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elen_nareTitle: Misinformation
Chapter: 5
Fandom: Chalet School series
Rating: T
Length: 1061 words
(See Chapter 1 for full header).
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Nancy listened, half-dazed, to Miss Wilson’s half of the phone conversation. The fact that she wasn’t Dr Travers’ target after all was hard enough to grasp in such a short time, and when you added Bill’s story, it was more than any mind could be expected to handle. The deep relief of knowing she and Kathie hadn’t been discovered, the shock that Dr Travers was spreading rumours about Bill and the absurdity of his reason, the worry that his talk would damage the School... it was no surprise her head was spinning.
She was drawn from her reverie as Miss Wilson put down the receiver and proceeded to enlighten them as to what Dr Jack had said.
“He promised he’d deal with Dr Travers, so I think we may stop worrying about it,” she finished with a slight smile.
“That’s good to hear, Nell. I know we can trust Jack to keep his word,” Miss Annersley said, and smiled back, the first smile Nancy had seen from her since events began to unfold. She was surprised just how much it cheered her; if the Head was smiling, even a little, surely things were going to turn out all right.
“This seems to be the end of the matter, so you two had best go and get ready for your classes,” Bill went on. “I really am sorry you’ve been mixed up in it, and Jack sends his apologies. I rather think we must make him type his envelopes in future!”
Feeling somewhat light-headed with relief, Nancy turned to Kathie, intending to agree with Bill’s advice. To her surprise, her partner still looked unhappy, and was making no move to rise.
“Thank you, Miss Wilson, but I think we’re not quite finished,” she said in a low voice. “We were talking with Miss Annersley before you came in, you see, and... well, we said some things... things we need to discuss.”
With a sickening jolt, Nancy realised what Kathie meant. They’d all but admitted their relationship, thinking at the time that it had already been discovered. With everything that followed, she’d almost forgotten, but Kathie hadn’t - and the Abbess wouldn’t have either, Nancy was sure of it. Looking at Miss Annersley, Nancy’s heart descended to her shoes. The smile had vanished, and her expression was completely inscrutable. Bill, by contrast, looked completely puzzled.
“Yes, we do. You see, well, I suppose it’s obvious now, that Kathie and I, we’re... well, we’re... together,” she said hesitantly. Kathie held out a hand, and she gripped it tightly, smiling at her partner before turning to meet the eyes of the two Heads.
“We do see. What about it?” Miss Wilson sounded completely normal, and Nancy felt the first faint flicker of hope.
“What are you going to do about it? Are you going to - to fire us?” Kathie’s voice shook on the last words.
“Fire you! My dear girl, is it likely - ” Miss Wilson began indignantly, to be brought up short by Miss Annersley.
“Nell, if I can get a word in edgeways?” she asked quietly, and Miss Wilson fell silent, though she muttered something under her breath.
“I won’t make you promises I can’t keep,” Miss Annersley continued, “and as you said earlier, I do have to consider the school first. But I can promise you that unless something makes the situation totally unmanageable, your posts are yours for as long as you want them. To be quite clear, by totally unmanageable I mean something such as getting caught together by the entire school! If you continue to be as careful as you have been so far, I think we can safely discount such a possibility.” She was smiling as she ended, and Nancy felt herself blush to the roots of her hair.
“How long have you known?” she asked, honestly curious.
“I haven’t really known until you confirmed it, but I’ve guessed for some time. Remember, knowing as much as possible about the School is part of a Head's responsibilities. Now, I think this subject is rather embarrassing for you” - this with a twinkle in her eye, as both young mistresses were as red as they could go - “and I’m sure you have a lot to do, so we’ll end it here. But I want you to know that, barring the situations I mentioned, you will always have your places here; and no matter what happens, you will always have friends here.”
“Thank you for telling us, I know that took a great deal of courage. Hilda’s spoken for both of us, so I’ll just add my best wishes to you both, now I can officially give them,” was Miss Wilson’s contribution, with a warm smile.
“Oh, thank you!” Nancy could manage nothing more, her heart too full for speech, but she said it fervently.
Kathie’s thanks were just as heartfelt, and the pair rose to leave, when a new terrible realisation struck Nancy.
“The Staff! What do we tell them? They must be dying with curiosity by now after the way I ran out!” she exclaimed. She and Kathie looked at each other in horror, and Bill demanded explanations.
“The best path I can see,” that lady finally declared once she understood what happened, “is to stick as close to the truth as possible. Say that you got a letter from Dr Jack warning you that someone was spreading rumours about you. You brought the whole matter to Hilda, and we realised the warning was intended for me. I spoke to Jack, and the whole thing has been sorted. No complicated story to remember, and you needn’t explain what the rumours were. What do you think, Hilda?”
“It seems the most sensible course,” Miss Annersley agreed. “You’d best say that I asked you not to talk too much about it; they’ll respect that.”
With that settled, Nancy and Kathie finally left the study, suddenly realising that they had a bare fifteen minutes to prepare for their lessons. They ran towards the Staff bathrooms to freshen up, but with a quick look around, Nancy pulled Kathie in with her.
“I know we’ve not got much time, but oh, Kathie! It’s all right! It’s all right!”
They clung to each other tightly, relishing the precious few minutes they had, and the knowledge that the worst had not come to pass, that they were safe.
