‘I see what you mean. Yes…’ she said, excitement dawning in her eyes. ‘We could form an alliance with the European Group through Sylvain’s family. We’d be backed by Demeter.’ She flipped through the papers on her desk. ‘There’s a new group in India and so far Orion hasn’t reached out to them. We could welcome them.’
Grabbing a pen, she began to scribble notes. ‘I have contacts in the Far East, there are people who could help us.’ She glanced up at Allie, fighting a smile. ‘Do you know what? This could really work.’
‘I think so, too,’ Allie said. ‘Although I’m kind of afraid to think it, after everything. I don’t want to be wrong again.’ She sat up straighter, waiting until Isabelle looked up from her papers again. ‘The main thing is, we have to know what we want from it, Isabelle.’
She remembered what Owen Moran had said to her the day before. The look of horror in his eyes when he found out what she knew about him. The control she had because of who she was.
‘I don’t know about you but there are things about Orion that aren’t right. If we do this – if I’m going to be involved – we can’t be like that.’
Isabelle stopped writing. ‘What do you want from the group, Allie? Do you want what Lucinda wanted? A fairer version of the same thing?’
Allie shook her head. ‘It can’t be the same. There’s no reason for a group of one hundred or two hundred people to run the government and the courts. It doesn’t make sense. We can be there, and we can still help and listen, and… I don’t know. But we can’t try to be Orion. We have to be something else. Something new.’
Isabelle tapped her pen against her desk.
‘If you’re going to have a secret society, Allie, there needs to be a reason to do so. Orion’s reason was to preserve the interests of its members against the vagaries of democratic government. If some tyrant was inclined to be elected prime minister, Orion would put a stop to that.’
‘And elect its own tyrant.’ Allie held up her hands. ‘How is that OK? It’s meddling in democracy and it… bothers me.’
‘So, tell me what you want, then. You want to be part of a group that advises and listens…?’ Isabelle’s eyes challenged her.
‘I want to be part of a group,’ Allie said slowly, ‘that advises in areas where it has knowledge, lobbies for what it wants, but doesn’t just take. I’m not saying we can’t run for office, of course we can. Anyone can. But we shouldn’t be organised just to get our people elected. We should be set up to try and make the country better. Not just our bank accounts. Improve education, so it’s not just rich kids going to schools like this.’ She waved an arm at the beautifully appointed room. ‘Most people probably have no idea schools like this are even real, you know? And maybe we could work to stop corrupt politicians from getting elected. Make sure people find out when things are being covered up. There’s a lot we could do that would help other people, while helping ourselves, too. It’s like a balance.’
Isabelle’s expression was enigmatic – Allie couldn’t tell if she hated everything she was saying or not.
Heat rushed to her face. She didn’t think she was presenting this well at all. She felt put on the spot. She hadn’t had any time to really think about it before now.
‘Anyway,’ she said, losing confidence. ‘We could start with that.’
For a second, the headmistress didn’t speak. Then, a smile lit up her features.
‘I’ve never been more proud of you than I am right now, Allie Sheridan. And I believe Lucinda would have been proud of you, too. She would have disagreed with you about the bank accounts, mind you. But she would have been proud of where your heart is on this. And you’re right. It’s a bloody good start.’
Allie sagged back in her seat. Maybe she hadn’t sounded completely stupid after all.
‘If we can get the others on board,’ Isabelle said, ‘this could work. It might not be everything you’re dreaming of, but these are good people, Allie. People I believe in. We could make a difference. I really believe we could.’
Allie wanted to feel hopeful. Wanted to believe it was possible. But there was still a huge obstacle to overcome.
‘The thing is, I don’t want to end up just fighting Nathaniel again,’ she said. ‘He’s torn this school apart. Torn Orion apart. Torn my life apart, actually. How do we avoid that? Is there something I could do to make him just… stop?’
Isabelle set down her pen with a thump. ‘It saddens me to tell you this, Allie. But whether you became a high court judge, a cocktail waitress, or a street sweeper, Nathaniel will always be obsessed with you. He will always harass you and threaten you. You see, you have what he wanted – Lucinda’s love. As I had my father’s love. He will never forgive you as he has never forgiven me.’