Just because you've all been so well behaved here's another part... Well ok, it just happens to be ready earlier than I thought. Hope you enjoy
Miss Cackle leaned out of the window and frowned as she realised that the main gates were open. They were supposed to be locked. Although the pupils always complained that they were only shut to keep them from escaping, the truth was that the gates were very good at keeping the outside world out. During her time as a teacher she'd learnt that not everyone was as tolerant towards witches as they could be and she wanted to protect her girls from such negative reactions for as long as possible. She turned back as she heard the door open.
"Good evening Imogen." She greeted her colleague. "Did you by any chance leave the gates open when you came in from your run?"
"What?" Imogen made her way over to the window. She took in the main gates and smiled. "That wasn't me Miss Cackle, that was Haldane."
Imogen stood away from the window and took a chair by the blazing fire.
"I asked him to make sure that they were shut when he was finished."
"Finished?" Miss Cackle wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on in her school. "What is it that he is doing that requires 'finishing'?"
Imogen picked up the local paper from the table in front of her and turned to the sport pages.
"The rest of the players are returning tonight from…" She paused as she realised that she wasn't sure exactly where it was they had been. "From… somewhere." She waved a hand as though that would indicate their location.
"Aha. So I see Mr Harrington sees fit to ignore the quarantine ruling that has been imposed?"
Imogen immediately lowered the paper.
"I'd forgotten all about that."
"You can bet your life that Constance hasn't." Miss Cackle warned and Imogen's face became one of concern.
"I suppose it's too late to tell them to go?" She thought about things for a moment. "If there's a quarantine in operation how come I was allowed to go out on a run?"
Miss Cackle pulled a face.
"You weren't supposed to be allowed to go beyond the school gates." She grimaced. "I get the feeling both of us are about to be on the end of a stern lecture about duty and responsibility."
"Great!" Imogen returned her attention to the paper. After a few moments, she lowered it again. "I take it there's been no improvement with Fenella?"
Miss Cackle shook her head.
"She's still up in the sickbay at the moment. Miss Bat's looking after her."
"She's not intent on singing to her is she?"
"She was until Constance warned her that she ran the risk of catching the virus if she inhaled too much."
Imogen's eyes narrowed.
"But that's not true is it?"
"No dear. I'm afraid that we still have no real idea of what is causing the magic loss. Constance just wanted to try and make sure that Fenella's stay in sickbay was as comfortable and pain free as possible."
"Poor Miss Bat."
"I doubt you'd be saying that if she was threatening to sing at you from dawn till dusk."
Mildred looked round at the small gathering in her room and smiled inwardly; it was great to have the gang back again. Although Haldane had only been around for a few days, he'd pretty much taken over the school and all conversation seemed to revolve around him or his play. She'd assumed that rehearsals would last all evening and that she wouldn't get the chance to sit round and chat with Enid, Jadu and Ruby. She'd been pleasantly surprised to see them turn up at her door twenty minutes ago.
She really wanted to ask them if Haldane had spoken to them about magic but Maud's words earlier were still ringing in her ears. She had been surprised at how upset her friend had seemed when she'd questioned whether Haldane might be up to something. She didn't understand why Maud was being so protective towards him.
She was jolted back to the here and now as there was the unmistakable sound of an engine back firing.
"That's not Mr Blossom's van is it?" Maud queried. The other girls shook their heads immediately. With so few vehicles entering or leaving the premises, they'd grown accustomed to the distinctive sound of each engine.
"Well who else could it be?" She wanted to know.
The girls looked at each other in turn until the penny finally dropped.
"Haldane's players." Ruby exclaimed and there was suddenly a mad dash to get to the window.
"Let me see." Jadu complained as the others crowded her out.
"There really isn't anything to see." Mildred assured her as she tried to dodge away from Enid's sharp elbows.
The engine finally died away and two figures climbed from the front of the van.
"They don't look much like actors do they?" Mildred noted.
"What d'you expect actors to look like?" Jadu countered.
Mildred shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm not sure really but not like these guys."
Silence fell amongst the girls as they contented themselves with watching what was happening outside. The two who had climbed from the van were now opening up the back of it and three more of Haldane's team emerged.
"Wonder who the new one is?" Enid mused, remembering that there had only been four of them in the beginning.
There was the sound of a door opening somewhere below them and Haldane appeared in the courtyard moments later.
