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The Lights Under the Lake
Suddenly, we heard shouting coming from the entrance hall.
Scarlet stood up. “What on earth is going on in there?”
We all ran back inside, leaving our luggage behind while Rose just stared off into the distance. Some drama was clearly unfolding.
As my eyes adjusted to the light indoors, I saw Mrs Knight standing in front of one of Elsie’s prefect friends. The headmistress’s arms were crossed in a very clear display of displeasure.
“Calm down, please, Betty,” she was saying.
“This isn’t fair!” The girl screeched at her. “I’m a prefect! I’ve got to go!”
Mrs Knight didn’t budge. “You aren’t entitled to go. Mr Bartholomew chose you as a prefect, yes, but you’ve forged your permission letter.” She glanced over at the new Rookwood secretary on the front desk, a lady named Miss Jarvis, who had slanted spectacles and always looked a little annoyed. I wondered if she’d been the one to discover the forgery. “That is unacceptable behaviour, as is the fuss you are making right now.”
I gulped nervously. Thank goodness we hadn’t tried forgery.
Betty scrunched her hands into her dark hair as if she were about to pull it out. “I paid the fees out of my own pocket! You have to let me on that bus!”
The headmistress was frowning intently, which was about as angry as she got. If Miss Fox had been there, Betty would have been dragged off for a caning before her feet could touch the ground. “You can have your money back, but you have broken the rules, madam, and now you will have to live with the consequences. And you can have a detention for talking to me in that manner too.”
Betty clenched her fists and stormed off without another word, leaving us all there staring after her. Mrs Knight sighed, though I couldn’t tell if it was frustration or relief.
As Betty left the room, she nearly bumped into Miss Bowler, who was striding in carrying an enormous bag. “Watch where you’re going, Smith!” Miss Bowler bellowed after her. She dropped the bag on the floor with a thud and then appeared to notice all of our startled faces. “Something the matter?”
“Miss Smith forged her permission slip,” Mrs Knight said, her voice heavy with disappointment. “She is no longer coming with us.”
“Well, I never!” said Miss Bowler. “Students these days! They think they can get away with anything …”
As Miss Bowler ranted to a somewhat stunned Mrs Knight, Scarlet pulled Ariadne and me into a circle. “I’ve just had an idea …” she said, keeping her voice lowered.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Betty’s off the trip. But her space has already been booked,” Scarlet began.
“But we’re about to leave,” Ariadne said, flapping her arms. “Nobody’s going to get permission from their parents now!”
“Yes,” said Scarlet. She looked pointedly out of the vast open doors of the school. “But what about someone who doesn’t have parents to ask?”
I suddenly saw what she meant. This was Rose’s chance to join the trip!
“Oh, Scarlet,” Ariadne grinned. “That’s brilliant. Go and ask!”
“You’re coming with me.” Scarlet grabbed us by one arm each, and tugged us over to where the two teachers stood.
“… and that’s why they should bring back the stocks!” Miss Bowler finished, with a final flourish of her muscular arms. Then she noticed us. “Yes?”
“Is there a problem, girls?” Mrs Knight asked.
“Mi-iss,” said Scarlet, in the voice she used when she was trying to get something from a teacher. “We couldn’t help but overhear that a place has just become available … and we wanted to ask if Rose could come?”
“Who’s Rose?” said Miss Bowler in a pantomime whisper to Mrs Knight.
“The girl who helps at the stables,” the headmistress said, as this was the way most people referred to Rose these days.
“Oh, right, right,” Miss Bowler said. “The funny one who’s forgotten how to talk.”
Mrs Knight frowned. “Well, I’m not sure about this …”
“You said the hotel’s already been booked,” Ariadne pointed out. “And you don’t need to ask her parents because she doesn’t have any.”
Mrs Knight looked questioningly at Miss Bowler, but the swimming instructor just shrugged at her. “All right, I suppose she might as well. Your aunt sent a very generous sum that would more than pay for Rose’s place, in fact. Well, tell her to go and get her things, then. Quickly now.”
