At dinner that evening, Alex suggested that Nate join them on the West Tower table. There were assigned house tables, but students were free to sit anywhere. The Headmistress was a fan of house integration and tried to get them to all mix as much as possible.
Nate accepted the invitation, much to the obvious confusion of his friends watching from the North Tower table as he walked in with Alex and went over to the West Tower table instead.
He caught the eye of his best friend, Gabriel, who was frowning at him with a look of disapproval. He gave a subtle wink and Gabe acknowledged it and nodded. They had been friends a long time and he didn’t need to do more than wink. He hadn’t told Gabe what he was doing, but his friend would know he was up to something. He watched as Gabe returned to his food reassured.
Gently steering Alex, Nate managed to get himself seated between Alex and Rose. At dinner he directed most of his conversation to Alex, but under the table he concentrated on pressing his leg, very slightly, against Rose’s. She moved away a little. He shifted a tiny bit and again his knee was touching hers. She shot her hand out for her water glass and knocked it over. He wanted to laugh, but instead he reached for a pile of paper napkins and helped her mop it up.
“Alright there, Rose?” he asked innocently while refilling her glass.
She looked like a deer in headlights. Again he placed his hand on her back, supposedly in a reassuring manner, but really just to assert that it was his touch that was making her jumpy.
It was at that moment he really noticed Ellie Parkhurst for the first time. She was sitting across the table from Rose and giving him a very speculative look.
He quickly withdrew his hand and turned back to Alex, but his thoughts were on the look in Ellie’s face. He had the feeling that she might be on to him. The suspicious gleam in her eyes, coupled with the disdainful curve of her lip, suggested that she was questioning his motives and drawing conclusions he didn’t want her to.
He shrugged to himself. So what? She was the year below him and beneath his notice. He didn’t doubt his own power to conquer Rose, and Ellie wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Did Rose listen to Ellie? As far as he was aware they weren’t especially close. They were cousins, but he was confident that it was Alex he needed to get on his side. Rose listened to Alex. Ellie Parkhurst didn’t figure in his plan.
***
Ellie had seen enough. Nate was definitely not to be trusted. He was clearly playing one of his games with Rose. If he genuinely liked Rose he would have been more attentive, and if he didn’t then he wouldn’t have been so touchy-feely with her. She had briefly caught his eye at dinner and he had looked shifty; just for a split second, but she had seen it. The question now was what to do about it.
Ellie reasoned that she had a pretty good grasp on what motivated boys. She had two older brothers and she had learned plenty at the knee of Jack, one of the best players she had ever seen. Nate was overconfident; he needed taking down a peg or two. Yes, he was older than her and yes, he was a pretty cold customer, but could she somehow take him on?
She pushed away the doubt. Rose was so sweet, Nate would eat her for breakfast. She had to act. Would talking to Rose help? No, probably not. Rose would deny everything until it was too late. Ellie’s telling her that Nate wasn’t really interested might even hurt Rose. But Rose would get hurt no matter what unless somebody stopped this right now.
Maybe the key here was to take his focus off Rose. Ellie was objective enough to know that Nate had never even noticed her before. Plus she was a year below him. Unfortunately he was quite good-looking and pretty full of himself. Girls threw themselves at him in obvious ways, and they tried less obvious ways. He seemed to prefer doing his own chasing. So how could she get in under the radar? What was going to distract him?
Ellie lay awake in bed that night thinking about it. She wasn’t hugely vain, but boys did seem to like her. The fact he knew so little about her could perhaps work to her advantage by intriguing him. Should she go in with all guns blazing, or act in a more mysterious manner? Could she manage to entice him without appearing too interested? Just like he seemed to be doing to Rose.
She smiled in the darkness – yes, she would try playing him at his own game.
If this was chess then Rose was the Queen that needed protecting. Nate was a sneaky Bishop sliding in sideways. She would be the Knight, coming from the back where he hadn’t noticed her and jumping straight into his path.
