Duelling Princes by Tyne O'Connell

Author:Tyne O'Connell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: school, boarding school, princes, school adventure, school romance, school friendships, princes and princesses, school classmates
Publisher: Tyne O'Connell

FOURTEEN

Matron’s Remedy for Hiccups

‘There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this,’ I told Kate, trying to sound as authoritative as Honey and as aloof as Portia. But in addition to my lack of attire, I was also buckling under the additional hurt of Fred’s storming off. Talk about taking the wind out of a girl’s sails.

The matron gripped me by the robe and, well, robes being what they are, I didn’t even try to argue or struggle, because, well, having a near-naked girl on her hands is at least a little better than an actual naked girl. Also, I still had the hiccups.

Malcolm’s head popped out of his door, ‘Any chance you can bring the robe back on your next visit, Calypso?’ he asked.

Kate turned around to face him, and a horrible sense of doom came over me – not that I wasn’t already feeling doom-ish enough about the evening’s events, but I didn’t want to land Malcolm in any sort of trouble when he’d been so hospitable.

‘Where does this girl come from, Mr McHamish?’ Kate enquired nicely, in the sort of voice one might ask the time.

‘Good question, Kate. I have no idea of her origins. I did think I detected a slight transatlantic accent when I first came across her. She was hanging, wet as a stray cat, on the wisteria outside my window, looking for some chap. I invited her in to dry off before she continued her search.’

By the time he had finished his explanation, Billy, Tarquin and a few other boys had opened their doors to watch the scene.

‘I see,’ said Kate. Well, do any of you chaps know where she’s from?’ she put it to the ever-increasing number of boys coming out to have a look at me.

I felt myself shrinking inside the robe. ‘My name’s, hic, Calypso,’ I told her quietly. ‘Hic, Calypso Kelly.’

‘She’s from Saint Augustine’s,’ Billy offered.

‘A friend of my sister’s,’ Tarquin added darkly.

Well, I’d better ring Sister Constance and inform her that I’m driving you back to school, Miss Kelly. It’s a good thing our Head is in bed along with all the rest of the beaks.’ Then she turned to the boys. ‘Good night, gentlemen. And Mr McHamish, please don’t smoke in the corridor; you know it’s against fire regulations.’

‘Right, yes, blast the bloody regulations. Such a lot of rot.’ He smiled at Kate, took a drag of his cigarette and stubbed it out on the floor and then took a sip of his champagne.

I was astonished that Kate didn’t scold him, but clearly Eades boys had more power when it came to matrons than we did.

The boys all said good night to Kate as if she were an employee. Billy thanked her for looking after me, which made me feel like a stray dog. Then they all shut their doors, and I was alone with Kate.

As I looked at her and she looked at me, I began to fear repercussions. My brave adventure had come to a soggy and miserable failure of an end.

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