Scarlet took this a bit too literally, and turned round to face the outside with her hands cupped to her mouth. “ROSE!” she yelled. “MRS KNIGHT SAYS YOU CAN HAVE BETTY’S PLACE ON THE TRIP! GO AND GET YOUR THINGS!”
Which was entirely the wrong moment, because as Rose spun round in surprise, Elsie Sparks walked in. And she looked furious.
Elsie went right up to Mrs Knight, not even looking at us. “Miss,” she said quietly. “Is it true? Betty is off the trip? She just came to me sobbing.”
The headmistress was clearly losing her patience. “Yes, Elsie. Betty broke the rules. We’re taking Miss … Rose instead. Now if you’ll excuse me, we need to go and meet the bus.” She hurried off out of the front doors, Miss Bowler striding after her.
Now Elsie was glaring in our direction. “You little rats,” she said.
“What?” I replied. “What did we do?”
“Betty should be coming with us. Not your weird silent friend. You’d all better watch your backs!” And with that, she swung her bag up on to her shoulder and stalked off outside.
Ariadne stared after her. “Should we be worried?”
“She should be afraid of us,” said Scarlet, clenching her fists. “I’m going to get Rose and we’re going to have a great time. Elsie Sparks can go hang.”
The bus had arrived, the same one that had taken us to the ballet last term. It smelt of leather seats and petrol.
Scarlet had taken Rose to get her few possessions, which largely consisted of things that Violet had stolen for her which hadn’t been claimed back. I think the only things she truly owned were the clothes she stood up in and the golden locket that hung round her neck.
Ariadne and I had climbed on board, lifting our bags into the luggage racks above our heads (Ariadne’s took us several attempts, since it seemed to be full of bricks). We sat near the back, as far away from Elsie and her friend Cassandra as possible, since they were already shooting glares at us. Mrs Knight was standing at the front of the bus, holding the list of names up like a shield as she tried to sort out who was supposed to be there and who wasn’t. Already some girls had tried unsuccessfully to get on board and Miss Bowler had sent them packing with detentions.
Nearly all the seats filled up, except the two beside us that we had saved.
Ariadne looked at her watch. “It’s time to go!” she said. “Where are Scarlet and Rose?”
Typical, I thought. Scarlet had been the one counting down the seconds until this trip and now she was late. “Come on,” I whispered out of the window.
Miss Bowler climbed on board. “Who are we missing?” she bellowed down the aisle. “Grey and … whatsername?”
“Yes, Miss,” I piped up. “They’ll be here soon!”
“They’d better be,” she muttered, but even a mutter from Miss Bowler was rather loud. “The driver is waiting.”
I peered down the aisle at the driver, who was a fairly young man in a flat cap. He didn’t look like he was waiting. He looked like he was quite enjoying reading his newspaper and eating a biscuit.
After a few anxious minutes of staring at the front steps, I spotted Scarlet dragging Rose behind her. “Thank goodness,” I said. I was pleased to see that Rose was smiling.
“Hurry up, girls!” I could hear Mrs Knight saying as she waved them on. They hopped up the steps and headed towards us. Elsie whispered something to Cassandra as they passed. I couldn’t hear, but I was sure it wasn’t very nice.
Scarlet and Rose took the two seats we’d saved for them on the other side of the aisle, and Scarlet lifted their bags up. Rose waved at us happily.
Finally Mrs Knight stepped on. “Are we all here?”
“Yes!” everyone chorused, somewhat pointlessly.
“Right, then! Off to Lake Seren we go!” She pumped her fist in the air and then climbed into the front seat beside Miss Bowler.
The driver looked back at her. “Can I finish my biscuit first?” he said.
Chapter Six
SCARLET
We chugged along the country roads, past the miles of hedgerows and open fields and oak trees. The afternoon sun made the bus swelteringly hot, and I started to wish I had a drink.
At one point Nadia tried to begin a singalong, but Elsie swiftly told her to shut up. At least there was one thing we agreed upon.
I started telling Rose what I thought we’d get up to on the trip. “It’s a really grand hotel,” I said. “Incredibly posh. I imagine we’ll be drinking champagne and bathing in milk. Or is that the other way round?”
Rose giggled.
“And there will probably be dancing and lawn tennis and croquet,” I carried on. I was pretty sure that was the sort of thing they did at hotels.
“Will there be horses?” Rose asked quietly.
“Definitely,” I said, though I had no idea. “Probably with glass carriages and footmen.”
The bus carried on, and soon everyone had pulled open the tiny windows above the seats.
“It’s so hot,” Ivy moaned.
“I’m boiling,” Ariadne said, blowing away a lock of hair that kept trying to stick to her face.
I pointed out of the window. The sun was lower in the sky now, slipping behind the trees. “The sun will set soon. Then we’ll hopefully stop melting.” I was sticking to my seat.
Ariadne nodded and yawned. Moments later, she’d fallen asleep.
The landscape started to change around us. We passed through a town I didn’t recognise, all red brick and smoking chimneys. Then there was more countryside, dappled with houses here and there. The sunset washed the sky with orange and a deep blood red.
“Are we there yet?!” someone yelled, making everyone laugh. Ariadne awoke with a jolt and nearly hit Ivy in the face with a flailing arm.
“Miles to go before we sleep,” said Mrs Knight.
I sighed. Everyone had been quiet until that point, mostly just staring out at the darkening road. My excitement wasn’t draining; it was more like just … postponed. Being kept on hold for when we got there.
Twilight fell, and brought cooler air with it. I wondered where we were. The sloping hills of the countryside I knew were starting to look more like mountains. There were stone walls and pine trees and bubbling streams.
Some time later, the bus drove between two enormous rocks, and I spotted a waterfall cascading down the side of a cliff. I could hear the rushing water over the roar of the engine. “Rose, over there!” I nudged her, and she looked where I was pointing and smiled. We were quite high up, I realised, and as we rounded a corner I saw why. We were on the edge of the valley, overlooking the vast lake. “There it is!”
I glanced over at Ariadne and Ivy to see if they were awake. Ariadne looked like she had nodded off, but Ivy was staring out of the back window of the bus. I poked her arm. “What are you looking at?”
“There are headlamps behind us,” she said, a concerned expression on her face. “That car’s been there a long time, I swear it.”
“Never mind that,” I said. “Look at the lake!”
I spoke loudly enough that I not only woke Ariadne again, but several other people nearby snapped to attention and peered out at the lake.
It was getting dark, but the landscape was still visible. The lake was huge, and looked a deep navy blue against the black of the hills. “Is that a tower?” I said, pointing at a shadowy structure rising out of the water. Rose nodded. She looked fascinated.
“There’s lights,” said Ariadne, squinting out at the darkness. I wasn’t sure if she was entirely awake.
“What?” I said.
“Lights under the lake,” she replied. “Near the tower.”
I couldn’t see what she was talking about, and then, just for a moment, I thought I saw a flash of something.
“Hmm,” Ivy said.
We all watched the surface of the water as the bus descended the hill, but I couldn’t spot anything else. The road became bumpier as we went along and I was nearly jolted out of my seat.
As I righted myself, I heard Rose gasp. The bus was pulling out on to an enormous stone bridge. Everyone stood up to get a better look.
“Sit down, girls,” I heard Mrs Knight warn sleepily, but I didn’t listen to her. I saw the dark water spreading out in all directions around us.
“There’s the hotel!” Nadia cried, pointing.
I could see it, a big shadow on the landscape with flickering lights in the windows. “We’re almost there!”
The bus crossed the bridge, and the first few stars began to wink in the sky as I stared out. After what felt like an age, we reached the other side of the lake and the bus started climbing again, up to where the hotel stood.
“Right, everyone,” Mrs Knight called, sounding a little more alert. “We’re very close to the Shady Pines Hotel now.” I could see where it got its name. The pine trees surrounded us on all sides. “I’m sure they’ll give us a lovely, warm welcome!”
And then the bus slowly came to a halt. The car that had been following behind roared past us, making everyone jump.
