‘Middles always play up, whatever you have to do,’ said Miss Moore, while Miss Wilmot looked at her friend, ‘What’s up Kathie?’ she asked.

Kathie rescued an escapee book and sat down, ‘Just this bombshell that Miss Annersley flung at us last night. I’m personally quite interested in it all and I’d enjoy finding out about Lulie’s religion, but I’m just concerned about how far it would go to making her more of an object of bullying.’

‘Most of the bullying probably comes from ignorance,’ said Miss Moore, ‘There are very few girls in the school who have any real nastiness in them. I think that once the girls understand then the bullying will stop, and Lulie has some good friends who have great influence amongst the girls, they’ll protect her from anything harmful. I think Lulie’s own personality will go a long way to helping as well. She’s a strong character in her own way, though maybe not such an obvious leader as someone like Len, say, or Mary Lou,’

Miss Wilmot leaned on her elbows, her marking forgotten, ‘I just wish Miss Annersley had never allowed the girl into the school in the first place. Aren’t her brothers in England? Why Lulie couldn’t have joined them I don’t know, and saved trouble for everybody.’

‘Nancy!’ exclaimed Miss Moore, horrified.

‘Well, it’s what I think. Fair enough, Mrs Arden is dying and wants her children near to her. But why couldn’t Lulie be a day girl and arrived at school after Prayers each day, then none of this would have come up?’

‘Because the weather this term would have meant her missing a lot of school,’ replied Miss Moore, rather coldly, ‘and she still wouldn’t have been able to take part in Scripture lessons, and her difference would still have been noticed, and she would still have been bullied.’

‘But, Nancy, why?’ asked Miss Ferrars, gently, ‘Lulie is such a nice girl, and nobody deserves persecution, what ever form it takes,’

‘I just think that this is a Christian school, with strong ethics. If we make allowances for one girl, then others will come wanting special treatment and things will be all over the place. I don’t really want to know about other religions, I’m very happy and secure knowing that God is there,’

‘And Lulie isn’t, I suppose,’ Miss Ferrars flinched at the ice in Miss Moore’s tones, ‘and neither are all the Jews or Hindus or Muslims in the world? I think the days of ‘converting the savage’ are over, Nancy. We can still be a Christian school, we can still teach the girls about our ways, but surely that shouldn’t be to the exclusion of other ways. The more the girls understand about where different people are coming from, the more broad minded and tolerant people there will be in the world. Did you know that we have had only half an hour of total peace in the world since the beginning of the century, and most of the wars have ultimately been about religion in one form or another? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to see Rosalie Dene about some new textbooks I ordered.’

The staff were divided. Many of them, while interested in new developments, preferred them to be at a distance and not to interfere with the balance of their lives. Others were resistant to change in any form. There were others still who were supportive of the new ideas. Miss Annersley, viewing the split with dread in her heart, extended her original 2-day deadline to a week, to give those that were dithering a chance to think things through. The staff room had become like a war zone. Instead of the usual friendly groups in the evenings, the three ‘camps’ sat in huddles, ignoring each other and, as Matron privately thought, behaving like Middles. You could cut the atmosphere between various staff members with a butter knife.

The feelings of the staff began to affect the girls, as many of the staff were snappy and the smallest mistakes were leapt upon with a force that left the sinner gasping. ‘You don’t think we’re in for an epidemic or something, do you?’ Margot asked Len at Break that day.

‘I don’t think so,’ replied Len, ‘We don’t generally get epidemics at this time of year. Anyway, where would we pick it up from, it’s far too late for anybody to have brought an illness from home, and we haven’t been on any rambles or anything for a while, cos of the weather.’

‘Perhaps they’re affected by staying indoors for so long,’ was Con’s idea.

This was, however, sat on heavily by Margot, ‘It’s more likely that there’s some crisis behind the scenes that we don’t know about,’ she said, with more truth than she knew.

Meanwhile, in her private sitting room, Miss Annersley was giving a tea-party. Her select visitors were Matron, Miss Wilson and Joey Maynard, whose youngest pair seemed to have stopped teething for the moment. ‘If I’d have know that one girl could cause so much upheaval, I’d have never agreed to her coming,’ said Miss Annersley, as she poured second cups of tea.

