The summer came to an end all too quickly. Daniel started missing Serena the second they said goodbye, and if it wasn't bad enough that he wouldn't see her for another year, he also had to say goodbye to his sister.

The whole house was in chaos. The servants were running from one end of the mansion to the other, reorganising it to fit the needs of the new family better. Daniel's room was nearly empty, all of his belongings already loaded onto the coach that was to take him to the school, including his new school uniform; the full Canterbury dress, as it was called. It was black, blue and white, the official colours of the school, and most certainly much neater than his old one.

Daniel found himself conflicted between hating that he had to leave Hazel behind and feeling relieved that he was finally free from Henry and his clubhouse. He spent his last hours at home in her room, trying to make up for the lack of attention he had shown her the past few months. "I don't want to go," he said, resting his head in his palm.

Hazel lay in her bed, looking at Daniel with a glance of melancholy. She didn't want him to go either. Even though she didn't have anything against Henrietta, she was uncomfortable with the thought of being left alone with her and John for so long. She was used to having Daniel around. She felt safe with him there.

But she didn't tell him. Instead she tried to cheer him up, "It'll be fine, Danny. I will write you letters and keep you updated! I'm sure you will have a good time and make a lot of new friends."

"I don't want new friends," Daniel said and looked at Hazel, "I'm fine with just Serena and you. I don't need other people in my life. Not even Father!"

The last comment had a tinge of strain to it, undeniably forced. She saw her older brother bite his lip. Even though he tried to act as if it didn't affect him, Hazel knew Daniel well enough to see that he was really hurt by their father's actions. She knew that he was hurt, and that was why she was able to forgive that he never was home any more, even if that left her completely alone. She put her hand over his and offered him a gentle smile. "What you have in life doesn't only have to be what you need," she said, "Sometimes it's fine to indulge. Even if you only need me and Serena, I'm sure it will be nice to have others as well."

Daniel sighed and stroked her hair. "We've grown up only attending to our needs," he said, a wry smile forming on his lips, "I'm not quite used to giving my desires any thought yet."

"It's about time, don't you think?" Hazel smiled.

He laughed and leaned forward to peck her on the forehead. "Since when did my baby sister become so wise, huh?"

She laughed and embraced him. "I'm going to miss you, Danny!"

"Not as much as I'm going to miss you."

"DANIEL! YOU'RE LEAVING NOW!"

Daniel cringed by the sound of John's roar resonating throughout the entire house. Hazel laughed at his expression. "Go now," she whispered, "Have fun, and remember to write me!"

It was the first time Daniel drove in such a fine carriage. Henrietta and John did not tag along, and he was thankful for that. Two single servants were sent with him, the butler, he had met on that Christmas evening one year ago – Charles, was his name – and a young errand boy named Edward Baker. Daniel didn't try to talk to either of them, he simply stared out the window at the country passing by as they neared town.

Daniel was calm. At first he had felt very nervous; how would the other students welcome him? Would he have any friends at all? Could he even keep up with the academic level? He had after all only gone to a simple grammar school run by the small village church. The teaching had not been so thorough, as it was mere charity for working class children.

But after exhausting himself with all those nerve-racking and completely unnecessary thoughts, he decided with himself that it didn't matter. He didn't have to make friends with anyone. He was just going there to educate himself. Nothing else. This decision made it all seem a bit more manageable. The expectations were gone, and he could focus.

As the coach strolled past the Westgate, the knot in his stomach started to form again, though. Even if he wanted to be careless, his subconscious was feeling differently. A single sweat drop fell from his forehead.

The Canterbury Cathedral was as tall and majestic as usual. The last time Daniel had been here, Henrietta and John were tying their knots. Not a very pleasant memory. But the carriage continued past the church, finally thundering into a gate placed a little ways behind it. The driveway was huge, and so were the buildings. Daniel stared out the window at all of the boys, both younger, older and the same age as him, running around, laughing, embracing each other and saying hello again after a long, well-deserved summer vacation.

Three buildings accompanied the first one, all looking as if they were taken out of a novel set in medieval times. It was in these buildings, St. Augustine of Canterbury first had started his school back when King Henry VIII had ruled. This was the King's School.

