Nanette's Tale

Chapter 9

It was nearly an hour before Nanette was able to return to the bedroom, an hour spent watching as the healers poked and prodded at Lillian and then escorting the younger girl back to her room. She was tempted to stay longer, but she couldn’t be seen in a younger girl’s dorm. Her dormmates would say all sorts of things, mostly complete nonsense. The rumours of favouritism wouldn’t do her any good after the older girl graduated.

And I won’t be here in a couple of weeks, if not less, Nanette thought, as she pushed the door open and stepped into the bedroom. Lillian will have to make do with what I can give her before then.

She frowned. Penny was lying on the bed, tears staining her eyes. It was brutally obvious she’d been caned. Nanette felt a stab of sympathy that surprised her. Penny might have done something that deserved something more than a slap on the wrist, but she hadn’t been quite in her right mind. The suggestions had pushed her into lashing out at her rival before she could realise just how bad an idea it was.

“I’m grounded,” Penny said. Her breath came in fits and starts. “I… I’m grounded.”

Good, Nanette thought. She pasted a concerned expression on her face. “You’re stuck in this room?”

“No more flying for the rest of the term,” Penny said. “I… I won’t get to impress the guests.”

Nanette pretended to think about it. “But you could still claim the credit for planning the display, couldn’t you?”

Penny shot her a look that suggested she’d said something stupid. “Do you think anyone will give me the credit?”

“If you’re the one who planned the display,” Nanette argued, “they can hardly tell everyone they did it.”

“Yeah,” Penny said. “They just won’t mention it. I have to blow my own trumpet and… and I can’t.”

“I see.” Nanette opened the drawer and searched for the soothing lotion. “Why don’t you ask someone to do it for you?”

“And precisely who do you think is going to risk giving up their share of the credit?” Penny took the jar and started to apply the lotion to her backside. “My team? They’ll be pretending they don’t know me. The other teams? Get real. They’ll be promoting themselves, not me.”

Nanette smiled. “Ask Lillian.”

Penny stared at her. “Are you out of your mind?”

“No,” Nanette said. “Think about it. Lillian has every reason to want you to suffer, right? So her telling everyone you planned the display will look good, right? And you can play it up, later, as you trying to apologise for losing your temper and hurting her. Nearly killing her. You do owe her more than just a written apology, so… you can claim you’re giving her some patronage. And so on.”

Penny didn’t look convinced. “You think she’d do it for me?”

“I’d urge her to do it,” Nanette said. Things might just work out better than she’d hoped. If nothing else, it would be embarrassing — afterwards — for Penny to withdraw her patronage or cheat the younger girl. The community might not give much of a damn about Lillian, but they’d take note of a patron who tried to weasel out of her commitments. “And you would find a way to reward her, wouldn’t you?”

She smiled. “So you can’t fly yourself. So what? You can still show off your spellwork.”

Penny frowned as she forced herself to stand. “I’m not even allowed to talk to the team.”

“So have Lillian carry messages,” Nanette said, patiently. “And if someone complains, you can say you’re trying to make it up to her.”

“Hah.” Penny took off her dress and headed for the washroom. “Do you think that’ll work?”

“It should,” Nanette said. She winced at the marks on Penny’s backside. The gym mistress had caned the back of her legs, as well as her buttocks. She knew from experience that was extra painful. “Yes, you did something stupid. Yes, you deserved to get thrashed. But… you have a chance to show you can learn from experience, that you can recover from your mistakes. And it will work out in your favour.”

Penny turned and gave her a shy smile. “Do you think so?”

“Yes,” Nanette said. “And I’ll help you.”

She smiled, coldly, as Penny stepped into the washroom and closed the door behind her. It had worked. Penny and Nanette would remain within the school during the flying display, while practically everyone else was in the Silent Woods. And they’d see more than they expected, when the different pieces of spellwork started to interact. Nanette allowed her smile to grow wider as she studied the parchments. Lillian would serve as the go-between, if Nanette asked, giving Nanette a chance to switch the parchments around. It didn’t matter if she told everyone Penny had done the work or not. It might be better, afterwards, if no one was quite sure who to blame.

A shame Penny isn’t someone worse, Nanette thought. It would be a lot easier to set her up to take the fall.

The thought bothered her. She’d have had no qualms about landing Ophelia in the cesspit. Framing the girl for something awful would’ve been fun. She’d have deserved it, even if the deception hadn’t lasted long enough to get the girl in real trouble. But Penny… wasn’t so bad. She was an aristo, and haughty enough to deserve some comeuppance, but she wasn’t an outright villain. She might even have been a good friend, if things had been different.

Lillian wouldn’t agree, Nanette reminded herself. A person can be both hero and villain at the same time.

She started to work through the spellwork, wishing she could write her work down. She didn’t dare. The rooms weren’t closely monitored, but someone — perhaps even Penny — would wonder why she was writing out scenarios that would inevitably lead to disaster. She wondered, briefly, if she could do the work outside the school, then dismissed the thought. The risk was simply too great. She’d just have to improvise.

