"You're too late," Manfred went on, enraged by Lysander's look of disdain.
"Charlie's parents will never come home now." And he gave Charlie a terrible smile.
14. A PERPLEXING POSTCARD
Charlie watched Manfred step back into the side hall and swiftly close the door.
"It can't be true, Sander. Can it?" said Charlie.
Lysander put an arm around his shoulders. "You mustn't let yourself believe it, Charlie. There's no proof. Your parents might have been safe on shore when the storm blew up."
"Yes," said Charlie desperately. His head was spinning. He wanted to run home to Maisie and Uncle Paton. But would they know the truth?
When Lysander steered him down the corridor of portraits, he suddenly remembered the danger they were in. Someone was going to have to pay for the Sea Globe's destruction and the end of Lord Grimwald.
Lysander, sensing what Charlie was thinking, said calmly, "Don't worry.
You've done nothing wrong, Charlie. I destroyed the globe, and the Bloors can't touch me. They're too afraid of my ancestors."
No one seemed to notice their late arrival in the dining hall. The staff sat at a table on a raised platform at the end of the hall. From here they could keep an eye on the tables below them. But today they were all too keen on their dinners to notice Lysander and Charlie slip stealthily in.
Charlie quickly cast an eye over the three tables running the length of the hall. On the left, blue-caped music students chattered over their stew. No one looked in his direction until Fidelio gave him a wave. As he made his way over to Fidelio, Charlie noticed Olivia sitting at the center table, with a Branko twin on either side of her. Lysander went to the art table, where Emma was sitting several places away from Dorcas and Joshua, whose left hand was all bandaged up.
"What happened, Charlie?" Fidelio asked in a low voice as Charlie squeezed onto the bench beside him.
"Tell you later," said Charlie, and then whispered into his friend's ear,
"Lysander destroyed the Sea Globe—and Lord Grimwald!"
"WHAT?" Fidelio stared at Charlie in disbelief.
At that moment, Weedon appeared through one of the doors behind the staff table. He moved quickly to Dr. Bloor's side and, bending over his shoulder, said a few words. Dr. Bloor leaped up, pushing over his heavy chair so that it fell on the floor with a loud bang.
The other teachers stared at him, and all the children watched the staff table expectantly. Dr. Bloor rushed out, followed by Weedon. An excited shouting and chattering exploded in the air. Prefects hushed and shushed in vain. Eventually, Dr. Saltweather stood up and clapped his hands. The hall fell silent. Dr. Saltweather commanded a great deal of respect. "Calm yourselves!" he bellowed. "Just because the headmaster has left the room, it doesn't mean that you can squeal like animals. Lower your voices, please."
There was a moment's hush and then the chatter was resumed on a quieter note.
Gabriel, sitting opposite Charlie, leaned over the table and asked, "Lysander found you, then, Charlie? What happened?"
"Thanks for telling Lysander, Gabe. He saved my life, and Dagbert's."
"Dagbert's?" Gabriel frowned.
"Let's talk later," said Fidelio in a warning voice. Several children were already looking at Charlie.
Gabriel glanced at the inquisitive faces and said, "OK."
After dinner, Charlie headed for the blue coat-room, with Fidelio and Gabriel following close behind. They had five minutes before they would be expected to start their homework. Almost without pausing for breath, Charlie told his friends what had happened in the ballroom.
For a moment they were too stunned to speak, and then Gabriel said slowly,
"When I told Lysander you were going to the Music Tower I never imagined ...
I mean I just knew he was the only one who could help you."
"Weedon must have told Dr. Bloor," said Fidelio. "No wonder he rushed out."
"Manfred saw it all," Charlie told them.
His friends frowned at him, and Fidelio said, "Didn't he try and stop it?"
"Stop Lysander?" Charlie found that the cold chill of Manfred's words had suddenly lifted and he felt irrationally cheerful. "Nothing can stop Lysander."
Gabriel grinned. "Of course not," he agreed.
Charlie was reluctant to spoil their positive mood so didn't mention Manfred's dreadful prediction.
The three boys left the coatroom, and while Fidelio hurried to his classroom, Charlie and Gabriel made their way up to the King's Room. Just before they went in, Gabriel said, "Charlie, I forgot to tell you. I saw Cook after lunch. She's got something for you."
"What?"
Gabriel rubbed his head. "Postcard, I think she said."
"A postcard. What... ?" Charlie felt something sharp poke into the small of his back and he swung around to see Joshua holding a pencil in his bandaged hand.
"Are you going in or not?" asked Joshua sullenly.
Without replying, Charlie opened the door and Joshua pushed past him.
It was a surprise to see Manfred sitting in his usual place, as if nothing had happened. But he gave Charlie a cold glance when he came in; otherwise there was nothing in his manner to suggest that he had seen the giant Sea Globe swallow its master and then disintegrate. For a moment Charlie wondered if this was because the Bloors had no further use for the globe. If Lyell Bone had really drowned, then the pearl-inlaid box would never be found. But Charlie refused to accept this. He had decided that as long as he kept believing his parents would come home, then nothing could prevent them.
A quiet sniffle beside him made Charlie aware that Emma was dabbing her nose.
He hadn't spoken to her all day and felt guilty for leaving her out of things. Nudging her gently, he whispered, "See you in the art room later, Em."
Emma nodded and smiled, and then, while Manfred's head was bent over his book, she whispered back, "It's the vest," and she looked straight at Olivia on the other side of the table.
Charlie frowned. He didn't have a chance to ask Emma what she had meant because Manfred was glaring at him again. So was Olivia. She wasn't herself, he could see that. Her skin was dull, and dark circles ringed her eyes. As she turned the pages of her book he caught a glimpse of the glittery thing she wore beneath her cape. Of course, a vest!
After homework, Charlie made straight for the art room. Gabriel and Lysander stayed behind to finish some work, and Charlie found that he was being followed by a group of girls. He looked back and saw Dorcas, the twins, and Olivia. They stopped at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the girls'
dormitories, and when Charlie continued on to the art room, he could feel their eyes on him.
The art room was at the end of the hallway leading to Charlie's dormitory, so he hoped the girls wouldn't guess where he was heading. He quickly glanced over his shoulder and, seeing that the girls had gone, made a dash to the end of the hall and into a large room with long windows overlooking the garden.
The place was crammed with easels and canvases, and Charlie quickly switched on one of the lights in case he tripped. It was easy for someone to hide behind one of the tall easels; for a moment, he wasn't quite sure if he was alone. "Emma?" he called softly.
There was no reply, so Charlie walked around the easels toward the dark windows. He had to pass a trapdoor covering the spiral staircase that led down to the sculpture room. The room where Dagbert had tried to drown Tancred. Or had he?
Charlie reached the windows and peered out into the misty garden.
Thick clouds obscured the moon and stars and he could see nothing beyond a row of stone statues directly beneath him. Old Ezekiel had a fondness for garden ornaments, and groups of figures, human and animal, had been placed about the grounds. Sometimes you would come upon a single statue in an unexpected place, and the gray form, appearing above shadowy bushes, could give you quite a fright.