ll be fine,” Lola said. “Come on, let’s get your stuff.”
When Emmy and Lola got upstairs, they found Victoria lounging on the bed with a magazine while her mother’s maid packed her things. Emmy pressed her lips together. She’d really hoped Victoria would be gone by now.
Lola started tossing things into Emmy’s suitcase. She threw a stack of class notes in the garbage, and Emmy quickly fished them out. Victoria’s maid zipped up her last bag and started heaving it toward the stairs. It looked like it was at least twice her body weight.
Lola dumped the last of Emmy’s clothes into her suitcase and sat down on top of it.
“You know, I think if you fold them—”
“Nope, it’s good!” Lola yanked the bulging zipper shut and dragged the bag into the hallway.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Emmy laughed. She hoped that suitcase was strong enough to survive a trip down three flights of stairs with Lola.
It was just Victoria in the room now. Emmy looked away. What was she supposed to say to a roommate who hated her? Victoria looked up and stopped flipping through her magazine. She must have realized they were alone. She put the magazine in her purse, pulled out a compact, and studied her reflection. She snuck a few glances at Emmy in the mirror. “I didn’t do it, you know.”
Emmy wrinkled her forehead. “Didn’t do what?”
“I didn’t trash all your stuff after the football tournament.”
“Oh, yeah. I know.” Emmy had almost forgotten she’d even suspected Victoria.
“You lasted a lot longer here than I thought you would,” Victoria said. “I figured you’d be back home with your mum within a month.”
Emmy crossed her arms. “Why’s that?”
“You were getting teary almost every time I came into the room. I couldn’t say one word to you without the waterworks starting. I’ve been a boarder since I was seven years old. I’ve heard girls cry into their pillows all night and beg their mums to come get them. Tears solve nothing. They just make you weaker.”
Emmy stared at Victoria. “Your parents sent you to boarding school when you were seven years old?” She couldn’t imagine it.
Victoria smoothed out her hair. “I barely even remember living with my parents.”
“Don’t you spend the summer with them?”
“They’re usually traveling. There’s always some nanny at home to look after me in the summer, not that I need it anymore.”
Some nanny. It sounded like Victoria didn’t even know who she’d find when she got home.
“Do you miss them?”
Victoria adjusted the locket around her neck. “They send me stuff, that’s good enough for me.”
Emmy pictured a seven-year-old Victoria on her first night at boarding school. Little blond pigtails, clutching a teddy bear, telling herself that tears solved nothing. They wouldn’t make her parents care.
Victoria’s maid came back into the room. “Your things are ready, miss.”
Emmy cleared her throat. “I guess this is goodbye.”
Victoria snapped the compact shut and stuffed it into her purse. “Let’s hope so.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and left, her fancy sandals clacking all the way down the stairs.
• • •
When Lola came back, she had a reluctant-looking Jack with her.
“Oh, relax. I saw Victoria leave,” Lola said. “No one’s going to rat you out for being in a girl’s room on the last day.”
Jack slipped inside and quickly shut the door.
Lola handed Emmy an envelope. “Someone left this in my mailbox.”
Emmy’s stomach started to churn. Another envelope? She wasn’t even sure she wanted to open it. She’d had enough adventure for a while. She took the envelope and pried open the edge. There wasn’t much point in putting it off. She knew she’d open it eventually.
There was a small piece of paper inside. She pulled it out and read it aloud:
Forgive John for telling me where you’d be, though he doesn’t know where I am.
Forgive my cryptic notes, they could have fallen into the wrong hands.
Forgive me for pretending to be a priest, I was desperate to catch a glimpse of you.
I won’t ask you to forgive my absence, even though it haunts me.
“Pretending to be a priest?” Jack asked. “What’s that about?”
“The Christmas concert,” Emmy said. “A priest offered to check my coat, and when I got the coat back, the letter was in the pocket.” She had seen her dad, spoken to him, and she hadn’t even known it.
“And John,” Lola said, “that’s Master Barlowe, right?”
Emmy nodded. She still didn’t know how she felt about Barlowe lying to her all year long. He did genuinely seem to care though, and that counted for something.
Jack leaned against the door. “So, I guess your dad really is alive. That’s great.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Emmy said.
“Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
Emmy shrugged. “He faked his death twice, and I haven’t heard from him in ten years. How am I supposed to feel about that?”
“He faked his death to protect you,” Jack said. “That’s got to count for something.”
“I know,” Emmy said. “But then why did he send me all those clues that pushed me toward the Order?”
Lola sat on the edge of the bed. “It was only a matter of time before they figured out who you were. Your dad probably sent you all those clues so you’d be prepared to face them.”
“Maybe,” Emmy mumbled.
“What else could it be?”
Emmy was quiet for a few moments. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think it’s more than that. Sometimes I wonder if maybe he wants me to finish whatever he started when he stole that box fifteen years ago.”
Jack and Lola both stared into space, not saying anything. Emmy looked at the letter again. I won’t ask you to forgive my absence, even though it haunts me. Well, that was one thing they had in common. His absence haunted her, too.
• • •
The common room was busy that afternoon. Parents were coming in and out, and students were hugging and promising to meet during the holidays. Most students seemed excited to be going home. Emmy was anything but. This place’ll be in your blood. That’s what Jonas had once told her. Well, maybe there was one thing that he’d been right about.
There was one person who seemed even more miserable than Emmy. Jack looked downright depressed.
“Maybe they won’t be so bad this summer,” Lola said to him as they pulled their luggage to the car park.
Jack grimaced. “Any room for me in your suitcase?”
“Oh, come off it. You’ll be fine,” Lola said.
A black Jaguar pulled into the drive. “Bloody hell, that’s them,” Jack grumbled. The car stopped right in front of the fountain and a driver jumped out. He ran to the sidewalk and grabbed Jack’s suitcases.
“Good afternoon, Master John,” the driver said.
Emmy blinked. Master John?
He pulled Jack’s suitcases to the car, where a man with dark sunglasses and tidy hair was getting out of the back seat.
“That’s your dad?” Emmy asked.
“Yep,” Jack said.
Emmy shuffled her feet. It was strange to see another member of the Order, even if it was Jack’s father. Malcolm walked up to his dad and shook his hand. He smiled at Malcolm, then scanned the crowd of students. When he saw Jack, his face fell into a dark frown.
“You know,” Lola said, “you probably could have picked a less antagonizing outfit.”
Jack was wearing ripped jeans and a T-shirt with some guy named Alice Cooper on the front. He looked like he might be eating a guitar.
Jack smirked. “Yeah, I suppose I could have. You’ll write to me this summer, right?”
Lola snorted, but Emmy nodded and gave Jack a hug. He walked slowly toward the car, shook his dad’s hand, and got into the back seat.
“He’s going to be okay, right?” Emmy asked.
“Oh, yeah, he’ll be fine,” Lola said. “He just doesn’t like being told what to do. Not like me—I’m always obedient.” She winked and zipped up her hoodie. “Gotta run, we’re catching a train to Glasgow tonight, and I haven’t started packing yet.” She took off and disappeared around the corner.