The Future King: Logres (12 page)

Gwenhwyfar shook her head. ‘No. Did you say anything?’

‘Not a word.’ Gavin shot his gaze to Viola.

‘I haven’t either,’ she said. ‘What about Arthur?’

‘Definitely not. He hasn’t a clue,’ Gwenhwyfar insisted.

‘He might have told on you, if he thinks you set him up,’ Gavin
pointed out.

‘But he doesn’t know about Hector,’ Gwenhwyfar reminded him. ‘That’s
what Ravioli was asking me about.’

‘Have you told anyone else?’ Viola asked.

‘Bedivere knows, but I don’t think he’s the sort to go and do
something like that.’

The three shared a moment of silence.

‘I’ve got another meeting with him tonight.’ Gwenhwyfar confessed.
‘My dad’s not pleased with the way Rav handled things.’

‘Do you think he’ll involve the police?’ Viola asked, suddenly anxious.

‘I think it’s up to Gwen if the police are involved or not,’ Gavin
observed.

‘I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. I just don’t want to
talk to Hector, Emily, Charlotte or Hattie ever again.’

Viola shrugged. ‘I know. But if they get expelled, you won’t have
to.’

When Gwenhwyfar met her parents in the foyer after school, the
principal was running late with a prior engagement. They were forced to wait outside
his office on low, uncomfortable chairs as the building emptied, leaving only a
few teachers to wander the halls. Mr Caledonensis offered Gwenhwyfar a smile as
he passed them in the corridor, carrying an empty, tea-stained mug. No sooner
than she had smiled back he was gone, his footsteps echoing around the corner.
Abruptly the door opened.

‘Good afternoon, Mr and Mrs Taliesin. Miss Taliesin. Please, come in.’

Her mother went in first. Last in, Garan shut the door behind them.

‘Take a seat, won’t you? I apologise for the delay. I was stuck in a
call.’ He smiled at them as he positioned himself at his polished desk, but it
was the same cold smile as before. Garan pulled out two chairs from the side of
the room and sat down with Eve, the angles of his blue suit crinkling.

‘How can I help you?’

‘We were wondering what the developments are on the situation
involving our daughter,’ Garan started, his legs too long for the plastic chair.
‘Yesterday on the phone you mentioned meetings with the other pupils involved.’

‘So I did.’ Dr Ravioli propped his elbows on his desk. ‘I can assure
you that progress has been made. I have spoken to all three girls involved in
the incident.’

‘And?’

‘And their accounts were somewhat different from your daughter’s, Mr
Taliesin.’

‘Are you calling my daughter a liar?’ Eve snapped. Her hair was
scraped back into a formidable bun that pulled her cheeks taught.

‘No, Mrs Taliesin, of course not. I am merely saying that there is
more than one version to compare. I am afraid that it is rather a case of four against
one.’

‘If it’s numbers you’re worried about, there are others who can vouch
for me,’ Gwenhwyfar interjected. ‘Like who heard Charlotte get Hector involved,
or the person who pulled him off.’

‘I thought you couldn’t remember who that was, Miss Taliesin?’

Her father was losing patience. ‘Could you tell us how the versions
differ, at least?’

For a moment the principal looked uncomfortable. ‘According to the
girls, Gwen asked to meet Mr Browne
and
Mr Humphreys upstairs. They say that they had no idea what Gwen’s intentions
were.’

‘That’s not true!’ she burst out.

‘That has to be made up,’ Garan argued, astounded.

‘Hector’s version is consistent,’ Dr Ravioli added. ‘He claims that
Gwen was consenting until someone hit him on the back of the head. Whoever that
was, by the way, will be in serious trouble when we find them. Mr Browne had to
go to casualty.’

‘Despite any uncertainties you may have regarding the incident, what is
it you propose to do next?’ Garan demanded, his face set like stone.

‘I intend to investigate further. Despite these inconsistencies, rest
assured, I will get to the truth. Once I have established who is responsible
and understand what took place, I will deal out swift and harsh punishment.’

‘Be that as it may, I find the way you’ve handled this situation to
be absolutely appalling,’ Garan snapped. ‘Gwenhwyfar was devastated when she
came home on Monday. Your insensitive questions were intrusive and unnecessary,
and she tells me there was even another teacher present. Who was this?’

‘Mr Hall,’ Ravioli responded calmly. ‘He’s the deputy head. He
escorted Gwen from her lesson.’

‘Escorted? What is she, a criminal? Or was she being escorted to
ensure that Hector didn’t attack her again?’

‘Gwenhwyfar tells me this
Hector
has a history of harassing girls at this school,’ Eve interrupted. ‘Is this
true?’

Dr Ravioli shifted. ‘There have been a few incidents, yes.’

‘Then why on earth hasn’t he been dealt with before? All of this
might have been avoided!’ Garan exploded.

The principal didn’t seem to have an answer.

‘I should string you up,’ he growled. ‘You knew he was a risk, and
did nothing! If anything, this is
your
fault.
Why don’t I go and find the parents of the other girls who have had a run-in
with this boy? We could have you done for negligence.’

‘Are you threatening me?’ Ravioli asked, his voice steady.

‘No,’ Garan growled, ‘I’m merely stating the facts.’

‘Facts aside, I need to be sure I have all the information to avoid
making any rash decisions,’ he insisted.

‘You have all the information,’ Garan disputed.

‘And I will use it, Mr Taliesin, I assure you.’

Eve gave a stiff smile. ‘Well then, I am sure that your knowledge of Hector’s
record will play in Gwen’s favour. I think for now, however, we can ask for a
little more sensitivity. Gwen is the victim here.’

‘Exactly,’ Garan added. ‘We’ve already had to make one formal
complaint. If we feel that this isn’t being dealt with in the appropriate
manner, we will be going straight to the governors.’

Garan and Eve rose to their feet. Gwenhwyfar and Dr Ravioli did the
same.

‘Of course, my only concern is that the matter is dealt with
thoroughly.’ The principal stiffly extended his hand, and reluctantly, Garan
shook it.

‘It’s probably best to inform you that we’re also considering going
to the police,’ he said, his shoulders rigid.

‘I understand completely. Assault is assault, regardless of school
procedures. Logres is always invested in what is best for our students.’

‘Good. We look forward to hearing from you.’

Ravioli grimaced and remained standing as they exited his office and slipped
into the corridor.

‘New National nut,’ Garan muttered, as they clustered into their
family unit on their way out. ‘Did you see that poster? That’s hardly
appropriate. He’s headmaster, for God’s sake.’

‘It’s just a poster, Garan,’ Eve huffed as they came out into the
cold. ‘It’s normal. I’ll bet all schools have them.’

‘Maybe so, but what do you think every child sees when they’re in
there? That poster, that’s what. It’s not right.’

‘
Garan
,’ hissed Eve. ‘Can
you not, just this once? It’s not helping.’

They bundled into the car. Gwenhwyfar slammed her door.

‘And you’re all right with that, are you? Our daughter’s new school
churning out New National cant?’

‘I don’t know why you’re so worked up. It was there last time.’

Garan started the engine. ‘Not as I remember.’

‘Well, you remember wrong.’

‘Stop it, will you?’ Gwenhwyfar snapped, leaning forward to remind
them both that she was still there. ‘The last thing I need is you two
bickering. Who cares about a sodding poster?’

‘Gwenhwyfar!’

She sat back with a huff. ‘I don’t even
want
to go to the police. I thought we were going to let the school
deal with it?’

‘We are.’ Garan turned the car out of the car park, and rejoined the
traffic to the main road. ‘But it doesn’t hurt to consider it. The principal
needs to know what we’re thinking. That way he knows we’re serious.’

Eve gazed out of the passenger window. ‘You’re not going to make a
fuss about this, are you?’

