Page 58 of Outcast

Mr. Carbuncle gave me a harder poke in the back. “Hurry up, girl.”

I clenched my teeth. One day, I’d make sure he felt the same misery as he’d arranged for me.

I swallowed hard and stepped through the crowd. The burgundy-clad vultures pounced. Some shoving, some punching me in the back, some pulling my hair. I clenched my teeth and grimaced through the pain, breathing hard to quieten the whimpers in my throat.

“Whore!”

“Slut!”

“Yank!”

“Trollop!”

“Gold digger!”

I kept my head down and continued on through the interminable crowd of bullies. Many of them didn’t even belong to Elder House. Whoever had arranged this with Carbuncle, Edward perhaps, had wanted to send me off with maximum pain and humiliation.

A hand went up my skirt, and I jerked away, suppressing a scream. The crowd closed in, blocking my way, and I had to push through the attacks, the insults, the hatred. A little voice in the back of my mind noted that no one had called me a kidnapper, extortioner, fraudster or any combination of words related to the crime I’d supposedly have committed. Someone kicked at my ankle, and I stumbled forward. The crowd parted, leaving me to land hard on my hands and knees.

Hooting laughter filled my ears, as did comments that I was in the right position for whoring. My throat thickened. My heart rate tripled. And the well of despair rose to my throat, forcing out a sob. The confusion of taunts and blows and groping hands drowned out the sound.

Mr. Carbuncle blew a whistle. “Everybody, stand back!”

The jeers and insults subsided, and the crowd parted, presumably to reform the gauntlet. I no longer cared. I’d reached the halfway point down the hallway, and anything, even the custody of Chief Inspector Faust and his sergeant, would be better than these upper-class savages.

“Get up,” the janitor hissed.

My arms trembled, barely able to hold my weight.

He wrapped a strong arm around my bicep and yanked me to my feet. “Move!”

I stumbled to keep up with his fast strides through the hallway. Only one side of the gauntlet attacked. The other probably didn’t want to incite Mr. Carbuncle’s wrath by getting too close. I looked around for signs of Henry, Blake, and Edward, but they weren’t in the crowd. The bastards probably couldn’t show their faces after what they’d done.

Once we’d passed the double doors of Elder house, Charlotte stepped into my path, flanked by Wendy, Alice, Patricia, and a wannabe doppelgänger whose name I’d never learned. Her hazel eyes gleamed with a mix of curiosity and triumph. “I don’t know what you did to our boys, but they don’t even want to hear your name in their presence.”

I shook my head. Even if I told her, she’d find a way to twist things around to her advantage.

“Don’t you have any witty replies, Trollop?” she asked.

I stared straight ahead, heart beating in sync with the throbbing of my aches and bruises. Charlotte wasn’t worth my time. She was just a stupid bitch gloating that she’d protected her territory. One day, she would discover that the triumvirate weren’t worth the effort. I hoped it would be soon.

Mr. Carbuncle hurried me along the path of magnolia trees stripped of their leaves and beautiful flowers. I couldn’t help feeling an affinity with the branches. The gauntlet had laid me bare and stripped me of my dignity. Over something they didn’t even know had taken place.

“How did you like the little send-off I organized?” asked Charlotte from behind.

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. “You?”

“Come on!” Mr. Carbuncle dragged me through the back doors of the main teaching block.

I kicked myself for giving Charlotte a reaction.

* * *

I’d expected Chief Inspector Faust and his sergeant in the headmaster’s office, but Rudolph sat in the seat opposite Mr. Chaloner, clad in a similar suit. Perhaps they used the same designer.

The headmaster stood, but Rudolph remained seated with his arms folded over his chest.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked.