Page 44 of Save You (Maxton Hall #2)

Ruby

“What do you think?” Lin asks the following Monday, pushing her planner over the table toward me.

I study the entry she’s made in purple pen.

Among the Chinese characters, I read in her neat handwriting Move to Oxford ; in the field for the next day, she’s added Celebrate with Ruby .

I grin broadly at Lin. And although the whole thing is still months away, I pick up my gold pen from my pencil case, flick through my planner to find the monthly overview of the year, and write the same things.

“Ta-da,” I whisper, just as the bell goes for lunch. Lin and I start to pack up our things, but before I can slip on my backpack, we hear the gong again—but briefer this time.

“Will Ruby Bell come to Mr. Lexington’s office immediately?” the head teacher’s secretary announces over the loudspeaker. At once, every head in the room turns to stare at me.

I frown up at the clock over the classroom door. We’re not due to meet Lexie until just before the end of lunch. If he wants to see me now, something must have happened.

Goose bumps spread over my body as I frantically try to guess what it might be.

“Should I come too?” Lin asks as we walk out of the room.

“No, you go and get something to eat.” I grip the straps on my bag.

“OK. Do you know what you want? I can pick it up for you so you don’t have to come back and queue.”

“That would be lovely. I’ll have whatever you’re getting, thanks.”

Lin squeezes my arm for a moment before we head in opposite directions. The way to the head’s office feels much longer than normal. A queasy feeling grows with every step. And when the secretary waves me in with a stern glare, my heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.

I take a deep breath, knock on the heavy wooden door, and walk in.

My greeting dies in my throat.

Sitting in front of the head teacher’s desk is my mum.

Instantly, I’m imagining horrible things like Dad in hospital after another accident.

“Is Dad OK?” I ask, hurrying toward her.

“Your father is fine, Ruby,” Mum answers, not taking her eyes off the solid wooden desk.

I look in confusion from Mum to Mr. Lexington.

“Take a seat, Miss Bell,” he says, pointing to the empty chair next to Mum. Hesitantly, I do as I’m told.

Lexington folds his hands on the desk in front of him and looks at me over the top of his glasses.

“Nothing is more important to me than the reputation of our school. We have been known for centuries for excellence and achievement. If anyone acts against the interests of the school, I must take action myself. You must surely be aware of this by now.”

I gulp. “I thought the Spring Ball was a complete success, sir. But if anything went wrong, then I’m really sorry, but…” Before I can finish my sentence, Lexington pulls open one of the little drawers in his desk and pulls out four photographs, which he fans out in front of us.

“These photographs were sent to me over the weekend by a concerned member of the Parents’ Committee,” he continues unabated.

I hear Mum inhale sharply and lean in for a closer look. The photos are dark, and at first, I can’t make anything out. Then I see myself.

They’re photos of me .

I pick up one of the printouts and hold it up to my eyes.

It takes me a moment to process what I’m seeing—it must be from the Back-to-School party. That’s the only time I wore that green dress.

But I’m not alone in the photo. I’m standing close to a man.

Mr. Sutton.

And it looks as though we’re kissing.

I remember talking to him. But we never got that close together. I have no idea who took the pictures, but they’re clearly intended to harm me—or Sutton.

“I see what that looks like, but I—”

“Miss Bell, I don’t think you understand,” Mr. Lexington interrupts. “These photos were sent to me by one of the parents, and a fellow student here has confirmed seeing you and Mr. Sutton together.”

“We were only talking!” I exclaim in outrage.

“Ruby, watch your tone,” Mum snaps. As I glance sideways at her, a cold shiver runs down my spine.

Mum has never looked at me like that before—with that total disappointment on her face. But before I can defend myself, Lexington goes on and Mum looks away from me.

“I have never known anything like this in my whole twenty years at this school, Miss Bell. I will not permit the reputation of Maxton Hall to be damaged by a fling with a teacher.”

“I don’t have flings!” I cry.

I can’t believe this is happening. It must be a nightmare.

“I have a boyfriend,” I continue. “I…I would never get involved with a teacher. I’d never do a thing like that, I swear.”

I can’t say that it was Lydia who was seeing Mr. Sutton. That’s out of the question. Not after everything she’s been through, and everything she still has to face. I’d never abuse her trust like that.

“I don’t think you appreciate the gravity of the situation, Ruby,” Lexington continues, picking up one of the photos. “I think it is best for all concerned if you leave the school. You and Mr. Sutton are both suspended from Maxton Hall with immediate effect.”

Silence.

It feels as though someone’s pulled out the plug on me. All I can hear is a ringing in my ears. The seconds drag on in slow motion. Lexington’s mouth is moving, but I take in no sound.

“You can’t do this,” I gasp. “I need to get my A levels; I need my grades for Oxford.”

Mr. Lexington doesn’t reply, just shuffles the photos together again and puts them back in an envelope. It’s brown and I see a stamp in the top left-hand corner—presumably the return address. I squint at it and make out a curving black “B.”

My heart skips a beat.

That’s impossible.

They can’t have done that.

They’d never betray me like this.

“Who was it that said they saw me?” I ask breathlessly.