Garan looked to Eve. ‘What do you mean?’

‘The poster. If we go to the governors, it should be about Gwen, not
about what you find ethical or not.’

‘I won’t mention anything!’ Garan exclaimed, defensively. ‘Now who’s
going on about it?’

Eve muttered something that Gwenhwyfar couldn’t hear, and then they
all descended into a thick, unhappy silence.

Morgan Faye

Gwenhwyfar stuffed
her hands
further into the
gloves lining her pockets. Her cold lips blew into the folds of her knitted
scarf, puffing out a cloud of moisture that plumed in the frigid air. Ahead of
her Llew padded slowly, while her father kept an eye on the dog’s dangling
lead.

It was just the three of them. Gwenhwyfar’s mother didn’t really do
walking, least of all walking with the dog. With hardly any sleep, Gwenhwyfar
had risen reluctantly on Thursday, wishing once again that it were the weekend.
She huddled further into her coat. Garan coughed.

‘Dad?’

‘Yes?’

Gwenhwyfar thought for a moment. She watched the leaf-scattered path
pass beneath her feet. ‘This thing with Ravioli… do you think it’ll be all
right?’

‘I don’t see why not. I think the meeting with him went relatively
well, don’t you?’

Unsure, she nodded.

‘And your mother really had him with that point about Hector’s
previous record. The principal can’t side with him now that he’s aware we know
about that.’

‘True…’

‘It’ll be fine, trust me.’ He tucked her into his side, and they
linked arms. Gwenhwyfar looked up. Llew had plodded ahead and was sniffing at a
tree, his lead tangling in the dead leaves. Her father was right; this was a
nice park. It seemed to be a favourite spot for early morning dog walkers.
There was one at the top of the hill.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Sorry for what?’ he asked, a frown present in his voice.

‘For not telling you about what happened. I was going to, I just…
didn’t know how.’

Garan looked ahead. ‘You should always tell us if something like that
happens, Gwen,’ he urged. ‘No matter how silly it may seem to you, or how
embarrassed you are. If you tell us, we can do something about it. Even if we
only help prevent it from happening to someone else.’

‘I know.’

‘What upsets me most is that you felt you couldn’t talk to us. We’re
your parents.’

‘I know, and I’m sorry, but—’

‘I want you to promise me that you won’t hide things from us from now
on. Doesn’t matter what it is, I want you to know that your mam and I are
always there for you. If anything is worrying you, or if anything like this
happens again… I want you to tell us. Can you promise me that?’

She gazed at him for a moment, but then diverted her eyes to the path.
‘I promise,’ she murmured, and her words caused him to impress a squeeze upon
her arm.

‘Good.’

‘Do you think I should have told the police?’ Llew scouted up ahead,
tackling the steady hill at a stiff pace.

‘You weren’t worried about getting those girls into trouble, were
you? Just because there was alcohol at that party?’

‘No. I couldn’t care less if they got into trouble. It was my new
friends that I was worried about… it was their party.’ He looked at her. ‘It
wasn’t their solution, though,’ she added quickly. ‘I actually think Hector
supplied that.’

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ Garan muttered. ‘We still have time
to go to the police, Gwen. If you decide it’s best.’

‘Do you think I should?’

‘It depends. I can’t see them making too much of a fuss about the
alcohol, if it was out of your control.’ There was a moment’s silence. ‘Perhaps
we should see what the principal comes up with? You may feel it’s adequate.’ A
tan dog, thickly built with a distinctive stripe down its spine shot into view
and halted by Llew. Alarmed, Llew cowered but then some civil sniffing ensued.
Garan frowned. ‘Is that a Rhodesian Ridgeback? You don’t see many of those,
these days.’

The handsome dog shot off again.

‘I’m glad you’ve found some new friends,’ he added. ‘I was a bit
concerned that you might not have anyone to talk to.’