As soon as the coach stopped, Daniel climbed out. He looked around with wide eyes. Having completely forgotten how much he had detested the thought of going to this school at first, the only thing he felt now was awe.

"Mr. Wilkinson, sir, we will bring your luggage to your room now."

Daniel turned around to look at Charles and Edward. They were both carrying four large bags each, waiting patiently for Daniel to lead the way.

Suddenly he realised that he was the one in possession of the letter he had received from the school. It contained information on his room number as well as the curriculum for the semester, the order of his school uniform, the term dates and which class he was in. He fumbled in his pockets to find the piece of paper and unfolded it. "All right," he mumbled as he skimmed through the letter, "My room is number D13 in building three."

"Shall we go then?" Charles said and made a move to walk towards one of the smaller buildings on the right side of the main building. A move that looked very awkward.

Daniel grabbed on to some of the bags he carried, "You shouldn't carry all that by yourself. Let me take some of it, my arms work fine." Charles and Edward sent each other a glance before following the young boy to his chamber.

The building looked like it had been part of the Cathedral earlier. A long hallway with both walls, loft and floor made of bricks went from one end of the building to the other, and a flight of stairs led to another hallway on the next floor. But according to Daniel's letter, his room was placed on the ground floor. The boy led the way, checking the tags on the doors. A lot of boys his own age packed the hallway, and there was a lot of noise. Daniel was not at all used to such an atmosphere, but he didn't really mind it. The door showed up to his right. It was already open. "It's here!" he said, pointing at the door for the servants to see.

Charles and Edward stopped to allow Daniel to enter first. He peeked inside the room, seeing not one, but two beds in the small space, including a desk between them and two wardrobes. The bed by the window was already occupied by several bags and a single life-sized puppet with a real mess of brown, curly hair covering its whole head. Daniel walked into the room and put his bags on the unoccupied bed, when suddenly the doll jumped up, causing Daniel's heart to nearly jump all the way up his throat. "Don't take my bed!"

"Whoa!" Daniel exclaimed, sitting down on the opposite bed.

The puppet wasn't an actual puppet – it was a real live boy that apparently had just woken from a nap. He removed his wild bangs from his head and revealed a set of really large brown eyes, a snub nose and some protruding front teeth. All in all, the boy's face reminded Daniel of a rodent. He was so small and skinny that Daniel had mistaken him for being inanimate.

The boy turned his gaze from Daniel to the two servants by the door. Then he looked back at Daniel again, pointing a finger at him, "I want the bed by the window! Don't you dare take it!"

Daniel held up his hands in a calming gesture, "I won't take your bed! Don't worry!"

Charles and Edward walked into the room and put the bags down by the bed, Daniel sat on. "Do you need any more help, Mr. Wilkinson?" Charles said, eyeing the strange boy.

He shook his head, "No, thank you. You can go home." Daniel rummaged through one of his smaller bags and pulled out a letter. He handed it to Charles, "Give this to Hazel when you return!"

"As you wish, Mr. Wilkinson," Charles said and bowed his head, "I bid you a nice stay at the school. We'll see each other again soon."

Charles and Edward left the room again. Daniel sighed and turned to look at the small boy opposite him. And I thought that I was skinny, he thought, raising an eyebrow.

The boy frowned at him, almost in a hostile manner. "What are you looking at?"

Daniel widened his eyes. "N-nothing!" He tried to approach him in differently, "Um, so what is your name? Mine is Daniel."

The large brown orbs eyed him suspiciously. "My name is Benjamin. Benjamin Wood."

He gave Benjamin a tentative smile. "Nice to meet you! I guess you caught my surname earlier. We are going to be room mates, right?"

Benjamin's eyes scanned Daniel's bags, still looking very suspicious. "Yes." The boy made him nervous. He didn't know if this was the best first impression he had gotten of the school so far. Benjamin seemed like a really weird kid.

Daniel looked around the room, pursing his lips. He didn't know what to say, and it would be rude to just leave the room. The silence was very awkward.

"Do you want to see my snails?"

He looked perplexed at the smaller boy. "You keep snails as pets?"

