They were surrounded.
‘You did what?’ Raj stared at her in disbelief. ‘Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?’
They were crowded into the school’s entrance hall; in one corner, one of Raj’s men tended to Sylvain’s wounds. Others were gathered around openly watching them argue.
‘Yes.’ Her voice was cold. ‘I do.’
He was not mollified; small white lines of rage had appeared beside his mouth. ‘This is the most irresponsible thing I can imagine any student doing. You could have died. Sylvain could have died.’
‘But we’re alive.’ An errant sense of pride made her stand taller. ‘And I want to say right now, this was all my fault. I made Sylvain come with me. He tried to stop me.’
‘Sylvain,’ Isabelle’s voice rang out from the doorway where she stood like an angel of vengeance in a white dressing gown, her hair flowing loose over her shoulders, ‘will take responsibility for his own actions. Raj, Allie, in my office now.’ She pointed at the medic helping Sylvain. ‘Take him to the infirmary.’
‘I’m fine.’ Sylvain struggled to his feet with obvious effort. ‘I’m coming with you.’
‘The infirmary.’ Fury crackled in Isabelle’s voice.
But he didn’t back down. ‘I’m coming with Allie,’ his words were slurred, as if he spoke through a mouthful of ice, ‘Isabelle.’
When he said the headmistress’ name it sounded like a threat. Or a reminder. Puzzled, Allie’s gaze moved back and forth between them.
Closing her eyes, Isabelle took a calming breath. ‘I’d really rather you didn’t haemorrhage in my office. Please do me that favour.’ She snapped her fingers at the medic. ‘Give him a towel. Then you three, with me.’
With Isabelle in the lead they walked down the hall, Sylvain limping beside Allie, and Raj Patel making up the rear guard.
In case we try to flee, Allie thought.
Inside her office, Isabelle handed them bottles of water. Allie poured hers on to the towel and gently dabbed Sylvain’s wounds. Most appeared superficial, but his face was swelling alarmingly; she wondered if Gabe had broken his jaw.
All the while he sat still, stoic. As if the pain didn’t matter. Then suddenly he looked up and their eyes met. Allie’s hand stilled as the enormity of what had happened hit her. He’d nearly died for her tonight. Again.
She searched his eyes as if she could find the answer she sought there.
Why? Why would you risk your life for me?
‘Sylvain, you will see the doctor when you leave this room or as God is my witness I will put you on the next plane to France.’ Isabelle’s angry voice jerked Allie back to reality. She turned to Mr Patel. ‘What do we know?’
‘On-the-ground shift change was at midnight tonight – two members of incoming staff received messages from my phone telling them they weren’t needed.’ His tone was brisk and businesslike. ‘They followed protocol – alerting me via our alternative messaging network. That’s how we knew something was planned for tonight. We trebled our staff and we are certain Nathaniel’s people got nowhere near the building.’
‘Have you identified how many of his people were on the grounds?’ Isabelle asked.
‘We know of three.’
Three. There was another. Allie tried not to think about what would have happened to Sylvain if the third person had stopped her from stabbing Gabe.
‘Where are they now?’
Mr Patel cleared his throat. ‘My team believe they’ve left the grounds but I’m not convinced. The building is surrounded by my guards, and there are four inside the building patrolling.’
‘So we don’t know where they are.’ Her tone was unforgiving. ‘Allie.’ When the headmistress turned to face her, Allie could see that she was pale and her skin was tight across her sharp cheekbones. ‘Tell me what happened.’
Talking quickly, Allie explained the letter, the meeting, everything Christopher had told her about Nathaniel and somebody working ‘on the inside’. She told her what he’d said about everything except Isabelle herself – she couldn’t bring herself to say that right now.
As she spoke, Isabelle’s face changed. Colour flowed into her cheeks and her golden brown eyes glittered with rage. She and Raj Patel exchanged a look heavy with meaning.
‘I am so angry with you two right now …’ She rubbed a hand across her forehead as if to clear her thoughts. ‘We will talk later about the way you both broke The Rules. And the chances you took, especially you Sylvain.’ She fired a glare at him. ‘You more than anyone should know better. I’m putting it off until then because I do not trust myself right now not to expel you both for this. Dammit!’ She slapped one hand down on the desk with a bang. ‘You put yourselves and the school in danger,’ Isabelle said. ‘And you both know better.’
For a long moment, she gazed over Allie’s head at the tapestry of a knight and maiden that took up one whole wall. When Allie tried to speak she raised a hand in a warning.
‘Not one word,’ she snapped.
For what seemed like a very long time they all sat still. The only sounds were the occasional creak of an old beam settling and their breathing.
‘OK.’ Isabelle’s voice had returned to normal. ‘Allie, you broke every rule I hold dear and you betrayed my trust. You are on very thin ice right now. Sylvain …’