Chapter Nine
The next evening, Amelia entered the room to see her deputy like usual, as she did so she saw a nurse attending to her during a seizure. Amelia rushed over as soon as she realised, to comfort her, seeing she was already in the recovery position.
"It's alright honey I'm here" Amelia said stroking her forehead as she started to still. The nurse looked up from her watch.
"She should sleep, but you are welcome to stay" she stated. Amelia nodded and sat by her bed. As Constance fell asleep, Amelia felt herself drifting off as well, but opened her eyes again as she felt someone tapping her shoulder.
"Sorry to disturb you Miss Cackle, phone call for you" a different nurse from the one who had just been there said, holding out the phone. Amelia took it worried it was one of her staff with an issue at the school.
"Thank you" Amelia said taking the phone and putting it to her ear "Hello?" she said softly so as not to wake Constance, as she tried to keep the panic as to what she was going to hear out of her voice.
"Amelia, it's Mr Hallow" the man said "Sorry to call you at this hour when you are visiting Miss Hardbroom but I have a matter I need to discuss" the man said, explaining his reason for calling.
When Constance woke up a while later, she looked over and saw Amelia sitting in the chair by her bed, with her head in her hands. Terrified something was very wrong, she shouted her name.
"Oh good you're awake" Amelia replied lifting her head.
"Amelia, are you alright, are you sick, are you hurt? Is it the girls?, the staff?" Constance said quickly and all at once, worried about everyone's wellbeing.
"We are fine Connie, everyone's fine I just...have a dilemma" Amelia said looking conflicted.
"About what?" Constance asked, still worried.
"I think I am being blackmailed" Amelia stated.
"What? By who?" Constance asked yelling as she flared up in anger.
"Mr Hallow" Amelia said and Constance gasped "You know we have had problems with Winnie?" Amelia stated.
"Problems is an understatement headmistress" Constance said, having a horrible feeling as to where this was going.
"Yes well...he rang me earlier when you were sleeping and said he has another supply but he refuses to send her unless I give in to his command" Amelia said.
"Well what does he want exactly?" Constance asked.
"Ethel as headgirl...he said the elections were unfair as Mildred and Jadu were expelled students" Amelia admitted.
Constance merely blinked at her in disbelief. The man had done some stupid things and low things in his time, but this was too far.
"You can't Mila...taking it away from Mildred will affect her for life...once I won an award and a week later Broomhead destroyed it in a college assembly in front of everyone...I still have vivid memories of it, psychologically, one doesn't just forget something like that" Constance replied knowing Mildred would never forget being stripped of her headgirl status. She found the girl annoying but didn't want her to experience that same heartache as she did.
"Oh lovely" Amelia said rubbing her arm to comfort her, with tear filled eyes at the thought of little Connie so distraught. "I would never do that to Mildred, I refused and said we will keep Winnie, but I am worried, what if he demands more things and stops our funding or something? He can make life hell for us" Amelia told Constance.
"If he wants to play dirty we will fight!" Constance replied "We have always won him before and always will" Constance told her. "Maybe a compromise...Ethel is headgirl but so is Mildred?" Constance thought out loud.
"Tried it, he refused, I even tried to suggest Sybil can have the status next year, but he refused that too" Amelia admitted.
"Bloody man!" Constance yelled "Just because he didn't get his own way with his own stupid plans" Constance said angrily.
"Don't work yourself up sweetie" Amelia said worried she will become more sick or her chest pains will increase. "I will sort something out, but I won't take Mildred's headgirl status away" Amelia said as she fussed, pulling the covers up higher and making sure Constance was comfortable.
The next day Amelia was worked up. She had slept badly, thanks to a patient who decided to have a screaming match with the nurses at three in the morning as he wanted beans on toast, and she had the added worry of their chair of governors blackmailing her.
"Is everything alright Miss Cackle?" Lavinia asked as she watched her angrily throw sugar into her tea.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Amelia asked her.
"You seem very tense Miss Cackle, is Constance alright?" Imogen asked thinking maybe her condition was worse. Amelia sighed and nodded.
"Yes she is fine, I am sorry I just...it's Mr Hallow" Amelia said as she sat down and started explaining the situation to the staff.
None of the staff noticed that someone was listening to everything they were saying through the small crack in the door.
One hour later, Mildred sat in her room with her friends, completely distracted from everything that was going on.
"What's with you? You have been distracted since after lunch" Maud commented. Mildred felt sick and didn't even know how to explain to them what she had heard the teachers discussing.
"I overheard Cackle talking to the other teachers" Mildred started.
"Overheard or listened in?" Enid joked. Mildred faked a smile.
"I...Mr Hallow agreed to get rid of Softbrush for us" Mildred told them.
"WOOO HOO PARTY" Ruby yelled and her friends laughed.
"Seems Ethel actually did something decent and told him to give us another supply" Maud commented to the news.
"Yes that's good…. isn't it?" Jadu asked seeing Mildred's expression was somber.
"It would be but Cackle said he will only agree to let us have a different supply if Cackle revokes my status as headgirl and gives it to Ethel instead" Mildred told her friends.
Saying the words out loud made her chest hurt badly and tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. All four of her friends stared at her, completely horrified by what they had just found out.