Chapter Three
Flora Kincaid was horribly homesick. After California, England seemed too green. Endlessly green. Green grass. Green trees. Even the river running past the school was a shade of green. She looked with disgust at the dark green stripe on her school tie that signalled she was in West Tower Schoolhouse. She preferred brighter colours – colours that complemented her hair and skin tone.
She missed the vibrant vineyard where her mother worked, the bright sun and open cloudless sky. It was the end of September and the burgundy-red grapes would be coming in from harvest. It seemed years since she’d seen that last sunset of orange and pink and red and purple. She longed for the rich smells of autumn. Even the world sounded different, here. It was too quiet in England.
Her hair was a honey blonde and she wore it neatly braided down her back. When you lived on a farm you learned to keep long hair tied back, and so she had been braiding it for years. She had even features, slightly freckled skin and large brown eyes. She knew she wasn’t exactly beautiful, but she hoped she might be considered pretty.
At fifteen, there was no way her mother would allow her to wear make-up, but as she had clear skin she hoped she was passable without it. Some mascara might be nice, to make her eyelashes darker. Perhaps when she got to know Ellie a bit better she might be able to borrow some mascara from her.
She liked sharing a room with Ellie. Ellie seemed to know everyone, and hanging around with her had made being the new girl a lot less lonely. It was so hard starting at a new school when everyone else in her year seemed to have been there since they were eleven and had now had over four years to bond and form cliques.
She supposed she could have gone to stay with her dad, but she hated his new girlfriend, and she still hadn’t forgiven him for having an affair.
Her mom had recently gotten remarried, to an old friend called Travis. Flora had been glad; Travis adored her mother. But then he had offered to take her mother on an extended tour of the vineyards of Europe as a sort of honeymoon.
There was no question of Flora’s missing a year of school to go with them, so they had decided that a boarding school would be best if she didn’t want to stay with her dad.
Compass Court in England was close to where her mom was touring in Europe, so she could not only regularly fly over and visit but live in a part of the world that spoke English.
Her mom and Travis were starting their tour in Bordeaux, France, just over the Channel, and it was good to know they were literally only an hour away.
So here she was, an American girl in an English boarding school. It was just like she’d imagined, but with fewer ghosts.
The girls she shared the room with all seemed nice, but two of them were kind of high achievers and Flora was a little intimidated by them. Ellie, however, was open and friendly and had made no secret of the fact that she sucked at sports and history, making her more approachable.
Flora felt that with Ellie as her friend it might not be so bad at Compass Court after all.
***
Ellie began working on her strategy to get the attention of Nate Naverly carefully. She would have liked to spend longer on the details of the plan, but time was of the essence. She had to get him away from Rose before Rose got emotionally involved.
The first point of action was to get noticed. Noticed indirectly. She needed both the right location and outfit. The school provided a large games room with sofas and pool tables and table tennis and other games, and a lot of people hung out there in the evenings. You didn??
?t have to wear uniform and you didn’t mix only with your own year. Remembering that Nate and his friends often went there after prep for a few games of pool, Ellie decided it was her best bet.
She dressed in an outfit that she hoped was attractive yet understated. A firm believer in the tenet that “less is more,” she hadn’t gone for a low-cut top or a short skirt. Instead she had chosen a white chiffon, full-covering shirt that was very slightly see-through, with a black vest top underneath. With shirt and vest teamed with jeans and trainers, she hoped she looked good, but not like she was trying too hard.
She decided she couldn’t go alone without looking a bit obvious, so she invited Flora to go with her. As they walked into the games room, she was relieved to find Nate and his three usual friends there.
Firstly, she and Flora chatted with some boys from their year who were playing cards in one corner; then she suggested to Flora that they play pool.
“I suck at pool,” Flora said candidly, “but I’ll come and watch.”
Ellie was pleased; Flora was cute and was clearly going to be an asset as a wingman.
As Ellie chalked her name up for a game, she chose her first combat partner with care. She went for one of Nate’s more stupid friends, an over-muscled oaf by the name of Jerry Doury. As she leaned over the table to break she gave him a bit of a pouty smile, and then slammed the white ball as hard as she could with the cue.
