Sarah Jane of the Chalet School
by Paranoidangel (LJ
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Art by Laura (LJ | e-mail | comment) and Widgeon (LJ | comment)
Part 1
Sarah Jane Smith stepped off the train and took in her surroundings as the Kufstein-Innsbruck express steamed out of the small station. The clear, blue sky and green hills made a pretty picture and the bird song eased her weariness of the long journey. She still had a walk ahead of her, though, so couldn't stand around staring all day. She would have plenty of time to take in the view. After picking up her belongings, she started off on the road to the Annexe.
It had been three years since she was last in the Tirol. It wasn't that she didn't like it, but she had been so determined to be a journalist that she spent her university holidays hanging around journalists and their offices doing whatever work she could get. As long as it gained her some connections the pay never mattered. But it meant there had been no time for foreign travel. She'd always thought she could do that later, once she had some of her own money to do it with, but things hadn't quite turned out the way she'd expected.
The mountain air smelt fresh and even more healthy than she remembered. Her time recently had been filled with nothing but writing applications and trying desperately to get a job, so this journey had been a break. She knew once she reached the Annexe her first few days would be too busy for anything except for lesson plans. Teaching, she was feeling more apprehensive about, but she would just need to follow Madame's example and it shouldn't go too badly.
Since she'd never been up to the Sonnalpe before, she had some directions written on a piece of paper as to how to get to the Annexe. However, all the people round about knew of the school and the Sanatorium it was connected with, so it was hard to get lost. She greeted those she came across in the German she'd become much more fluent in after a year spent in Austria. Since it had come in useful in the past, she was grateful for Aunt Lavinia for giving her the chance to learn it so well.
There was no one outside the Annexe chalet. It looked big for just twenty two pupils, three mistresses and various support staff, but she supposed it had been chosen with expansion in mind. Inside smelt as fresh as the outside and looked spotless besides. Juliet and Grizel would probably be in here somewhere, but it was hard to tell where.
She had known them both well enough at school but hadn't especially been friends with either of them. But then Juliet and Grizel hadn't been that close either, so they were all going to have to make the best of it. Although given what Sarah had heard from Joey, they got on better now and Sarah was trying not to feel too much like an interloper in their midst even before she arrived.
Joey was the person Sarah had got on best with at school. Mind you, everyone liked Joey, but in Sarah's case they'd had a shared love of writing, although Joey's ambition was more towards fiction than journalism. Just about all the Old Girls wrote to Joey, it seemed, and where she got the time to write long letters back, Sarah never found out.
"Sarah!" Juliet came out of a room into the corridor ahead of Sarah. She was carrying a cardboard box folded shut, so Sarah couldn't see what was in it. "How was your journey?"
Sarah tried not to feel too much like a student and more like the contemporary of Juliet she was. "Fine, thank you." Although it wasn't a short trip from the North of England to Tirol, it had at least been uneventful. "Can I help with anything?"
Juliet shook her head. "We're nearly done, thank goodness. I feel like we've been unpacking for weeks, not days."
"Sorry I wasn't here sooner." It had been a rush to get everything ready and make the journey to the Annexe before term started.
"Don't worry about it, we've had plenty of help. Come on, I'll show you to your room so you can get cleaned up. Then it will be time for Kaffee und Kuchen." She started off down the corridor in the direction Sarah had been going.
"Thank you." As Sarah followed Juliet around the chalet she tried hard to remember the layout. It wouldn't do to get lost and be late to lessons.
On the way, Juliet pointed out a few rooms and Sarah was glad to see the staff room wasn't far away from her bedroom. So she wouldn't get too lost until later at least. Once at Sarah's room, Juliet left her to get settled in.
Her trunk was already here, but Sarah didn't quite feel up to unpacking just yet. So she just hung up her coat, changed her shoes and washed her face and hands. A quick glance in the mirror showed her hair to be tangled from the wind, so she had to stop and comb it. After that she was presentable, if tired. The rest of the soot she could wash off later.
When she reached the small staff room Grizel was pouring out coffee.
"Oh, Sarah," she said, when she turned round to see who had come in. "Have a cup of coffee." She held out the one she had just filled. "Did you find your trunk all right?"
"Yes, thank you," Sarah replied, taking the cup from her and sitting on one of the easy chairs arranged around the room. She took a sip of her drink and immediately felt the warmth of it. As much as she liked tea, she was fond of the milky coffee and bread twists that formed the mid-afternoon meal of Kaffee und Kuchen at the Chalet School.
She wasn't sure where all the furniture had come from, but the four chairs in the room were comfortable, and the table at the end of the room looked big enough for two of them to work on at a time. Most of the colour came in through the window but there were more important things about the room than how it looked.
The door opened again. "Ah, there you are Juliet. I thought you were never going to get here."
"All right, Grizel, I'm not that late." Juliet came in and accepted her cup.
"Is there anything else that needs doing?" Sarah asked, as Juliet and Grizel both sat down.
"The students don't arrive until tomorrow, so we have this evening to relax," Grizel answered.
Sarah was thinking that an early night would be just the thing, although she didn't expect to sleep that much from nerves.
"Which I'm so glad about. I've been meaning to write to Donal for the past two days and simply couldn't find a spare minute to fit it in."
"Spare minute, spare hour more like."
"When you're in love you'll spend just as long on your letters, mark my words, Grizel."
Grizel turned to Sarah, who had been listening to their conversation with interest, but not wanting to interrupt. "Please tell me you don't have someone back in England you're just waiting to marry."
Sarah smiled and shook her head. "I'm going to be a journalist, I don't have time to marry."
"Oh, thank goodness." Grizel put her hands to her chest and sighed dramatically. "You can be my island of sanity among the madness of young love."
Juliet rolled her eyes. "It's hardly as if I talk about Donal that often. And I'm a year older than you, young Grizel."
Grizel just waved her hand. It looked as if this was an argument they'd had often.
Sarah hoped she wouldn't get caught in the middle of it, as friendly as it was. "You are excited about being headmistress here, though, aren't you, Juliet?" she asked.
"Of course I am. But it's just temporary until I can marry Donal." She smiled and had a faraway look in her eyes.
"Everyone here's only temporary." Grizel sighed. "Except me."
Sarah frowned. "I thought you wanted to teach?"
"Yes, but PT, not music." She made a face.
Joey had been inclined to tell Sarah everything about Juliet and Grizel before Sarah came, but hadn't mentioned that point. Grizel had always been good at music when they were at school, but given the choice Grizel would have given it up. Her father was too much in control of her life to let her, though. "That's better than me at least." Sarah gave her a friendly smile, with some sympathy. "I'm scared to death I'll be terrible at it."
"We'll help you, don't worry about that." Juliet patted her knee. "And you can always ask Madame for help. She's only a few minutes away." When Madge taught at the Chalet School she had been known to all the pupils as Madame. Even now that held true and Sarah couldn't imagine calling her anything else. It was also a politeness, since Madge was still the owner of the school.
"Thank you. That is a great comfort." She smiled at Juliet.
"Well." Juliet put down her now empty coffee cup. "I'm off to write my letter, you two do whatever you want and I'll see you at Abendessen."
