Divided Souls (9 page)

G
uilt, my old friend, Cassie thought. There you are again. It was partly Isabella’s sulkiness, she told herself. If the girl hadn’t started getting so moody about her doing what she
had
to do, Cassie might not even have hung out so much with the Few. As it was, she found she was enjoying their company more and more over the past few days, despite it making her feel doubly bad about Isabella.

Gathering her strength as the students sprang up when the lunch bell sounded, Cassie decided to make an effort to hang out with her roommate after their art class.

‘Isabella,’ Cassie said, turning to her friend. ‘Wanna grab some lunch?’

Isabella gave a quick, distracted smile. ‘Yeah, just a sec.’ She turned as Alice tapped her on the shoulder, and they began a quick chat.

‘Cassie!’ Cormac called. ‘Coming to the common room?’

‘Actually,’ Ayeesha interjected, ‘I think we should head to the cafeteria today. The chef from that great restaurant, Rami, is guesting today, and his hünkar begendi is my favourite!’

‘Oh, definitely!’ Cormac said, smacking his lips as he took his girlfriend’s hand.

‘Cassie?’ Ayeesha said expectantly.

‘Uh, hang on. I should wait for Isabella.’ Cassie looked back towards the classroom, where Isabella was still chatting to Alice.

‘Oh, yeah. Fair enough.’

Cassie watched as the pair joined with some more Few students and made their way down the corridor. She sighed. Most days now after classes – with which she was making a much bigger effort, since it (nearly) stopped her thinking about anything else – Cassie found herself hanging out with the Few, and she almost felt regretful that she’d said she’d wait behind. The common room, for example, had begun to feel more and more like a haven: enclosed, secret, safe. The little luxuries it offered didn’t do any harm either. Of course, there were still people there who loathed her, but it was surprising how easy it was to ignore them. They didn’t even bother her any more; she found she could ignore their glares and exist in a bubble of superiority that drove them half demented. She knew she and, most importantly, her spirit were the equal of any of them, and better than most. She didn’t have to care. And of course, there were plenty of them she liked.

When Isabella finally wrapped up her conversation with Alice and returned her attention to Cassie, there was a slightly awkward silence as they made their way over to the cafeteria. Cassie frowned at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to speak easily with her friend. She cleared her throat.

‘So, what was Alice saying?’

‘Oh, more boy trouble,’ Isabella said, smiling a kind of private smile that made Cassie feel oddly excluded.

‘Right. As usual.’ She couldn’t resist a dismissive tone. It seemed as though Isabella was more interested in what Alice got up to at the moment than what was going on with her supposed best friend. Luckily, Cassie’s rather stormy mood brightened when they reached the cafeteria and she saw the table of Few gesticulating for her to join them.

‘Look, there are the guys,’ she said with a wave, and began to make her way over automatically.

‘Um …’ Isabella began, hesitating.

‘What’s up?’

Isabella glanced over to another table, where Alice and another girl were sitting. ‘It’s just … well if you were going to sit with Ayeesha and everyone again, then maybe I might go and make sure Alice is OK?’

‘Oh. Right. Yeah if you’d prefer …’ Cassie said, trying not to look hurt. What was it with Isabella lately? She was trying her best to include her, but she just wouldn’t bite.

‘Well, yeah. But I’ll see you later though, right?’

‘Yeah, see you later.’ Cassie tried to force a smile and what she hoped passed for a jovial wave, ignoring the strange sensation of she and Isabella walking to opposite sides of the room to be with other friends. Well, they weren’t joined at the hip, were they?

‘Hey, guys,’ Cassie said as she made her way over to the Few table, but she couldn’t inject much enthusiasm into her voice.

‘Cassie! Grab a tray. Seriously, this chef is amazing,’ Ayeesha enthused.

‘Yeah, I’m not really hungry,’ she replied, irritation bubbling up inside her.

Ah, but we will be, my dear. You know I’m all for asserting
our position amongst the others, but we must be careful to
keep our feeding source happy …

Cassie frowned at Estelle’s interjection. She was annoyed enough at how the day was going without her putting her two pennies’ worth in. All she’d done was jump through hoops to keep everyone happy,
especially
Isabella. But she had to draw the line somewhere, concentrate on her own happiness. If that meant hanging around with the Few, then Isabella would just have to lump it.

