‘They’re tombs? But it’s beautiful,’ said April. To her surprise, she felt warm and secure down here.
‘They built these tombs in eighteen thirty-nine when the cemetery opened. They made them so grand because they wanted to encourage people to come out here to lay their loved ones to rest. This was their shop window, if you like.’
They walked slowly around the circle, peering at the doorways. They were tall and made of black iron; they should have been cold and scary, but April found she was drawn to them by a strange curiosity. What was inside? Who was inside? What kind of lives had they lived - had they been happy?
‘There’s nothing much to see in there,’ said Gabriel, as if reading her thoughts. ‘They interred the remains in lead-lined coffins, but whatever was left will have crumbled to dust by now. Despite that, I think you can still feel the love down here. After all, they went to a lot of effort to make sure their relatives were remembered. You don’t do that for people you don’t love.’
They stopped in the shadows and April closed her eyes, seeing if she could feel what he felt.
‘I know it sounds weird,’ he said in a hushed voice, ‘but I think certain objects and places can absorb emotions. That’s why churches work.’
April looked about her. He was certainly right that it didn’t feel creepy or sinister down here. For some reason, she felt as if she had been here before. The grey curved walls, the carved stonework, even the way the moonlight fell in patterns across the path, it all seemed familiar somehow.
‘I think you might be right,’ she said. ‘No one laughs when you say Stonehenge has a certain feel to it, or even that a wedding ring does.’
Wedding ring
,
April?
she scolded herself.
What the hell are you doing talking about wedding rings? You don’t want to scare him off!
But Gabriel had moved closer and April almost gasped as he touched her shoulder, steering her towards a doorway closed off by a heavy gate.
‘This is the Columbarium, the only place in the cemetery where ashes can be laid to rest - if you look inside you can see the urns.’
She held on to the cold metal bars and pressed her face in close. She could feel him right behind her, his hands still on her shoulders. April knew she should have felt frightened, standing outside a tomb with someone she knew so little about, but all she felt was a tingling sense of longing. She wanted him to turn her around and kiss her here in the moonlight; nothing she had ever done had ever felt so romantic.
‘Can you feel it?’ he whispered, his mouth close to her ear. ‘All that love?’
April couldn’t help herself. She giggled and Gabriel immediately stepped back, breaking the romantic mood.
‘You’re making fun of me.’
‘I’m not. You just reminded me of my dad,’ she said, turning around. ‘He’s always writing these books about the unexplained, like UFOs and Bigfoot and all that.’
Gabriel looked at her strangely. ‘Has he ever written about Highgate Cemetery?’ he asked.
‘No, I don’t think so. But I’m sure he’d love it.’ She looked back at the stone circle behind them. ‘And I think you might be right about this place too. It just has something about it. You know, our family has a tomb here.’
Gabriel’s face moved into shadow. ‘Where?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, I only just heard about it yesterday from my grandfather. He’s from Romania, so they’re really into all this family stuff. Sorry, I’m babbling.’
‘I think maybe we should go,’ said Gabriel, stepping away from her.
What did I say?
she wondered; it was as if someone had thrown a blanket over a fire. Only seconds before she had been sure he was going to kiss her, now suddenly he was striding off up some wide stone stairs and she was having to trot to keep up. She barely had time to think about it; beyond the steps he led her along another path, then he was helping her over a gap in the wall where some stones had crumbled.
‘Oh, I know where we are,’ said April as they emerged on a little residential street. They were coming up to the south side of her square.
‘I’ll walk you back to your house,’ said Gabriel.
‘Is Milo really bad news?’ she asked suddenly.
Gabriel nodded slowly.
‘In that case, thank you for rescuing me and for making the rest of the night magical,’ she said, not wanting to forget that moment in the circle, even if he did.
‘My pleasure,’ he said slightly stiffly. ‘It’s one of my favourite places.’
‘I hope I can return the favour.’
‘You’re going to rescue me?’ His humour was returning a little.
‘No.’ She laughed. ‘I mean showing you one of my favourite places,’ she said, immediately regretting it.
Gabriel was silent as they walked across the square.
‘Sorry, I’m a bit drunk,’ she said, feeling her cheeks flush pink.
They were at April’s gate now and she looked up at him, waiting for him to say something, anything.
‘Okay then. Show me your favourite place. Tomorrow?’
‘Excellent!’ said April, hoping she didn’t sound too enthusiastic. She paused, her hand on the gate’s handle.
Is he going to kiss me?
she wondered, but Gabriel turned away.
‘I’ll call you, April Dunne,’ he said.
‘You don’t have my number,’ she replied.
‘I’ll find it,’ he said, as he walked back towards the square.
‘Hey!’ she hissed, running after him. ‘Your jacket!’
‘Thanks.’ He smiled. ‘Now you’re looking after me.’
Last chance
, she thought, gazing up into his eyes.
Last chance to say goodnight properly.
Their fingers brushed as he took his jacket, but he backed away and pulled it on.
‘You’d better get inside,’ he said and disappeared into the shadows of the trees. Shivering and disappointed, she reluctantly turned and ran up the path. Inside, she slipped off her shoes and began to tiptoe up the stairs.
‘Psssstt!’
‘Who’s there?’ gasped April, clutching at her chest in fright.
