Grace

Chapter 20

"What in the world have you been doing?!" Dame Clarke asked when we bounded into the house.

"That smells delicious!" I declared. "Is it lamb?"

"Take another step into this clean corridor it'll be cold by the time you've mopped up," she said. "Trainers off, Grace!"

"Sorry," Ben and I said and toed them off, pulled our socks off and rolled our jeans up so we didn't track mud everywhere.

Then we hurried into the dining room and straight over to the half height wall from where you could see into the kitchen. One of the cooking staff was stood at the preparation area there putting crumble on top of an apple crumble. I was eying up the bowl that had once had chocolate cake mix in it. It had been scraped pretty well, but I reckoned I could get some more out of it.

"Oh no you don't," the lady said. "I know the sound of rumbley stomachs all to well. Off with you! Dinner will be ready in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes!" we protested.

"Ten minutes and not a moment sooner and you won't be back in here until then if you know what's good for you. Go on. Go terrorise someone else."

"Can't we have even just a tiny –"

"No!" she laughed. "Go! Scat!"

Sighing we did as we were told and trudged out of the room.

"Go and change at the very least," Dame Clarke said. "You're both as muddy as a sty and the pigs that live in it! And wash your faces!"

We quickly did as we were told but even so when we got downstairs everyone else was seated and eating. We strode up to the serving counter, grabbed our plates which had already been filled to the point of nearly overflowing and then sat down at our usual table and began eating without even saying hello to anyone.

"Good lord, what have you two been up to?" Clara asked as she watched us inhale food. "And what happened to your hands?"

"Gardening," we both said without pausing in our eating.

"We're not going to get anything else out of them until they've stopped eating, are we?" she asked.

"Nope," Chi, Tarq and Simeon replied.

They didn't even get to ask questions after that because as soon as dinner was over it prayers and the heating situation was explained. It was also explained that there were no electric radiators so everyone would be on the brother side of the house and we'd all be sharing rooms.

"Now don't get excited," Master Clarke said. "Boys will be sharing with boys and girls with girls. We've drawn up a list of who's in which room and is on the common slab. We'll allow you to sort yourselves out but these are the rules – no boys and girls in the same room at any one time. No bathroom pranks under any circumstances. Girls, don't make a mess of the boys' rooms and respect their privacy. You're also on separate floors for the most part, the exception being the fourth floor and there will be someone patrolling the halls all night.

"Now, there's going to be two of you in each room, but this is not an excuse to stay up all night gossiping. You've all got school in the morning. Clear?"

"Yes, Master Clarke," we all replied in the same, solemn tone.

"Good. Usual common area rules apply – be appropriately dressed at all times. Especially you on the fourth floor. Got it?"

"Yes, Master Clarke."

"Good. It think that settles it. Anything else?"

"Yeah, I bagsy a bath," Ben said.