OK, there was the Jake and Jessica thing. OK, so Isabella still felt loyal to Jake and his crazy quest for justice – or his definition of it. But it wasn’t as if the likes of Ayeesha or India had had anything to do with his sister Jessica’s murder. Of the girls who had actually done it, one was dead, and one expelled and scarred for life. Katerina and Keiko didn’t represent the whole of the Few, for goodness’ sake. The Few were so much more than a couple of twisted individuals like them.

Cassie was just shaking herself from her internal rant when a shadow fell over their small group at the table.

‘Ladies.’

‘Sir Alric.’ India raised her eyebrows in surprise. ‘It’s unusual to see you here.’ She smiled tentatively, glancing at the boys animatedly play fighting at the other end of the table.

He nodded. ‘I thought I might take a sample of the food as we have a guest in the kitchen today.’

‘Yes, indeed. Delicious.’ Ayeesha couldn’t get the puzzled look off her face, and Cassie couldn’t agree more. She didn’t like the way Sir Alric kept glancing over at her, inquisition burning behind his eyes.

‘How are classes going?’

Funny question in the middle of lunchtime, thought Cassie, though India and Ayeesha seemed eager to take this rare opportunity to impress their elusive headmaster. If only her own conversations with Sir Alric were so infrequent. She eyed him closely as the girls around her chattered their responses enthusiastically. He narrowed his eyes once more at her, though he ostensibly addressed all three of them.

‘I see Mr Singh is still not gracing us with his presence.’

‘Maybe one of the boys might know where he is? Better than we do, anyway,’ India said, glancing down to Cormac and his friends.

‘I doubt that. In any case, boys are not as sensitive to things as you are, am I right? I thought some of you ladies might have an instinct about where he’s been lately.’

Cassie couldn’t help noticing he was once again looking almost exclusively at her. She felt a creeping uneasiness – was he accusing her of something?

‘You know as well as I— as well as we all do. Ranjit’s a law unto himself. It’s hardly unusual that he’s cutting classes, always has. That’s not our fault. He comes and goes as he pleases. Stands people up when he feels like it, too,’ she added bitterly.

Even some of the Few girls looked shocked at the way she spoke to Sir Alric, but he wasn’t baited.

‘Well, I’ll keep an eye out,’ he said lightly. ‘No doubt our elusive friend will turn up sooner or later.’ His intense gaze bored into Cassie. ‘But if you do happen to spot him, tell him I would like a brief word.’

As soon as Sir Alric had gone, Cassie made her excuses, said goodbye to the other girls and headed for her room. He’d managed to rile her, and worse, he’d reawakened all her anxieties. On top of everything else, she was growing more and more alarmed about the state of her relationship with Isabella. If nothing else, she wished she had her friend around to vent to.

To her relief though, it seemed Isabella had felt bad about lunchtime too. She greeted her roommate with a wide, apologetic smile as Cassie shut their door and slumped on to her bed.

‘So. That was a little awkward earlier. I’m sorry, Cassie. I guess we just need to adapt to each other’s new lifestyles now, move onwards and upwards, no?’

Cassie sighed. ‘Definitely.’

‘Well, to seal the meal once and for all, how about our girls’ night in? Smuggle in a bottle of champagne … And I’ll get caviar, smoked salmon. Blinis! We can have a picnic. Listen to some music. I’ll give you all the gossip from the non-Few. How about it?’ Her eyes were bright with mischief, but underlain with anxiety.

‘You’re on.’ Cassie felt her mood lift. ‘Blinis are my favourite! You can get some here?’

‘I can always get anything.’ Isabella squeezed her arm. ‘This will be good fun! Just you and me and my make-up case.’

Cassie’s heart sank, and not just at the thought of leaving her face to Isabella’s mercy. ‘Wait, but you don’t mean tonight though, right?’

‘Yes, tonight! No time like the present, Cassie Bell.’ Isabella grinned and began scrolling through her mobile phone contacts. ‘I’ll call my father’s favourite hotel here, see if they can spare some supplies for their favourite client’s daughter.’

‘Oh, Isabella, I’m sorry.’ Cassie could hardly bring herself to say it. ‘I said I’d go to a … a Few party tonight.’

‘
Again?
’ Isabella couldn’t disguise her disappointment. ‘Where …?’

‘Another island. It’s between here and the Asian side. I’m really sorry, Isabella. We’ll take a rain check, though. Is that OK?’

