Olivia's Enchanted Summer (10 page)

BOOK: Olivia's Enchanted Summer
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“Are you all right, Livy?” she asked, when at that moment the cathedral bell started to
sound. It was five o'clock.

“It's nothing,” mumbled Olivia. “I'm just being silly. Forget I said anything.” She took a deep breath and jumped down from the bench. “Quick, Georgie, we've got to go to the cathedral or we'll miss Evie, Tati and the mysterious Mitch.”

 

But they already had. As Olivia and Georgia entered the cathedral, a very tall, thin man and his small, squat friend pushed roughly past them and out of the door. The interior of the cathedral was cool and dark, and after the bright sunshine outside their eyes took a while to adjust.

When the two girls got near the front of the nave, they could see that although there was a smattering of people in some of the other pews, there was nobody in the third pew from the front. A woman was righting a wooden plinth and candle that looked as if they had been knocked over. She was muttering “kids” under her breath as she did so, and she eyed them suspiciously.

“We're too late,” said Georgia disappointedly. “I knew we shouldn't have stopped for the magic show!” They went out
through the side door that led into the crypt café but they could see no sign of Evie and Tati.

“Let's go back to the others,” said Olivia, and they headed back down the Royal Mile. They spotted their friends a little way away and were walking towards them when they noticed the man they had seen in Greyfriars Kirkyard loitering as if he were keeping an eye out for someone.

As they walked past he caught Olivia's eye and smiled in recognition.

“Hello again,” he said. “I'm still looking for my niece. I'm worried she could be in trouble, her and her sister, poor wee bairns.” He sounded really distressed. “I just want to help them. I feel I've let them down.”

Olivia and Georgia looked at each other. They wondered whether they should tell him that they actually knew Evie and Tati, and that his nieces were mixed up with a criminal called Mitch. Perhaps they should mention the sapphires?

“Well…” said Georgia uncertainly, but she got no further because Aeysha came running up.

“There you are! Where've you been?” Aeysha didn't wait for an answer. “Just hurry
up, will you, we're going to be late for the show.” She looked quizzically at the man, then cast an exasperated glance at Olivia and Georgia and started dragging them away.

As they hurried down the road she said tartly, “I know from the way you two are always whispering together that you're up to something. I've noticed and I reckon Evie has, too. I just hope you know what you're doing and I hope you didn't tell that man that Evie and Tati are staying with us?”

“But, Aeysha, he's their uncle, the one they mentioned. We're sure of it,” said Georgia plaintively.

“That's what
he
says,” said Aeysha, and then she added darkly: “And that's what Abanazer told Aladdin so he could get the jewels. I wish you would just let Evie and Tati be. They've never done anything to harm either of you.”

“Do you know where they are?” asked Olivia stonily.

“Yes,” said Aeysha. “I saw them come rushing out of the cathedral about ten minutes ago, and I don't think they'd been leaving the vicar a flyer.”

Chapter Fourteen

Jack had added some new routines to
Enchantment
since Evie and Tati's arrival at the Swan Circus and he was putting everyone through their paces in a rehearsal. Olivia and Evie were up on the wire, moving towards each other slowly and watchfully. Both were wearing long robes with cowls over their heads so they looked slightly sinister as they glided towards each other. The pair of them stopped some distance apart, dropped their cloaks to the floor many metres below, and stood facing each other in glittering leotards and tights. Evie was dressed entirely in white and Olivia in black.

Watching from below, Aeysha thought how much they reminded her of two cowboys squaring up to each other in one of those old
westerns that her dad loved so much. It wasn't surprising really: inspired by the final scenes of
Hamlet
, Jack had come up with the idea of a carefully choreographed duel high up on the wire. Both the girls were holding balancing rods that they used as staves to attack and defend themselves. Pablo had managed to spotlight them really dramatically and Kasha had written some brooding music that built to a crescendo as the fight reached its climax.

