This chapter was a suprise to me. I had planned to reach Lucy's and Marjorie's meeting in it. But somehow, Lucy's conversation with Susan on the train came out much longer than I planned. They've missed each other, they needed to have that talk, they wouldn't let me skip over it or compress it. So here it is.

Lucy and Susan were on the train, going back to boarding school. They were discussing their vacation, or more specifically Susan's vacation.

"You know, Lu, I didn't want to say this in front of the boys because they'd tease me but I feel like I've really changed over the holidays."

"You didn't have to say it. We could tell," Lucy said.

"Oh, but I mean more than the clothes and the hair," Susan said, bringing up her hands to touch her trendy new haircut. "I've met someone over the summer." She stopped for a moment as if unsure whether she ought to talk about it but then went on. "His name is Frank. I met him when I was buying ice-cream. I accidentally got a butter pecan ice-cream cone instead of vanilla and when he saw that I was staring at my ice-cream in consternation, he made a huge scene and insisted that the ice-cream man give me the right flavor. I was awfully embarrassed, you know, but it was nice to have all this fuss made just for me. And then we walked along the beach and ate our ice-cream and he told me that I was the prettiest girl he had ever met. And that he thought my accent was charming." Susan giggled.

"Does he have any brothers or sisters?" Lucy asked.

Susan shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. But he said that he never had a girl-friend before." She smiled. "And he was awfully shocked to hear that I never had a boy-friend."

"But you did," Lucy said. "I mean…not a boy-friend. Suitors. You were even engaged when we went back to England, remember?"

"Well, I couldn't tell him that!" Susan laughed. "Just picture me, a fifteen year old schoolgirl telling him all about my suitors! He'd think I was either crazy or horribly stuck- up." She paused. "I wasn't engaged."

"Yes, you were," Lucy said.

"No, I wasn't."

There was an awkward pause and then Susan said, "Anyway, it hardly matters now."

Hardly matters? Lucy wanted to shake her. But it wouldn't do any good. She couldn't keep Susan from forgetting if Susan wanted to forget.

Susan was still talking. "Then, he asked me to go the movies with him. And afterwards, when we were walking home, he kissed me! Lucy, you have no idea what fun it is to be kissed!"

"No, I don't," Lucy admitted. A strange sort of depression was settling over her and she couldn't figure out why. Could she possibly be…jealous?

No, she didn't think so. She had been jealous of Susan before and this was not what it felt like. Rather, she felt this way because Susan suddenly seemed like a stranger to her. What had changed her? Love? Had her summer romance developed into something deeper?

"Are you going to write to each other?" Lucy asked.

"Write? Oh, no. We…we both agreed that it made little sense to write if we couldn't see each other." Susan swallowed and continued. "But that's all right. It's what I expected, really. Even when we were seeing each other every day, I knew it couldn't last."

"But that seems so…sad," Lucy whispered.

"At least I wasn't hurt," Susan retorted.

At least I wasn't hurt. Susan had been careful not to become too attached to Frank, and she was able to speak of him so lightheartedly despite the fact that they would never see each other again. Lucy didn't think Susan's way was wrong exactly. But she couldn't picture herself doing the same. Perhaps, she should try it. Perhaps, if she hadn't been so attached to Marjorie in the first place, Marjorie's betrayal wouldn't hurt so much.

"What are you thinking of?" Susan asked.

Lucy looked at her. Susan might have changed but she was still her sister and she still cared.

"I've heard someone say something awful about me over the holidays," she confessed.

Susan's dark eyes widened. She moved closer to Lucy and put her arm around her.

"You? Who could possibly speak badly of you?" Suddenly, Susan looked ashamed. "Was it one of my friends? You mustn't let it bother you. They like to gossip but they don't really mean what they say. Where could you possibly have heard it anyway?"

"Well, it happened when we were in Narnia," Lucy began but she stopped when she saw Susan break eye-contact and look down.

"Go on," Susan said, calmly, examining her skirt.

"Su?" Lucy asked. "Does it hurt you when I speak of Narnia?"

Susan looked up and laughed. "Why should it?"

"Because I've been there this summer and you haven't. I know that it hurts Peter."

"Then why did you and Ed spend all evening talking about it?" Susan asked, sounding faintly amused. When Lucy and Edmund had begun talking about their adventures last night, at first she had tried to change the subject and when that failed, she had remained silent and busied herself with stroking the cat.

"Peter said that it was the most beautiful type of pain there could be and that he would much rather have that pain than any other type of pleasure."

"That sounds more like the sort of thing that you would say," Susan said.

"I could never phrase it so well but I do understand what he means. Do you?"

"Can't we get back to the point?" Susan asked impatiently. "What was it you wanted to know?"

"Does it hurt you when I speak of Narnia?" Lucy insisted.

Susan shook her head. "It makes me anxious to hear you speak of magic and talking animals in a train full of people who might hear you. I would rather you kept your mentions of Narnia to a minimum. But, no, it doesn't hurt me. Why should I be jealous of you? I've got plenty to be happy about."

"But it has nothing to do with jealousy," Lucy tried to explain.

"Do you want it to hurt me?" Susan asked. "Is that it?"

Lucy was shocked into silence.

After a moment, Susan hurriedly added, "I didn't really mean that. Of course, you don't want me to be hurt. Now what was it you wanted to ask me?"

Lucy felt desperately angry. "I'd have to mention Narnia to explain and you won't allow that."

"I never said I didn't allow it." Susan sighed. "Why do you have to be so difficult, Lucy? Why can't you just get to the point?"

Lucy looked at her and tried to find the words. Because. Because it was all very complicated. She had written to Marjorie daily, telling her all about their voyage on the Dawn Treader. When she had reached the part about the magic book, she had stopped writing for a moment and had been tempted to skip over it entirely. But then she had kept writing and had written about everything, including Marjorie's conversation with Anne. She had written: Why did you hurt me so, Marjorie? Aslan told me that you didn't mean it and he is never wrong. But just because you didn't mean it, doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. If you really do care about me and you aren't 'tired of me', write back and tell me so.

Marjorie hadn't written back.

And now she was heading back to boarding-school where a confrontation with Marjorie was inevitable.

Susan was looking at her wristwatch. "You had better speak fast," she said. "We'll be arriving in ten minutes."

"You see," Lucy began. "Marjorie was sitting with Anne Featherstone on the train. And she was saying nasty things about me."

"Who was? Anne?"

"No, Marjorie!"

"And where were you at the time? Under the seat?"

"I was in Narnia. I was using a magic book to spy on them."

Susan frowned. "It sounds like a bad dream to me. Are you sure it actually happened?"

"Well, of course, it happened!" Lucy said. "I remember every word."

Susan was silent.

"Well?" Lucy asked. 'What do you think I should do?"

"I don't know," Susan said. "I only know that Anne has a certain way of drawing you into saying things that you don't really mean." She laughed. "I don't really think anyone should be held accountable for what they say when they're speaking to Anne. "

"But you, Susan, you wouldn't say awful things about me even to Anne, would you?" Lucy asked.

Susan shook her head. "No, I wouldn't," she said. " But I've known Anne for a year and I've learned. Marjorie is younger and more easily influenced...and she's afraid of Anne." Susan paused. " I think you ought to give her another chance."

Lucy stared at Susan and wondered how it was possible that Susan, who had put Narnia behind her, could give her nearly exactly the same advice Aslan had.