We’d stopped next to a sign that I could just make out. It was peeling and cracked, and hung on a wooden pole with hinges that were creaking in the wind.
At least, I thought that was what it was meant to say. Three of the letters had worn away from the bottom line, making it look more like it said Pleas enjo your sty.
“Can’t you go right up to the door?” I heard Mrs Knight say to the driver.
He stood up. “The engine’s gone,” he said. “Too steep. Going to have to roll it back down the hill to start it. Can I drop you all off here?”
Mrs Knight sighed. “All right, girls! Everyone off! Don’t forget to pick up your bags!”
“But, Miss,” I heard someone moan sleepily from the front.
“No buts!” said Miss Bowler. “Off!”
We all began sluggishly pulling our things down from the luggage rack. “I can’t believe they’re making us walk up there,” I said to Rose as I stared out into the dark. She shivered and wrapped her cardigan tighter round herself. At least it was a clear night and we had the moon to see by.
We made our way to the front of the bus, Ivy and Ariadne not far behind, and stepped down. There was a chill in the air and the road was bumpy beneath my feet. I was about to complain some more, but I saw the horrified expressions on Elsie and Cassandra’s faces and decided the discomfort was worth it.
Miss Bowler took charge. “Everyone here? Right! Off we go! No dilly-dallying!”
“The hotel looks a bit … old,” muttered Ariadne as we began to trudge up the hill with our bags.
“Perhaps it looks better in the daylight,” Ivy replied optimistically. I grabbed her hand. I didn’t mind the dark, but even now I didn’t like being alone in it. It reminded me too much of the past. And you never knew who might be lurking round the corner.
The hotel building was above us now, and I looked up at it. It was huge and gloomy, and I could just make out dark stone and pointed roofs, and what looked like oil lamps flickering in some of the windows.
Eventually the steep road curved round to the left and became a gravel driveway that crunched under our feet. The pine trees were everywhere, tall black shadows in the darkness.
“I’m cold,” Nadia moaned.
Elsie whacked her on the arm when the teachers weren’t looking. “Stop whining,” she said.
I glared at her. What a hypocrite. She was a champion whiner!
The driveway eventually opened out into a sort of courtyard, with the hotel itself to the left of us, a lamp glowing in its front porch. There were a few motor cars parked outside. To the right was what looked like a stable yard and coach house, and I could hear a horse whinnying somewhere. Rose smiled.
We stopped in front of the porch. “Here we are!” said Mrs Knight, spreading her arms wide.
For goodness’ sake, please don’t give us another motivational speech, I thought. I was starving hungry, not to mention cold and tired. I just wanted to get inside. The hotel would have food and warmth and beds.
Thankfully, if Mrs Knight had been about to give a speech, it didn’t happen, because Miss Bowler shouldered past her and made for the front door. It groaned open as if it hadn’t been used in years, although I knew that couldn’t be true.
The hotel reception was a wide room with a desk in the middle. There was a bell and an old-fashioned oil lamp on the desk, and not much else. Electricity hadn’t reached the place yet, then.
As we huddled together on the plush carpet, Miss Bowler went right up to the desk and slammed her hand down on the bell about three times. For a full minute there was no answer, but eventually a man appeared from the door at the back.
He was fairly old, with greying hair and a stooped back, but he moved quickly. He wore a pair of golden spectacles. A smoking jacket and stiff shoes clung to him awkwardly. “Mm?” was all he said.
“We’ve arrived from Rookwood School,” said Mrs Knight, going up to him with her clipboard. “We were hoping to check in.”
The man looked at her as if she’d just asked him to polish her shoes. “It’s rather late, madam,” he said.
“Well, when I booked, I explained that—” Mrs Knight started, but Miss Bowler was having none of it.
“Never mind that!” she boomed. “We’re here now!”
“This is most irregular,” the man muttered as he pulled a hefty book out of the desk drawer. “Twice in one night! Guests thinking they can just turn up and …” His muttering got quieter until I could no longer hear what he was saying, which was probably a good thing. What a grumpy old man!
