The Complete Private Collection: Private; Invitation Only; Untouchable; Confessions; Inner Circle; Legacy; Ambition; Revelation; Last Christmas; Paradise ... The Book of Spells; Ominous; Vengeance (287 page)

Eliza stared at Theresa. If the girl was expecting Eliza to break down crying and confess that she was pining for Harrison—well, that was not going to happen. Eliza had just met the boy.

“I’m so happy for you, Theresa, really,” Eliza said firmly, putting on a huge smile. She reached out and squeezed Theresa’s hands for good measure, even though the gesture made her own skin crawl. “I wish you and Harrison years of marital bliss. Now, can we please go?”

Theresa tightened her grip until she was squeezing so hard, Eliza feared for her fingers. “Of course!” Theresa said with wide-eyed innocence. “Why have you kept me out here so long? Our friends must be dying of fright.”

With that, she dropped Eliza’s fingers, grabbed the lantern, and sprinted across the grass. Eliza’s jaw dropped. For a moment she was stunned over Theresa’s accusation that she’d been the one to stall them. But as the pitch darkness closed in around her, Eliza recovered
herself and ran. Theresa was at least ten paces ahead. Eliza lowered her head and sprinted as hard as she could, determined to catch up with her rival before they reached the dormitory. Determined to win. At least at this.

Theresa let out a yelp of surprise as Eliza drew up even, then passed her. Eliza drove her hands into the rough brick wall of Crenshaw at least three yards ahead of Theresa. She turned around, leaned back, and smiled over her triumph.

“Congratulations, Eliza,” Theresa said slyly, her chest heaving as she arrived. “You must be very proud.”

Eliza opened her mouth to respond that yes, she was very proud, but at that moment, the double doors at the front of Crenshaw House swung open, letting out a loud, ominous squeal. Lavender instantly stepped in front of the other girls as if she was readying herself to protect them.

“Hello, ladies,” the headmistress said, staring down her nose at Lavender. She smiled grimly at the collective gasp that met her greeting. “Kindly come inside so that I may take down your names.” She stepped aside to let them all through the double doors, but for a long moment, no one moved. Eliza looked at Catherine, whose face was deathly pale, her mouth set in a pained line.

“Good evening, Miss Almay,” Theresa said confidently. “And might I say, you look lovely in your dressing gown. Is that silk?”

Some of the girls laughed halfheartedly, but Miss Almay’s frown lines only grew deeper.

“Inside, Theresa. Now.”

Theresa strode through the door, her head held high. Slowly, the other girls followed, their eyes trained on the ground. Eliza brought up the rear, right behind Catherine, her heart heavy as she imagined her mother’s reaction upon hearing that her younger daughter had been expelled from the Billings School for Girls on her very first day.

Just as the door slammed shut behind her, a breeze curled around Eliza and tickled her ear. “I told you that you should have turned back,” the same low voice from the tunnel whispered. Eliza’s breath caught and she whirled around. But no one was there.

“Miss Almay is simply evil for making us toil in this heat,” Theresa groused, shoving her spade into the dirt in the garden behind Crenshaw House. She pried out a dandelion by the roots and tossed it aside, then wiped the back of her hand along her perspiring brow. Even Eliza had found herself close to complaining as she worked under the relentless sun, but each time she’d held back. She didn’t want to sound as petulant as Theresa had sounded all morning long. Eliza could tell that Catherine, who was weeding a row of carrots a few feet away, was also biting her tongue.

Theresa tossed another dandelion. “And do you know that Viola and Bia haven’t spoken to me at all since last night? As if it’s somehow my fault we were caught.”

Viola, Bia, and Jane were gathering apples under the watchful eye of Mrs. Hodge; the cook was to use the fruit in her fritters and pies. Helen, meanwhile, had been charged with keeping an eye on the
garden workers. The young maid sat nearby in the shade of an elm tree, her gaze trained on Eliza and her friends like a hawk stalking its prey. Eliza wondered if she’d been scolded for allowing the girls to sneak out on her watch.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Alice said, sitting back to fan her face under the wide brim of her straw hat. “We all wanted to go. I just can’t believe she’s also forbidden us from attending the dance. Isn’t it punishment enough that we’re being forced to weed the gardens and sweep the walks like common servants?”

“I rather enjoy this.” Eliza grabbed a weed at its base, yanked it out, and tossed it into the basket, which was rapidly growing full. “Being out in the sun, getting some exercise.”

