Night School: Legacy

After the heat inside, the icy air felt good as it chilled the perspiration on her skin. Shivering pleasantly, Allie shook her head so the cold air could reach under her heavy hair and cool her neck.

On the curved driveway in front of her, rows of parked cars were neatly aligned. She could see chauffeurs gathered by the west wing with newspapers and cigarettes. They didn’t seem to notice her as she headed around the end of the building, wobbling a bit as Jo’s delicate shoes rocked on the uneven ground. Camouflaged in the darkness, she followed the unlighted footpath towards the walled garden. In the air she could smell a faint ashy tang of cigarette smoke and hear occasional bursts of muffled laughter from smokers gathered outside the school’s back door, but she was nearly at the folly now and hidden by the trees.

And then she stood in front at the small, white marble structure, with its domed roof. It held only the statue of a woman, draped in diaphanous scarves and dancing for ever. The statue’s lips curved up a little, as if she enjoyed dancing in the cold, one bare foot perpetually raised.

Reaching out Allie touched the smooth icy stone as she thought about the night Sylvain found her here, and taught her how to fight.

‘You’re not wearing a coat, you know.’

For some reason, his voice didn’t surprise her, although she hadn’t heard his footsteps. For a second she closed her eyes, lost in indecision. Then she turned.

Sylvain stood a few feet away next to the stairs that led up to the statue. When their eyes met, Allie shivered again. She gestured vaguely at his tuxedo. ‘You aren’t either.’

‘Yes, but a tuxedo comes with a jacket, so I at least have this.’ He shrugged the black, silk-lined jacket off and held it out to her. His crisp white shirt seemed to glow in the darkness.

‘But now you’ll be cold,’ she pointed out, not reaching for it.

His lips curved up. ‘I’ll live.’

After a moment’s hesitation, she accepted it. As she’d known it would, it still held his body heat and smelled of his cologne.

‘You’ve changed your hair.’ His gaze traced the curls over her shoulders. ‘It suits you.’

‘Thanks.’ She touched her hair with nervous fingers. ‘It wasn’t my idea. Jo can be … convincing.’

‘So I’ve heard. I’m sorry about my parents,’ he said. ‘They really wanted to meet you.’

She shrugged to show she understood parents. ‘Your mum is gorgeous.’

‘I’ll tell her you said so. She likes it when people tell her she’s beautiful.’ His tone was wry.

Then it seemed they’d used up all the small talk; an awkward silence fell between them. Allie shifted her weight on to one delicate sandal, digging the toe of the other into the dirt. Watching her, he leaned against a stone pillar.

‘What are you doing out in the cold, Allie?’ His voice was low.

You know what. Or you wouldn’t be here, too.

‘I don’t know … I guess I just needed some air.’ Her eyes challenged him. ‘What are you doing out here?’

His shoulders tensed; when he spoke his voice was low. ‘I followed you.’

She felt the breath go out of her. ‘Why?’ The word came out as a whisper.

‘Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne conna?t point.’ He recited the French phrase too fast, and Allie shook her head.

‘I don’t understand.’ Not knowing what he’d said left her feeling almost panicked. ‘What does that mean?’

But when his gaze locked on hers the longing she saw there answered her question. ‘It means that I want to be with you. That I can’t get you out of my head.’ He pounded his fist with restrained violence against the pillar. ‘I have tried everything I know how to try, and you’re still there.’

Two breaths in. One breath out.

‘I … I think about you, too.’ She could barely hear herself speak over the thudding of her heart. ‘But …’

Uncontrollably, her thoughts flickered back to the summer ball. She could tell by the way his blue eyes flashed that he knew what she was thinking.

‘I know I did a bad thing. A stupid thing. But people change, Allie.’ His voice was passionate, almost desperate. ‘People learn. If they didn’t, what would be the point of this?’ His arm swept towards the school building they could just see through the trees. ‘What would be the point of life? You’ve changed while you’ve been here – I’ve watched you change. Well, I’ve changed too. And I’m sorry about what I did that night. If there was some way to take it all back …’

Suddenly she didn’t care about the summer ball or anything else. She’d spent so much time worrying about how Carter felt and what Carter wanted. What about what she wanted?

Anyway, she thought, the horrible truth is Carter has Jules now. He doesn’t want me any more.

So why shouldn’t she have Sylvain? No matter what she’d done, Carter thought she wanted to be with Sylvain. Now she could find out once and for all if she did want to be with him.