‘Of course.’ There was something frosty about Isabella’s tone.

‘I mean, I’d invite you too, but …’

‘It’s Few Only.’

Cassie swallowed, feeling like dirt. ‘They made that pretty clear. Or I’d have asked you when I first heard, obviously.’

‘I understand. There are some times when the Few make the rest of us welcome, and others … well. I understand. I hope you have a lovely time.’

Cassie couldn’t bear to hear that clipped tone in her friend’s voice. ‘Isabella, come on. I’m sure there’s other stuff you want to do with me out of your hair for an evening. Then we can take the time to plan our night properly, make it really cool—’

‘Uh, yes.’ Quite abruptly, and to Cassie’s astonishment, her friend’s face had brightened, as though something had just occurred to her. ‘What am I saying? You’re right. Look, don’t be sorry, Cassie.
I’m
sorry! That was so graceless of me. You are to go and have a good time.’

‘Really?’ Cassie blinked with shock.

‘Really! It’s OK, I could … I could use some time to myself. Honestly, I mean it! Go and have fun.’

‘If you’re sure …’

‘Of course I am. Besides, a party means I can still work on that make-up of yours, no?’ Isabella grinned devilishly. ‘Let’s get you looking your best!’

Speaking of which … Cassie almost didn’t dare ask. ‘Isabella, I—’

‘What? Oh, I know what it is. I know that look.’ Isabella’s smile became ever so slightly more forced.

‘You know I wouldn’t ask. It’s just—’

‘No, Cassie, of course, it’s OK. Of course you need to feed. Don’t worry. Really.’ Isabella couldn’t quite meet her eyes, she noticed. ‘I insist. I told you, we want you looking your best.’

‘Thanks, Isabella. I appreciate it.’

Isabella took a deep breath and brightened again. ‘Besides, then you will
have
to submit to a makeover. Payback, yes?’

‘Yeah. Payback,’ Cassie mumbled, nodding but uncomfortable with the word. She owed her friend some of the control back after what she put her through, it was true. ‘Isabella.’ Cassie hugged her friend. ‘You are a star. Incorrigible, but a star.’

T
he island had a different atmosphere to the Academy’s – it felt somehow more free-and-easy, less formal – but it had the same dusky-scented beauty, and the small palace (Cassie had an inward giggle at the concept) shared the same splendid architecture and intricate decoration. Cassie stood at a stone balustrade, one hand resting on the warm gilded wood of an arch, champagne cocktail in the other. Across the silky pewter of the twilit Bosphorus she could see floodlit domes and minarets picked out against an indigo sky, and the cries of muezzin were clearly audible in the evening air. The loveliness and strange loneliness of it made her heart ache in her chest like the broken spirit of Estelle. Sometimes it was hard to tell which was which.

Behind her there was a hubbub of conversation, occasional squeals or guffaws, the bass throb of music. It was a good party, but it felt oppressively hot in that room with its magnificent vaulted ceilings and its rich dark fabrics. Cassie had slipped off Isabella’s stilettos, and was enjoying the sensation of soft and expensive Turkish rug between her toes. She wished she could afford to buy one, but then where would she put it? The TV lounge at Cranlake Crescent? Grinning, she took another swallow of cocktail and felt it zing straight to her head.

Well, back to the fray …

She didn’t bother to put the Manolos back on. She liked the barefoot feeling, and it wasn’t as if she needed the extra height. The Few students were treating her with respect now, even the ones who didn’t hold her in much affection; people were greeting her cheerfully and drawing her into their conversations. They were all rich, elegant, polished to within an inch of their privileged lives, yet their eyes seemed drawn to her like a magnet as she passed, and in more than a few of those gazes there was deference, and even a little fear. She liked being Few, she realised with a happy jolt …

A cut-glass voice sliced into her reverie. ‘Oh look, if it isn’t ding-dong Bell again. Nice frock. Where do you think she got it? Primark? Or just nicked?’

Cassie halted. Trust Sara to try and spike her evening. Turning, Cassie glared right into the sixth former’s face as she stood by the bar next to Mikhail – the person to whom the girl was supposedly directing her comments. Sara’s face twisted with distaste at Cassie’s reaction, but she couldn’t help flinching a little. Remembering, no doubt, how Cassie had dealt with her at a similar bar in Carnegie Hall that February …

Honestly, the girl was tragic. Did she really imagine that Cassie cared any more what she thought? Still, it was fun to watch the fear flit across her face, chasing out the hatred.