“But don’t you care that we’re not going to get to go to the dance? All the other girls will get to talk and dance with the boys,” Alice said, her shoulders curling forward as she gazed longingly toward the woods that separated them from the Easton campus. “We’re going to be at such a disadvantage.”

“It’s not a contest,” Eliza said lightly.

“Not for me at least,” Theresa said. “I’ve already won the most worthy boy.”

Swallowing a groan, Eliza took hold of a large weed with both hands and tore it fiercely from the ground. The sound of male laughter caught the girls’ attention.

“There are some of your conquests now,” Catherine said, nodding in that direction.

Sure enough, off in the distance, Eliza could see Jonathan and
Harrison walking along with Jeff and Christopher, their confident strides a measure of their assured place in the world. Alice scrambled to her knees, soiling the skirt of her pink dress as she angled for a better look. Theresa shielded her eyes and smiled.

“Forget spring. I think we’ll have an autumn wedding,” she mused, her eyes on Harrison. “This would be a beautiful sort of day to exchange vows, don’t you think?”

Eliza took up Theresa’s forgotten spade and drove it into the earth, ignoring the question.

“I rather think not,” Catherine said.

All three girls glanced at Catherine, surprised.

“You said it yourself. It’s too hot,” Catherine continued, looking, for some reason, at Eliza. “Your wedding cake would melt into a puddle of sugar and eggs.”

“In your opinion,” Theresa said, sitting back down on her gardening stool.

“Which, if I’m not mistaken, you asked for,” Catherine replied.

Stifling a laugh, Eliza drove the trowel into the dirt again. It slammed into something hard, making a loud scraping noise that set her teeth on edge.

“What was that?” Alice asked, peering over Eliza’s shoulder.

“Probably a rock,” Eliza replied.

She dug up a few shovelfuls of dirt, expecting to see another of the small, fist-size rocks they’d found so many of during their past hour of gardening. But instead, the surface of whatever she had found just seemed to grow on either side of her shovel. Eliza dug and dug until she’d
uncovered what appeared to be a long wooden box. Some kind of metal band was wrapped around it, clasped with an ornately carved latch.

Eliza stole a quick glance at Helen. The girl was standing now, and Eliza’s heart skipped a nervous beat. She positioned herself so that her back was to the maid, entirely shielding the hole and its contents from view.

“Girls! Don’t look now, but I’ve found something,” Eliza whispered.

Catherine abandoned the carrots and moved closer to Eliza, starting to dig casually just a foot away. Alice and Theresa angled themselves so they could see inside the hole as well.

“What is it?” Alice asked, looking over her shoulder at Helen.

“I don’t know,” Eliza replied. “Who would bury something here?”

“Who cares? Just dig it up,” Theresa ordered.

It was an order Eliza didn’t mind taking. After using her trowel to clear away some more of the dirt, she dug in with her fingers. Finally she was able to pry the box from the ground. The case was about a foot long and flat, only two inches in height. Eliza whipped a handkerchief from the pocket of her apron and dusted the dirt from the grooves and crevices of the carved latch. It was some sort of symbol, with circles swirling together to make an exotic design, but there were no letters or words to identify the owner.

“Let’s see what’s inside!” Alice whispered fervently.

Eliza laid the box on the ground next to the hole and glanced over at Helen again. The girl was walking toward them. Eliza’s heart all but stopped.

“She’s coming,” she whispered, turning around again.

“Oh, Lord,” Theresa said.

“Theresa! Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain!” Alice scolded.

Everyone looked at her, surprised.

“Forgive me, Sister Alice,” Theresa said sarcastically. Then she sat up and called out, “Helen! Would you mind getting us some water? We’re parched, and I’m certain Headmistress Almay wouldn’t appreciate it if we all ended up dehydrated in the infirmary.”

Helen stopped in her tracks. She looked at Crenshaw House, then back at the girls, an almost desperate look on her face. “Of course, Miss Billings,” she said finally. But she cast a furtive look over her shoulder as she went inside, as if her conscience was telling her to stay.

As soon as the door had banged shut behind the maid, Eliza opened the box, her hands shaking with excitement. Inside was a folded piece of dusty, frayed velvet. Quickly Eliza removed her gardening gloves and unfolded the scrap of cloth. Tucked within was a large, perfectly round gold locket. Etched into its face was the same swirling circle design as on the box’s lid.

