Page 14 of Payback

“Yes, Miss Hobson?”

“Does the heroine of The Scarlet Letter trick other women into following in her example?”

The old woman shook her head. “Hester Prynne was more virtuous than the puritans who ostracized her.”

Edward tugged at my arm, probably to repeat his warning from breakfast about publicly calling Charlotte out, but I ignored him. Her stupid Galileo speech seemed to be swaying the weak-minded sheeple who had called me names just to follow the example of the triumvirate. The drugged girls hadn’t said a word against Charlotte, out of fear or embarrassment, I didn’t know, but I couldn’t stand to listen to that girl’s bullshit any longer.

I nodded. “I think that drugging other girls in the village and trying to sell them to the men would justify the heroine becoming a pariah.”

“Oh, Miss Hobson.” The teacher pulled at the lapel of her tweed jacket. “You really ought to read the book. Hester Prynne didn’t—”

“But that’s what Underwood did.” I turned around and glared into Charlotte’s sneering face. “And she sold tickets to the boys, promising them success with girls who had shunned them.”

Miss Oakley backed toward her desk. “Miss Hobson, that’s rather harsh and potentially slanderous—”

“I was there.” Alice shot out of her seat. “There were bottles of lager for the boys and a fruit punch on the bar for the girls. I only had a few mouthfuls of it and got sick.”

Grumbles filled the room, and Charlotte collapsed into her seat. “H-Hobson is a liar.”

Irritation flared across my skin. I was about to call Charlotte a liar and a conspirator to commit date-rape when someone knocked on the door, silencing the class.

A prefect from the year below poked his head inside. “Sorry to interrupt. Underwood is wanted in Mr. Weaver’s office.”

Charlotte’s body sagged with relief. She hopped out of her seat, walked part-way to the door, then hobbled back to fetch her crutch.

I ground my teeth. She was such a shameless fraud. And nothing was being done to take her to task for drugging all those girls. I didn’t, for one minute, believe that Philippe had placed the drugs in the punch without her knowledge. She would never have sold tickets to a party where boys thought they would have sex with girls unless she knew there would be a way to make the girls compliant.

* * *

At lunchtime, Charlotte walked into the dining hall, holding some papers. Mr. Carbuncle’s replacement, a much older man with a Santa Claus beard, Mr. Jenkins, and two policemen followed her inside. The new caretaker held a toolbox and a stepladder.

“I hope this is about the doctored drinks,” I muttered into my glass of sparkling water. “Maybe they’ve found her stash of illicit drugs.”

“Not quite,” replied Edward.

Charlotte glanced at the piece of paper and pointed at a spot on the mantelpiece. The caretaker placed his ladder against the wall and climbed up. He turned to the police and nodded before climbing back down to rifle through his toolbox.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?” I asked.

“I made a deal with Charlotte,” said Edward.

“When?” asked Blake.

“Just before the first period, he replied. “I wouldn’t mention her involvement in the drugging to the board of directors in exchange for her volunteering to show Mr. Rigley the location of all the hidden cameras.”

Blake chuckled. “Did she know the police would accompany her?”

Edward raised a shoulder. “Even I didn’t know they’d make an appearance. Perhaps Mr. Weaver called them.”

My gaze darted back to the fireplace. “But it kind of looks like she might have planted the cameras.”

“That’s a small price to pay for not being expelled.” Edward sliced into his salmon steak.

I glanced around the tables, my stomach lining trembling with apprehension. What if Charlotte publicly accused me of being the leak again? Everyone stopped eating to stare at the group by the fireplace. When the caretaker pushed aside a picture frame and removed the first camera, noises of uproar filled the dining room.

Mr. Jenkins strode into the room with his palms raised. “Ladies and gentlemen, please keep your voices down. Miss Underwood has kindly brought to our attention a security breach we believe is responsible for the recent spate of bad publicity surrounding Mercia Academy.”

I slid further under the table. Based on the sneers being sent her way, she might not want to return to school in September.