Grizel rolled her eyes and Sarah giggled. Juliet ignored them and walked from the room looking every inch a headmistress.
"Ah, there you are."
Harry looked up when Jem came into the office. He'd been at the Sanatorium a week now and was well acquainted with the staff and patients there by this time. He was also getting to know the other people who lived up on the Sonnalpe. This was the first time he'd had a letter from Esther, though, and he was sitting at his desk, re-reading it. He stood up as Jem came over.
"How are you settling in?" Jem was not much taller than Harry, although fairer, so the two looked much like opposites. Harry had been in awe of the other man when he first arrived, since it was Jem who had founded the San. Jack Maynard, who was Jem's deputy, had been one of Jem's students at university. Harry had known Jem, although not very well, but he was friends with Jack. Just as Jem had asked Jack to work here, Jack in turn had asked Harry. As jobs were scarce at home, and disappearing with the Doctor for a week or two hadn't helped, Harry hadn't been able to say no.
"Very well, thank you." He smiled. He was liking it here so far.
Jem nodded. "Now that the girls have had a chance to settle in, I think it's about time to introduce you to your charges."
"Righto." After putting the letter down, Harry followed Jem out of the office.
The Chalet School Annexe was only a few minutes walk away from San. Although the weather was still hot, it wasn't too unpleasant this far above sea level. When he first got here, Harry had wished they weren't as far away from the sea he loved, but working in the heat made him appreciate the San's location more. On the way, Jem pointed out the mountains to him and talked about which ones he'd been to. Harry rather fancied taking a look at some of them on his days off.
The school was in a chalet, just as many of the other buildings round here were. The gardens surrounding it probably looked better in spring when the grass was greener and the flowers grew, rather than wilted, but it was a wide open space, which would be good for school girls to run about in. A dozen young girls sat cross-legged on the ground, close to the front of the chalet, in the shade it offered. All had exercise books and were scribbling away at them, although a few looked more thoughtful and sucked on the end of their pencils.
"Hello!" Jem called as they neared, and at once all the girls looked up. Many of them called out "Dr Jem!" delightedly and somehow still managed to bounce sitting down.
Harry couldn't help grinning along with Jem at their reaction. He only hoped he could make himself as popular with them.
"Dr Jem." A young woman stood up from where she had been kneeling beside one of the girls, correcting her work. She was short and dressed in the local fashion, although a lock of hair had fallen from her bun and was instead tucked behind one ear. She looked too young to be a teacher, but she held herself with a confidence that suggested she was older than she looked. She was the complete opposite of Esther in looks, but Harry thought she was just as pretty.
She came over to where they were standing.
"Sarah. It's good to see you too." With a hand on her shoulder, Jem said, "Let me introduce you to my colleague, Harry Sullivan. He's just joined us to take care of the girls here. Harry, Sarah Jane Smith."
She turned her smile on him and shook his hand. "Have you ever been to the Tirol before?" she asked him.
Harry shook his head. "Never even been to Austria."
"Well, then you're in for a treat."
He smiled. From what he'd seen so far he agreed with her.
"Let's get down to business." Harry turned his attention back to Jem. "Harry and I will give all the girls a check-up today, and they can get to know Dr Harry." He nodded at Harry with a smile. Harry hadn't quite known what to make of the nickname by which he'd seen the girls greet Jem, but now he was hoping they would come to call him by it. "And after that it'll be all up to him."
"Do you want to start with my class?"
"It's as good a place as any."
The lesson had been disrupted anyway, so their check-ups hardly made it worse. Jem knew many of the girls and their entire medical histories by heart and Harry marvelled at his memory. As he wrote notes, Harry tried to remember as many names as he could, so he could match the girl to them afterwards. He was encouraged to see Sarah hesitate as she introduced some of them to him, so he wasn't alone and he knew she must be new here too.
Not all of the girls were entranced by Jem's presence. Those that weren't must be new to the school and hadn't met him before. He noticed one, Emilie, who spoke with a French accent, bit her lip and looked very nervous as Jem tried to examine her. So Harry stopped writing and started talking instead.
"Emilie, have you heard of the Loch Ness Monster?"
She looked over at Harry and nodded.
"Well, I saw it once."
She blinked at him and said nothing, but she looked interested, so he continued.
"Once, I was on the banks of the loch and there was a man walking along ahead of me, eating an apple. To impress the young lady he was with, he threw it as far as he could out into the lake. Before it even hit the water there was an almighty splash and out of the water came an enormous monster." Harry paused for effect and noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that all the girls were listening to him. "Nessie opened her mouth, showed us her teeth, and they were bigger than you are. She picked the apple out of the air and swallowed it whole."
"What did you do?" The voice came from a taller girl somewhere beyond his left shoulder.
Harry looked over at her. "I ran, of course, before she decided I made a tasty meal too."
That got the right reaction, as the girls laughed. Emilie, he noticed, when he turned back to look at her, had eyes as wide as saucers, but had entirely forgotten what Jem was doing. After that, Harry found the story worked well with other groups of pupils and by the time they were done he was already thinking of what to tell them next time.
Since it took a while for them to get round all twenty two students, the two doctors were invited for Kaffee und Kuchen afterwards. All the pupils and the teachers (although Harry soon learned they were called mistresses here) had it together in the hall. There was a mixture of ages on the tables the girls sat at, but the staff had a table of their own, out of earshot of the girls, as long as they talked quietly. Jem sat with the pupils, which he treated as a great honour, but Harry was ushered to the mistress's table. Although he had also been introduced to the other two teachers he was glad to find himself seated next to Sarah.
Although most of the girls talked eagerly to Jem, Robin in particular, who called him Onkle Jem, some of them called to Dr Harry, asking for more stories. Harry just laughed and told them they would have to wait until next week. He wanted some time to think first, but also he really wanted to talk to Sarah.
Fortunately, she came to his rescue. "So what brought you out here?" she asked.
Harry swallowed his mouthful of bread before he answered. "Jack recommended me for it. I was in need of a job and the San was in need of another doctor. "
"That's what happened to me too. I needed a job and the school needed a teacher at short notice. So they got someone they knew."
"Oh?" He hoped she would elaborate on that last part.
"I used to be a pupil at the Chalet School myself. Although," she lowered her voice, "if you ask anyone here they'll tell you I was quite wild at the time."
He raised his eyebrows. "And now you're a calm old thing, I suppose?"
"Well..." She grinned, mischievously. "I should set a good example. But I'm sure that between us, Juliet, Grizel and I have already tried any prank the girls can think of."
He laughed. "You've got your hands full here."
"So have you," she pointed out, before finishing her coffee. "But that was a good story you told."
"And what makes you think it wasn't true?" He put down his own cup.
She shook her head. "It's too fantastic to be true. I'll be keeping an eye on you in future," she teased.
Harry only smiled back. He wasn't sorry to be seeing her again and Kaffee und Kuchen ended far to soon for his liking. As the school went back to lessons, he and Jem had to return to the San.
"You're on your own next time, you know. So, it's up to you know, old chap." Jem clapped Harry on the back as they left the school.
Harry nodded and smiled. "I'm sure I'll get on fine." In fact, he was looking forward to it.