Her father put his head around the door of the living room. ‘Hi, Dad,’ she said, breathing out. ‘God, you almost scared me to death.’
‘Sorry,’ he grinned, the smile quickly fading as he saw her wet dress, her smeared make-up and rain-flattened hair. ‘God, what happened? You didn’t walk home in the rain did you?’
‘Just the last bit,’ she shrugged, hoping he wouldn’t make a big deal about it. ‘But I’m fine, honest.’
He raised an eyebrow quizzically.
‘A good night, then?’
‘Yes, yes it was. In the end. I’ll tell you in the morning.’ She smiled, then ran back and gave him a hug.
‘Hey!’ he hissed as April ran back up the stairs. ‘You looked amazing tonight. Before you got dragged through a hedge backwards, anyway.’
‘Thanks, Dad.’ She blushed.
‘Okay, darling, sleep tight.’
I’m notgoing to sleep at all tonight
, she thought as she ran up the stairs, peeled off her wet dress and jumped into bed. But she did sleep, and it was Gabriel Swift who filled her dreams.
Chapter Eleven
She tried not to think about Gabriel all of Monday at school, but by lunchtime, April had to admit defeat. She’d spent the morning mentally dissecting every last detail of every conversation and look from the night before, worrying over whether she had done the right thing asking Gabriel out, fretting that she had put him off by being too pushy, wondering why he hadn’t kissed her, remembering how Milo had. Of course, she hadn’t heard from either boy, but that hadn’t stopped her checking her phone for a message or missed call every five minutes since she had woken up and she kept catching herself smiling like a lunatic when images from the party popped into her mind. To be accurate, it was mainly images of Gabriel in the moonlight, although April was also enjoying reliving the kiss with Milo; she got shivers just thinking about it. After all, what girl wouldn’t enjoy having two boys chasing her when usually there were somewhere around zero?
There’s no reason he would call me so soon, is there?
she had to remind herself.
I mean, it was only a casual arrangement. And it’s not like it’s a date or anything - or is it? Did I even really ask him out?
By the time the midday bell sounded, April was desperate to talk to someone about it. She’d coasted through her History lesson, surreptitiously checking her phone under the desk. She’d had about six texts from Fiona, all variations on ‘Must talk!’, ‘Urgent!’ and ‘Where are you?’, but she wanted to talk to Caro about Gabriel first. Caro had been at Ravenwood for years - surely she must know something about him. She was sure Caro would be waiting for her in the dining hall, equally keen to talk about the party, so she was quick to gather up her books, grab her bag and head for the door. She almost made it.
‘April? Can I have a word?’
Miss Holden was calling her back.
Oh Christ, not another lecture, surely?
The teacher closed the door and took out a file. ‘I want to talk to you about your homework,’ she said, putting the folder on her desk. ‘How would you say you are getting on in History?’
‘Well, I’m trying to keep up, but it’s been hard. I’m enjoying it though, I think.’
‘You think?’ said Miss Holden, pulling out an essay April recognised as her own. It was covered with red ink and April’s heart sank. ‘I’ll be frank, April, this isn’t good enough. It would be enough, perhaps even good, in a regular school, but Ravenwood isn’t a normal school, is it?’
‘You can say that again,’ muttered April.
‘And that sort of attitude is doing you no favours either, young lady,’ said the teacher. ‘I appreciate that you may not have chosen to come here, but you’re here now and there’s no point in wishing it otherwise. If today’s lesson is anything to go by, you’ve had your head in the clouds all day. Again. Do you want to stay here, April?’
April couldn’t think of anything to say, so she looked at the floor.
‘I’ll take your silence as a yes.’ The teacher sighed. ‘Now, I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.’ She picked up April’s essay and, in one brisk movement, tore it in half.
April looked up, her eyes wide. ‘But I spent hours on that,’ she gasped.
‘Not enough of them, apparently,’ said Miss Holden, dropping it in the waste-bin. She pulled another sheet from her folder and handed it to April. ‘This is your new assignment, regarding the church’s role in social engineering in the Middle Ages. I’ve included a reading list, most of which can be found in the school library. It would do you a power of good if you actually read some books, rather than paraphrasing whatever you find on the Internet. I expect much, much better, April, so show me what you can do.’
April looked from the sheet to Miss Holden and back again. There were seven or eight books on the list - did she expect April to read them all?
‘That’s it for now,’ said Miss Holden, turning away. ‘You may go.’
‘But ...’
‘Yes?’
April shook her head. ‘Nothing. Well, actually there is something. What is the Circle of Lebanon?’
Miss Holden looked at April with a frown. ‘Local interest, eh? Well, it’s a start, I suppose.’ She took the assignment sheet from her and scribbled another line on it. ‘Oh, and April?’
‘Yes?’ She sighed.
‘The library’s that way,’ she said, pointing to the right. ‘Turn left at the end. Can’t miss it.’
April was boiling with anger as she strode down the corridor.
That witch! How dare she? Aren’t teachers supposed to help you with problems, not take the mickey? I should report that smarmy cow.
‘Hi, April.’ She turned to see Sara Gold, a minor member of the Faces, the one Davina had supposedly seen enter a bathroom with Gabriel. She was standing with Layla and they both seemed to be highly amused about something.