Benjamin grinned, his teeth looking as if they would make the whole of his head fall to the floor due to the heavy size of them. "Yes, they're the best! I hide them in a box behind the stables. The Headmaster cannot give me a note about them because they're not really pets, so I'm technically allowed to have them here."

"Have you gotten a note about your pets before?" Daniel said, frowning.

"Well, only the ones that were discovered," Benjamin said, swinging his legs back and forth, "I'm pretty sure no one has found Patterson yet. I lost him on my first year."

Daniel didn't like the sound of that. "And what might Patterson be?"

Benjamin tilted his head and looked up towards the loft casually, way too casually for what his next words would turn out to be, "My South American boa!"

Daniel's eyes widened. Knowing that an exotic, possibly venomous snake was roaming the school grounds didn't make him feel safe at all. His new room mate was definitely not a good sign. He didn't know what to expect of this coming year.

It didn't take long before the school bell rang to announce dinner. All of the boys gathered in front of the main building, walking inside and seating themselves in the great dining hall.

Daniel followed Benjamin, who had lost his hostile attitude and now chattered heartily about all of his strange interests. Not only was he very fond of reptiles and insects, he found the human body interesting and apparently had no problem studying droppings and vomit. Daniel felt sick by the mere thought of it, but he didn't know anyone else on the school so far, so he had no choice but to stay by his room mate's side.

"So I actually found out that Joseph had tapeworm before the vet even arrived!" Benjamin snickered. It sounded more like a grunt than a laugh. "What do you say, Daniel, isn't that just neat?"

Daniel nodded with a stiff motion, trying his best to block out the picture of how Benjamin figured out that his father's dog had a tapeworm infection. He looked around in the hall, hoping that the Headmaster would start his speech soon so that he wouldn't have to listen to any more of Benjamin's atrocious stories.

"Hello Benji, who's your friend?"

He turned around to look in Benjamin's direction again. A very tall boy – even a bit taller than Henry – with an athletic figure and long, jet black hair sat down by Benjamin's side. He had a bright and charming smile.

Benjamin hiccuped, "Why, good day, Christopher! It sure is nice to see you again! This is my new room mate, Daniel."

Christopher held out his hand for Daniel to shake. "Hi Daniel. It's nice to meet you. My name is Christopher Knight."

Daniel couldn't help but notice how piercing his crystal blue eyes were. He felt a little better, meeting a boy that actually seemed normal. He smiled and shook Christopher's hand, "Nice to meet you, too."

Just then, another group of boys came striding, obviously teasing each other. The tallest one of them, a gangly redhead with freckles and a mischievous smile, grabbed the shorter one with round glasses and made a mess of his slick, brown hair. "Ow, come on, Timmy! My mum spent an hour doing it!"

Christopher laughed, "It's good to see you, lads. As much of a trouble maker as always, right, Timothy?"

The boy with the bright red hair winked at Christopher and sat down across from him. The boy with the glasses and now messy hair, and the third boy that accompanied them, sat down beside him. The third boy looked at Daniel with curious almond eyes, that somewhat reminded Daniel of Serena's, and fluffy brown hair. "Hey, are you the new boy? Daniel Wilkinson, right?" His dialect was slightly different, more rounded than the others'.

"Wilkinson? The family that Henrietta Evans married into?"

Daniel looked up at a newly arrived boy, one with well-groomed blond hair, blue eyes and a cocky smile. Just by his radiation, Daniel could tell that he was the leader type. The boy with glasses looked at Daniel with wide eyes. "Is that so? How exciting! I don't think I've introduced myself properly, my name is Harvey Steele."

The blond boy sat down beside Daniel and shook his hand, "Welcome to King's School. I am Everett Hammond, son of George Hammond. I'm sure you've heard of the paper production that my father owns."

Daniel didn't know what to do with himself. Suddenly there was a lot of new impressions that he had to process, and he barely even had the chance to answer anyone before one of the lively boys spoke up. The redhead also reached over to shake Daniel's hand, "Hi Daniel! My name is Timothy Clancy Moore, but you can just call me Timmy, that's what everyone else does!"