Each weekend brought another coach-load of Chalet School pupils to see the Annexe. It was now a few weeks into the term and their enthusiasm at the new part of the school hadn't been dampened at all. Even though it meant Sarah had seen some old friends from when she was a pupil herself, she was still looking forward to a little peace and quiet so she could get some writing done.
It had all meant that finding an empty classroom hadn't been as easy as she anticipated, and she'd ended up traipsing over most of the chalet, with Amy Stevens trailing after her, before she found one they could use. Once inside, she put the pile of papers she carried on the mistress's desk. Sarah had set her classes the task of writing something for the Chaletian, the school magazine. As a result they had rather a lot to look through, but she wasn't sorry, as all twenty two girls in the Annexe had contributed something and some of them had written more than one thing.
Amy was the editor for the Annexe, with Sarah overseeing her. Although Joey had been editor, Sarah had written for the magazine when she was at school, and then the newspaper at university, but it was a little different from the perspective of a teacher. She was only here to help, since the magazine was the girls affair, and it was hard not to put to use the skills she'd learnt and take control of the Annexe's submissions. However, she could claim some benefit of the job when talking to Editors, even if it wasn't quite as much of a direct link to what she really wanted to do.
Amy clutched a few sheets of her own, which she added to Sarah's pile.
"Goodness," Sarah said. "We almost have enough here for a magazine of our own." She was eager to begin before she forgot her good intentions. "Well, let's go through it." She motioned for Amy to pull up a chair and they began their arduous task.
Some of it was easy and had to go in, such as the Headgirl's report from Robin. Given the way the language was inconsistent throughout Sarah suspected some of the others had helped her with it. However, since there was nothing technically wrong with it, she didn't have a good reason for asking Robin to re-write it. Besides, Sarah was sure that if she started doing that they wouldn't have anything for the magazine. And it wasn't her place to choose entirely on the quality of the language, so it went in without a fuss.
"The handwriting on this is terrible," Sarah commented, studying the next one. She was tempted to ask that all future contributions be typewritten, but that was impossible since the only typewriter in the Annexe belonged to the secretary. Sarah had one, but it was her own personal one given to her by Aunt Lavinia.
"Perhaps there should be handwriting lessons," she mused.
Amy smiled shyly.
That probably wasn't the right subject to discuss with a student, even when she didn't feel much older than them herself. She made a mental note to talk to Florence Williams about her handwriting. Maybe she could suggest calligraphy lessons as part of art - it might inspire the girls to think more about their penmanship.
Fortunately, that was the worst of the contributions they looked through and all the rest were far easier to read. It would be the job of the Editor at the Chalet School proper to have the last say in what went in and what didn't, so Sarah didn't worry too much about weeding anything out, unless it was particularly terrible or outrageous. Fortunately, there weren't too many of those.
One stood out as being particularly interesting. Renee Lecoutier had written an article about the new doctor at the San. Sarah was glad one of the girls had thought of it - it would be something all the pupils would be interested in reading. All except the new girls knew Dr Jem and Dr Jack, and the other doctors they had little to do with. The Annexe pupils had got to know Harry well, so it was only fair everyone else did too.
Renee's description of him was flattering, without being untrue. "Do you like Dr Harry?" Sarah asked Amy.
"Oh, yes," she answered, nodding. "He tells good stories."
Sarah smiled at that. Harry's visits were the highlights of the week for the girls, as they got a different story each time. They were fast becoming the highlight of hers too, although not for quite the same reason. "I'm not sure you should believe them all," she cautioned.
"But they're still good stories."
Sarah couldn't argue with that.
"You like Dr Harry too, don't you, Miss Smith? Does he tell you all his stories at Kaffee und Kuchen?"
She couldn't really blame Amy for noticing Harry always sat by her. It wasn't even on purpose really, he'd just sat there the first time, and now that was his place. "Not just stories," she replied, not quite wanting to reveal to a young girl just what they talked about.
"But you do like him?"
"I do. He's..." Amy was eager for her opinion, so Sarah searched for the right word carefully. He was quite good-looking, which was nice, but not the most important thing, and not something someone of Amy's age would think about just yet. There were times when he wasn't quite serious and teased her, and she enjoyed teasing him back. But he also knew when to be serious and she appreciated that. "He's honest," she managed, eventually. Amy looked sceptical, so she added, "Not all men are. You'll learn that one day." Much as she hoped Amy wouldn't, it was probably inevitable.
The other contribution that stood out was the second to last on the pile that Amy shyly handed over. When Sarah read it, she found the poetry on it was very good. She knew Amy wrote well from the poetry she'd set in lessons, but for her age she was really very impressive. "Did you write these all by yourself?"
Amy smiled and nodded.
"They're very good." Sarah put the poetry down, wishing she could have written half as well as that as a child, but then she'd never been as interested in fiction writing.
"Thank you." Immediately Amy put the sheet on the pile to go into the magazine and Sarah dropped the subject, not wanting to embarrass her any further.
They were nearly finished and there was only one sheet left. Still caught up in Amy's poetry, Sarah pulled it across the desk. "What's this... Oh." She went red and quickly folded the paper up, putting it to one side and away from Amy - not that she thought for one minute that the girl would open it up and read it. But she rather hoped Amy hadn't seen what it was at all.
Given the way Amy sat on her hands and looked out at the empty classroom, Sarah realised her hopes had been dashed. She sighed. She hadn't meant this meeting to be uncomfortable, but so far it had been mostly that.
"Dad says they're good for science." Amy looked at Sarah out of the corner of her eye.
"They?" Sarah was confused for a minute, before she realised Amy must have seen the letterhead. "They are," she confirmed, giving in to the inevitable and having the conversation. "My aunt reads it. Is your father a scientist?" She wasn't sure how else she would know of it.
Amy shook her head. "My father is foreign correspondent for a big London newspaper."
Amy said it as if it was nothing special to her, which it probably wasn't. Sarah tried not to be jealous that if Amy wanted to be a journalist she would probably have a far easier time of it. It was a connection she could use, potentially. However, if she wanted to write to Amy's parents the school rules said Amy had to know. Sarah didn't want Amy to know she was being used, but neither did she want Amy to worry that Sarah was writing about her.
Since Sarah couldn't think of a good way of introducing herself to Amy's father by letter, she dropped that idea. However, if he was the foreign correspondent then he probably travelled all over the world. Perhaps he would come to a school event, such as the Christmas play, especially as Amy's older sister, Margia, was at the school. That was something she would have to investigate later, though, and for now she had to put her feelings to one side and finish what they'd come here for.
Amy hadn't quite answered the question of where she had heard of the science magazine, but her poetry made more sense now. "So that's where you get your writing talent from. You should carry on writing the poetry, you know, you'll be a great poet one day. And I'll be proud to say I taught Amy Stevens." She actually was, she realised. For the first time she was enjoying her temporary career.
Amy laughed. It didn't matter that she wasn't taking it seriously, though. There was plenty of time yet for her to decide what she wanted to do. "So how do you get scientific magazines to write to you?"
