The Last Secret. Sophie Cleverly

Чтение книги онлайн.

       Chapter Six

       SCARLET

      e ushered Ariadne inside and shut the door as quietly as we could. I went to turn the light on, but Ivy stopped me.

      “Don’t!” she cautioned. “If Matron gets up, she’ll see it.”

      I didn’t think this was likely, given how Matron usually slept like the dead, and it seemed incredibly late, but I supposed she was right. We shouldn’t risk it.

      “Don’t worry,” Ariadne said. “I brought a candle.” She sat down on the floor and pulled out a small holder from her pocket, complete with a tealight. Then a match appeared in her other hand, and she struck it, the bright flame flaring against the wick.

      “Where do you keep all this stuff?” I asked her.

      “In my suitcases,” she replied. That made sense. She did have far too many suitcases. “I’ve been decoding it non-stop since dinner. It took hours.” She shivered. “I had to tell Ebony I was doing extra-difficult arithmetic for fun.”

      We sat down beside her on the patchy carpet, huddling together for warmth. She laid out the pages and her translations.

      I peered at them in the flickering glow. “So it was the old code?”

      “Yes, thank goodness. That made it easier, but still time-consuming.” She pointed at what she’d written. “Start here.” I began to read it aloud, as quietly as I could.

      1

      We moved into the cottage today. I never thought that I would be back living so close to Rookwood School. Mortimer has no idea that this is where everything began. He doesn’t even know who I really am. Knowing that Rookwood is just a few squares away on the map … that he may still be there … it brings it all back into focus once more. I thought I could forget, but I cannot. The truth is there and it scares me. After all these years, I remember our old secret code. I think I have to write this down.

      2

      Things are clearer today. I spent all night torturing myself. I have been running from my past, hiding from it, for too long. It isn’t just my truth that has been covered. My darling Emmie was killed and for all I know her killer is still right there in Rookwood School, facing no consequences. Perhaps I have been thinking about this all wrong. Moving here may be my chance to set her free.

      3

      I went back to Rookwood village. I persuaded my husband, Mortimer, to take me, told him it would be nice for a visit. I wore gloves in a vain attempt to hide the fact that my hands were shaking. I left him talking to the priest in the churchyard and headed to the shop. I covered my face with my scarf, praying that they wouldn’t recognise me, but nobody seemed to. Speaking to some of the villagers, my worst fear was confirmed. He is indeed still running the school. The lady I spoke to first glanced all around as if he were about to jump at us from the shadows. They are almost as afraid as I am, though they seem not to know why. But they told me the rumours—

      Ariadne had stopped there. I glanced up at her. “What happened?”

      “She cut herself off,” Ariadne said, handing me another page. Ivy leant over to see it too. “Here you go.”

      4

      I am back. Mortimer interrupted my writing yesterday. Perhaps he cannot read this code, but I still do not want to take any chances. He would only ask me what I am working on. I hope to tell him the truth someday, but not today.

      The rumours I was told concerned the headmaster (I do not wish to write his name). He continues to have a fearsome reputation. But they also say that he does not truly own the school, that he took it on false grounds! This is important. I must investigate further.

      I looked up at the others. “Are you hearing this? Mr Bartholomew might not have been the real owner of the school! Which would mean that Henry wouldn’t have inherited it. This could change everything!” I felt amazed that we’d found a secret about Mr Bartholomew so soon after his death. It was just what we needed – almost as if our mother had known, somehow.

      Ariadne nodded. “Keep reading,” she said.

      5

      I think the rumours might be true. I have done all the research I can. Rookwood was owned by an old family for centuries – how did it pass to him? One minute he was merely the headmaster; the next, I read in the newspaper that the place СКАЧАТЬ