"And I'm Owen Wright," the gentle boy with the almond, deep brown eyes said. His fluid accent and calm demeanour made his voice sound almost soothing.

Daniel smiled tentatively at everyone, "Um, hello... It's really nice to meet all of you."

"See, you've overwhelmed him!" Christopher laughed, reaching past Benjamin to pat Daniel's shoulder, "Try and give the poor guy some space!"

Harvey adjusted his glasses, "But is it really true that your father is the man who married Mrs. Evans?"

"Don't you mean Mrs. Wilkinson now?" Timmy said, Harvey nudging him in the side as he laughed.

Daniel nodded, feeling very awkward being the object of attention. Everett put an arm around Daniel's shoulders, making him turn his attention to the charming boy. "Tell us, Daniel," he said, giving Daniel a smile that he could already tell would mean trouble, "Are the rumours about her true?"

The whole group of boys gasped. "Everett!" Harvey said with disbelief, "You don't ask such things! It's rude!"

"I actually want to know, too," Timmy said and leaned forward to stare at Daniel expectantly.

"I don't know, to be honest," Daniel said quickly, hoping that Everett would remove his arm from his shoulder. It made him feel uncomfortable.

Owen rested his chin in his palm, "Aren't you scared for your father? Don't you wonder if she might murder him like she did poor Mr. Evans?"

"Come on, Owen!" Harvey said, as insulted as Daniel should be, but wasn't.

"It's all right," he said with a small smile, "But I'd rather not talk about it." The boys fell silent, looking thoughtfully at Daniel. He turned his gaze to his lap, feeling sort of naked. He hadn't expected everyone to already know who he was. He felt completely out of his comfort zone, even though the boys seemed nice so far.

"It's fair if you don't want to talk about it." It was Christopher who broke the silence, "Sometimes Everett crosses the line a bit. He likes to do that." Christopher sent Everett an indicative look, and Everett grinned charismatically in response.

"Yes, it's completely fair," Timmy nodded, while Harvey adjusted his glasses once again.

"We apologise for meddling like that," Owen said. He brushed his curly long bangs out of the way so that he could look at Daniel.

Daniel smiled back at him, sincerely this time. "Don't mind it." Benjamin just looked back and forth at all of the boys with an eager look, like a dog looking for attention. None of the boys noticed him, though.

"Silence!" a voice rang through the hall, and all the noise subsided. Daniel turned to look up at the platform where the small group of professors were assembled. The Headmaster, a man in a cassock and with thin dark hair, stood up to talk. "Welcome back to King's School once again!"

"Bonjour, boys," Monsieur Le Grand said, "It's good to see you all again." He was a short man with sharp grey eyes and slicked back dark hair, a few grey strands barely visible. The features on his face were unusually prominent, his nose resembling a bird's beak.

Daniel hadn't had a problem with French earlier, but he didn't know if his knowledge could compete with any of the students here. Maybe they were much more fluent than him. He had placed himself on the back row to avoid getting any attention on the first day of school. Timmy and Owen had waved at him to sit down beside them. Christopher and Everett sat in the front of the class, seemingly having a good time.

Le Grand eyed the class. As his gaze stalled by Everett, the boy stopped what he was doing to give the professor a flashing smile. "I trust you had a good vacation, Mr. Hammond," the teacher said, his thick French accent coating each and every word.

"Indeed, Monsieur," Everett grinned, the other boys giggling.

Daniel held his breath. Back in the village school, a boy would have been harshly punished for such impudence. Everett sure had some nerves!

But Le Grand merely smiled, "I'm glad. Maybe you'll behave yourself this year, then."

The class laughed. Daniel was astounded. Things were really very different here. Le Grand turned towards his desk, stroking his small goatee as he chuckled. "All right, boys, now quiet down," he said, the French dialect seeping through to such an extent that it was impossible not to notice, "I see we have a new student in our class."

Daniel wanted to disappear. He tried to hide his face discreetly behind his hands while Timmy nudged at his side. "Ah yes," the Frenchman said, "A Mr. Daniel Wilkinson, is it not?"