Sarah could hardly complain about Amy deflecting attention away from herself and her gift, or about her curiosity. She was only doing what Sarah would have done in the same situation. "I'm a writer too. I sent them an article to publish." And asked them for a job, but Amy didn't need to know that.
"Will they?"
She sighed. "Probably not." Although the letter hadn't said no exactly, it had heavily implied it. They certainly weren't looking to employ her full time, so it was no help either way. She couldn't stay freelance forever, not at the rate she had articles accepted.
"Do you write science? Will you teach us some?"
She shook her head. "I write all sorts." Anything she could get printed - she wasn't fussy any more. "Perhaps I will teach some science." She quite liked the idea. There were plenty of experiments the girls would find interesting that wouldn't be particularly dangerous or need any special equipment. "I'll have to talk to Miss Carrick about it first."
Amy nodded. "Margia's doing science and it sounds like fun."
"Oh, it is. But there's plenty of time for you to do some too, when you're older and well enough to go back to the main school with your sister."
She smiled. "I'm getting better all the time, Dr Harry said so."
Sarah smiled at the simple faith the girl placed in Harry. That was quite enough talk about herself, though, she decided, and picked up the stack of contributions that were bound for the Chalet School. "We'll let Joey decide which of these she has space for."
"I can give these to Margia, she'll take them down tomorrow when she goes back."
Sarah passed them over. "Good idea."
The rest Sarah kept. If nothing else they'd given her plenty of ideas for things she needed to cover in her lessons. The science lessons she would definitely put to Juliet. After all, Grizel was here to teach music but managed to find time to teach some PT without anyone here minding and without anyone else knowing that she was secretly finding a way to do what she really wanted to do.
"Hello." Harry smiled at the girl Sarah had brought to the San, as he desperately tried to remember her name. Twenty two names shouldn't be hard after two months in the job, but sometimes the girls were hard to tell from one another, especially when he saw them out of context. Most of them were short with dark hair, which didn't give him many clues.
"Is Maman really ill, Dr Harry?" She looked up at him with big, sad eyes.
Now he knew. Her name was Cecile le Brun and she was at the Chalet School because her mother was in the San dying of TB. The same was true of quite a few other girls and his heart went out to all of them. He looked up at Sarah, who nodded at him and put a hand on Cecile's shoulder.
Since Cecile was only a small girl, Harry went down on one knee so he was level with her. "She is very ill." The San had a policy - one Harry entirely agreed with - not to lie to the relatives of patients. If her mother died she would be prepared, so although it looked cruel now, it would be better for her in the long run. At least that's what he told himself. He'd far rather be more positive and see her smile. However, there was nothing to stop him trying to soften the blow a little. "Dr Jem is the best doctor we have."
Cecile examined her shoes and picked at her dress.
"Do you know what your mother would like best?" Jack's voice came from behind Harry and Cecile immediately transferred her gaze to him. "To speak to you, of course." Jack held out a hand, which Cecile took and allowed Jack to lead her into the room her mother occupied.
Harry hung his head and sighed. "I hate this part of the job."
"Maybe you should have stuck to adults." Sarah grinned and offered him a hand up.
He took it but scowled at her. "I'm not that much older than you and quite able to get about, thank you." He'd seen her medical record once, so knew exactly how old she was. Not that he would ever let on he knew her age: it just wasn't done.
"And yet you needed my help to do it." It was only when Sarah slipped her hand out of his that he noticed he hadn't let go.
"No arguing in my San." It was Jem's turn to sneak up on them. "Or I'll have you both sent for a thorough medical."
Sarah's glare told Harry exactly what she thought of that, and he couldn't help grinning. She punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"No assaulting my staff either."
Sarah took Jem's words as good naturedly as they were intended. "I should get back to school anyway. It's Grizel's music lesson and I've left Juliet on her own." She kissed Harry on the cheek. "See you on Friday."
He nodded and smiled back, and watched her go. Once she was out of sight he turned to face Jem, who stood with his hands in his pockets. "What are her chances?" Harry asked.
There was no need to ask who he was talking about. "Not good," Jem admitted with a sigh. "Come on, let's go to the office. I could do with a stiff drink."
Harry certainly couldn't disagree with him there, so left Jack to worry about Cecile and settled down comfortably with a drink in hand. The office held all the patients' records and the medical textbooks in various languages that the doctors that worked there had brought with them. There were also desks they could work at, but a small corner held more comfortable chairs, that Harry sat on now.
Jem poured them out a glass of scotch each from the supply in his desk drawer, before he sat opposite Harry. "So what's between you and Sarah?" Jem asked, changing the subject completely.
Harry took a sip of his drink and frowned, wondering what he was getting at or why he was asking. "Nothing. We're just friends."
"Very good friends, very quickly," Jem pointed out.
Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's because we're both new." He hadn't really thought about it much. He hadn't been here very long and he and Sarah hadn't seen each other often, but at an afternoon a week the hours spent together soon added up. Not that he counted, he just enjoyed her company.
Jem sat forward on his chair. "You're sure there's nothing more to it than that?"
Harry sighed and sat up himself. He hadn't been expecting this interrogation. "Hardly, old chap. Have you forgotten Esther?" The one thing he'd brought to remember her by was a photo. He hadn't thought he needed anything else, and he didn't. Esther was not a girl who was easily forgotten.
"No, but I thought you had. When's the last time you wrote to her?"
Harry went red and examined the contents of his glass closely. He hadn't known Jem was monitoring that sort of thing, but then the post all came and went in one go, so it was probably something that was hard not to notice. "She hasn't written to me lately either," he said, as if that was some sort of excuse. It certainly wasn't if he loved her. He had been sure of that when he came to Austria, but lately he had been questioning it.
"Why did you come here?" Jem waved his glass around, sloshing the small amount of liquid left in it. "Scotland is a long way away from Austria and she can hardly visit for the weekend."
"She wanted me to come when Jack offered." Harry sighed. He had needed the job, but there was nothing to stop him from holding out for something closer, even if his previous employers had been less than happy about giving him references. It wasn't even as if he'd planned to go travelling around time and space, and he had returned at the first opportunity. "I think she liked the idea of moving out here one day. But...." He shook his head and drained his glass.
Jem finished his own, took Harry's glass and refilled them both. "Well, I think you should do something. Even if it's just to choose between Sarah and Esther."
"There isn't a choice to make." How many times did he have to repeat the message that he and Sarah were just friends and nothing more?
"Talking of romance," Jem said, and continued before Harry could point out that they weren't, "you should see Jack when Joey's around."
Harry frowned. "Joey?" He knew the name but couldn't place it.
"Madge's sister. Tall, dark haired and attached the Robin's side when she's up here." Jem handed Harry his now-full glass.
Now Harry knew who she was. He had met her a few times and Joey was a memorable person. "But she's still at school isn't she?" He could be wrong on that point.
"She won't be forever. Jack's prepared to wait. Aren't you, Jack?" he added when the man in question entered the room.
"What are we talking about?" Jack filled a glass of his own and took a seat beside Harry.
Jem took a sip of his drink before answering. "You and Joey."
"Oh, that." Jack sighed and drained his glass in one go.
"You have an uphill struggle there, I think. Joey's determined not to grow up if she can help it, despite being head girl this year," Jem added to Harry.