‘Poor Hilda,’ said Joey, who was handing round some of Karen’s best cream cakes, ‘I don’t think it’s your fault. None of us saw this coming at all, not from the staff at any rate. I’d have done exactly the same in your position. After all, it is only one of the roads to God.’

‘I didn’t think that the staff would be so openly divided over it,’ put in Miss Wilson, ‘I didn’t expect them to agree straight away, or at all, but they are usually so supportive of you, Hilda, that I assumed that they’d be able to put their private feelings on one side and back you in this. After all, we’re all Christians,’

‘It’s all very well saying that,’ began Matron, but was interrupted by the entrance of Jack Maynard, out of breath.

‘There you are, Hilda,’ he panted, ‘Can you get Lulie Arden for me? Her mother needs her, and quickly. There isn’t much time.’

‘I’ll send her to you in the entrance hall,’ said Miss Annersley, reaching a hand out for the bell.

Con crept down the wide San corridors and gently tapped on the door of Matron Graves’ sitting room. She had come to the San to visit Leila Elstob, and had been given permission by her father to pop in and see Lulie. There was no answer to her tap, so Con opened the door a crack and peered in. Lulie was sitting, leaning her elbows on her knees, her eyes closed. Con prepared to creep out again, when Lulie opened her eyes briefly, saw who it was and closed them again. ‘I won’t be a minute, Con, come in,’ she said. Con perched on the nearest chair and waited until Lulie opened her eyes again and sat up. There was a slightly awkward silence.

‘Sorry,’ said Con, eventually, ‘I didn’t mean to disturb you.’

‘Oh, you didn’t really, I was just…um…did you come to see me?’

‘Yes, at least I came to see Leila but I thought I’d come and see you as well…at least, Papa said I could,’

Lulie’s rather taut face relaxed a little as she smiled, ‘Thank you, I’m glad you’re here,’

‘How’s your mother?’

Lulie’s long lashes drooped, ‘She’s not well, Con. They haven’t said, but I think she’s dying. I know, cos Dr Graves told me, they’ve sent for the boys and they wouldn’t do that if she was going to be alright, would they?’

‘No,’ agreed Con, struggling to get the word out. She didn’t know what to say or do. Lulie was so calm; it seemed the wrong thing to hug her, as Con would like to have done. She felt it would be easier if Lulie was crying, but there seemed to be no sign of that. Lulie appeared to be feeling as awkward as Con did. The two girls sat in silence, which grew less awkward as it went on.

Smiling at Lulie, Con got up. ‘Shall I ring for some coffee?’

She was never given the chance, as there came footsteps down the corridor and the door opened to admit Matron Graves, followed by Lulie’s two brothers and – here Con’s jaw dropped – the oddest looking man that the middle Maynard triplet had ever seen. Lulie’s jaw also dropped and she sprang to her feet, to be pounced on by the boys and hugged tightly. Pulling herself away from them, Lulie advanced on the man and said, ‘Hello, Uncle Philip, I didn’t expect to see you,’ Uncle Philip made a noise that was a cross between a sniff and a snort and replied, in a booming voice, ‘Yes, well, with my niece being so ill, I could hardly leave Leighton and Lachlann to gallivant halfway across the world, could I?’

‘No, I suppose not,’ agreed Lulie, meekly. Con’s eyes were almost out on stalks, and even Matron Graves looked taken aback. They had never heard children spoken to as such equals before, though Lulie appeared to be accustomed to it, as she didn’t bat an eyelid.

Uncle Philip’s piercing eyes roved round the room, and stopped when they came to Con. ‘And who is this?’ he demanded. Con blushed and felt almost guilty at being there.

Lulie grinned at her, ‘This is Con Maynard, a friend of mine from school. Con, this my uncle, Philip Leonov.’

‘I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr Leonov,’ Con managed, meekly shaking his hand.

‘Con, hm? The pleasure is returned, Miss Maynard,’ and Uncle Philip’s rather alarming face relaxed suddenly into a charming smile, leaving Con thinking that he wasn’t so bad after all. Uncle Philip suddenly rounded on Matron, ‘And where is my niece? I wish to see her,’

‘This way, Mr Leonov,’ said Matron Graves, turning to go.

‘Can’t we see her too, Uncle Philip?’ asked Lachie, plaintively.

‘Presently, but I want you to have a drink and something to eat first. Can that be arranged, Matron?’

‘Of course, Mr Leonov, I can send some Kaffee und Kuchen up at once,’

‘I’ll go and find somebody,’ offered Con and shot out of the room with more speed than elegance, leaving Matron to usher Uncle Philip in the other direction and Lulie to explain the situation to Lachie and Lev.

The silence in the room was almost physical. Philip Leonov shivered slightly in the cold air that came through the wide open windows, as he gazed down on his semi conscious niece. Checking that there were no medical personnel around, he bent over and kissed her between the eyebrows. ‘Go on, Darya, you have my permission to go. My blessings go with you, and safe journey.’

‘I can’t, Uncle, the children,’ the words rang in Philip’s head as clearly as if the dying woman had spoken out loud. Philip sighed and lowered himself to kneel at the bedside. Taking Darya’s hand in his, he stroked it gently. ‘You know I’ll look after them,’ he said, in a low voice, so nobody passing the room could hear him. ‘I know I’ve always said I can’t have Louisa to live with me, and I still don’t feel I can, but she appears happy in this school and I’m more than willing to pay her fees until she’s eighteen. Mrs Butler will just have to help me in the holidays, that’s all. I’ll try and get more work done during term time when the children are at school, and that way I won’t be disturbed as much in holiday time. Don’t you worry, dushka, they won’t lack for loving care, I promise you that.’

Philip closed his eyes and listened carefully. The voice came again, ‘I can see Thomas, Uncle. He’s waving to me. He’s smiling. Promise me what you say is true,’

‘I promise,’

‘Where are my babies, Uncle? I can’t go without saying goodbye,’

Almost as if they had heard, the door clicked open and the three children crept in, standing in a line against the wall. Lev let out a tiny moan at the sight of his mother lying so still. Lachie pressed his lips together, but not before his sharp-eared sister had caught a similar sound. Reaching out a hand, she grasped theirs and squeezed hard. Uncle Philip opened his eyes and fixed them with a pale shadow of his usual glare. Standing up, he reached down with his foot and knocked the brake off the bed’s wheels. Pushing it away from the wall, he secured it again, and went to stand at the head. Motioning to the triplets, he held out his hands. Tears streaming down her face, Lulie pulled her brothers over to the bed, where they stood, gazing mutely at Uncle Philip. ‘Let her go,’ he commanded, still in that low voice, ‘She can see your father. He’s waiting to help her on her journey. She won’t go until she’s said goodbye. Forget what the doctors say, you can kiss her if you want. She’s past all danger now.’

Biting back her sobs, Lulie bent and kissed her mother’s forehead, between her brows, the site of the third eye. In obedience to her great-uncle’s directions, she went to stand at the foot of the bed. Lachie and Lev copied their sister’s actions, standing one on either side of the bed.

Jack Maynard, peeping through the window, looked surprised. ‘Don’t, Papa,’ said Con, appearing next to him, looking upset, ‘don’t watch. They went to say goodbye in their own way,’

Jack looked down at his daughter, her brown eyes full of tears, and held out a hand. ‘Come on, sweetheart. Come to my office for some coffee and a chat,’

Inside the room, Philip held a hand out to each of his nephews, who in turn joined hands with their sister. Looking round the circle that they had created, Philip saw that they were in no fit state to say anything, so he swallowed his own grief, and began in a voice that only shook a little.

‘Oh Great Mother, we send to you Darya, a child of your flesh. We ask that she have a safe journey on the return to your womb, to you who give life to us all. We ask that you send comfort to those left behind, who grieve for her that was, and that shall be. We ask for your blessings and your solace. Great Mother, we thank you. So mote it be.’

The four stayed holding hands, all eyes on the occupant on the bed. There seemed to be no change, the breathing barely noticeable. Then Lulie broke the chain and rushed up to her mother’s head. ‘Mama!’ she cried, ‘Mama, please don’t go yet, I’m not ready!’

But the tiny trickle of blood coming from the corner of Darya’s mouth told Lulie that she was too late in her pleas. Leaving the triplets sobbing in each other’s arms, Uncle Philip flung the door open and strode out of the room to find Dr. Maynard.