From down below, the performance was powerfully compelling, but up on the wire, things were rather tense. Olivia and Evie were testing each other every step of the way. Jack had choreographed the fight sequence with great care and impressed upon each of the girls that they had to follow his instructions to the letter. He wasn't taking any chances and he didn't want any accidents. He had insisted that both wore safety harnesses, although Evie had loudly protested that she hadn't needed a harness since she was four and the Magnificent Purcarete would never have made her wear such a thing. Olivia bit her tongue. The unkind thought,
And look where recklessness got him
, crossed her mind and she felt ashamed of herself. It was
just that she hated the way everyone bent over backwards for Evie and Tati, and seemed to put up with such a lot from them.

“Let's try that again, girls,” called Jack. The music began, and Olivia and Evie moved across the wire towards each other again. Olivia had to admit that Evie was skilful and admired the way she moved so gracefully, but she also thought she was flashy and attention-seeking. How could Jack possibly think Evie was so good, when she walked the wire with a flamboyance of a kind that he'd always said he'd detested? Evie used the wire as a place to show off and play to the crowd, and it was certainly working with the Swans, thought Olivia crossly, who were behaving as if they had never seen anyone walk it before. It made her feel very small, and unimportant.

But at least the routines she did with Jack were the backbone of the show. Evie may have wormed her way into the Swan Circus but she couldn't take her double act with her dad away from her.

Evie was approaching her with a glint in her eye. There was the satisfying clunk of wood on wood and the two girls leaned into each other
with their staves in a cross formation. They both counted silently to three then broke apart, and as she did so, Evie gave a little double twirl that was totally not in the sequence.

Olivia waited for Jack to stop them and tell Evie off, but to her disgust, he shouted: “That was great, Evie. Do you think you could manage it, Liv? Not to worry if it's too difficult for you.”

Olivia felt rage rise in her stomach. Manage it? Of course she could manage it. If her dad wanted her to behave like a little show-off, that's what she'd do. The green snake curled ever tighter in her stomach.

The two girls faced each other again. Evie danced towards Olivia, an infuriatingly superior little smile playing on her lips. Olivia scowled at her. She wanted to wipe the smile off Evie's smug face. Never in her life had she wanted so much to slap someone, but she knew she'd never do something so awful and embarrassing. Instead, she clenched her fists. Evie did another twirl that wasn't in the routine.

“More!” shouted Jack from below. Olivia obeyed. The two girls whirled apart along the wire and then whirled back again like human spinning tops. They came closer and closer. For
a split second Olivia felt tempted to whirl into Evie and send the two of them spinning off the wire, but such a deliberate act of sabotage was beyond her. It went against everything that Jack had ever taught her.

The girls came to a whirling stop just centimetres from each other. They raised their staves again and there was another clunk as the two sticks met. They could feel each other's weight. Their eyes locked. They were so close that Olivia could feel Evie's hot breath on her cheek.

“Not bad for a beginner,” said Evie, with a patronising smirk.

Olivia felt as if a volcano had erupted in the core of her stomach and hot fury was trying to force its way up through her body and out of her burning throat. But when they came, Olivia's words were a quiet snarl. “I know about you,” she said.

Evie suddenly became very alert, like a bird sitting in the low branch of a tree that had suddenly sensed a cat prowling within striking distance.

The two girls broke apart.“You don't know anything about me,” hissed Evie as they came
together again, their staves hitting with real force, but there was a trace of something fearful in her defiance.

“Oh yes, I do,” said Olivia quietly, as she stalked Evie, who was walking backwards. “I know lots of things. I know that you're not living with your uncle. I know that you've been camping out in a garage in Jekyll Street. And I know that your uncle's looking for you.”

Evie gave a little mewl of surprise but she didn't miss a step in the sequence.

Enjoying herself, Olivia continued. “I know all about the jewels and I know all about the house scam,” she said softly in Evie's ear. “Maybe it's time I called the police?”

