‘I know,’ Allie mumbled.
But it felt like nothing. Worse than nothing. It felt like someone had held out the answers to all of Allie’s prayers. And then taken them away again.
The room was growing crowded. Word must be spreading. Zoe, Nicole and Rachel burst in and raced to Allie’s side.
‘Everyone’s saying they found him,’ Rachel said breathlessly. ‘Are they right?’
It was Raj who told the others what had happened.
‘Rats,’ Zoe muttered, disappointment written on her face. ‘I knew it was too good to be true.’
Without sticking around to hear more, she went over to join Shak at the round table. Soon the two of them were deep in code.
Rachel turned to Dom. ‘What can I do?’
Dom walked across the room with her and Nicole, explaining something in a quiet voice. Raj and Isabelle left the room, heads close together as they talked.
Allie looked around. The room was full now. Buzzing with energy.
In the midst of all of the excitement, she’d forgotten about Sylvain. She scanned the room, but he wasn’t there.
He must have slipped away while she wasn’t looking.
Some of the tension left Allie’s shoulders.
She was glad he was gone. She needed some time to think. His arrival had been so unexpected. She’d thought she’d have more time – weeks even – to decide what to do.
She knew she had to break up with him. She just couldn’t bear the idea of telling him what had happened.
Sometimes truth is a weapon.
This time it felt like a loaded gun.
By the time Allie left Dom’s office, the wake was over. The grand hall was empty again, the tables had been stacked away. She looked around for her parents, but they weren’t in the common room, and the dining hall was empty, too.
They must have gone while she was upstairs. Her mother would be cross.
As she walked the shadowy corridor, she let out a sigh. No matter how she tried to fix things with them, something always happened to ensure everyone ended up wounded.
Then she heard a low rumble of voices. It seemed to come from upstairs.
Whirling, she hurried back that way, pausing at the foot of the grand staircase. Only then did she realise the noise was actually coming from under the stairs – Isabelle’s office.
The door was closed, but she could hear the sound of many people talking.
Maybe they’re in there.
She knocked tentatively, but it was noisy inside – everyone seemed to be talking at once. No one came to the door.
After a second, she turned the handle.
The small office was full of people. Some she recognised from the funeral, others she didn’t. There were too many for the room, which had only two chairs aside from Isabelle’s own. Everyone stood, although some leaned against walls or perched on cabinets.
With so many people, it was too warm. The air felt uncomfortably short of oxygen.
Allie didn’t see her parents anywhere.
She was just thinking of sneaking back out again, when Isabelle spotted her through the crowd.
‘Allie.’ Isabelle motioned for her to join her by her desk. ‘Over here, please.’
The room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at her. The crowd parted, forming a path.
Allie shot Isabelle a questioning look as she made her way to her, but the headmistress wore her best professional blank expression.
Isabelle stretched out her arm to take in the room. ‘These people are from the Orion Group.’
Allie stifled a gasp. Orion was Nathaniel’s group now. He’d wrested control from Lucinda, taking over completely after her death. As far as she was concerned, Orion was part of her grandmother’s murder.
‘What’s going on here?’ Her voice was low and ominous and Isabelle didn’t miss the underlying message. She gave her a reassuring look.
‘Allie, these are the people who stood with Lucinda against Nathaniel. They’ve been through the wars, just as we have.’ She smiled at the group with obvious affection. ‘And they’ve come here today to talk to you.’
‘Oh.’ She looked out at the sea of faces, still suspicious but with increasing curiosity.
A man about her father’s age stepped forward. He was very tall and lanky, with dark hair and eyes, his expensive-looking silk tie perfectly knotted.
‘My name is Julian Bell-Howard.’ His voice was plummy, rich. The kind of voice you’d expect to hear on the news. ‘I think I speak for everyone when I say we were all enormously fond of your grandmother. Lucinda Meldrum was the greatest leader Orion has ever seen – its first female president. We shall miss her terribly. And we are so sorry for your loss.’
A low murmur of agreement swept the room.