Harry smiled. "Well, if you think she's worth it."
"She is," Jack said, with a smile and a faraway expression.
"I've seen that look before." Jem pointed his glass in the direction of Harry.
Harry frowned, wondering whether he should ask whether Jem referred to his thoughts of Esther or Sarah, but decided it was prudent not to ask. He didn't want a repeat of their earlier conversation for Jack's benefit. He hoped Sarah wasn't getting the same thing from any of her friends.
He wondered if in future they should be more discreet, but then they weren't doing anything wrong. They really were just friends and while he still loved Esther, it wasn't going to be more than that. And he would hardly fall out of love with Esther - he just needed to get up the courage to ask her to marry him.
"I have a wayward student for you."
Sarah was lost in thought as she looked through her post, so she jumped at the sound of Harry's voice. When she turned round she found him grinning at her. "If I'd had hiccups I certainly wouldn't now."
He was saved from replying by Cecile, who stood next to him, holding his hand and smiling, even if it was a little one. "Dr Harry didn't meant to scare you, Miss Smith."
Sarah smiled back at her. She knew that, but wasn't going to miss an opportunity to tease him. It wasn't something she usually did in front of the girls, but Cecile was a special case at the moment. "Not this time, maybe. But he does have a habit of sneaking up to people with a stethoscope," she said, confidentially. She was looking down at Cecile, but could see Harry when she flicked her eyes up.
Harry raised an eyebrow and she grinned at him.
"The rest of your form are in arithmetic now. Do you want to join them?"
Cecile scrunched her face up and Sarah laughed. Juliet was a good teacher, she thought, but there were some people who never would like mathematical subjects. It was something she could understand.
"Go on then."
Harry put a hand to Cecile's shoulder briefly, and she trotted off. Sarah watched her go before she turned to Harry.
"She seems happy enough," she said. "I take it it was good news."
Harry's face quickly became serious. "Cecile had some time to say goodbye, but..."
Sarah slumped. "Oh, no." She shook her head. "It's just not fair." The San was supposed to heal people. She had known Cecile's mother must have been bad if Cecile had been called to her bedside, but Sarah had hoped the doctors would be able to work miracles. Sarah was more worried about Cecile now that she knew the girl was motherless, especially since Cecile was a delicate child: she wouldn't have been at the Annexe if she had been perfectly healthy. Although until now, the air up here had done her no end of good.
Harry interrupted just as Sarah was beginning to despair. "Does she have anyone else?"
She thought back, accidentally nibbling on the corner of an envelope before she realised what she was doing. "A father. But by all accounts he doesn't spend much time at home and she's hardly seen him." So he probably didn't count as a relative as far as Cecile was concerned.
Harry reached out and took her post from her. Sarah let him - it was probably safer that way. "Hmm. Perhaps that explains why he's not been to the San."
"Perhaps." If her parents had separated Cecile should live with her father. Sarah didn't know many people that had divorced, but as far as the law was concerned children belonged with their father. Since Cecile lived with her mother, Sarah thought that there was probably a lot going on there that Cecile didn't quite understand, so the school didn't know about.
"Will you keep an eye on her? I don't think she's quite taken it in yet and I'm a bit worried."
He wasn't the only one. She nodded. "Of course." Fortuitously, at that moment Robin came along the corridor toward them. Sarah called her over. "Robin, don't tell anyone else, but Cecile's mother has just died. Will you look after her?" Sarah knew she could trust Robin to be discreet.
Robin's expression immediately changed from looking purposeful to one of compassion. "Oh, poor thing. Of course I will."
Sarah smiled at her. "Thank you."
Robin returned the smile and then continued on her way. Apart from being head girl at the Annexe, Robin had lost her mother too. Granted, she had been a lot younger than Cecile was now, so probably didn't remember her mother, but she would at least have some idea of what it was like. And looking after the other girls was part of the responsibility of being head girl anyway.
After Robin was out of earshot she changed the subject to something happier. "You don't have to go straight back, do you?"
"Don't you have a lesson to be in?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, this is my free period. Honestly, Harry, do you really think I'd be wandering the halls if I was supposed to be teaching some of the little angels we have here?"
He smiled. "I suppose not. What have they been up to now?" He offered her his arm, which she took, and led him to the staff room.
"Oh, just the usual naughtiness when they couldn't get out because of the snow." Fortunately, none of them had tried anything spectacular. Given what she heard from others she was glad they didn't have any Middles, since they were always the most ingenious when it came to getting into mischief. "I have had them experimenting with using it to freeze things."
Harry frowned. "I thought you were the English teacher."
"There's nothing to say I can't teach them a little science now and again and have fun, is there?"
"Of course not," he said quickly, opening the staff room door for her. "But I'm surprised, if you're so interested in science you're not teaching that at the school proper."
She shook her head, and upon hearing the sound of footsteps, entered the room, with Harry following. "I have an English degree." She chose her favourite chair near the window to sit on. "And besides, I'm only here temporarily."
"Oh?" He frowned, as he sat down opposite her.
"I do love it here." More than she had the first time, even though she had to deal with young children, which wouldn't have been her first choice. "But I'm going to be a journalist. I'm just teaching for a while while I look for a job."
"So how long will that take?"
She sighed. "Forever it feels like." She turned her gaze away from him to peer out of the window at the white landscape. "Originally it was going to be one term but I'm no closer now than I was at the start of it." She shook her head and turned back round to face Harry. "I've applied to every newspaper and magazine in existence, or it feels like I have at least. I need this job just to keep me in stamps!" She didn't smile at her joke, though, and neither did Harry.
"You're not going to give up?"
"Not yet. I may as well give it until the end of the year at least. And then, I don't know." She sighed. She couldn't see herself teaching for the rest of her life, but she really didn't know what other career to try, she'd always been so keen on journalism.
"Well..." He paused and stood up, but didn't quite look at her as he continued. "I'm sure they'll recognise your genius soon."
She laughed and shook her head. He had never seen anything she'd written, and even if he had she felt sure he wouldn't know what was good and what wasn't. "Thank you, Harry." She stood too and kissed him on the cheek.
He went red. "What was that for?"
"Cheering me up."
Before he could get any more embarrassed, the bell went.
"I have to go. The Second Form await me and Shakespeare."
He nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, and handed her back her post.
She took it and watched him go, looking forward, as she usually did, to his weekly afternoon at the school. By the time she shook herself and went to the classroom she was nearly late.
"How's Cecile been?" Harry asked what had become his usual question at Kaffee und Kuchen for the past two weeks since her mother died. After the first time he came here it had fast become a custom for him to stay and sit at the staff table. It was nice to have some female company and different conversation once a week. That's what he told himself, anyway.
"Quiet, mostly, but that's nothing out of the ordinary for her." Sarah sipped at her coffee. "I think she is doing better, though."
Harry nodded. "I'm glad to hear that." He had kept a careful eye on her during his last two visits, but he couldn't be sure if the way she acted during then was how she normally was these days.
"Perhaps," Sarah said, thoughtfully, "it helps that so many girls at the Chalet School have lost a parent, so they know how she feels."