‘All alone, Cassandra?’ That was Mikhail, sidling closer to Sara, though Cassie couldn’t tell if he was supporting the English girl or looking for safety in numbers. ‘No date? Oh, that’s right. Ranjit’s turned all Harry Houdini on us and disappeared. Poor thing. Perhaps our prince is after a taste of the high life, having slummed it last term?’ He arched an eyebrow at Sara pointedly.

Cassie drew back her lips to show her teeth. The light in the room was suddenly a little redder. ‘Want to come out from Sara’s skirts and say that again, Mikhail?’

‘How dare you, you utter chav. Who do you think you—’

‘Would you like to find out exactly who I am?’ She let the red flood her eyes. Damn, she hadn’t wanted to let them get to her. If the little dick hadn’t brought Ranjit into it—

‘Cassie! Hey!’ An arm slipped round her waist, surprising her enough to let a little of the red drain from her vision.

‘Oh, Richard,’ drawled Sara. ‘Trust you to lower yourself.’

‘Well, we know he isn’t fussy,’ added Mikhail bitchily.

‘And you should know, Mickey, my lad.’ Richard gazed solemnly into Cassie’s eyes, then looked back at the other two with an innocent smile. ‘Doesn’t Ms Bell just look set to stun? We ought to be careful, it could be dangerous just to look at her the wrong way.’

Sara took an involuntary step back. She looked furious at herself, but there was no hiding her instinctive nervousness.

Richard let it go, his small victory achieved. ‘Please dance with me, Cassie. You’re the best-looking girl in the room. Bar none.’

Cassie grinned. It wasn’t just that she was glad of a diversion. Richard looked exceptionally good in a tux. And his eyes were alight with mischief, which couldn’t help but make him even more attractive. ‘Why, thank you, Richard. I’d be delighted.’

She didn’t wait to watch the fury on the faces of Sara and Mikhail, but turned and let Richard guide her to the cleared space where people were dancing.

‘Hmm, bit of a smoochy one, isn’t it?’ she said dryly as she twined her arms round his neck.

‘I’m not the one choosing the music,’ he murmured. ‘You looked like you needed an escape – a peaceable one, anyway. And you do look fantastic, I wasn’t joking, so I thought I’d take my opportunity where I could get it.’

Cassie angled her head up to look at him, expecting the usual glint of wickedness in his eye, but it was missing. Instead he looked almost wistful.

A little taken aback, she glanced down at Isabella’s scarlet dress. ‘It’s borrowed.’

‘Who cares?’

‘And anyone would look fantastic after Isabella’s ministrations.’ This was ridiculous; she felt quite flustered. ‘You’re just doing that charming thing again.’

‘I can’t help it. It’s in the blood.’

Speaking of blood, she could feel his. She could feel it throbbing through his veins, feel the thud of his heart against her chest. It should have made her nervous, but she found she liked it. Almost involuntarily she nestled closer against him. After tensing a little with surprise, he relaxed and held her closer.

‘Bugger,’ he said softly in her ear as the music changed. ‘I hate this song.’

‘Good. Me too.’ She drew back from him.

‘Too fast for me anyway. I’d fall over my own feet.’

She laughed. ‘Highly unlikely,’ she shouted as the volume and the beat soared. ‘I might pop out for some air, I’m roasting.’ She hesitated. ‘Care to join me?’

Outside, clutching new drinks for both of them, Richard leaned on the balustrade beside her and handed her a glass. Nervously he turned his own in his hands. Once again she noticed how strong they looked, the knuckles prominent, the sinews etched on his skin. Nice hands. Attractive hands.

‘So, um.’ He seemed to be casting around for safe conversational topics. ‘What’s going on with Ranjit?’ He’d failed. ‘I, uh, I haven’t seen him around much lately. Are you—’

‘No,’ she interrupted. ‘We’re not. D’you know what, let’s not talk about him right now.’

‘You mean, you don’t know where he’s got to either? You haven’t seen him?’ He paused. ‘You must be worried.’

‘No,’ she lied. The night was black velvet now, the stars glittering over the sea and the city. She didn’t want to think about Ranjit, not at the moment. And Estelle was maintaining a low snarky bitching at the back of her brain, a moan about the inferiority of a mate. She wanted to drown her out. What business was it of hers? It wasn’t as if she even regarded Richard as a ‘mate’, was it?