Penny stepped out of the washroom, towelling herself off. Nanette glanced up and stared. Penny was stunning. Stripped of her uniform, her hair hanging in ringlets over a perfectly-toned body, she was… Nanette looked away, hastily. The mission was too important to risk any sort of emotional entanglement. She concentrated, pushing the feelings into a small box and locking them away. Penny was going to hate her, when all was said and done. There was nothing she could do about that, not now. She’d been manipulating the girl from day one.

“I was thinking we’d start with a basic series of loops,” Penny said. Her voice was muffled as she pulled a new dress over her head. “And then go into a flying dance routine.”

“So I see.” Nanette didn’t dare look up until Penny was properly dressed. “You’re going to be dancing on air.”

“And teasing the boys with a chance to look up our dresses,” Penny said. “They’re going to be disappointed.”

Nanette gave her a sharp look. “You have a filthy mind.”

“You’ve never seen the way some boys look at you?” Penny smirked, as if she’d realised something important. “They can’t help it.”

“So they say.” Nanette kept her face expressionless, even as alarm bells went off inside her head. It was quite easy to manipulate someone who was attracted to you. It was how she’d manipulated Penny. Was it a coincidence or was she hinting she’d realised what Nanette was doing? “All the blood flows out of their heads and goes somewhere else.”

Penny’s smirk grew wider. “Have you seen a naked boy?”

“No.” Nanette pretended to be shocked. “I’m not supposed to see a naked man until my wedding night.”

“I suppose they wouldn’t want you to get scared and run away,” Penny said. “That would be awkward, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Nanette had to smile. She hoped someone took the time to explain the facts of life to Nadine before her wedding night. The mundane aristocracy liked keeping their daughters in ignorance for reasons that made no sense to her. She’d once read an anatomy textbook that concealed more than it revealed. And one glance at the diagram had been enough to tell her the writer was an idiot. “I suppose it would upset people.”

She studied the parchments for a long moment. “You work on precisely what you want to happen, then we’ll check and recheck the spells before putting them together,” she said, as the dinner bell rang. “Are you meant to stay here?”

“Outside class, yes. They’ll bring my dinner on a tray.” Penny shook her head. “They didn’t say I’d lose my badge, but…”

“Make it up to Lillian,” Nanette advised. “I’ll talk to her, convince her to help. You can make everything up to her and show you’ve learnt something.”

“Fine,” Penny said.

Nanette gave the girl a hug, then turned and left the room. The corridors were still deserted, only a handful of students hurrying through the dorms. The majority of the older girls were eating in Pendle or practicing their flying for the display. Nanette snorted at the thought as she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room. She didn’t really blame the older girls for eating out. The school’s food wasn’t bad, but it was bland.

Lillian came over to her as she sat down. “Can I get you something?”

“Just a regular tray, please,” Nanette said. The younger girl looked fully recovered. Her classmates wouldn’t mock her for being hexed by an older girl, not when there was no way any of them could have done better. “And I need to talk to you afterwards. Meet me in the library.”

“As long as she’s not around.” Lillian seemed astonished at her own daring. “Where is she?”

“Grounded.” Nanette allowed herself a tight smile. “She was heavily punished.”

“Good.” Lillian retreated, then returned with a tray. “I’ll see you afterwards.”

Nanette nodded, then started to eat. The meat pie was bland, as if the cook had forgotten to add salt or any seasoning to the mix. She ate it anyway, rolling her eyes at the students muttering complaints about the food. There were plenty of spells that could be used to change the flavour, if they thought to try. It wasn’t as if the pie was charmed against transfiguration. They could change the flavour effortlessly…

And no one ever thought to try, she mused. Why the hell not?

She mulled it over as she finished her meal, put the tray to one side and headed for the door. Laughter puzzled her. It was familiar enough for the differences to be disconcerting. The lack of boys gave vent to everything from boyish behaviour to student pashes that were both harmless and deadly serious. And the girls were encouraged to think of themselves as sisters, standing together against a hostile world. Nanette snorted in irritation. In her experience, sisterhood — and brotherhood — only lasted as long as it was convenient. Penny wouldn’t hesitate to sell her down the river if she thought she’d come out ahead.

They say the Sisterhood is the secret power behind the thrones, she reminded herself. She’d studied the legends, while her wrist was being repaired. The Sisterhood claimed immense power and influence, but… if that were true, she was sure she’d have seen more signs of its presence. It was far more likely it was simply a quarrel writ large, an association of magicians who just happened to be female. But does it really have enough influence to matter?

The librarian gave her a sharp look as she walked into the library. Nanette did her best to ignore it, although — as soon as Lillian arrived — she took the younger girl back down the corridor and into a deserted classroom. There was no point in irritating the librarians, not when she needed access to the library. She didn’t think she could be banned from the chamber completely, but there was no point in taking chances. She was all too aware she was running out of time.