He looked across at where the Annexe's pupils were eating and drinking and talking about what sounded like the story he'd told them today. "One or two I might expect, especially given how many have a parent at the San. But is it really more than that?"
Sarah shook her head. "Not at the Annexe. But Juliet, Grizel and I can only produce one parent between us."
"Oh, ah...." Harry sipped his coffee, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to ask if it was Sarah's but didn't want to upset her by the question.
Fortunately, Sarah took pity on him and with a small smile said, "It's Grizel's father. Although she does have a stepmother."
"I'm sorry," he said, with sympathy. "It wasn't recent I hope?" He felt slightly safer about asking that question.
"Oh, no. I was five." She shrugged. "I don't really remember much about my life before they died." She certainly didn't look like it had any effect on her.
"I was ten and I don't really remember my mother that well any more." His memories of her mostly centred around her being ill, much as he wished he could remember the stories his father told of her.
"I'm sorry." She looked it too. "Do you have anyone else?"
He nodded. "My father, stepmother and stepbrother."
"Quite a crowd!" She grinned.
"And my sweetheart can manage a brother and two parents," he replied, finishing off the last of his cake.
Sarah frowned and inspected her coffee.
That reaction was unexpected. Sarah had been perfectly happy to talk about her parents, and she had mentioned an aunt before, so he didn't think she was jealous of the number of relatives he could rustle up. Which made him wonder if it was his mention of Esther that did it. He hadn't spoken of her before, but then he wasn't sure there was anything between them any more. He'd been putting off talking to Esther about it until he could see her in person and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to talk about her with Sarah either.
Despite the chatter in the room he felt an uncomfortable silence between them. He finished his coffee with an eye on Sarah and an ear on the conversation he could hear. He smiled as some of the girls debated the truthfulness of the stories he told, and he saw Sarah's mouth turn up too.
"Do you believe it?" he asked her, sure she would know what he was referring to.
She looked up. "Today's story?"
He nodded.
"It just sounds too fantastic to be true." She smiled to soften the blow.
He wasn't really hurt, though. "Sometimes the tales that are too unlikely are the very ones that are highly probable." This one, like all his stories, had a basis in truth at least. The real story would just sound even more improbable. It was best to leave time travel and alien planets out of the tales of his experiences.
She shook her head, but was still smiling. "Honestly Harry, sometimes I just can't work out what's real with you and what you're making up."
He paused, with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth. "You think I lie." It wasn't really a question, but was just too similar to something Esther had said in her last letter.
"Oh, no, I didn't mean..."
But he wasn't listening any more. He recalled the story of the boy who cried wolf and wondered if Sarah thought everything he told was a story. It wasn't: he made a distinction between the tales he told to children to cheer them up, and the facts he told Sarah, even if he didn't always tell the whole truth. They were still getting to know each other and there was plenty of time for that yet.
He drained his cup and wished it wouldn't be rude for him to leave now. When he looked at Sarah out of the corner of his eye she was looking worried and biting her lip. The room seemed to have quietened all of a sudden and he wasn't sure this was a conversation he wanted to have in front of the whole school.
Instead he spent the remainder of the meal listening to Juliet attempt to convince Grizel that Jack's interest in Joey was more than just platonic. Harry wasn't convinced he cared either way, just at the moment. Finally, after an age, the meal was over and he got up to leave.
"I'll walk you out," Sarah said by his ear - or rather his shoulder, since she was shorter than him.
He nodded and they walked side by side to the front door where he collected his coat, hat, scarf and gloves.
"I'm sorry," she said, once he was clad in his cold-weather gear. "I didn't mean you were a liar. I think you're too honourable for that."
"I wouldn't lie to you." He held her gaze, until she broke it by reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.
"You will be safe out there won't you?" Either she really did look worried about him going outside or she was still not convinced he had forgiven her.
He pulled an electric torch from a big pocket in his coat. "I'll be fine, old thing."
She scowled. "Don't call me that, I'm not a thing."
"Sorry, old girl." His grin showed the untruth in his words.
But she smiled too and shook her head. "Oh, get on with you."
With which pleasant words he set off out into the snow on his way home.
Sometime in the past few weeks Sarah had got better at putting off her marking. At first she had been keen to do the job well, since you never knew what sort of references you would need, after all. But there were so many more things she would rather be doing that weren't marking: writing articles for one. The more she wrote the more chance she would have of getting one of them accepted and having her name remembered when she applied for a proper job.
Today, however, she had reached the stage where she couldn't put it off any more. At least it was nearly the Christmas holidays when she would have plenty of time for more pleasant activities. Fortunately, she wasn't on duty, so she made her way to the staff room where a pile of paper threatening to spill over at too big a draft awaited her.
She couldn't help but be half-pleased when she came across Cecile le Brun in the corridor. "Cecile? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Hobbies?"
Although Cecile stopped she didn't look up. "I had to take a message to Miss Carrick."
Sarah frowned, but couldn't see anything obviously wrong. "All right, then, off you go."
Cecile went on her way and Sarah watched her until she turned a corner and disappeared from view. Then she shook her head and carried on her own way, hoping there wouldn't be any more interruptions before she really did lose her resolve to be good.
Before she reached the staff room she heard the front door close. They weren't expecting anyone and the snow that lay all about meant that visitors were rare. The doctors at the San had ways of getting anywhere in practically any weather, which was just as well. The locals had their own ways too, but mostly they kept close by their houses. Sighing, Sarah turned around and made her way to the front of the chalet. It might well be someone in need of assistance and if she could be of help she didn't want to ignore that.
The corridor in the vicinity of the front door was empty, though. Sarah looked around and saw no signs of anyone having recently come in and there was no snow on the doormat that she would have expected to fall from a person's boots. Someone, therefore, must have gone out, yet Sarah hadn't seen anyone around or known of anyone needing to go on an errand. There was Cecile, of course, but it couldn't possibly be her.
At least, she hoped it wasn't. It wasn't the right weather for a young girl to be wandering around in and goodness knows what could happen to her.
When Sarah opened the door, she immediately flinched back as the cold air hit her. The corridor wasn't that warm, being unheated, but it was balmy compared to the temperature outside. After getting over the initial shock, she stood on the doorstep and looked around. There was only one person to be seen and from her size she could tell it was Cecile. She was still in her uniform and the colours Sarah could see told her she had no coat on. Added to that she was rapidly disappearing up the mountain and out of view.
Smothering a curse in case anyone was around to hear it, Sarah raced for her own coat and put it on as she ran, not wanting to lose a minute. Once outside she pulled the door shut and stopped to do her coat up with trembling fingers, and only partly from the cold. As she ran after Cecile she thought she heard a voice come from the house, but it was still Hobbies and there wouldn't be anyone else in the corridors. She had more important things to worry about, anyway.
Fortunately, the snow was deep enough that Sarah could follow Cecile's footprints. She called her name, but the wind carried her words away and whipped her hair across her face. She made an effort to try and tuck it into her coat, but it wasn't long enough and didn't stay there. She hadn't wanted to risk losing more time and Cecile with it by picking up more warm clothes. Belatedly, she remembered she kept a pair of gloves in her coat pockets. At least she wouldn't get frostbite, but her hands still felt cold, even once she had put them on.
