The Dance in the Dark. Sophie Cleverly

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       Chapter Three

       IVY

      If there was one thing Scarlet hated, it was not being the centre of attention.

      I’d had my taste of the spotlight when I was forced by Miss Fox to pretend to be my twin for a term at Rookwood School, and I’d found it exhausting. It brought stares and gossip and trouble. Especially from people like Penny.

      But it hadn’t been all bad. For the first time in my life I’d changed things and made things happen, and I had even made a real friend of my own. I’d felt noticed, like I was no longer just a reflection of my twin.

      So the centre of attention was a nice place to visit, but I wasn’t certain I wanted to live there.

      The moment they announced the ballet recital, I knew Scarlet was going to obsess over the lead role. It was her chance to prove to everyone what she was worth, not just to our fellow pupils but to the teachers and parents and – just maybe, as she excitedly told me on the way to lessons that morning – potential ballet talent scouts. I honestly had no idea if there even was such a thing, let alone whether or not they came to school performances.

      “I’m telling you,” said Scarlet, “I’m the best ballerina in the school. Penny’s nonsense doesn’t faze me. She’s like a parrot.”

      I wrinkled my nose. “Colourful and feathery?”

      “No, you clod!” Scarlet shot back, giving me a jab in the arm. “She’s all squawk. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Not up to scratch. Pah!”

      Scarlet was definitely protesting too much. She’d been yelling in her sleep, and I’d had a feeling she was dreaming about the auditions. Now I was worried too. The last thing I needed was for her rivalry with Penny to flare up again.

      “I’m sure you could fit in some extra practice somewhere,” I said.

      Scarlet came to an abrupt stop outside the English classroom. “Practice?”

      “That is traditionally how people do well at things,” I pointed out.

      “I don’t need practice!” Scarlet snapped. “I’ll wipe the floor with Penny. You’ll see.”

      Our English teacher, Miss Charlett, peered out of the classroom door. “No wiping the floor with anyone, please,” she said. “Come in, girls. You’ll be pleased to hear we’re beginning Oliver Twist today!”

      I smiled, but Scarlet just rolled her eyes.

      Behave, I mouthed at her, for all the good it would do. My sister’s mind was firmly set on defeating Penny, and toeing the line was the last thing she cared about.

      As if to prove me right, Scarlet got three detentions that day. She tried begging me to take them for her, but quickly gave up when she realised I was still cross about her attempt to persuade me to do it last term. Thankfully it now only meant writing lines, instead of a caning or worse.

      As I passed Miss Fox’s office on the way back to our room that afternoon, I saw Mrs Knight standing in the doorway, talking to the caretaker – a middle-aged man with overalls and a bushy moustache.

      “We really need to get rid of these,” I heard her say, waving at the bizarre collection of stuffed dogs that still populated the office. “They’re rather vulgar, aren’t they?”

      He scratched his head. “I s’pose we could sell them,” he said. “To an antiques dealer, pr’aps.”

      I stopped, a sudden realisation dawning. “You mean you haven’t moved any of them, Miss?”

      “Oh, hello, Ivy,” Mrs Knight said, a little distracted. “No, the whole office has been left just as it was.”

      “Right,” I said, frowning. “But, um, there was a Chihuahua on the desk, wasn’t there?” I pointed to the little empty space where it had sat, which was now nothing but a slightly darker patch on the wood. “I remember it. It had pens in its mouth.”

      The caretaker grimaced, his lip twisting under his moustache. “Sounds unnatural to me.”

      Mrs Knight looked puzzled. “You haven’t touched anything, have you, Harold?”

      He shook his head. “Can’t say I like to go in there at all, Miss. Had to fix the window once and that old Miss Fox threatened to give me a whack with her cane if I weren’t quick enough. And all those dead mutts are enough to give any man the heebie-jeebies. Preferred to stay well clear, meself.”

      “It probably just got mislaid,” said Mrs Knight. “Perhaps when they were carrying out the investigation.”

      I nodded, remembering when I’d seen all the policemen going through her things. “That’s probably it,” I said. “Thank you, Miss.”

      “You’re welcome,” the acting headmistress replied. Then she blinked. I think she’d just realised that it was a bit strange of her to talk to a student about such things. “Go and get ready for dinner, then. Where’s your sister?”

      “Detention,” I answered, feeling a spike of loneliness.

      “Ah,” she said.

      I hurried away, leaving them both to discuss what to do with the unfortunate dogs.

      But I couldn’t help thinking that Mrs Knight’s explanation was odd. If that little dog wasn’t in the office, given that everything else was still in its original place, then someone had deliberately taken it. And what would the inspectors want with a stuffed Chihuahua that held pens? Come to think of it – who on earth would want it at all?

      I waited patiently in our room for Scarlet. I tried to do some prep work, but my mind wouldn’t stay on task.

      I thought about telling my sister, I really did. Twins are supposed to tell each other everything, and that was always what we had done …

      Or at least, I’d thought so. Until I found out that Scarlet had swapped our exam papers to get into Rookwood School in the first place, because she’d known her marks wouldn’t be good enough. Remembering things like that made me wonder if we could ever really trust one another again.

      I doodled on my paper – only realising halfway through that I’d drawn what looked like a tiny dog. I scratched it out.

      I wouldn’t tell Scarlet yet. There was no sense in worrying her. And I would keep quiet СКАЧАТЬ