Mount Asteria

Chapter Ten

When Alexandra entered the common room it was empty, but by the time the kettle had boiled, Ebony, Claire, Thea and Bláithín had joined her. Claire, Thea and Bláth smiled at her politely but talked a lot between themselves about hockey or something or other, and Ebony made no move to acknowledge her, so she left as soon as her tea was ready.

"Well?" Thea asked once the door had shut behind Alexandra. She clasped a mug of hot chocolate in her hands and curled her feet up onto the sofa.

Ebony, sitting in an armchair, perusing the Irish Times, lowered the paper and raised her brow in question.

"What do you think of her?" Thea said, as if it had been blatantly obvious that was what she had meant.

"Who?"

"Come on, Ebony," Bláth cut in from across the room where she was watching an action movie which appeared to involve a lot of things being blown up. "I thought you'd given that up."

"Given what up?" Ebony asked innocently, turning a page to find herself confronted with the image of the Taoiseach* caught making a face while greeting a visiting dignitary from the U.S. Sighing, she put the newspaper down and took a sip of her own tea, staring down into its contents. "If you are referring to Alexandra -"

"Which I am," Thea said.

"Well, then." Ebony sank back in her chair, looking thoughtful. "I don't know."

"You what?" Bláth asked sharply. "I thought Ebony Dunne always knew."

Even Ebony seemed to reconsider her statement, saying, "I think there's something they're not telling us."

"There are a billion and one things they're not telling us."

"But the difference is, this time, I haven't the faintest idea of how to find out for myself."

Thea narrowed her eyes. "What makes you so suspicious of our new protégée?"

Ebony's lip curled. "Well, it's just that. She is not our protégée. Ms de Lacy made it quite clear – Alexandra is to be left to her own devices, we're just to keep an eye on her."

"You're losing me."

She leaned forward. "Look, Alexandra is intelligent. Remarkably so. But you know that to be a student here you need more than just the mental and the physical ability. There's the emotional side of it too, and then just the general... well, contentedness in being part of this side of the world" - Thea rolled her eyes at the word 'contentedness', but Ebony ignored her - "I don't see how we can know if she's Mount Asteria material. There have been no tests, no observations... Why did Ms de Lacy take her as a student?"

"Wasn't there a security issue?" Claire joined the conversation from the kitchenette where she was making herself a cup of tea. "She's safe here."

Ebony shook her head. "There are safer places. Places that wouldn't involve revealing one of the world's best kept secrets to her."

"You don't trust her?" Thea raised an eyebrow.

"No. She's not yet so well-informed as to understand just how easy it is to tell a little too much of the truth, even if innocently done."

"That'll come in time."

"Has anyone seen my hairbrush?" Hestia asked, peeking around the common room door.

The girls looked up, only mildly surprised. "Did you check your bathroom?" Bláth asked.

She nodded, coming into the room. She was wearing pink polka dot pyjamas and her hair was falling down around her shoulders, unbrushed.

"Oh well," she exhaled, flopping onto the sofa. "What are you guys up to?"

"Just talking," Thea murmured.

"About what?"

"Alexandra." Thea glanced at Ebony.

"She seems really nice. A bit shy. She's definitely out of her depth here, but she's coping remarkably well."

Ebony made a non-committal noise.

"Give her a chance, Eb," Bláth said in a chastising tone.

Ebony sighed, not responding.

"How was your summer, Hestia?" Claire asked, changing the subject.

"Let's see..." Hestia said, thinking. "We went to Stafford, to visit my great-aunt -"

"The one who's a countess?"

"Yeah,"Hestia said, as if it were of little interest. "And then we went to Morocco for two weeks."

"I remember you saying that. How was it?"

"Oh, very nice. Kind of hot, though. And then... Oh yes, we visited CERN."

Ebony looked up from her tea. "You didn't mention that."

"Didn't I?" Hestia looked puzzled. "Dad had to see someone there about the new particle – Oh! There's my hair brush!" She had spotted it on the sofa across from her, where Ebony's cat had been sitting on it.

The other girls shared a look. It was good to have Hestia back.

***

*Taoiseach - Tee-Shock - Irish Prime Minister