He tried to remain unnoticed, but the boys had other plans for him. Everett turned around in his seat, looking at Daniel with a mischievous smile – almost as if he knew that he was about to make Daniel very uncomfortable on purpose. "Yes, that would be our lovely new friend."

All the boys in the class turned to look at the new boy. Daniel felt a lot of eyes on him. He hated the attention. He felt like an animal being exposed in the local zoo. Le Grand smiled, "Bienvenue, Mr. Wilkinson. I'm sure you will feel at home here. Hopefully you'll prove to be an – ah, excellent addition to the class."

Daniel offered a strained smile, trying to block out the mumbling he heard around the class.

"Wilkinson? Isn't that the family that Henrietta Evans married into?"

"Why is he wincing like that? He should know we won't bite!"

"His hair looks really nice, doesn't it?"

"I wonder if his father has a lot of money."

He definitely hated the attention.

It seemed that the level at this school wasn't very different from his old one – and that meant that it was actually no problem for Daniel to keep up. He was just as surprised as the others. Christopher and Everett placed themselves close to the other boys to work with them. "Wow Daniel, you're not half bad," Christopher said as Daniel finished reciting the bit of French literature the boys had to read and translate in groups.

"Your accent is really good," Owen commented.

Daniel merely shrugged. "I've read excerpts of Les Liaisons Dangereuses before," he said, "It shouldn't be too difficult to translate this one."

"Can you help me with my translation?" Timmy said, looking at Daniel with pleading blue eyes. Everett didn't utter a word. He merely observed as the other boys talked.

Daniel smiled at Timmy, "Of course! I'll help you!"

"Daniel, the new Frenchman of the class," Christopher chuckled, turning the page of the book.

"You know, Daniel," Everett said, "My family has an estate down in southern France. I've spent summers down there. I wonder if your French is better than mine."

He looked at Everett, not really knowing how to respond. He gave him a tentative smile, "It probably isn't. I have never really had the need to use my French before..."

Everett narrowed his eyes for just a second. It was so brief that Daniel wondered if he had just imagined it. Then he smiled brightly, laughing, "You know what? It probably is! Those Frenchmen always misunderstood what I said, there must have been a reason for that."

The other boys laughed, shaking their heads at their friend. Daniel felt confused at first at the sudden change of mood, but then decided to just laugh along with the others.

"Now, garçons!" Le Grand said, slamming his hand down on the desk they sat by, "Focus!"

"Yes, Monsieur," they all said. Owen winked at Daniel.

As the professor strode away, Timmy turned his attention to Daniel again, "All right, this first part; Alorsjecommençai à déployersur le grand Théâtreles talents quejem'étaisdonnés… I understand some of it, but I need help."

Daniel ended up doing more of Timmy's homework than his own. Timmy was easily distracted, always poking fun at the others around him. Daniel didn't want to call him out on it, though; he wasn't one to be a mood killer. Timmy was so grateful for Daniel's help that he dragged him out into the town when they had their break to go buy sweets.

"Are you going to buy toffee at Mrs. Bell's?" Daniel asked.

"Indeed, she's the best!" Timmy said while counting his pence, "She once gave me a whole mince pie for free! I'm a very loyal customer of hers!" He flashed his big teeth at Daniel. It surprised him that they were still so white despite all the sweets Timmy ate.

It took no time to walk down to the candy store. The school was right behind the Cathedral, and the Cathedral was right next to the Buttermarket. The store wasn't very crowded today. Mrs. Bell had just finished tending to a customer as she immediately noticed Timmy, "Oh, Timothy! It's so nice to see you again, did you have a nice summer vacation?"

"I did, thank you, Mrs. Bell!" Timmy beamed.

"You've grown even taller! When are you going to get some meat on those bones?" the plump woman said, pinching Timmy's chubby cheeks – the only chubby part on him.

Apparently Timmy didn't find it annoying at all. Nothing could put out his high spirit. "Just keep feeding me, Mrs. Bell, then I'm sure it will start forming soon!"

Mrs. Bell chuckled heartily and shook her head. She finally noticed Daniel, "Who's your little friend? You look like you could also use some filling, sweetheart."

"This is Daniel, he's new at our school!" Timmy said excitedly, "And he's fluent in French!"