Now Lexington is looking almost pityingly at me. “That is confidential, Miss Bell. Would you now kindly leave my office? We will confirm the suspension in writing. Good day to you.”

He flicks through the pile of papers on his desk and then turns his attention back to his computer—an unmistakable sign that we’re dismissed.

No. Fucking. Way.

“Do you know how much I’ve worked my arse off for this school?” I blurt suddenly.

Mr. Lexington looks up again slowly. “Don’t make me call in security, Miss Bell.”

“You can’t throw me out just because I’m here on a scholarship and don’t have rich enough parents to bribe you to ignore rumors about me!”

“I will not be spoken to like this!” gasps Mr. Lexington.

“You absolute—”

“Ruby!” Mum cuts me off sharply. She grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the chair.

Without another word, she drags me out of the office and into the waiting area outside it. I’m raging, and stare at Lexington every step of the way until Mum slams the door behind us.

This didn’t just happen. It can’t have done.

I shake my head and turn to my mum. “Can you believe that? How sick would you have to be to dream up a thing like that?” I ask her.

Mum just shakes her head and won’t meet my eyes. Her gaze is fixed on a point somewhere over my shoulder. “I knew something like this would happen if we sent you to this bloody school.”

I flinch and my eyes narrow. “Wh…What?”

Mum shakes her head. “How could you, Ruby?”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t do anything!” I yell.

If my own mother won’t believe me, I don’t know what else to do. Despair floods through me, runs through my veins, making it hard to breathe.

“Mum, you have to believe me—I’d never kiss a teacher.”

“I’d never have thought that you’d lie to us so you could sleep with your boyfriend either, but apparently things have changed in the last few months.”

I gape open-mouthed at her.

Mum takes a deep breath and then sighs. “I don’t have anything to say to you right now, Ruby. I’m so disappointed in you.”

Tears fill my eyes. I try to find the words, but there are none. My body feels numb. The only thought racing through my head is this: Who the fuck took those pictures?

“Mum…”

“Get the bus home,” she says, gulping hard. “I have to speak to your father.”

“I didn’t do it, Mum.”

She doesn’t respond to my words, just adjusts her handbag strap on her shoulder, turns, and walks away down the corridor.

I’m left alone.

Lexington’s words are echoing in my head on a loop.

You are suspended from Maxton Hall with immediate effect.

Suspended. Just before the Easter holidays. Before my A levels. With my St. Hilda’s offer printed out and pinned to my noticeboard at home.

If I don’t get the grades, I can forget Oxford.

Everything I’ve spent the last eleven years working toward.

The recognition of what just happened hits me full force. I sway, have to grip on to the secretary’s desk as the world seems to spin around me. I have to fight to walk out of the room without collapsing.

In the corridor, I meet gaggles of younger kids on their way to lunch, and my feet want to turn toward the dining hall. But I’m not allowed in there.

I’m not allowed to go to events committee meetings.

You are suspended from Maxton Hall with immediate effect.

I’m not even allowed to be in this corridor anymore.

“Ruby?” a familiar voice says behind me.

I look up, eyes blurred with tears. James is there. As he sees how shaken up I am, he takes my upper arm gently.

“I heard them call you. What happened?” he asks urgently.

I can only shake my head. Saying it out loud is just too crazy—and it would turn this nightmare into reality.

The only thing I can do is fall into James and cling to him.

I bury my face in his blazer and let the tears fall for a moment.

Just a moment, just until I’ve got solid ground under my feet again.

“Mr. Lexington…said I’m suspended,” I manage after a while. I pull away from James and look up at him. He wipes my eyes with his hand, looking confused. “Apparently someone took photos of me and Mr. Sutton which make it look like we’re kissing.”

James’s hand freezes on my cheek. “What?”

I can only shake my head.

James pulls away from me and stares wide-eyed at me. “What did you say?”

“Someone sent Lexie these photos that make it look like it was me in a relationship with Sutton,” I whisper urgently. I wipe my eyes, my hand shaking. A few people stare at me as they pass, and among them, I spot a pair of ice-blue eyes.

“That’s impossible,” James stammers.

“Why?” asks Cyril. “You were the one who took those pictures, Beaufort.”

Stunned, I look from James to Cyril and back again. “What?” I whisper.

James doesn’t respond. He’s just staring at Cyril, who is standing there, head aslant, hands deep in his pockets.

“Go on. Tell her,” he insists.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Cyril?” I ask, digging my fingers into James’s arm.

Cyril raises a challenging eyebrow. “Ask him, Ruby. Ask him who took the photos.”

I look back at James as he stands there motionless.

“James?” I whisper.

As I say his name, he seems to come out of his stupor. He turns to me and gulps hard.

I look into his eyes.

Panic rises up inside me.

This can’t be true.

“Who took those photos?”

James is breathing faster now too. He slowly raises a hand as if to touch me but doesn’t dare. “It’s not like…”

“ Who , James?”

James opens his mouth, then shuts it. He pinches his eyes together and I see him swallow. Once. Twice.

When he opens his eyes again, it feels like someone has stabbed me in the chest.

“He’s right, Ruby.”

The ground beneath my feet shatters into millions of tiny shards.

“I took the photos.”

And I’m falling.