‘No, I have friends,’ she assured him. ‘They’re actually really nice.
Nicer than those girls, at least.’ Suddenly Gwenhwyfar recognised the lone dog
walker. The Ridgeback had returned to him, and he clipped it back onto the
lead. It was Gavin.

They met as they crossed on the path.

‘Gwen!’ he exclaimed, his face lighting up with surprise. ‘I didn’t
know you had a dog. Is he yours?’ He gestured to Llew who looked back with concern.

‘Yes, that’s Llew.’ Beaming, she looked down to the handsome animal
at his side.

‘This is Cass. Family dog, but of course I’m the one who ends up
walking her.’

‘Sounds familiar,’ Garan remarked. Gwenhwyfar noticed that Gavin
stood a few inches taller than her father.

‘Sorry. This is Gavin. Gavin, this is my dad.’

‘I think we’ve met, actually,’ Garan recalled, shaking his hand.
‘When I picked Gwen up after that party.’

‘That’s right,’ Gavin nodded politely.

‘You walked her home. Thank you.’ Their hands separated. Gwenhwyfar
watched the transaction with interest. ‘So what do you do, Gavin? Do you play
any sports?’

‘Rugby mostly,’ he said, relaxing. ‘I’m on the school team. Do you
play?’

‘No, the extent of my involvement is shouting from the sidelines,’
Garan admitted. Gwenhwyfar’s eyes wandered. ‘So Gavin, do you work?’

‘Dad!’ she interjected, feeling the interrogation was wholly unfair.

‘Gavin doesn’t mind; do you, Gavin? I’m just getting to know my
daughter’s friends.’ He paused. ‘You can hardly blame me, after what the last
lot did to her.’

‘Yes, but you don’t need to worry about Gavin,’ she stressed, deeply
embarrassed. ‘He walked me home, remember?’

‘No, it’s fine, really,’ Gavin assured, offering a toothy smile. ‘I
do work. Only part-time though, two nights a week. At Bellini’s, the Italian in
town. Do you know it?’

‘I do actually,’ Garan said brightly. ‘What do you do there?’

‘I just wait tables, but you know, it keeps me in pocket.’

A phone rang. Garan jumped and immediately fished it out of his coat.
‘Sorry,’ he excused, ‘I’ve got to take this. See you again, Gavin.’

He sidestepped away from the path. Gwenhwyfar bit her lip as he
hunched under a tree and proceeded to mutter into the receiver. She looked up
to Gavin with rosy cheeks.

‘Sorry about that.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Gavin said, his voice deep and warm.
‘Actually, I’m surprised I didn’t get any of that when he picked you up on
Friday. So how are you?’

‘I’m good. Still recovering from Rav’s grilling session.’

‘Of course, that was yesterday, wasn’t it? How did it go?’

‘I’m not sure. My dad thinks it went all right, but it was pretty
horrible. He practically called me a liar.’

‘What a knob.’

‘I know, right?’

Gavin looked down to Cass, who considered her surroundings with a
curious sniff. Gwenhwyfar hunted for Llew. She couldn’t see him.

‘Listen, I’d better go, yeah? Got to get this one back to the house
and get ready for school. But I’ll see you at break?’

‘Yeah, see you at break,’ she repeated, still smiling. Awkwardly
Gavin wandered off, his tall frame towering over the attentive Cass. Gwenhwyfar
watched him amble down the hill.

‘Sorry, cariad,’ her father said as he rejoined her. ‘Apparently we
have another client to worry about. We should probably get back home. I’ve got
a few things to sort out before work.’ He turned on the spot. ‘Llew!’

‘Llew!’ Gwenhwyfar called. The old sheepdog’s head popped out from
behind a tree. She called him again and he began a slow, reluctant plod back to
the path. They turned to leave.

‘Who’s the new client?’ Gwenhwyfar asked, her breath clouding.

‘No one important,’ her father dismissed. ‘Just another cog in the
corporate machine.’

‘Everything’s all right, isn’t it?’

‘Of course it is,’ he exclaimed, a little too brightly. ‘Why do you
ask?’