Uncle Philip strode along the high road, away from the San. It was half term for the School and most of its members were away on various excursions. The three Arden children and their great-uncle were staying at the Maynards, on receipt of a warm-hearted invitation from Joey Maynard on hearing of Mrs Arden’s death. Uncle Philip had tried to persuade Lulie to go to Lucerne with her form, but she had clung to him so piteously that he hadn’t the heart to force her. After all it was only three days after her mother’s death, and Mrs Arden wasn’t even buried yet.

Anybody passing by would have been startled by the look of grim determination on Philip Leonov’s face. He was a tall and rather imposing figure anyway, but his expression made him look almost frightening. He and Jack Maynard has spent the last three days arguing and fighting with officials over allowing Mrs Arden’s body to be flown home to Britain for burial. For some reason, the fact that she was ‘only’ a British citizen by marriage, and her husband was dead, made an enormous difference, though neither Uncle Philip nor Jack could see why. Approaching the gates of Freudesheim, Uncle Philip pondered the three children he was now responsible for. He was thankful that they were old enough to have some adult responsibilities, as he thought. He wasn’t accustomed to small children, and his great niece and nephews had surprised him by their maturity. He hadn’t seen them since they were ten years old, and he didn’t expect fifteen year olds to be so grown up. He didn’t realise that this was partly the effect of losing their father at the age of ten, and the long illness of their mother, as much as their own personalities.

The objects of his thoughts met him at the big front door of Freudesheim; their eager faces falling when they saw his grim looks. ‘Are they still not letting you take her?’ demanded Lachie, looking not unlike his great uncle all of a sudden. Uncle Philip sighed, ‘No, they’re not. I’m going down to Geneva tomorrow, to see these people in person. If it means that I have to camp out in the British Embassy, or the United Nations, then so be it.’ The three grinned at this image, much to Philip’s relief. He’d been dreading tears or temper from one or all of them.

‘Are you going back to school tomorrow?’ asked Lev, on the last day of half term, just after they’d waved Uncle Philip off on his trip to Geneva.

Lulie heaved a huge sigh, ‘I don’t know,’ she replied, ‘Mrs Maynard says I ought, but I’m not sure I can. I mean, Mrs Maynard is just the loveliest person, but…well, she just doesn’t understand,’

‘Understand what?’ demanded Lachie at the same time that Lev asked ‘What does Uncle Philip say?’

Lulie chose to answer Lev first, as the easiest question, ‘He agrees with Mrs Maynard, but says that it’s up to me. But he doesn’t know either,’

Lulie leaned her chin in her hands and heaved another enormous sigh. Lev and Lachie exchanged a worried glance, then looked back at Lulie. ‘I think you’d better tell us just what has been going on,’ said Lachie.

Lulie looked at them both innocently, but the triplets were too close to be fooled. Lev chimed in, ‘This obviously has nothing to do with Mama’s death. What exactly has been happening at school?’

Lulie wriggled in her seat, and pushed at the edge of the rug. ‘Isn’t it almost time for Kaffee?’ she asked.

‘No it isn’t, and you know it,’ snapped Lev, usually the more placid of the two boys. Lulie looked up in surprise, to make sure her ears weren’t deceiving her. Lev was glaring at her, obviously not to be put off.

Lachie reached out a hand and patted Lulie’s arm, ‘Come on, Lu,’ he said, in his most persuasive tones, ‘I know you’ve been ill at school, cos Con Maynard told me so.’

Lulie scrubbed at her eyes with her fists, then partly covering her face with her hands, she told them of the terms events. Both their faces darkened with anger as they heard of the bullying, identical green eyes narrowing as the whole nasty tale unfolded. Lulie began to feel quite unnerved as she talked; the expressions on the faces in front of her were so alarming. Almost thankfully she moved onto the plan that Con had had, and that had, unbeknownst to her, caused so much discord in the Chalet School staff room.

There was a short silence when she had finished speaking while Lachie and Lev digested what they had heard. Suddenly Lev sat up, looking both relieved and excited. ‘Lulie, are you going daft, or something?’ he demanded, causing his siblings to gaze at him open-mouthed. Lev jumped up and grasped Lulie’s hands, ‘Don’t you see? You really don’t have to worry about this talk thing that Con suggested. Uncle Philip could do it, and all the other talks that your other friend thought of! Ask him when he gets back from Geneva. He'll probably say yes, cos he's worried about you, I heard him say so to Mrs Maynard yesterday, when I went to wash my hands.'