Ivy leant over. “I wonder who else turned up late?” she whispered, and I shrugged in reply.
The man turned the book round to face Mrs Knight. “Sign here, then. My wife will show you to your rooms shortly.”
“Any chance of some grub?” asked Miss Bowler.
He lifted his gaze slowly and fixed her with a nasty glare that would rival my own. “The kitchen is long since closed, madam. You will have to go to the dining hall in the morning.” With that, he slammed the guest book shut, turned on his heel and headed back through the door behind him.
“If that was a warm welcome,” I said to Ivy, “I’d hate to see a cold one.”
Chapter Seven
IVY
“Good evening,” she said. She had a much friendlier face than her husband, though it currently looked red and flustered. She wore a plain dress with an apron, but expensive-looking earrings glinted beneath her greying hair. “I’m Mrs Rudge. I’ll be showing you to your rooms. We usually have a girl to do this, but she’s off sick.” Her tone was apologetic, though I noticed she didn’t actually say sorry for her husband’s behaviour.
She looked around the room at all of us. Most people were sitting on their suitcases. Scarlet and I were leaning against a wall, while Rose and Ariadne were trying their best to share one striped armchair in the corner. The prefects were standing by the teachers with their arms folded, apparently trying to make it seem as though they were in charge too. From the look on Mrs Rudge’s face, I suspected we weren’t her usual type of clientele.
“Your rooms are on the top floor of the building,” she said, pulling a bunch of jangling keys from a hook beside the door. I felt Scarlet twitch beside me.
“I don’t suppose there’s any chance of something to eat?” Mrs Knight asked, deciding to try a politer approach than Miss Bowler’s.
Mrs Rudge nodded, though she didn’t meet our teacher’s eyes. “I can bring you up some bread and butter. I’m afraid that’s all I can manage with the kitchen closed. My husband is very particular about these things.”
Mrs Knight looked sympathetic. Miss Bowler looked like she was about to eat the reception desk.
“I’d love some bread and butter, actually,” Scarlet said to me under her breath. “Much better than stew.”
My stomach growled, and I had to agree.
“This way, please,” said Mrs Rudge.
She led us out of the reception area and along a dark corridor which we all trod in a line, like ducks following their mother. We were too tired for chatter. The walls were dark wood, the carpets plush and red. There was a staircase, with sconces going up it – some of the candles lit, others not. I wondered if they’d never been lit in the first place, or if a draught had blown them out.
There were three floors, not unlike Rookwood, though I wasn’t sure if the hotel was quite the size of our imposing school. But then it was dark, and how much of it had we actually seen? Once we’d made it to the top, Mrs Rudge went along unlocking all the doors and lighting the lamps, while Mrs Knight peered at her clipboard with the room assignments on it.
We leant against the wall as we waited for our names to be called. There were portraits running all the way down the stairs – portraits of long-dead strangers, as far as I could tell. I tried not to imagine that they were staring at me.
“Ivy Grey, Scarlet Grey,” Mrs Knight called from further down the corridor. “Ariadne Flitworth and, erm …” she lowered the clipboard. “Rose?”
Rose’s gaze flicked down to the floor, but she said nothing. If she had a surname, she wasn’t giving it away.
“This one here, please,” said Mrs Knight.
“That’s not fair, Miss,” Elsie whined as we made our way up the staircase past the other girls. “How come they get the big room? I thought it was ours?”
I was surprised that she’d made such an outburst in front of the teachers, but I supposed she was as tired as the rest of us. Luckily Miss Bowler was dropping off her bags into the teachers’ room at the other end of the corridor at that point, otherwise she probably would’ve bellowed a reply and woken the whole hotel.
“I’ve tried to put everyone together with their friends,” said Mrs Knight patiently. “And I’ve had to rearrange since we’ve lost Betty and gained Rose. No arguments, please.”
“Yeah,” said Scarlet, pulling a face at Elsie. “No arguments.”
We took our bags over to the open door where Mrs Knight stood, and peered in.
