‘Yes, I’m going to get to that.’ The headmistress sipped her tea, a worry line deepening between her eyes. ‘But I’m also concerned about what all this is doing to you. You’ve been through a great deal.’
Allie thought about last night. Kissing Sylvain. The confusing but good swirl of emotions that had summoned. And how, for just a little while, she’d forgotten all of this.
‘I’m really OK,’ she said honestly. ‘I don’t know why I’m OK. But I’m OK.’
Isabelle studied her face as if looking for clues, then took a sip of her tea. ‘Good. That’s the most important thing. If you’re fine …’
‘I am,’ Allie insisted.
The headmistress inclined her head. ‘Then we can talk about where we are. What would you like to know?’
Allie didn’t hesitate.
‘I want to know how Nathaniel found us in France. And I really want to know how safe I am at Cimmeria. Because when those guys were shooting at me I decided I don’t want to die.’
A normal headmistress might have found this impertinent. But Isabelle wasn’t normal.
‘We think it was a coincidence. Nathaniel must have been watching Sylvain’s house for some time,’ she said. ‘There is no other way. Certainly it didn’t come from inside this school. It couldn’t have. Not one person aside from myself, Lucinda and Raj has known where you were at any point since you left the school in March.’
‘Not even the teachers?’ Allie asked, surprised. Usually Isabelle’s close cadre of senior teachers were told everything.
Isabelle shook her head. ‘Not one person,’ she repeated.
Allie sat back in her chair.
The idea of Nathaniel just hanging around the Cassels’ house, watching Sylvain’s family, was ominous.
‘Why would he watch them if he didn’t know I was there?’ she asked. ‘What was he looking for?’
‘The Cassels support Lucinda. And they are the single most powerful family within the European organisation.’ Isabelle’s face darkened. ‘It appears Nathaniel is broadening his range.’
This was starting to make Allie nervous. ‘But if he’s watching them he must have a purpose. Are they safe?’
‘You’ve seen the Cassels’ security team,’ Isabelle said. ‘They’re extremely well protected.’
Allie remembered the guards standing on ladders to see over the tall walls that surrounded the Cassels’ compound, binoculars fixed on the surrounding countryside. The cameras atop the tall solid gates. The razor wire and armoured SUVs.
‘Yeah, but …’ Allie left the sentence unfinished.
… Nathaniel still found us.
She may not have said it aloud but Isabelle seemed to know what she was thinking.
‘They are as safe as it is possible to be right now,’ she said gently. ‘That much I can promise you.’
‘And us?’ Allie held her gaze. ‘Are we safe?’
Isabelle didn’t respond immediately. She drummed her fingers very quietly on her desktop as if deciding what to say.
‘I wish I could say yes,’ she said finally. ‘But I’m afraid the answer is no. You’re not. No one here is safe.’
This, Allie hadn’t expected.
‘If I’m not safe, why am I here? Why bring me back?’ Allie couldn’t keep the bewilderment out of her voice.
Isabelle gave her a steady look. ‘You’re here because Lucinda wants you here.’
‘Why, though?’ Allie asked, her voice rising. ‘Why does she want me here?’
Again the headmistress hesitated. ‘You’ll have noticed we are more … security-conscious now. Things are very tense between Lucinda and Nathaniel. Allie …’ She leaned forward, her tawny eyes urgent. ‘We’re nearing endgame on this. She needs you close.’
Allie thought of Nicole’s sombre words. ‘I think she is not winning.’
Her stomach tightened.
‘Isabelle,’ she asked quietly, ‘is she losing this thing?’
There was a long pause before the headmistress replied. ‘Perhaps.’
Silence fell. Allie could hear footsteps passing in the hallway outside the door. Someone talking loudly in the distance. A door closing with a hollow thud.
‘What happens if we lose?’ She could hardly bring herself to say the words. Losing was an eventuality she’d only rarely allowed herself to contemplate, much less discuss. ‘What becomes of me and you and’ – she swung out her arm in a gesture that took in the grand gothic building around them – ‘everyone?’
‘That is still to be decided,’ the headmistress said briskly. ‘We have options. There are ways to finesse this situation and we are looking at all of them but, for now, the fight is still under way and we have to keep our focus on that. It is still possible to win.’ She shifted in her seat, leaning forward into the glow of the desk lamp. It highlighted the dark smudges under her eyes. ‘I said you weren’t safe here because that’s the truth, and I never intend to lie to you. You’ve been lied to enough. But it is also true that you would be much less safe out there. Here, at least, we can do more to protect you. And you can help us.’
‘Help with what?’ Allie asked, a hint of suspicion in her tone.
Isabelle held her gaze. ‘We haven’t found the person working for Nathaniel. But we’re close.’ She paused. ‘Very close. We think your presence here could help us … escalate things.’ Her tone was cold. ‘Because we have to find this person. And we have to stop them.’