Villainess 3: Rosalie Strikes Back

Red Pill 14: Evictions, Clubs

After finishing off the mocha squares, Janet washed it down with the last gulps of lemonade and chatted with Ridley and Kevin for a time as they bolted down piece after piece of the heaping mound of finger food from their tray. Meanwhile, Janet peered over at the nurse organizing her desk, then glanced over at the three female students on the next bed over still whispering amongst themselves as they ate, then said, “Lord Woodberry, Sir Sydney, I’ve got lots of enemies in this school, but your actions speak for themselves.”

Ridley and Kevin looked back at Janet, and Ridley shook his head, saying, “Anyone would have stepped in.”

“But only you two did,” she said, “while everyone else stood by and let it happen.”

“What about Father Robinson?” Kevin said.

“Father Robinson was compelled to help,” Janet said, “and he only did so after his Highness left with that vixen. I know he’s loyal to this school, and I know it’s the same with Viscountess Durham and the other professors here, but the Prince can throw his weight around.”

“Conflict of interest?” Ridley said.

“Exactly,” she said, then to Kevin: “Do you remember his threat against Baron Palmer this morning?”

“Yeah, I remember,” Kevin said.

“What threat?” Ridley said. “What happened?”

“That vixen stirred up another ruckus this morning,” Janet said, “and had the Prince go after me on bogus claims of me hitting her before class.”

“You’re kidding,” Ridley said.

“I’m not,” Janet said. “God knows what the Prince would have done if Viscountess Durham wasn’t there.”

“And I saw Baron Palmer restraining him from going after you in front of the class,” Kevin said. “Hell, if it wasn’t for Baron Palmer, I would’ve done it myself.”

“And you would’ve been thrashed,” Ridley said.

“Hey, I’m stronger than him,” Kevin said. “I’m just not as coordinated!”

“Guys,” Janet said.

“What is it, Janet?” Kevin said.

“Is something the matter?” Ridley added.

“Will you two meet me in the courtyard after school?” Janet said, glancing over at the three other girls helping themselves to the food on their tray, knowing full well that these girls had been eavesdropping on their conversation. “There’s something I have to say but not right now. It’s important.”

Kevin and Ridley both traded glances.

“Why not now?” Kevin said.

“Trust me,” Janet said, “it’s complicated.”

Then came a pause from both men, both silent for a moment, till Ridley said,  “Lady Fleming, is this about his Highness’s relationship with Miss Edgeworth?”

“It is,” Janet said, “but it’s something else, too.”

“What else?” he said.

“It’s too complicated to explain right now,” she said. “I just want to be sure you’ll be there this afternoon. Will you?”

“Count us there, Lady Fleming,” Ridley said.

“Good,” Janet said.

She handed her empty tray and glass to Kevin, who finished the last few bites of finger food before stacking it on the empty tray. Then Kevin handed Ridley the trays and said, “Bring these to the great hall. I’ll carry her to her homeroom.”

Ridley nodded, standing up and turning his steps towards the only door out of the infirmary—

“Wait a moment, please,” the green-haired girl said from her infirmary bed, swinging her bandaged legs over the bedside and standing up and approaching Janet’s bed with a slight limp. “Lady Fleming, can I speak with you before you go?”

Yet Janet’s clones crowded Janet’s bed, preventing this stranger from getting closer to her, while Ridley turned and doubled back towards them.

So the bespectacled brunette with the braided pigtail walked over to Lord Woodberry with the other empty tray and placed it over the stack in his hands.

“Thank you,” she said.

Lord Woodberry said, “You’re welcome, Lady . . .”

“I’m Lady Jean Drevis,” the girl said and curtsied, then pointed out the other brunette sitting up from her chair, “and that is my sister, Lady Saraya Drevis.”

Lady Saraya Drevis also curtsied.

“Oh, I remember now,” Ridley said. “You’re the daughters of Viscount Abel Drevis of the Drevis Times.”

“Yes, that’s our father,” Jean Drevis said. “Anyway, our friend here wants to talk to Lady Fleming for a bit.”