Evie took an agitated step backwards, looking at Olivia with anxious eyes. She had turned so pale that her freckles stood out on the bridge of her nose. She attempted a twirl but as she did so, she lost her footing and plunged off the wire.

Olivia looked down at Evie dangling helplessly in her safety harness and flailing around like an overgrown baby. The wire was bouncing up and down but Olivia kept her balance. She remembered Evie's boastful words
on the day of the workshop:
I never fall
.

She saw a small tear fall down the cheek of Evie's upturned face. On the ground below, Harry set up a howling that sounded as if his doggy heart was broken.

When Evie had lost her footing, Olivia had – for the merest split second – felt a surge of triumph. But now, looking down at her humiliated rival, she felt only guilt and misery. She might just as well have pushed Evie off the wire. Instead of feeling jubilant, she had never felt more ashamed of herself in her whole life. She felt even worse when they were back on the ground and all the Swans gathered around Evie, asking if she was all right after her fall. Olivia hung back and hoped no one noticed how guilty she looked.

Chapter Fifteen

Olivia sat at a table in a café picking at a baked potato. She wasn't hungry. She could see Harry lying patiently outside, his head on his front paws, waiting for Evie. That dog loved Evie; he would die for her. Aeysha was right, thought Olivia, if Evie could inspire such loyalty in Harry, she couldn't be all bad.

Sitting opposite Olivia were Eel and Emmy. They were planning their future careers as prima ballerinas, and getting annoyed with Kylie, who was telling them that to be a classical dancer, you had to go to the Royal Ballet School.

“The Swan's great for acting and musical theatre,” Kylie was saying knowingly, “but if you want to be a professional ballerina, then the Royal Ballet School is the place to be. My little
sister is starting there in September. You can go to White Lodge in Richmond Park when you're eleven. It's the best.”

“But I never want to leave the Swan and Gran,” said Eel worriedly.

“I don't want to leave the Swan, either,” said Emmy, looking tearful.

“Well,” said Kylie, “you can't want to be a ballet dancer enough.”

“But I do!” said Eel indignantly. “I want it mostest. Although I do like tap and modern, too, and I loved that contemporary dance show that Gran took us to see at The Place. It's just that I could never leave the Swan.”

“Perhaps you're just not prima ballerina material, then,” said Kylie, nodding gravely.

Eel and Emmy looked at each other in horror.

“Oh, shut up, Kylie, for goodness' sake! They're only eight, they don't have to worry about all this for ages,” Olivia had snapped with such uncharacteristic rudeness that the others looked at her in surprise. Kylie flushed bright red and went off to sit at another table in a huff.

“Are you all right, Livy?” asked Eel, a worried frown on her face.

“I'm fine,” said Olivia brusquely. But she didn't feel fine at all. She needed someone to talk to and she wished again that Tom was there. She looked longingly over at the other table where Georgia and Aeysha were sitting with Evie and Tati. They were all laughing uproariously at a story Evie was telling.

Olivia looked away. When they'd all arrived at the café, Georgia and Aeysha had bagged a table with four chairs in the far corner. Olivia was at the back of the group and was fighting her way through the crowded café towards them when Evie had slipped into one of the empty seats and Tati into the other. Olivia thought she saw Evie throw a little glance of triumph in her direction, but maybe she had imagined it.

Olivia was full of conflicting feelings about Evie. She still resented Evie for the way she had so easily wormed her way into the Swan Circus, but she felt intensely guilty when she remembered her forlorn, frightened little face when she had fallen off the wire. But, thought Olivia to herself, her shot in the dark about the necklace and the scam had clearly hit home. Evie was not to be trusted.

“Olivia! Olivia!” Lydia's voice woke her
from her reverie. She looked up and realised that everyone else was heading for the door.

“Come on, Livy.” Georgia's mum smiled. “We need to get a move on. I'll be in terrible trouble if I get you all back late for the afternoon performance.” They set off towards Calton Hill, with Olivia striding ahead. She came to a small road and waited for everyone to catch up before she crossed and began texting Tom.