She didn’t know how good any of them were at pool, but as Jack had a table in the garage at home, she had spent a lot of time playing and was feeling fairly confident.
The game definitely suited her purpose: she could move around the pool table, drawing attention to herself without obviously meaning to. She watched Nate covertly as he leaned against the wall with Gabriel Brenner. They didn’t really seem to be paying much attention to the game, they were just chatting quietly between themselves. On the other hand, Jerry Doury and Owen Lang were definitely engrossed in eyeing up both her and Flora. In fact, Jerry wasn’t much competition, and Ellie cleared the table pretty quickly. She put a hand on his chest and smiled sweetly at him.
“Sorry, Jerry. Better luck next time.”
As the winner she stayed on the table, and this time it was Gabriel who stepped up. Unfortunately, Gabriel was a much tougher nut than Jerry. He showed very little interest in her at all and she only got two shots in before he cleanly potted the black and gave her a cold smirk.
Time to retreat and regroup, Ellie decided. She smiled in a carefree way, and she and Flora immediately left the games room.
Had he even noticed her? She was sure at least two of his friends had. Knight takes Pawn, she thought with a giggle.
Right now this was just a case of baiting the trap…
***
Flora was completely awestruck by Gabriel Brenner and she talked almost non-stop about him to Ellie all the way back to their room.
“Oh my goodness, did you see his cheekbones? And do you think his hair is naturally that blond? I mean, back home there are a loads of beach-blonds with that kind of colour, but they usually dye it. I can’t imagine him dyeing it. And his eyes, such a deep shade of blue. Sorta like the sea, don’t you think? Like the Pacific at sunrise.”
Ellie smiled at Flora. “If you say so. I didn’t really notice.”
“How could you not feel that presence? I mean, it’s like all the air gets sucked out of a room when he’s in it.”
“Well, he’s clearly made an impact on you. Maybe you should try talking to him next time?” Ellie laughed at the look on Flora’s face.
“Talking to him? No way, never in a million. He’s too perfect. What on Earth would I say? He’s a year older than me for a start, and drop-dead gorgeous. He’s never ever going to notice someone like me.” She paused for breath. “Do you think he has a girlfriend?”
“I think he does actually. Sorry.” Ellie saw Flora’s crestfallen expression and wracked her brain for what else she knew. “I think I heard that he’s dating a model and she’s much older than him.”
Flora sighed. “Yeah, I can believe that. Not that it matters. He didn’t even notice I existed.”
Ellie couldn’t disagree. “I don’t think he even noticed I existed and I was the one playing him at pool. I bet he thought I was just some girl who needed swatting. Like a bug.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure. I can guarantee the other boys noticed you. Nice moves, by the way.” She jabbed Ellie in the ribs.
Ellie grinned back at her. “I know I was acting like a bit of a flirt with Jerry, but there was a good reason.”
“Yeah? I could see four good reasons. I love being at a school with boys!”
That night Flora sat at the desk by her bed and filled three pages of her journal describing Gabriel Brenner: his tall lean frame, his almost white blond hair, his chiselled cheekbones.
She had been so homesick, but now she felt she never wanted to leave Compass Court. Now she felt lovesick. Gabriel-sick.
Chapter Four
Nate sat in the North Tower Common Room with his friends. Gabriel was teasing Jerry about being beaten by a girl.
“Not just a girl, but a lowly year eleven!” Gabriel laughed.
Jerry’s eyes took on a dreamy look. “Yeah, but mature for her age. Did you notice her behind when she bent over the pool table?” This last comment was made to much elbow nudging and more laughter.
“Definitely a fox,” agreed Owen. “She can play me whenever she likes.”
Nate privately agreed with them; Ellie had looked good.
He was a little perplexed by Ellie; he had been positive she had come there to see him. He had sensed her watching him. Then she had totally ignored him and instead played with two of his friends, but not him. She could have put her name back up and then she would have been playing him next. Instead, she had left. He got the feeling she didn’t like him. Did it bother him? Maybe it did a little. He changed the subject.