Daniel blushed. "I'm not fluent…"

Mrs. Bell tightened the ribbon around her messy bun which was nearly falling out, "That is nice. Are you from the surrounding area, Daniel?"

"Yes... Actually, I've been to your store earlier," he said, smiling, "I love your English toffee, Mrs. Bell."

"Oh, isn't that just adorable!" Mrs. Bell chortled, now pinching Daniel's cheek. Strangely enough, he didn't mind it. "You both should have a free bag! I'm always happy to see young men with such good manners in my shop!"

Daniel and Timmy left the store sharing a bag of English toffee, the kind that Daniel loved so much. It really wasn't too bad. Daniel could get used to this new way of living.

Henry eyed the house. He heard a buzzing in his ears, a very agitating noise. It just wouldn't seem to stop.

The clubhouse had turned out quite nice. It didn't collapse, even as Henry pounded his fist into it in sheer anger. It just stood there without even trembling, mocking Henry.

The sound of his grinding teeth also annoyed him. But he couldn't stop.

It's very neat, Daniel, he thought, It's just perfect! He kicked the house, but it remained still, firm as a bloody oak.

Daniel had actually managed to finish the house. It had turned out much better than Henry had expected it to. He had thought that he might be able to exhaust the haunt a bit more if it hadn't been as stable, but that clearly wasn't an option now. It seemed that the house would be able to withstand both storms and hurricanes.

He couldn't believe that Daniel had just run off to some expensive boarding school. It was as if he enjoyed making a fool out of Henry.

I'm not done, Daniel, he thought, his promise dripping sheer hate, I still know your secret.

My dearest older brother,

Now it is time for me to show you just how good I've gotten at writing. Henrietta's housemaid, Miss Turner, says that my handwriting is very pretty. She is teaching me to draw the letters in a neat cursive style, do you like it?

The house really is very quiet without you here, even though you weren't around that much anyway. Henrietta has brought it upon herself to teach me at home. She said that she would rather make sure that I am schooled properly than trust some governess to do it. That is very nice of her, is it not?

I still don't see Father around. He's never home. I want to ask Henrietta about it, but I can't bring myself to it. I feel like I'm not supposed to ask questions.

I'm very bored these days, for I am confined to my bed. Doctor Barton visits me often, always under the supervision of Henrietta. It's because I've started to have some minor seizures again, but don't worry about it, Daniel. I am fine most of the time, and I receive medicine to make me feel better every time I experience any sort of pain. It's just really boring being in my room all day, but the fairytale books, you left at home for me, keep me entertained.

I really hope that you are having a good time at your new school. Have you made any friends? Are they being nice to you? I'm sure you've already impressed everyone with your wide knowledge. It saddens me that you won't return home this vacation, but we'll see each other again for Christmas.

I miss you, Daniel. Stay strong. I can't wait to hear about your school.

With love,

Hazel

Daniel pursed his lips, skimming through the letter once again.

The two first months at the school had gone by much quicker than Daniel had thought they would. He had tried to keep a low profile, and it had worked out well so far. He had not really gotten acquainted with anyone else other than the boys in his class, and of course the boys he had met on the first day. He talked mostly to Harvey, Owen and Timmy. Christopher and Everett were very close and did everything together. Benjamin was a bit sporadic and all over the place. No one could figure the small boy out; he was rather unpredictable.

On one of the first few days, Daniel had had a talk with the Headmaster, Reverend George Wallace. He bid Daniel welcome to the school, commenting that he wasn't the only one that was new; Wallace had just taken over the position as headmaster this very year.

Now that the half term was finally here, two months seemed like way too long a wait, though. Henrietta and John had decided that Daniel should stay at the school for the first vacation, just to settle in a little better before going home. It was ridiculous. He had settled in fine, he didn't need to stay at the school for another ten weeks. He wanted to go home to Hazel.

But there was nothing to do. As he read through Hazel's letter a third time, his hands crumbled the paper slightly.