And yet, she was enjoying his closeness, more than she cared to admit. His arm was touching hers, and she didn’t want to pull away. Actually she wanted to lean closer. Even as the thought occurred to her, she felt her breathing quicken. Weird. But it was hard to catch her breath, she realised, only because her heart was skipping and thudding in her ribcage.

Stunned, she turned her head, and found he was looking at her with an expression that suggested he was feeling something too. The same shock, the same intensity. Unable to pull her eyes away from his, Cassie took a deep breath and—

‘Hey, you guys! Quit hiding!’

They both spun on their heels in unison, breaking the contact of their bodies. Richard cursed under his breath, a wry grin on his lips.

‘Ayeesha! What’s up?’ Cassie covered her confusion with a grin. ‘Where’s Cormac? Off his face?’

Ayeesha mock-gasped and slapped Cassie’s arm cheerfully. ‘Nah, he’s good. We’re all planning a trip into town, check out some nightclubs. It’s sociological research!’

‘Sounds good to me.’ Richard turned to Cassie with a casual tilt of his eyebrow.

‘Mikhail said he was coming, unfortunately, but I’ll make sure he behaves,’ said Ayeesha with a glower in the direction of the snotty Russian boy. He didn’t see it, being wrapped round Saski. ‘I saw him and Sara trying to bait you earlier – nicely handled, by the way. I’ve already given him an earful about how he’s been acting.’

‘I’ll bet you have!’ Cassie laughed, then shook her head. ‘Nothing to do with that, but you know what? I think I’ll call it a night.’

‘Really?’ said Richard, with an edge of disappointment.

‘Really.’ She touched his hand and smiled. ‘Nothing personal, seriously. It’s not you and it’s certainly not Mikhail. It’s Isabella. I felt kind of guilty leaving her, she’s understandably been finding things difficult lately, and I don’t want to be out till all hours. If I head home and give her some gossip, hopefully she’ll forgive me for not being around so much this term. And I
do
owe her for this dress.’

‘Good point.’ He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, his lips lingering a moment longer than was necessary, making her skin tingle.

Single and ready to tingle, Cassandra … Are you still
trying to deny it?

Cassie blushed, ignoring Estelle as Richard continued.

‘See you tomorrow, maybe?’

‘Uh, sure. Go on, have fun. See you, guys. Oh, but Ayeesha?’ She paused. ‘Don’t let him get into any trouble, will you?’

Ayeesha gave an unladylike bellow of laughter, then hooked her arm through Richard’s and led him off. Cassie gazed after them wistfully, then shook herself. It would have been fun – maybe too much fun. But quite honestly she was glad of the break. She needed to have a good hard think about a few things.

‘Hi, honey, I’m home!’

Cassie barged happily into the room they shared. She’d missed Isabella, she realised; a night out just wasn’t the same without the wild-haired, wild-brained Argentinian. They had to get back on some kind of even keel. Isabella’s was the friendship she valued most in the world, for heaven’s sake.

For a fleeting second Isabella didn’t seem to hear her. She was at her desk in the far corner, tousled head bent. ‘It was great to see you,’ she told her laptop softly.

Ah. She was engrossed in a webchat. As she raised her head, seeming to feel Cassie more than hear her, she snapped her head round swiftly and broke it off. A click of the mouse closed the chat window.

‘Hi!’ There was a crimson tinge to Isabella’s cheekbones.

‘Hey!’ Bouncing down on the bed closest to her friend, Cassie smiled. ‘Who were you chatting to?’

‘My mother. She says hi.’ The crimson shade deepened.

‘Oh! Your dad too?’

‘Nope. I mean, yeah, I’m sure he sends his love as well.’ Hurriedly Isabella closed the laptop.

‘No, it was just, I thought I heard—’ A male voice? A weirdly familiar one, at that. Cassie shook herself. Few hearing she might have, but she was more than a little tipsy. She could have been mistaken. Maybe …

But it was none of her business. And the important thing was getting back on solid ground with Isabella, not interrogating her.

‘Have I got some gossip for
you
!’ Cassie gave her roommate a broad grin.

‘Good!’ Isabella clapped her hands, her expression relaxing. ‘That’s the only reason I allowed you to go to the party! Now, just before you start, wait five – I got hold of that bottle of champagne …’