"What are they saying?" Maud had strained to hear what was being said but had no luck.
"More to the point, what is that?" Enid chipped in, pointing at the tarpaulin-covered item that was now being manhandled from the back of the van.
"It looks really heavy." Mildred noted. "What do you think it is?"
"Some prop for the show." Enid suggested but Mildred was less than convinced.
"But what could you possibly need in the show that was that size?"
Enid tapped the side of her nose.
"You know I can't tell you anything about the play. It's a secret."
"Well I think it's stupid." Mildred told her. "I don't see why the rest of us can't know what it is you're doing."
"Haldane wants it to be a surprise to everyone. He doesn't want information leaking out as that would spoil everything."
"I bet HB will demand to know what it is." Mildred warned her but Enid shook her head.
"No-one's going to know what's in the play. That includes HB."
Mildred looked round at the other girls in the room. She felt as though Haldane and his play were taking over the school. There was no way that HB would stand for the subject matter of the play being a surprise. Mildred doubted that anything they plotted and planned in the school came as a surprise to Miss Hardbroom as the teacher seemed to hear and see everything. For a moment, she entertained the idea of going to see HB and asking her what she thought of Haldane but she quickly dismissed the idea and turned her attention back to the conversation that was taking place in the room.
"How come you're not down there helping Haldane to carry things in?" Maud wanted to know as she tickled Tabby behind the ears.
"We will be." Ruby told her. "Haldane's asked that we go and help him when he's got everything in the building."
"So you're off again in a minute then?" Mildred asked, trying not to let the disappointment show in her voice.
"Yep." Ruby confirmed. "Haldane wants a hand with setting things up."
"Ruby thinks that she can blind him with her scientific know-how." Enid teased her friend.
"I do not." She smiled back. "Not that I wouldn't mind the opportunity to spend a few hours talking to him." She sighed. "He really is heavenly."
Mildred sighed heavily.
"I can't believe that the three of you are still fawning over him."
Maud cleared her throat and Mildred sighed again.
"Sorry." She apologised sarcastically. "I can't believe that the four of you are still fawning over him."
"It's not fawning." Jadu argued. "We just like him, that's all." Saying that, she rose to her feet. "Shouldn't we go and see if Haldane wants a hand yet?"
Enid looked guiltily at Mildred before agreeing.
"Sorry Millie but we really should go and see if we can help him." She rose to her feet. "You don't mind, do you?"
Maud and Mildred both shook their heads.
"It's fine." They assured their friends.
Maud watched the others go.
"You know I think I'm actually looking forward to him leaving."
Mildred smiled.
"Does this mean that you're starting to change your opinion of him?"
No." Maud confessed. "I still think he's great. I'm just looking forward to having the others back again." She lifted Tabby from her lap and placed him down on the bed. "I'm going to try and get some revision done. I get the feeling that HB's likely to start springing tests on us without warning."
"Mmm." Mildred cast her mind back over the past couple of days. "I don't think that she likes having Haldane here."
Maud smiled as she headed for the door.
"I don't think she likes having anyone here who isn't a witch. I bet she blocks her chimney up at Christmas to stop Santa getting in and nails the windows shut to keep out the tooth fairy."
Mildred watched as the door closed behind her friend before turning her attention to Tabby.
"Right then Tabs, want to test me on a few simple spells?" She plonked the book down on the bed in front of the cat and watched as Tabby hopped off the bed and headed over to the corner of the room he liked to call his own. "Coward!" She called after him before picking up the book and trying to concentrate her mind on the words in front of her.
"Mr Harrington will be here shortly." Miss Cackle scurried down the corridor, trying to keep pace with Miss Hardbroom. "Imogen agreed to have a word with him and he's going to stop by the staff room. That should give us the ideal opportunity of finding out what his play is going to be about."
Constance scowled. As far as she was concerned, there shouldn't be a play, and if there absolutely had to be one then they should have been the ones to choose the subject matter. She opened her mouth to explain her thoughts on the subject but quickly shut it again. She'd already made it perfectly clear how she felt and therefore didn't see the need to repeat herself.
She opened the door to the staff room and took in the presence of Miss Bat who was seated in one of the comfortable chairs by the fire. She was picking at her knitting as though trying to remember what pattern she had been attempting to follow. Constance cast her eyes over the misshapen multi-coloured mess that sat on Davina's lap and shook her head.