Chapter: 5
Fandom: Chalet School series
Rating: T
Length: 1061 words
(See Chapter 1 for full header).
Previous | Next
Nancy listened, half-dazed, to Miss Wilson’s half of the phone conversation. The fact that she wasn’t Dr Travers’ target after all was hard enough to grasp in such a short time, and when you added Bill’s story, it was more than any mind could be expected to handle. The deep relief of knowing she and Kathie hadn’t been discovered, the shock that Dr Travers was spreading rumours about Bill and the absurdity of his reason, the worry that his talk would damage the School... it was no surprise her head was spinning.
She was drawn from her reverie as Miss Wilson put down the receiver and proceeded to enlighten them as to what Dr Jack had said.
“He promised he’d deal with Dr Travers, so I think we may stop worrying about it,” she finished with a slight smile.
“That’s good to hear, Nell. I know we can trust Jack to keep his word,” Miss Annersley said, and smiled back, the first smile Nancy had seen from her since events began to unfold. She was surprised just how much it cheered her; if the Head was smiling, even a little, surely things were going to turn out all right.
“This seems to be the end of the matter, so you two had best go and get ready for your classes,” Bill went on. “I really am sorry you’ve been mixed up in it, and Jack sends his apologies. I rather think we must make him type his envelopes in future!”
Feeling somewhat light-headed with relief, Nancy turned to Kathie, intending to agree with Bill’s advice. To her surprise, her partner still looked unhappy, and was making no move to rise.
“Thank you, Miss Wilson, but I think we’re not quite finished,” she said in a low voice. “We were talking with Miss Annersley before you came in, you see, and... well, we said some things... things we need to discuss.”
With a sickening jolt, Nancy realised what Kathie meant. They’d all but admitted their relationship, thinking at the time that it had already been discovered. With everything that followed, she’d almost forgotten, but Kathie hadn’t - and the Abbess wouldn’t have either, Nancy was sure of it. Looking at Miss Annersley, Nancy’s heart descended to her shoes. The smile had vanished, and her expression was completely inscrutable. Bill, by contrast, looked completely puzzled.
“Yes, we do. You see, well, I suppose it’s obvious now, that Kathie and I, we’re... well, we’re... together,” she said hesitantly. Kathie held out a hand, and she gripped it tightly, smiling at her partner before turning to meet the eyes of the two Heads.
“We do see. What about it?” Miss Wilson sounded completely normal, and Nancy felt the first faint flicker of hope.
“What are you going to do about it? Are you going to - to fire us?” Kathie’s voice shook on the last words.
“Fire you! My dear girl, is it likely - ” Miss Wilson began indignantly, to be brought up short by Miss Annersley.
“Nell, if I can get a word in edgeways?” she asked quietly, and Miss Wilson fell silent, though she muttered something under her breath.
“I won’t make you promises I can’t keep,” Miss Annersley continued, “and as you said earlier, I do have to consider the school first. But I can promise you that unless something makes the situation totally unmanageable, your posts are yours for as long as you want them. To be quite clear, by totally unmanageable I mean something such as getting caught together by the entire school! If you continue to be as careful as you have been so far, I think we can safely discount such a possibility.” She was smiling as she ended, and Nancy felt herself blush to the roots of her hair.
“How long have you known?” she asked, honestly curious.
“I haven’t really known until you confirmed it, but I’ve guessed for some time. Remember, knowing as much as possible about the School is part of a Head's responsibilities. Now, I think this subject is rather embarrassing for you” - this with a twinkle in her eye, as both young mistresses were as red as they could go - “and I’m sure you have a lot to do, so we’ll end it here. But I want you to know that, barring the situations I mentioned, you will always have your places here; and no matter what happens, you will always have friends here.”
“Thank you for telling us, I know that took a great deal of courage. Hilda’s spoken for both of us, so I’ll just add my best wishes to you both, now I can officially give them,” was Miss Wilson’s contribution, with a warm smile.
“Oh, thank you!” Nancy could manage nothing more, her heart too full for speech, but she said it fervently.
Kathie’s thanks were just as heartfelt, and the pair rose to leave, when a new terrible realisation struck Nancy.
“The Staff! What do we tell them? They must be dying with curiosity by now after the way I ran out!” she exclaimed. She and Kathie looked at each other in horror, and Bill demanded explanations.
“The best path I can see,” that lady finally declared once she understood what happened, “is to stick as close to the truth as possible. Say that you got a letter from Dr Jack warning you that someone was spreading rumours about you. You brought the whole matter to Hilda, and we realised the warning was intended for me. I spoke to Jack, and the whole thing has been sorted. No complicated story to remember, and you needn’t explain what the rumours were. What do you think, Hilda?”
“It seems the most sensible course,” Miss Annersley agreed. “You’d best say that I asked you not to talk too much about it; they’ll respect that.”
With that settled, Nancy and Kathie finally left the study, suddenly realising that they had a bare fifteen minutes to prepare for their lessons. They ran towards the Staff bathrooms to freshen up, but with a quick look around, Nancy pulled Kathie in with her.
“I know we’ve not got much time, but oh, Kathie! It’s all right! It’s all right!”
They clung to each other tightly, relishing the precious few minutes they had, and the knowledge that the worst had not come to pass, that they were safe.