'What were you doing eavesdropping?' demanded Lulie, shocked.

'I wasn't, I just heard it as I passed the door, but I went straight upstairs to the bathroom,'

'Oh, well that’s all right then. Do you really think Uncle Philip will say yes?'

‘He should do. He’d be able to do it with his eyes closed, won’t he? After all he is a Professor of Alternative Religion. You can’t get much more qualified than that!’

‘Weeell, I could ask, I suppose,’ said Lulie, doubtfully, ‘but he may say no, especially at the moment when he has lots to do with Mama and everything.’

‘Yes, but…’ Lev was forestalled by the door opening and Con’s black, curly head appearing from the other side, ‘Sorry, am I interrupting?’

‘No, not at all, Con. Come in and join us. I thought you would be back at school,’ Lulie jumped up and pulled Con into the room.

‘Miss Annersley said I could pop over; she had a parcel for Mamma and asked me to bring it. She said I could stay for Kaffee, as our lot got back from Lucerne so early. Mamma’s just gone to ask Anna to bring it in,’ Con sat down and looked sideways at her friend, ‘and how are you?’

‘I’m alright, thank you. The authorities are still dragging their heels over allowing Mama to be taken home, but Uncle Philip’s gone to Geneva to sort them out, so she’ll probably be on her way soon,’

‘Are you coming back to school until then?’ asked Con, shyly. She wasn’t sure of herself when talking of such matters.

Lulie shook her head, ‘I don’t know. It depends on what Uncle Philip manages to arrange with the authorities. But never mind that, Con, Lev has had a marvellous idea,’

‘Oh, what? Bother, here comes Mamma, you’ll have to tell me later or write to me, or something.’ Con changed to bright, cheerful tones, ‘Here’s Mamma! Come on you lot, lets help.’

***

Miss Annersley looked at her watch, and sighed deeply. It was almost time for the staff meeting, a meeting which she wasn’t looking forward to. She picked up the small pile of papers in front of her, and glanced at the letter on the top. It was addressed to her on official looking headed paper and contained the minutes of a hastily convened Chalet School Board meeting, as well as a personal letter from Madge herself, in her pretty script. ‘I know it won’t be easy, Hilda,’ Madge had written, ‘But I feel it will be a big test for the school, and one that perhaps we need. Sometimes a test can be good for us, as it forces us to re-examine our own values and opinions in a small community as well as in the wider world. I hope the outcome will be one that you can live with, as well as one that will not damage the child, Louisa Arden, in any way. That must be our first concern, as it could scar her for life. I wish I could be with you personally for this meeting, but I must accompany Jem on this series of conferences, and so cannot spare the time to come to Switzerland. I feel more comfortable knowing that you have Nell and Matey beside you, to say nothing of Joey and Jack. I am praying for you daily, Love Madge.’

There came a tap on the door and it opened to reveal Miss Wilson. ‘Come on, Hilda, it’s time. Everybody’s here,’ she said. Wishing she didn’t feel so much like she was going to her own execution, Miss Annersley gathered her papers together once more and left the room with her friend.

Josette Russell, Head Girl of the Chalet School, passed the staff room on her way to make sure the two fifths were all right. The noise coming from it made her raise her brows. She knew that they were having an important staff meeting, as Miss Annersley had told her that afternoon, requesting that the Prefects take charge that evening, enlisting the help of the Sixth if necessary. To Josette’s ears, as she walked quickly passed, it seemed more like the staff were fighting a full scale war, rather than having a meeting. Unaware that their rather noisy meeting had been marked, the staff continued to try and all speak at once. Miss Annersley banged on the table to restore order, and said in her iciest tones, ‘Please speak one at a time. You will all get your chance, as I intend to listen to all opinions. Now may we conduct this meeting as if we were responsible adults and not the youngest of Juniors?’

Those mistresses who had been pupils at the school shivered, and skipped back mentally to their days as Middles. The other members of staff also shivered, and sat up decorously. Silence reigned, and Miss Annersley thankfully asked Miss Wilson to state her case. Miss Wilson got to her feet, and all eyes turned to her.