"I take it that you haven't simply abandoned Fenella?" There was a definite threat in Constance's tone. Miss Bat shook her head nervously and dropped another couple of stitches.
"Griselda is sitting with her." She stammered in reply.
"Well at least that's an hour away from your interminable twittering." Constance mused as she took up her accustomed place at the window.
Miss Bat opened her mouth to say something but swiftly changed her mind and concentrated all her attentions on the number 6 needle that seemed to be giving her no end of trouble.
Amelia followed her deputy into the room and listened to the exchange. There were times when Constance still had the ability to surprise her. She knew that Constance liked to maintain the image of being aloof and somehow immune to the events around her so it was a surprise to see her worrying so much about the state of Fenella's health.
Amelia settled into her chair and waited for Imogen and Haldane to join them. There was a part of her that was dreading the meeting. She had to find out from Haldane what the play was going to be about and if Constance took exception to the subject matter then an argument was definitely on the cards. She sighed and wished for the umpteenth time that people would just learn to get along.
She raised her head expectantly as the door to the staff room creaked open. Imogen strolled into the room with a broad smile on her face.
"Haldane's just settling his group in and then he'll be right over."
Constance sighed heavily at the prospect of the wait whilst the others did their best to ignore her impatience.
"Ladies, ladies." Haldane finally swept into the room and bowed to the assembled teachers. "I hope that you will all honour me with your presence in the Great Hall tomorrow night?"
Miss Cackle pulled her glasses from her nose and rubbed at a speck of dirt on one of the lenses.
"Could you tell us Mr Harrington exactly what play you will be performing?"
Haldane shook his head slowly.
"I'm sorry Miss Cackle but I have been sworn to secrecy." He saw the concern on her face. "I can assure you that it's nothing that will offend anyone here."
"Hhmm." Constance muttered disbelievingly.
Haldane turned to face her and bowed in her direction.
"Forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn." He apologised to her. "But I get the distinct impression that you are not looking forward to the production that the girls will be putting on."
Constance glared at him but didn't reply. If Haldane was bothered by her silence, he didn't let it show.
"I'm sure you will all be amazed by the performance you will witness." He assured them. "I can promise you that it will be a night to remember."
"Well I'm looking forward to it." Miss Bat told him and glared at Constance as she sighed heavily. "Unlike some of the people here I appreciate all the work that you've put in."
"We are all entitled to our opinions." Haldane reminded her. "But I'm sure that we will all be there to support the girls on the night."
"Of course we will." Miss Cackle butted in, aware that little exchanges like this between Constance and Davina had a nasty habit of sparking into full-blown rows. She really didn't want to have Haldane witnessing one of those.
A flash of fear spiked through her as she thought of the last parent's evening. Actually, it had been the first ever parents evening, and if she had her way, it would also be the last. Imogen had told her that her previous school had held these evenings and gained a lot from them. Against her better judgement, she had agreed to host one. The evening had appeared to be going well until one of the parents happened to ask which part of the school curriculum was valued as the most important. With hindsight, Miss Cackle realised that she should have stressed that each subject had its own merits but she hadn't had time to answer before a spat broke out between Miss Bat and Miss Hardbroom.
When it reached a head Miss Hardbroom simply vanished from the room whilst any parent who wanted to talk to Miss Bat for the rest of the night had had to do so by shouting through the door of the stock cupboard.
She shook her head and tried to shake the fear that was now beginning to settle around her shoulders. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea if Miss Hardbroom did decide to boycott the evening.
Haldane bowed again to the assembled group and explained that he still had a lot of work to do before departing the room.
Imogen turned to face Constance the moment that Haldane had left the room.
"Don't you think you could try to be a little more supportive?"
Constance sighed.
"I have explained on numerous occasions in the past few days my views on Haldane and his presence within these walls. I do not see why it should be necessary for me to repeat myself."
Imogen frowned.
"But you are coming to see the play aren't you?"
"If Miss Cackle deems it a formal affair then I shall be there but otherwise…"
"The girls are putting a lot of effort into this." Imogen reminded her.
"I am sure they are." Constance agreed with her.
"So why are you being so negative about this?"
"You just want to make sure that the rest of us don't accidentally have any fun don't you?" Davina dropped her knitting onto her lap and glared up at Constance.