***
Gabriel tuned out as his friends talked about girls, wishing Vanessa would call him. He hated it when she was on a modelling shoot in some foreign backwater and couldn’t call. It made him insecure, suspecting that she was going off him. It was a novel feeling for him – girls had always liked him – but he had an unfortunate tendency to take them for granted if they were too nice. It wasn’t like that with Vanessa. She was so glamorous he felt lucky to be with her.
He remembered how beautiful she’d looked when they first met. Laughing with her friends in a bar on the mountain, she was dressed in a bright red ski suit with matching hat. Her skin was flawless and the cold had made her blue eyes sparkle, and her lips were full and the same red as her outfit. She was the very image of perfection.
Vanessa had spotted him and come over. She’d assumed he was a model as well and been stunned to learn he was still at school. It was a bit of a contentious issue between them. After all, he was old enough to leave school if he wanted. She hadn’t wanted to be seen dating a schoolboy, but he’d persuaded her to meet him again.
That night he had taken her to dinner and pulled out all the stops to charm her. They stayed out drinking and talking till two in the morning and then she invited him back to her chalet. It was a night he would never forget. They opened a bottle of red wine and lay on a sheepskin rug in front of a roaring log fire. He explored every inch of her amazing body and felt he could die happy in that moment.
It was six in the morning when he had rolled back into his family chalet, only to find his dad still up and furiously pacing. He’d been sorely tempted to leave school right then and there and forget about the education his father thought was so important. But the truth was it was important to him as well.
Vanessa kept trying to persuade him to leave school and become a model.
“Just think about how much money you could be making right now instead of wasting your time doing silly lessons,” she would argue.
But he didn’t just want to be a pretty face. He had a plan. He didn’t want to
leave school with no qualifications, for a career that was a few years at best. She thought he could use modelling as a platform into acting. That was his real dream, but he didn’t want to bypass the training, he wanted to prove himself and get a place at a decent stage school. He wished she understood, but she didn’t.
Jerry kicked his foot, dragging Gabriel back to the present. He was talking about the new girl, Flora.
“She’s pretty. I like that wholesome look. How old do you think she is?” Jerry said, a bit too hopefully. Clearly he had something of a crush.
“Too young, that’s how old she is,” Nate said.
“Yeah, I suppose.” Jerry shrugged. “If only we could all have older girlfriends like Gabe, then we might actually get some action.”
Gabriel smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He hadn’t heard from Vanessa in days. He hoped he still had a girlfriend.
***
After his friends went to bed, Nate pulled out Alex’s mobile phone that he’d swiped off the table at dinner. He would return it to Alex at breakfast in the morning, but in the meantime it provided the perfect opportunity to get Rose’s phone number. She was hard to get alone, and sending her a few cheeky texts or emails would be a good way to get some one-on-one banter going. Even the most shy of girls could be flirtatious when it wasn’t face to face. Scrolling through the contacts, he noted Rose’s number and her email address. And then, for some reason, he copied Ellie’s too.
***
Ellie took her breakfast tray over to the West Tower table and sat between Flora and Rose. Flora was doing some last-minute homework and dropping marmalade on her textbook, and Rose was sketching. This was nothing unusual. Rose was passionate about art and always carried round a pad for doodling.
As she finished her cereal Ellie looked over to see what Rose was drawing.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” she huffed when she saw the picture. It was a sketch of the North Tower table. Though it was incredibly good, Ellie was not pleased by what she saw. Rose had captured the features and personalities of about eight people, all sitting in a row. Ellie could clearly distinguish the thin face of Owen Lang, thrown into relief by the large frame of Jerry Doury. Gabriel Brenner’s haughty expression was conveyed perfectly, and there right in the middle, looking like Christ at the Last Supper, was Nate. Rose had been shading in his golden hair and had made him, if anything, even more handsome than in real life.