“I didn’t realise she’d do that,” she said, when they were alone. “How are you feeling?”

Lillian grimaced. “My dormmates were full of sympathy. It was… unreal.”

“They’re smart enough to know you didn’t stand a chance,” Nanette said. “What she did was cruel.”

She patted Lillian’s shoulder, awkwardly. She couldn’t think of any firstie who could beat a fifth-year student in combat. Emily had beaten her — she admitted it was true, even though she didn’t want to — but she’d cheated. What sort of person would turn a Death Viper into a weapon? And besides, there were only three years between Emily and herself. There were at least five between Lillian and Penny.

But Emily did kill a necromancer, she reminded herself. Necromancers were dangerously insane, yet extremely powerful. I wish I knew how she did it.

“I know.” Lillian looked up at her. “Are you still going to mentor me?”

“Yes,” Nanette lied. The die would be cast on Saturday. She’d flee the school on Sunday, win or lose. “And Penny is going to help you too.”

Lillian tensed. “Help me? Her?”

“She has to make it up to you, somehow,” Nanette pointed out, patiently. “And giving you some extra help will go a long way towards it.”

“And what happens if I refuse?” Lillian sounded reluctant. “I don’t want anything from her.”

Of course not, Nanette thought. She knew how she would have reacted if someone suggested she play nice with Ophelia. The wretched girl hadn’t tried to kill her. Penny nearly killed you.

“She does have quite a bit to offer,” Nanette said, instead. She felt a pang of guilt, which she ruthlessly pushed aside. “And you could ask for something you want in return for letting her help you.”

Lillian frowned. “Like what?”

“She could teach you how to duel,” Nanette said. “Or she could teach you how to fit into society. Or she could simply introduce you to powerful people who could do favours for you.”

“Really?” Lillian didn’t sound convinced. “I had the impression she wasn’t that important.”

“She’s Deputy Head Girl and will be Head Girl next year,” Nanette said. She rather suspected that wouldn’t be true. “No matter her origins, being Head Girl will open doors for her. She’ll have an apprenticeship, she’d graduate… and she’ll be in position to help you by the time you graduate. And she’ll be grateful if you let her kiss your ass a little right now.”

Lillian blushed. “Kiss my ass?”

“Old saying,” Nanette said. “The ass you kick on the way up may be the one you have to kiss on the way down.”

“Oh.” Lillian giggled. “I don’t think she’ll kiss my ass.”

“Not literally,” Nanette agreed. She leaned back in her chair and spread out her hands. “It’s like this. She screwed up, big time. It’s knocked her down a peg or two. She may continue to fall unless she finds a way to slow and stop the fall. If you let her help you now, showing she’s learnt her lesson, she’ll reward you when she’s climbed back up again.”

“I see, I think,” Lillian said. “And how do I know she’ll reward me?”

“Because it’s in her self-interest to reward you,” Nanette said. “If she cheats you, everyone will know she cheated you. They’ll never trust her again, no matter what she offers. She might not care about you, one way or the other, but she’ll care about her reputation. She’ll want to repair it… she does want to repair it.”

“And you think she can do it by kissing my ass,” Lillian said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“That’s because you’re not thinking like her,” Nanette said. “Or the greater community.”

She grinned. “Look at it this way. There’s a man — a handsome man — who’s married to a friend of yours. He cheats on the friend with another friend and gets divorced. You think he’s really handsome, but would you marry him? Of course not. A cheater who cheats is always a cheater, a betrayer who betrays is always a betrayer… it’s not easy to like a betrayer, even if he betrays in your favour. You’ll always be wondering when it’s your turn to get betrayed.”

“And you think they’d care if she betrayed me?” Lillian snorted. “I’m a commoner.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Nanette assured her. She could tell Lillian hadn’t done much socialising outside her dorm. “They’ll look at patterns of behaviour. A person who betrays once, whatever the motive, might betray again. Safer to deal with someone who hasn’t betrayed anyone. And believe me, Penny knows it.”

“Very well.” Lillian held up a hand. “But I want you to be there too.”

“Of course.” Nanette grinned. She’d happily play messenger if it meant she got to rewrite the messages a little. Neither of the other girls would suspect anything until it was far too late. “I’m sure it will work out for you.”

She chattered to Lillian until Lights Out, then returned to the bedroom. Penny was already asleep, tossing and turning under the blanket. Her desk was covered with parchments, each one outlining part of the planned flying display. Nanette studied them for a moment, then undressed and clambered into bed. She had a week — just under a week — to finalise her plans, then place a knife in Penny’s back. She regretted it, even though she was fairly sure Penny would escape blame. The investigation would reveal the truth. And she’d have to be well away from the school by the time the penny dropped.

And if this goes wrong, she thought as she closed her eyes, I’m dead.