Constance raised her eyebrows.
"Don't you think you're getting a little over excited Davina?"
"You just can't stand the idea of the girls having fun, can you?" Miss Bat was on a roll now. Miss Cackle clasped a hand over her eyes and prayed that the argument would play itself out within minutes.
"Would you at least try and keep some sense of proportion?" Constance snapped back.
"Proportion…Proportion!" Miss Bat rose to her feet and pulled the baton from her hair, waving it in Constance's direction. "I'll tell you all about proportion."
Constance raised a hand.
"Can't we just pretend that I've listened to everything you have to say and bypass the rant that I fear you're about to launch into?"
Davina Bat narrowed her eyes and, not for the first time, wished that she had the perfect comeback for every situation in the same way that Constance seemed to.
"If you don't like it why don't you just get out of our way?" She shrieked back at the taller woman, aware that all she was missing to complete the picture of a spoilt child was the stamping of a foot.
Constance stared at the angry woman and then switched her gaze and took in the folded arms and defensive posture that Imogen had adopted.
"I take it that you are in agreement with Miss Bat?"
Imogen took a deep breath.
"I think she has a valid point. If you are so against this project then why are you here?" A thought sprang up in Imogen's head. "I bet you get a kick out of putting everyone down, don't you? I bet it does what passes for your heart good to think that you've ruined something that would otherwise be enjoyable for the girls."
Constance's mouth became nothing more than a hard line.
"Now Constance…" Miss Cackle tried to intervene but her deputy was not in the mood to listen to platitudes.
"If I am not permitted to hold my own views on this subject without being the victim of an unprovoked personal attack then I don't see how I can remain within the school."
"Constance there's no need to take this so hard." Amelia tried to intervene but her deputy wasn't prepared to listen.
"You have all made it abundantly clear that you don't wish to listen to my opinions on the subject of Haldane Harrington…."
"Constance please." Amelia implored her but Constance turned on her heel and headed for the door.
"I shall remove myself from the premises until this farce has been played out." She glared at Miss Bat and Miss Drill in turn. "I'm sure that will make you immeasurably happier. When I see Mr Harrington's vehicle departing I shall then return. Only then and not before."
"If you'd only…" Amelia's sentence petered out as she realised that she was talking to herself. She slapped her hands against her side in frustration and turned to face Imogen. "I was hoping to avoid that." She confessed. "I was hoping that she'd be a little more reasonable."
"Do you really think that she'll come back once Haldane has gone?" Imogen asked nervously, thinking that perhaps events had gone too far. She was reassured when Amelia nodded her head.
"She wouldn't abandon the girls." Amelia assured her. She frowned at the two women. "I know Constance wasn't exactly championing the event but I do think you were both a little hard on her."
"But she always does this." Imogen countered. "She always stares down her nose at every idea I come up with. And Haldane has really engaged the girls. I've never seen them so interested in something before."
Amelia wanted to disagree with Imogen but found that she couldn't. Maybe Constance leaving the school for a day was the best solution all round.
Mildred scratched a line through the sentence she had just written. She'd tried to settle down to studying but found that there were just too many distractions. First Tabby had thought that trying to play with the end of the pencil she was using to write with was the greatest game in the world; then Winky, Blinky and Nod had woken up and started flitting around the room. After that, things had just gone further downhill. Dropping the work onto the bed, Mildred rose to her feet and crossed to stare out of the window.
There were nights when she hated being stuck in school. There were times when she wanted nothing more than to climb on her broomstick and fly off into the night. She knew the reality of the situation though. Assuming she did manage to negotiate the school walls without crashing into them there was still Miss Hardbroom to get past. Somehow Mildred just knew that she'd turn up at the critical moment; it was something that she always seemed to do.
She placed both her hands on the windowsill and leant out of the window, looking down at the courtyard below. Haldane's white van was parked in the courtyard and two of Haldane's team were standing next to it. There was a flare of light as one of them lit up a cigarette.
"I don't like the look of them." She told the occupants of her room. Tabby yawned widely and returned his attention to licking his paws, whilst the bats twitched their wings but otherwise remained motionless.
"Fat lot of good you lot are." She muttered and turned her attention back to the goings on outside. "Maybe I should try and find out what they are up to?" She looked back over her shoulder to see if there was going to be more of a response to this suggestion but it was met with equal disinterest.