It was hard to run in ankle-deep snow, but Sarah was just glad it wasn't any deeper. She'd already passed the highest part of the village and was worried about just where Cecile was headed. They had gone up the mountain on a walk one day earlier in the term before winter had arrived. So she knew there was a hut about a mile away, but didn't think she was going to make it that far at this rate. Cecile, with no coat and shorter legs, surely had less chance.
Sarah was catching her up, though, despite Cecile's head start. She had to stop to breathe for a minute and looked up at the sky. What she saw worried her and she hoped the snow wouldn't fall until after she got Cecile back to school. She didn't dare stop for long. Footprints criss-crossed her path here, so she couldn't let Cecile out of her sight, now that she was close enough for Sarah to see. She'd tried calling to her, but the snow muffled all sound and the girl probably never heard anything.
Sarah sped up and was relieved to see she was getting much closer to Cecile. Once she was near enough to see clearly, she found that it was because Cecile had stopped moving entirely. Sarah called to her again, but there was still no reply.
Sarah put on a burst of speed, but even all this running didn't warm her up that much. Less than a minute later she was at Cecile's side, chest heaving, the cold air making it harder to breathe.
Cecile sat on a rock, although it was covered in snow, her legs curled up to her chest.
"Cecile!" Sarah called to her again.
This time there was a response. Cecile looked up and her cheeks were streaked with tears. "Mademoiselle."
"Oh, you must be freezing." She would have to deal with that first. Cecile was small enough that Sarah could probably carry her if she had to. How far was another question, though. She stripped off her coat and wrapped it around Cecile. It swamped the small girl, but at least it would warm her up a little. "What are you doing out here?" Sarah asked, folding her arms around herself and trying not to shiver too much.
"I wanted to see Maman." Cecile sniffed.
Sarah stooped down next to her, unwilling to sit on cold snow. "But Cecile, she isn't here."
"I know. She's in heaven and that's up there." She pointed up the mountain.
Sarah looked in the direction she indicated and as she raised her face to the sky the clouds she saw worried her even more. They didn't have time to debate this now. "Come on, let's walk." With her arms under Cecile's armpits, she picked the little girl up off the rock and set her down on the ground, hoping that if she had no option she would do as Sarah said.
When Cecile made no further move Sarah propelled her along with a hand on her back. She would have taken her hand, but since the arms of Sarah's coat were far too long for Cecile, Sarah wasn't sure she could find her hand inside it. "Heaven isn't part of this world. If you go there, you can't come back." She really wasn't sure what the right thing was to say, but she had to try something.
"I know." Cecile didn't look at her, but she did at least keep walking on her own.
Sarah bit her lip. She hadn't considered this when she accepted the job, thinking that she would always be able to call Juliet, who would be far better at it. But she wasn't sure how long they could be out here with one coat between them without getting ill. The only way she knew to get Cecile back was to keep her mind off the direction they were headed or fix the problem. Both would be preferable, but at the moment she wasn't fussy. She couldn't see the village very well from here, but they were headed in roughly the right direction at least.
"But you can't go to heaven, think of all the people who would miss you." Sarah sped up a little, hoping Cecile would be able to keep up.
"Maman went." Cecile wiped her sleeve across her face, and since it was the sleeve of Sarah's coat, Sarah winced, but chose not to say anything.
"I know, but she had to. She was too ill to stay here. There's nothing wrong with you." She hoped.
"I didn't... I didn't want her to." The last words were quieter and sounded more strangled. Sarah could tell without looking that Cecile was crying again.
Sarah was berating herself for thinking that Cecile was getting over her grief when, in reality, she had barely started. She had to keep her mind on the job in hand, though, and save the guilt for later. "I don't want you to go either. Will you stay for me? And Robin?" Since she'd asked Robin to keep an eye on the younger girl Sarah fancied a friendship had sprung up there. They seemed fond of each other, at any rate and Robin had confided to Sarah that she enjoyed looking after the girls that needed it.
Cecile finally looked up, nodded and gave Sarah a shy smile.
Sarah smiled back. "Come on then, let's go home." They already were headed in that direction, but Sarah didn't think Cecile had paid much attention to that. She wasn't sure she had fixed everything either, but at least back at the school there were other people Cecile could talk to.
With a perfect sense of timing, it started snowing.
Sarah had to bite back another curse. She hurried Cecile along and they ran down the mountain, Sarah with one hand on Cecile's shoulder. However, within minutes it was impossible to see where they were going through the blizzard. Moreover, there was a great risk of them tripping over something. So Sarah slowed their pace and pulled Cecile closer to her.
"I'm scared," Cecile said, as she snuggled closer to Sarah's side.
Sarah was too but she had to be strong for Cecile. "We're nearly there," she replied, with a confidence she didn't feel. She was cold and getting colder and wetter by the minute, the snow having an unerring tendency to find gaps and some of it melted against her skin. In truth she was no longer sure they were even going in the right direction.
Harry struggled to get his breath back as he laughed along with Jack. "I always thought girls weren't as naughty as boys," he said, between coughs.
"By all accounts Joey was worse in her day and just as inventive as any boy." Jack sobered himself. "I don't think she always meant to be though." A far-off look came over him that Harry was beginning to recognise whenever Jack talked about Joey Bettany.
Harry was about to ask just what Joey had done in the past when Jem burst into the office.
"Quick! Juliet's just rung up to say Sarah's been seen going out and hasn't come back. And Cecile le Brun is missing."
Harry jumped up at the mention of Sarah and he looked over to the window where the snow was coming down. "But the visibility's practically nil out there!"
"All the more reason to find them soon," Jem replied before rushing back out, assuming Harry and Jack would follow him.
He was right, of course, and no matter who it had been they would have done the same. "Right." Harry ran out after Jem.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Jack called after him, as Harry reached the front door and wrenched it open.
The snow blew in and he was forced to take a step back, but he didn't look behind him. "What?" Sarah was out there somewhere and she could be hurt. He was trying not to think of it, but it was hard not to.
"Your coat! Come on, Harry, think!"
"Ah, yes, sorry." Abashed, Harry turned his attention to the here and now and closed the door before he went back to put on the layers he would need to go out into the cold.
By the time he and Jack were both ready, Jem joined them at the door with medical supplies and a big pile of blankets. Jack and Harry took some each, while Jem readied himself. Harry bounced on his feet, impatient to go out, but knowing that he had to wait, otherwise they might need to send a search party out for him. He was worried as well about whether Cecile was out there and if Sarah was with her. Sarah had said Cecile was doing well, but anything could have come over her.
By the time they were all ready it was so long after Jem's call that Harry thought Sarah must be lost. Outside they picked their way slowly up the slope, each with torches and rope. Jem explained Juliet said they would look close to the school and she thought she'd seen Sarah go up the mountain, so that was the first place Harry wanted to look.
As they went they called both Sarah and Cecile's names, but their only answer was the howling of the wind. One scenario after another presented itself in Harry's mind, each worse than the previous one. Even if it hadn't been snowing there were too many places to look in; too long since the pair had gone missing; and the chances of anyone finding them were small. Not that Harry intended to stop looking until he found them, whatever state they were in.