Benjamin pounded on his clothes to fit it into the bag. He jumped on top of it to squeeze it down, but the light weight of the boy didn't help very much. He sighed and turned his gaze to his room mate sitting by the desk between their beds. "It's really too bad that you can't go home, Daniel," he said without sounding sorry at all, "I would be devastated if I had to stay here! But my humble reason is that my father bought me a chameleon. I just can't wait to meet it!"

Daniel turned towards Benjamin, forcing a smile. Being room mates with Benjamin had been a bit of a struggle. Not only was he very chatty whenever they were alone – and the topics he chose to talk about were not very appetising, to say the least – but he also snored and grunted in his sleep.

Daniel had a hard time sleeping here. He didn't want to tell Benjamin about his fear of the dark, so he had to endure it until Benjamin was sound asleep. Luckily Benjamin was a heavy sleeper, so Daniel could light the candle on his bed stand once he was sure that he wouldn't wake his room mate. But even with the light on, there was the noise Benjamin made. He snored so loudly that it was difficult to fall asleep either way. Daniel only got a few hours of sleep every night. He missed sharing rooms with Hazel. He sighed. "That sounds lovely, Benjamin."

"Yes, doesn't it? I'm so excited!" Benjamin stood up, trying to close his bag once again.

Daniel smiled, standing up. "Let me help you with that."

The school grounds were very quiet once all the students had left to go home to their families. Everything seemed much larger when the halls were empty.

Daniel wandered around near the paddocks right outside the town, breathing in the fresh air. The school had their own stables and horses. He had heard that some of the boys even brought their own. The equestrian classes would start after the half term. Daniel felt nervous about it. He had never been taught how to ride a horse.

He knew that it was something that any respectable gentleman should be able to do, but he hadn't had the opportunity. What if he would fall off the animal and make a fool out of himself? Or even get hurt? He tried to push the thought aside. He would worry about that bridge when he had to cross it.

"Hi, Daniel!"

Daniel turned around. Owen came walking up to him, waving. He smiled, "Hello Owen. Have you not gone home yet?"

"No, I'm staying here for the half term," he said, leaning against the fence of the paddock to watch the grazing horses, "I always stay at the school during these short vacations."

"Oh? Why is that?" Daniel asked curiously, noticing one of the horses coming their way.

Owen patted the horse's strong neck, "My family is from Hereford. I'm a long way from home, you see, so it ain't worth the while travelling all the way there when the vacation is so short anyway."

Daniel nodded, "I did notice that your dialect is different. Don't you ever get homesick?"

Gentle brown eyes glanced at Daniel. "Sure I do," he said, "But the school is sort of my second home. I just try to get the most out of it and not dwell on the negative aspects."

Daniel smiled at his classmate, "Well, at least we're not alone."

Owen laughed and combed his brown curls back with his hand. "What do you say we go into town and look around for a bit?"

Daniel and Owen spent their vacation together. Only ten other boys stayed at the school, but none of them were from their year group. Daniel moved into Owen's room; Owen's room mate had also gone home to his family for the vacation, so it wouldn't harm anyone if Daniel took up the space in the meantime.

"Did he seriously get you to build a house for him?" Owen laughed, settling in his bed.

Daniel grimaced, staring up at the ceiling. "Not a real house. Just a small one, like a playhouse." As Owen continued to laugh, Daniel threw his pillow at him, "Stop laughing! You don't understand, I had to!"

"I'm sorry, Daniel, but you gotta admit it sounds a bit ridiculous," Owen said.

"He's a devil child, I tell you!" Daniel answered, also amused.

"He sounds like one. Henry, was it? Did you have any other friends as, um, charming as him at your old school?" Owen chuckled, lying on his stomach.

Daniel placed his arms behind his head. He had grown closer to Owen this half term. They had spent every day together, fooling around and getting to know each other. Owen had told him about his family and about the cottage they owned in a small village in the outskirts of Canterbury. They celebrated Christmas there every year to spare Owen the long trip home to Herefordshire only to stay for such a short while.

Daniel had also told him about John and Hazel, but he avoided going into detail about Henrietta. It was obvious that everyone already knew about the rumours surrounding her, and he honestly didn't want to be questioned about it.

He felt strangely comfortable talking to Owen about all of these personal matters. He reminded Daniel of Serena a little bit, but he guessed that it was mostly the warm brown eyes. His personality was a lot more easygoing than Serena's.