'Well, as you all know I was one of the party that had to flee when we were in Tyrol, and in danger from the Nazis. I've never forgotten it, or the reason why. You may or may not know it was because a group of us went to the defence of an old Jew, whom we knew well. He was being persecuted, simply because he was a Jew. We now know that this went on all over what was then the Third Reich, and indeed the appalling death camps that the Jews, among others, were sent to. This was simply because of their religion and who they were which helped the Nazis find a scapegoat for their ideology. I didn’t condone this kind of behaviour then, it sickened me. It sickens me now to think that we have a similar problem now, and worse, in the school. I’m not asking you to believe in this pupil’s religion, or even agree with it, but just to tolerate it. I feel that the girls may benefit from a wider view of religion, and think that they can learn of other faiths alongside and without compromising their own. I stand by Miss Annersley, and the Board, when they propose to introduce classes where the pupils learn about faiths other than their own.’

Miss Annersley felt like applauding when Miss Wilson had sat down, but she kept her face neutral and merely thanked her friend, then asked Nancy Wilmot if she would like to speak next.

Miss Wilmot, feeling suddenly nervous at hearing Miss Wilson’s speech, stood and said ‘I’d like to present a different viewpoint from that of my colleague, Miss Wilson. While I don’t disagree with her comments about the Nazis, I feel that it isn’t relevant to today’s case. Yes, the persecution of others simply because of their religion is wrong. Yes, the girl in question was persecuted, after a fashion, but I believe that was because the other girls didn’t have the maturity or the experience to express their antipathy in any other way. It was wrong of them, but they have learnt their lesson from it and it shouldn’t happen again. I feel that is wrong that a girl of another religion should be allowed into a Christian school such as this one. We should not change our whole ethos simply to suit one girl, which is what I feel we are doing by allowing the girl to miss Scripture classes and Sunday church services. If she has to attend morning Prayers then why not attend all other services. Would it not do her good to learn about other religions also, if we have to turn our syllabi upside down to accommodate her oddities? If we allow one girl in, then others will want to come and everything the Chalet School stands for will collapse.’

‘Nancy, that’s not true!’ Miss Ferrars sprang to her feet, ‘Don’t you think that the School couldn’t benefit from this? We can change and grow as the rest of the world is changing and growing. Is your own religion so shaky that you cannot stand to discover how other people live and believe, how they worship God in their own way? The days are gone when we have to convert everybody to Christianity. We should have learnt from the events during the War, from the atrocities that people suffered for believing as they chose.’

Nancy glared at her friend, and was shocked to find her glare returned with full force. She had never really disagreed with her friend before, and it was an uncomfortable feeling indeed.

The atmosphere in the staff room was icy. All of the staff but one had spoken one way or the other, with glares and shocked looks being exchanged as friends disagreed with one another’s opinions, views and beliefs.

Miss Andrews got up to speak, feeling very nervous at being last. ‘I don’t really know Lulie, or anything about her beliefs,’ she began, falteringly. A sudden smile from Miss Annersley gave her confidence to carry on, ‘What I do know is that I believe that it is important to know what a person believes and why, and how that affects their lifestyle. It doesn’t matter that I don’t agree with those beliefs. It doesn’t affect my strength of belief in God, or give me the urge to convert them to Christianity. What it does do is to give me an added interest.  I would like to find out about these beliefs, and I feel that it may benefit many of the girls to learn how other people tick, as it were. Yes, having girls of different religions in the school is disruptive, and having many of these would cause major problems. It would change the ethos of the school, and I don’t want that particularly, but with the world changing so fast it may happen sometime in the future anyway, after my time I hope. But that’s another issue entirely, which must be dealt with as and when it may arise. My main point is that it could happen, and what we have to decide is do we want to broaden the girl’s religious education and risk changing the ethos of the school in the future, can we have one without the other?’

‘Thank you, Sharlie,’ said Miss Annersley, as Miss Andrews sat down, feeling rather hot and bothered. ‘That is a very good question that you raised, Sharlie, and as it happens, one that was discussed by the Board. Lady Russell has sent me a copy of the minutes of that emergency meeting, which I’m afraid I couldn’t spare the time to attend. I shall read out the summary that is attached to it, and states the wishes of the Board, subject to a majority agreement by the Staff of the Chalet School.’ Miss Annersley cleared her throat and began.