He might have run ahead, but he knew he would be lost too, so he stuck to the slow pace that Jem set. Jem and Jack had far more experience of this sort of thing and he had to trust them. Usually he did, it was just that they didn't seem to be as frantic about it as he was.
Just as he was beginning to despair of ever finding them alive he thought he heard voices. Unable to tell whether they were real or his imagination he called, "Wait!" and Jem and Jack obediently stopped to listen.
The wind swirled around and the snow battered at them. Jem and Jack looked at each other, then back at Harry, but before they could say anything the voice came again.
"Not far now."
It was unmistakably Sarah's.
"Sarah!" Harry called excitedly, abandoning caution and running towards her voice. Although it was hard to tell her exact position any rough idea would do.
"Harry?" Her voice caught on the syllables and Harry knew that she was either at the end of her tether or she or Cecile were hurt. She had sounded like she was reassuring Cecile, so he hoped the latter was untrue.
"Are you all right?" he called back.
All of a sudden, before she could answer, she appeared in front of him, like an angel coming out of the mist. Harry rushed forward to wrap a blanket around her. She wasn't even wearing a coat and he wondered at that until he looked over at Cecile. Jem and Jack were already tending to the girl, so Harry kept his attention on Sarah.
She slumped against him. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, in a voice that sounded worryingly weak.
Harry tucked the blanket around her more securely and added the other he carried, making this one higher so it covered her head. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "So cold." She yawned.
Having finished with the blankets, Harry wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He could feel her shivering, even through the layers they both now wore.
"You're nice and warm," she said, sounding better already.
"Can you walk? You'll be warmer if you can." Harry didn't want her to go to sleep either, although he would certainly carry her if he had to. She didn't look all that heavy.
"Yes." She stood up straight, although didn't move further away from him.
Harry gave her a reassuring smile as she look up at him, and they started back to the San. Jack and Jem followed behind, with Jem carrying Cecile.
Fortunately, the pair had wandered close to the San, so it didn't take long to get back. It felt like a lot less time than they had spent searching for them. Harry's only concern was getting Sarah back there, so she could warm up and he could assess her condition. Just because she was found didn't put her out of danger yet.
"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked, once Cecile had sat down next to her bed. A week after their adventure in the snow Sarah inspected Cecile and decided she looked better - much less upset and none the worse for wear after being lost in a snowstorm.
"Bien," Cecile replied shyly, examining the bed as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.
Sarah waited to see what Cecile wanted to say to her - the little girl had requested the visit - and considered the irony of Cecile not being ill at all after their adventure, despite her being far more delicate than Sarah.
Cecile shifted in her seat and plucked at the blanket Sarah lay under. "I'm sorry I ran off. I shouldn't have."
"Oh, Cecile." Sarah reached out a hand to Cecile's shoulder, and the girl finally looked up at her, although not releasing her hold on the blanket. "It's all right to be upset. But next time come and see me or Robin first, all right?"
Cecile nodded. Then almost out of nowhere she got up and threw herself at Sarah. Sarah hugged her back, smiling against her head and thinking that maybe teaching wasn't such a bad job after all.
"I don't think Dr Harry allows sitting on beds."
Sarah looked up to see Grizel standing in the doorway, with a smile on her face.
Abashed, Cecile sat back down. "Are you coming with us?" she asked Sarah.
Sarah frowned. She hadn't heard anything about what was going on - Juliet and Grizel refused to talk about school when they visited her. "Where are you going?"
Cecile looked over to Grizel, who came into the room to stand by her.
"We're all going down to the Chalet School for the last two weeks of term so we can rehearse the Christmas play properly."
"Oh." Sarah blinked, wondering if she would be allowed to go with them. She had forgotten about the Christmas play in the light of everything else that had happened. Since she'd only spent one Christmas at the school she had been looking forward to seeing this year's, especially as she had been involved in helping the Annexe pupils learn their lines and understand the play. Most of her English lessons had revolved around it, the girls finding it far more interesting than their usual texts.
"I'm still well enough to go, even if I can't teach," she said, in the hopes that saying it out loud would make it true. She felt better, anyway.
Grizel looked at her sympathetically. "That's not what I've heard."
"Quite right too."
As Harry came into the room Cecile gave him a brilliant smile.
"Harry, do tell her I'm well enough to get up, please."
"Of course I will, old girl, when you are."
Sarah sighed. It was harder to have an argument about it when Cecile was listening to their every word with apparent rapture. Sarah knew the conversation would be all over the school by the end of the day.
Fortunately, Grizel solved that for her. "Come on, Cecile, it's time to get back or we'll miss Mittagessen."
Sarah waited until they'd said their goodbyes and left before she spoke again. "This over-protectiveness is very sweet, but don't you think I'm the best judge of whether I feel better?"
Harry busied himself with making sure she was well tucked in. He wouldn't look at her, but she thought his face looked redder than its usual colour. "You might be all right in here, but you're not well enough yet for a long journey down to the school in the cold."
Sarah sighed. She certainly wasn't looking forward to being cold again; she'd had quite enough of that for the whole winter. But she had been hoping for the chance to talk to Amy's father and being in the San while he was further down the mountain would make that impossible. The next opportunity would be the Sale in aid of the San at the end of next term, and that was just too far away.
"At least you have plenty of time to read," Harry commented, nodding towards the pile of books on her bedside table as he sat in the chair Cecile had been in earlier.
It wasn't really much consolation, but she had been wearing Harry down about wanting to get out every day she was here and reluctantly, she had to admit defeat. "You can only read for so long, though." Not that she hadn't appreciated the time to rest or being able to chat to Harry every day, but she wasn't good at being inactive.
"Perhaps you'll be able to go home early for Christmas."
She shook her head. "I'm not going home for Christmas. Aunt Lavinia is in America so there's nothing to go home for." Grizel was staying here, so it wasn't too bad. And although Lavinia had been supportive of her attempts at following a career in journalism it didn't mean she always would and Sarah didn't want to push it.
He frowned. "You're not going to be here on your own, are you?"
"Oh, no, Madame has invited me to hers for Christmas and none of the doctors get the school holidays off." That was one benefit of her job: long holidays to spend time writing articles in. Even when she didn't have somewhere in mind to send them, she still itched to write. So she did. Besides, you never knew what might come in useful one day.
Harry looked down. "Except I'm going home for Christmas."
"You are?" She tried not to sound as disappointed as she felt. "I thought you would have to work."
"I'm not going for long. But there's someone I have to see."
He didn't say who, but she knew it must be his sweetheart. She had forgotten about her and had allowed herself to hope a little, based on his actions in the past week. That was dangerous though and she mustn't forget again. She twisted her hands up in the blanket and watched as the blue of the blanket wound around her fingers.
"I have to go now." He stood. "But I'll challenge you to another game of chess later."
She smiled at that. "That's something to look forward to." If nothing else she valued Harry's company and his friendship. The time he spent with her while she was in the San must be because he knew how bored she was.
"Maybe you'll even win this time." He smiled.
She stuck her tongue out at him.
"When you do that I have this terrible urge to pour medicine down your throat in response."
She laughed at that, and she heard his laughter too, as he left.