As the others joined her, Olivia found herself standing next to Tati. Evie was just behind them. Olivia and Tatiana stepped out into the road, with Olivia just a little in front. She wasn't taking much notice because Tom had just texted her back. Suddenly, Harry started barking frantically as a blue car came careering around the corner at high speed.

The Swans scattered like skittles. Olivia heard Tati scream as the car bore down on them and then she felt a hard yank that pulled her backwards. She couldn't keep her balance and fell heavily on her left arm, while the car roared over the spot where she had just been standing. Aeysha and Georgia rushed to pick Olivia up.

“Are you OK?” they cried as they helped their friend to her feet.

“I'm fine,” said Olivia. “I've just hurt my arm a bit.” But she was shaking so much that she could hardly get the words out.

Tati was crying and trembling, too, and was being talked to fiercely by a white-faced Evie, who kept throwing anxious looks in Olivia's direction. Olivia heard her say the words, “It's a warning.” Eel and Emmy were in tears as well.

Olivia kept insisting that she'd just bruised her arm in the fall. But by the time they got to the big top, it was clear that Olivia's arm was much worse than that.

Jack heard them arrive and appeared from inside the tent.“Here at last!” he said impatiently. “We've only got forty minutes before show time…” He stopped when he saw their shocked faces and Olivia cradling her arm protectively. “What happened, chick?” he asked, hugging his daughter, his face full of concern.

Olivia suddenly realised that she didn't really know. It had all happened so fast. There had been the speeding car and then somebody had pulled her backwards and she had fallen and hurt her arm. She caught Evie staring at her very intently. There was something almost challenging in Evie's look, as if she was very
interested to hear what Olivia was going to tell her father. Olivia was certain it was Evie who had made her fall on her arm. But had Evie yanked her to save her from the speeding car? Or was it revenge for what had happened on the wire? What had Evie meant by “It's a warning”? Was the accident her way of telling Olivia to back off?

She opened her mouth to speak, but Eel was already telling Jack about the car. “Thank goodness Evie knocked Livy out the way or she could have been run over. Evie's a real hero.”

There were loud murmurs of agreement from the other Swans. Olivia felt more confused than ever. She lifted her head and her eyes met Evie's. Evie looked away quickly as if embarrassed. Tati's face was taut and anxious.

“We're going to have to get you to the hospital, Liv, chick,” said Jack. “I want that arm checked out. It doesn't look like it's broken, but we can't take any chances.”

“But what about the show?” asked Kylie.

“I'll take Livy to the hospital,” said Lydia. “You stay here, Jack, and get the show up with Pablo. We'll probably be hours in A&E.”

“But we can't do the show without Livy!”
wailed Aeysha.

“I'll just have to walk the wire on my own,” said Jack. He looked worried. “But it's a bit of a disaster, because we've got a reviewer from the
Scotsman
and some bloggers coming in this afternoon. The show just won't be the same without you, Liv, but nobody can fill in for you.”

“If it would help, I could take Olivia's place,” said a quiet voice. “I pretty well know the routine. Of course, I can't do the trapeze, but I can do the double act with you, Jack.”

Everyone turned to look at Evie and began babbling enthusiastically. Olivia suddenly felt completely invisible. She desperately wanted Jack to say that it was very kind of Evie to offer but nobody could possibly take his daughter's place, but she could see from his anguished face that this wasn't going to happen. He was torn between wanting to give the best performance possible for the critics and knowing how upset Olivia would feel being replaced.

“We need to ask Liv if she feels comfortable with that,” he said anxiously. Olivia felt everybody's eyes on her. She swallowed hard. Jack had left her no choice.

“Of course Evie must do it,” she whispered.
When Jack came to hug her as the taxi arrived to take her and Georgia's mum to the hospital, he whispered how proud he was of her, but she closed her eyes and turned away from his embrace.

BOOK: Olivia's Enchanted Summer
7.85Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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