Pepper snorted. “Will they listen?”
“We’ll see,” I said. “I have to go see the board.”
Mistress Constance made a face. “Good luck.”
I nodded as I used the wards to ask the board members to gather in one of the conference chambers, then left the room. There was a very good chance, despite everything, that the board would turn on me. I’d plotted to overthrow Boscha, encouraged students to riot … and embarrassed the sons of at least two board members. And yet … I made a quick detour to Boscha’s office—there were problems getting inside now—and collected the documents I’d found on my previous visit. It was just possible I could use them to get away with everything I’d done. Just.
The board members looked irked when I stepped into the room. I wasn’t sure what, if anything, they’d sensed when I took control of the wards. Whitehall’s wards were loyal to their original master—we assumed it was Lord Whitehall himself—ahead of everyone else, including the board and their chosen agent. In theory, five of the seven board members could vote to unseat and replace me; in practice, I wasn’t sure. The wards were dangerously unpredictable.
Lord Pollux glared at me. “Where’s Boscha?”
“Gone,” I said, flatly. The wards had noted him leaving and adjusted themselves to keep him out, if he ever returned. “We have removed him from office.”
“You …” Lady Colleen met my eyes. “Why?”
“He was a Supremacist,” I said, flatly. I made a show of waving the papers in the eye. “He was building an army to crush the magical families and take control of the entire world, then institute a program to impose Supremacist ideology on everyone. His army’s failure shows precisely what a disaster it would have been, to try to take control so blatantly.”
The entire world seemed to hold its breath. Five of the seven knew what Boscha had been doing. They’d ordered and encouraged it, with varying levels of enthusiasm. And Boscha’s plan hadn’t even started to get off the ground. They’d be laughingstocks if the truth came out, their positions undermined or even swept away by a tidal wave of sniggering … I could see it in their faces, the grim awareness they had to rubberstamp my actions or risk having everything come into the open. Boscha would make a convenient scapegoat … giving them all the time they needed to cover their own tracks. Who knew? They might even rethink Supremacist ideology.
“I have always thought Boscha was a little too unreliable,” Lord Archibald said, finally. I could practically hear him folding his cards. “A man with so little besides magic could only be expected to cling to Supremacist ideals, rather than consider them in the cold light of reason.”
I smiled as the rest of the board joined in, condemning their former agent and approving my actions. I knew it wasn’t the end—Lord Pollux’s face was so blank I knew he was seething—but for the moment I’d won. The documents I’d found would be enough to ruin them, if they ever got out. I’d make sure they stayed secret as long as they cooperated.
“There is, of course, disciplinary matters to address,” Lord Pollux said, finally. “My son was attacked by a gang of older students.”
Oh, I thought. Is that what he told you?
“Boscha, among other things, oversaw a breakdown in discipline,” I told him. “He was prepared to tolerate all sorts of behaviour, from older students hexing younger students to harassing and molesting the servants. It is my intention to crack down hard on misbehaviour, particularly when it serves no useful purpose. I trust this will be acceptable to you?”
Lord Pollux scowled but nodded. The rest of the board seemed to agree.
“Then we’ll take our leave,” Lord Archibald said. I knew he was going to head home and cover his tracks, probably swearing blind he hadn’t had the slightest idea of what had been going on, but I didn’t mind. It would get him and his peers out of my way. Not for long, I was sure, but long enough to give me time to get organised. “Congratulations, Grandmaster Hasdrubal.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” I said. “I will do you proud.”
I walked the board to the edge of the wards and saw them on their way, then returned to speak briefly to my allies before heading to my room to sleep. There had been surprisingly few injuries, none of which were serious … although I convinced Madame Clover to keep Walter in the infirmary overnight despite her insistence he was shamming. He probably was, but it would cut down on the number of problems I’d have to deal with the following morning. I swept the rest of the school with the wards, adjusting them to monitor student magic. It would hopefully make it easier to cut down on bullying before the school descended into anarchy. Again.
The following morning, I summoned Walter, Adrian and Jacky to the office before breakfast, before I told the school how much had changed. Their eyes went wide when they saw me, and the missing throne, although they must have known what had happened when I’d ordered the students to the dorms, I kept my face blank, trying to hide my disgust. Walter had shamed himself in front of the entire school—and his father —while Adrian had been turned into a mouse and Jacky had apparently hidden under the bed the moment he’d realised the school was in revolt. I guessed it had worked out for him. For once, being a weaselly little bastard had been the right call.
“I won’t mince words,” I told them, bluntly. “You were bullying little bastards. You bullied and molested everyone weaker than you, until they turned around, bared their teeth, and went for your throats. You brought into the silly little conceit that an accident of breeding made you better than anyone else, because your fathers and a bunch of other powerful people made it easier for you. You don’t lack talent” —it was true— “but you have wasted it.
“Right now, your patron is gone, and your fathers are fighting for their political lives. They can’t protect you any longer, or save you from the consequences of your own actions.”
I held their eyes, one by one. “This is the one chance you get. You can better yourselves. You can take your undoubted talents and develop them. Or you can fall back into your old patterns and find yourselves expelled without further ado. One more act of bullying—of anyone—and you will be gone. Do I make myself clear?”
They nodded, hastily. I scowled and pointed at the door. I hoped they’d listen—they did have potential, if they applied themselves—but I wouldn’t shed any tears if they didn’t. I wasn’t going to invite Stephen back now either, not after he’d taken the blame and been suspended. It was a backhanded favour, I told myself. The chance to grow up apart from his toxic friends would be good for him. Even if it wasn’t … hopefully, he’d learn his lesson about allowing himself to become the fall guy. It wasn’t worth it.
I sighed, then looked down at my ever-growing list of things I needed to do—and change, after we finished clearing up the mess. It would keep the students busy for a week and give them a chance to learn some practical magic, giving me time to adjust the wards to enforce some of the new rules. No hexing younger students. No casting unbelievably embarrassing curses. No harassing or molesting the servants. No …
Someone cleared their throat. “Sir?”
I looked up, spotting Alan and Geraldine standing in the doorway. They stood very close together … a little too close. I knew what they’d been doing in the dorms, and it hadn’t involved sleeping. I hid my amusement as I motioned for them to come into the room and close the door behind them. I hoped they’d be very happy together. School romances rarely lasted long, once the students had left, but … Alan and Geraldine might be different.