Gwenhwyfar turned her eyes to the gate far off at the other end of
the park. The cold morning sun peered over the buildings in the east. ‘No
reason.’

Gwenhwyfar was finding it hard to concentrate. All three Furies had
been absent during registration that morning, probably summoned to Dr Ravioli’s
office so that he could trawl over more particulars. Huffing, she flicked
through her textbook in an effort to find two compatible poems. Bedivere sat
next to her in silence, hunting through his own copy of
Poetry: Level Four
. Keeping a sharp watch over the class, Ms
Appelbauer marked essays at her desk. Bedivere shifted next Gwenhwyfar, bored.
As he stretched his bones gave off a loud crack.

‘I’ve never really been one for poetry,’ he admitted, removing his
glasses to rub his eyes. ‘I don’t quite get it.’

‘I don’t think you have to get it,’ mused Gwenhwyfar. ‘You just
read.’

‘Unfortunately,
just reading
isn’t enough for exams. It’s not long until our mock Level Fours, you know. I’m
dreading the English Language paper. I hear it’s a killer.’

‘I’ll worry about that one after Christmas,’ Gwenhwyfar whispered. Ms
Appelbauer looked up, prompting them to a short silence. The moment her eyes
returned to her marking, Bedivere abandoned his pen and leant back into his red
plastic chair.

‘So how are those meetings with Ravioli going?’

‘Horrible. He’s convinced that I’m making it all up.’ With her chosen
verse neatly copied, she flicked back through her textbook.

‘Really?’ Bedivere propped his chin in his palm. ‘When I spoke to him
he seemed to take it all very seriously.’

Gwenhwyfar stopped reading. ‘When did you speak to him?’

‘The other day, when he called me in for a meeting.’

‘You never said.’ Ravioli hadn’t, either.

‘It wasn’t a long one or anything. He just wanted to know my
involvement.’

‘But he hasn’t even bothered to question Arthur yet,’ she pointed
out. ‘So why would he need to question you?’

There was a silence. Bedivere seemed to consider his options, but
Gwenhwyfar’s darkening expression soon forced him to panic. Both expelled a
huge sigh as suddenly, Bedivere confessed.

‘I’m sorry Gwen, I didn’t mean to, really I didn’t. I just thought it
would be best to tell someone!’

‘Don’t you think I would have told someone if I had wanted to?’ she
snapped, turning her head to the front. ‘You have no idea how horrible all of
this has been! I meant it when I said he doesn’t believe me; he really
doesn’t.’

‘Gwen, I’m sorry—!’ he whispered, eyes pleading.

‘Why even tell Ravioli in the first place? You know what he’s like—you’ve
been going here for nearly three years!’ Ms Appelbauer glanced up, searching
for the disturbance. Gwenhwyfar lowered her voice. ‘I can’t believe you’d
betray me like this, Bed.’

‘I only wanted to help, I swear. I thought if something was done
about it, Arthur might realise what really happened.’

‘Haven’t you heard? Arthur doesn’t care,’ Gwenhwyfar replied
bitterly. ‘He still thinks we were in on it. I mean, how could he
actually
believe that?’ She returned to
her work and angrily flapped through several more pages. It took her a while to
calm down.

‘Gwen?’

She was silent for as long as she could manage. ‘What?’

‘I’ll make it up to you. I’ll talk to Ravioli. I’ll even try to explain
things to Arthur again, if you want.’

She contemplated his offer, then sighed, her frustration dissolving. Hector
had taken enough from her already. ‘No, it’s fine. Well, it’s not
fine
, but I suppose you were only trying
to help. Just ask in future, please?’

Bedivere nodded extensively. ‘I will,’ he promised.

‘Bedivere?’

Ms Appelbauer was sitting straight, with her marking pen pointed
towards him. Bedivere looked up.

‘The others are managing to keep things to an acceptable level. Would
it trouble you to do the same? You too, Gwen.’