“A buried treasure!” Alice announced excitedly.

Theresa and Eliza reached for the locket at the same time, but Catherine grabbed Theresa’s hand.

“It’s Eliza’s. She found it,” Catherine said.

Theresa clucked her tongue. “What’s gotten into you today? You’d think
she’d
been your best friend for the past two years.” Eliza half expected Theresa to walk away for a pout, as many girls in Eliza’s and May’s small circle back home would have done, but surprisingly, she stayed put.

Eliza scanned the hillside leading down to the campus lawn.
Helen’s empty chair sat beneath the huge elm. Down the hill, Mrs. Hodge was busy yelling at Bia for eating one of the apples. A hawk swirled overhead. No one was paying the four girls in the garden any heed.

Eagerly, Eliza lifted the necklace and opened the locket. A piece of parchment paper, creased into a tiny square, dropped to the ground. Theresa seized upon it hungrily. She dusted the dirt off the square and unfolded it.

“It’s all in Latin,” she said, frustrated. “Does anyone read Latin?”

“I do.” Catherine reached for the parchment, but stopped. “Wait. There’s something else in the box.”

Eliza looked down. A warm breeze tickled the back of her neck, and even in the heat, she shivered. Sure enough, another piece of parchment peeked out from beneath the velvet covering. She tugged it out and opened it. The other girls leaned in around her shoulders, and Eliza felt the same rush of anticipation she’d had as a child whenever May had proposed a new scheme.

“What is it?” Catherine asked.

Crude illustrations of structures, streets, and bodies of water covered the page. There were also short lines of handwritten text indicating paths to a series of various destinations. Right near the center of the page was a big, dark
X.

“It’s a treasure map,” Eliza said.

The four girls looked at one another, a sizzle of excitement rushing between them.

“Look. This must be Crenshaw,” Theresa said, grabbing the map
out of Eliza’s hands. She pointed at a drawing of a square building at the top of a hill.

Suddenly Eliza wished Theresa had been anywhere but here when she’d found the box. Clearly the girl was going to try to dictate this situation, just as she did all others.

“
X
marks the spot,” Catherine said, pointing to the middle of the page.

Theresa opened her mouth as if to speak.

“I say we follow it. Tonight,” Eliza announced quickly.

Theresa shot her an annoyed look, and it was all Eliza could do to keep from preening. Clearly she’d stolen the words out of Theresa Billings’s mouth.

“But we’re already under probation,” Catherine said, glancing over her shoulder at Crenshaw House, as if she expected Miss Almay to be standing in the doorway.

“But we must,” Eliza said. “Imagine what we might find!”

Theresa’s eyes shone. “It could be gold or diamonds or—”

“I don’t know. What if we get caught?” Alice said fretfully.

“Oh, grow up, Alice. We’re going,” Theresa said, folding up the map. “Besides, Miss Almay can’t forbid you from the dance
again.
”

Just then, the front door to Crenshaw House slammed, and out walked Helen with a tray of water glasses, the ice cubes clinking together loudly in the stillness of the afternoon.

“Hide it!” Theresa instructed, lifting up Alice’s wide skirt. Eliza stuffed the locket and map back into the box and shoved the whole thing toward Alice’s feet. Alice dropped her skirts down to cover the
box, then sat on her gardening stool again and grabbed her trowel. Catherine, meanwhile, folded the small parchment inside her fist.

“If you two won’t go, Eliza and I will go without you,” Theresa hissed.

Eliza clenched her jaw at Theresa taking charge once again—and so offhandedly ostracizing not only Alice but also Catherine.

“No. We were all here when we found it. Either all four of us go or none of us go,” Eliza said. Helen was only fifty feet away now.

Theresa scowled, but Catherine seemed moved. “All right. If it means so much to you two, I’ll go.”

Alice let out a whimper, bouncing her knees up and down as she looked from Helen to Eliza and back again.

“Your water, girls,” Helen announced, standing on her toes as she called to the girls. “I don’t believe Miss Almay would object to you all taking a slight break.”

“We’ll be right there,” Theresa yelled back.

“Alice! It’s to you,” Eliza whispered.

“All right, fine. But only because you mentioned diamonds,” Alice said.

“We meet at midnight underneath the old elm,” Theresa said, nodding toward the tree under which Helen was now placing the tray. “Agreed?”