But despite feeling that he could trust the gentle boy, he didn't want to risk anything. They had only known each other for two months. It would be best to stay on the side of caution, so he didn't tell him about his secret summertime friend. "I've never really had time to play with other children," he said, "Before my father's marriage, we didn't have a lot of money. So I had to work, help out in the house and take care of my sister." It wasn't a lie.

Owen nodded thoughtfully. "I can't imagine how exhausting that must be," he said in awe, "I think all of the boys here come from somewhat wealthy middle-class families. We never had to work, we had servants." He grinned and added, "I feel like a spoiled brat now!"

Daniel smiled at Owen, "Don't. Be grateful of what you have. Some aren't as lucky."

"I guess I shouldn't be so harsh on myself," he said, laughing at his own sarcasm, "Besides, Everett is way more spoiled than I am."

"Is he even … reliable?" Daniel asked, feeling a bit insecure. It was kind of moving out on thin ice asking a question like that.

"Don't worry, he's a nice guy once you get to know him," Owen said, drawing figures in the air with his slender fingers, "He can appear a little arrogant at first, but he's really a lot of fun! He always comes up with these genius hoaxes and dares."

Daniel nodded, relief filling him. "I see. He is very close to Christopher, right?"

Owen turned his gaze towards Daniel with a laugh, "Oh, so you've noticed. They have been glued together ever since the first year. "

Daniel also laughed. "It's difficult not to. They are rather … loud."

"Christopher is brilliant. No one knows the ladies like he does," Owen laughed and winked at Daniel, "If you ever need advice, just ask him. He's not so shy to share his experiences."

Daniel blushed, trying to steer the attention back on Owen, "Do you ever need his advice?"

Even though it was hard to tell in the dim light of the candle, there was no denying that Owen's face flushed bright red. "Why would I need it? I do fine by myself!"

Daniel laughed. "Please!" he said, turning on to his side, "We won't be able to do much anyway. A lady is not supposed to engage in any intimacy before marriage."

Owen raised his eyebrows and looked at Daniel with a sly grin. "You would be surprised at just how many lassies who are willing anyway."

Daniel widened his eyes. He was dumbfounded. "Really?" he said, "Are you serious?"

"As long as no one finds out, they love to fool around a little bit," Owen nodded.

Daniel tried to find the words. He had never thought that anything like that was ever heard of. His voice turned to a whisper, "Have you been intimate with a girl?"

Owen blushed again. "Well, actually I haven't," he said, fidgeting with the fringes on his duvet, "I haven't gone all the way, at least."

"But you have done other … eh, acts?" Daniel said with wide eyes, feeling astounded.

The boy with the fluffy hair grinned at Daniel once more, "I told you that I don't need Christopher's advice!"

Daniel gaped at him, feeling thunderstruck. It was sort of … awe-inspiring. "I wonder," he said, as he turned around to lie on his back again, "if Christopher has ever managed to go all the way."

"I think he has," Owen said thoughtfully, "Perhaps Everett, too. But not Timmy or Harvey. They're as innocent as newborn puppies. And I doubt that Benjamin has ever been in close proximity of anyone other than his own mum!" They both laughed; that seemed plausible.

The room fell silent for a while. Daniel was thinking. He had never imagined that anything like that was possible in his age. When he had talked to John about it, his father had only mentioned how a man and woman were to be together once they were married. He didn't make it seem like an option that one could lie with a lady without it leading to a baby. But maybe they were both fooling themselves...

"So you haven't even kissed a girl?"

Daniel looked at Owen. His dark eyes glinted in the candlelight, looking at him curiously. He shook his head.

"What about dancing?" he asked.

"I've danced with a girl before," Daniel said, thinking back on the first summer he had spent with Serena, "But there was nothing romantic about it."

Owen laughed at his last comment. "Oh Daniel, dancing is merely the first act," he said.

Daniel looked at Owen, pondering what he had said. What was that supposed to mean? And if dancing was the first act, then what was the next?

Owen yawned and sat up to blow out the candle. "It's getting late. We should go to sleep."