Mildred cast her eyes over the goings on in the courtyard for a few more moments before making a decision. She moved away from the window and headed towards the door.
"If HB comes round…" Mildred paused and tried to come up with a decent excuse. "Just tell her that you haven't seen me." She settled with before exiting the room.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Mildred nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard a voice boom out from behind her. She was running through a list of possible excuses when her brain finally worked out that the voice she had heard was not that of Miss Hardbroom.
"Maud!" She spun on her heel and glowered at her friend. "You nearly scared me half to death. What are you doing out here?"
Maud shrugged her shoulders.
"I had a feeling that you wouldn't stay in your room and study. I figured that you'd need me to keep you out of trouble."
"I was planning to try and find out what Haldane and his people are really bringing into the school."
Maud tilted her head to one side and regarded her friend for a few moments.
"You really are worried about what's going on aren't you?"
Mildred nodded.
"There's something not right about all this. I can't put my finger on it but I overheard Haldane on the phone earlier on and I didn't like the sound of what he was saying."
"And what do you want to do about it?"
"Take a look around, see what we can find out." Mildred explained. "I know that the others all think that Haldane's wonderful and there's no way that they'll listen to anything I say."
"Yeah but I also think that Haldane's wonderful." Maud reminded her friend.
"True… but you are going to help me aren't you?"
Maud nodded.
"You need someone to make sure that you don't end up in too much trouble. I don't think that you're right about Haldane and if coming with you is the only way to prove that you are wrong then that's what I'll do."
Enid groaned as she struggled with the box that Haldane had asked her to carry. It had seemed like a great idea to help Haldane but now she was beginning to regret her earlier enthusiasm. She'd forgotten just how much she hated lugging stuff around.
"I don't see why we can't use magic to help us." She grumbled to Ruby as she finally reached her destination and set the box down on the floor.
Ruby shot her a wry smile.
"I don't think Haldane would appreciate experiencing the Foster's effect first hand."
"I don't see how helping Haldane could be seen as a selfish act." Enid argued but she knew that Ruby would come up with something to justify her stance.
"Lightening the load would only benefit you." Ruby told her as she too placed the box she had been carrying on the floor. "I wonder what all this stuff is?" She went to lift the lid on the box but Enid's shout made her pull up short. "I wasn't going to look." She pleaded but Enid wasn't convinced.
"You know that Haldane told us that we weren't to look." She chided her friend. "He wants us all to see this at the same time."
Ruby looked suitably guilty.
"I can't help it if I'm curious." She told Enid. "I'm sure that one little peek wouldn't hurt." She looked questioningly at her friend to see if her resolve was weakening or not. She thought that she caught a hint of temptation on Enid's face. "Just a quick peek." She assured her.
Enid chewed her lips for a moment as she struggled with her conscience.
"Well maybe a small look wouldn't hurt." She finally admitted. Ruby beamed at her friend and waited for her to reach her side. There were two snap catches on the lid of the box and she reached out for the first one, finding to her surprise that her hands were shaking slightly. After clenching her fists she closed her eyes and settled her nerves.
"Come on." Enid urged her; now keen to see what was contained within the container.
Ruby opened her eyes again and swiftly opened both of the catches. Placing both hands on the lid, she slowly lifted the top of the box.
"What the…" She exclaimed as she caught sight of the gleaming piece of machinery that lay within.
"Doesn't look much like a prop to me." Enid confessed.
"That's because it isn't."
Enid and Ruby jumped in shock as they heard Haldane's voice behind them. They turned to apologise but no words came from their mouths.
"You really shouldn't have done that." He told them. "You've spoiled the surprise now."
Enid risked a glance at Ruby. There was something in Haldane's tone that she found un-nerving. Up until this moment she had never seen Haldane be anything other than charming, now however he came across as downright menacing.
"Would it help if we said we were sorry?" Ruby stammered.
Haldane shook his head slowly.
"Well this gives me a bit of a problem." He confessed to them. "I can't very well let you go back to the others and start blabbing about what you've seen."
"But we don't know what it is that we've seen." Enid explained
Haldane smiled.
"I'm sorry but I can't take the chance that someone will work out what I'm doing." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small canister.
Ruby frantically tried to think of some spell to cast in Haldane's direction but she ran out of time. There was a low hissing sound and the world around her blurred and fell unnaturally silent.