“What is it then?” Janet said and stared at this girl with shoulder-length green hair and a flowered headband, wondering what her name was, though her face seemed familiar enough with an inkling of sweets for some reason.

“I’m sure you don’t remember me,” the green-haired girl said, “because I transferred from Classroom 1-3C after the first week of school, so I’ll just introduce myself again. I’m Lady Mindy Kessler,” and she attempted a brief curtsey. “I talked to you that Friday before I got transferred on the second week.”

That’s when it hit her, and Janet said, “Oh, you’re the one with the sweet tooth.”

Mindy laughed and said, “Yeah, Lady Sweet Tooth, that’s me. Anyway, we all wanted to talk to you, but Miss Edgeworth and her two lackeys kept preventing us in the hallways.”

“For real?” Janet said.

“It’s true, but here we are,” she said.

“Is that what you want to talk about?” Janet said.

“That’s part of it.”

“Then what’s the other part?”

Mindy Kessler looked over at the two brunettes, who both nodded that it was okay, so she leaned over and said under her breath, “Do you see them, Lady Fleming?”

“See what?” Janet said, trying her best to avoid looking at her clones. “What should I see?”

(Janet’s clones traded glances with each other, then gave Mindy Kessler a wide birth, and Janet’s suicide clone said, “I don’t feel any malice from her or the others.”

“Are you sure?” Janet said.

“I’m sure,” her clone said. “You can trust them.”)

Mindy Kessler stepped forward and said under her breath, “Ghosts, Lady Fleming. Can you see them?”

Janet paused and looked at her clones, and when her clones nodded their heads, she said, “Yeah, I can see them.”

Her response brought the sisters Jean and Saraya Drevis towards Janet’s bed, while Kevin and Ridley just stood there staring at this impromptu meeting.

Then Jean Drevis stepped forward and said, “Can you talk to them?”

Again Janet looked up at her clones, who all nodded their heads again, then looked over at Kevin and Ridley, both men sweating and pale, and said, “Yes, I can. What’s this about?”

“Lady Fleming,” Mindy Kessler said, “we need four members in our afternoon club for us to get approved, but we only have three so far. Will you join us?”

“What club are you talking about?” Janet said, even though she had an inkling of it from their questions and from the nods of her clones.

“It’s the Ghost Hunting Club,” Mindy said.

(Janet’s suicide clone said, “This is a golden opportunity, Janet. We need all the help we can get.”

And the rest of her clone said likewise.)

“Please, Lady Fleming, will you join us?” Mindy said.

“Please, please, join us!” Jean said.

“Please!” Saraya added.

To all of their words, Janet looked at Kevin and Ridley and said, “I’ll join, but only if Sir Sydney and Lord Woodberry join with me. What do you say, you two?”

The two young men traded glances again, and Ridley said, “What the hell, I’ll join. I love ghost stories, anyway.”

“Then count me in,” Kevin added.

“There you have it,” Janet said, smiling at her newfound allies, “but I must ask first. Are you sure you want to have the most reviled woman on campus in your club?”

“We’re not like that, Lady Fleming,” Mindy said.

“I don’t like Miss Edgeworth,” Jean added. “She makes my skin crawl whenever I walk past her.”

“His Highness, too,” Saraya added. “He’s a bully.”

“Why do you think so?” Janet said.

“We were there in the courtyard last Friday,” Mindy said, “and we saw Miss Edgeworth rip her own dress.”

That’s when it hit her, and Janet smiled and said, “Thank you for sticking up for me back then.”

Mindy and the Drevis sisters beamed back at her with Mindy adding, “You’re welcome, Lady Fleming, but damn, that fiancé of yours is a real piece of work.”

“When his Highness asked us what we saw,” Jean added, “we all told him what Miss Edgeworth did to her own dress, but he wouldn’t believe us.”

“Sounds just like him,” Janet said.

“Yeah, I know,” Saraya added. “A complete idiot.”

“Did you report it?” Kevin said.

“We did,” Saraya said, “and we thought that was that, you know. But earlier this morning, Mindy, my sister, and I each received an eviction notice at our dorm rooms in Guinevere House, each one signed by the Prince.”

“Oh my God, seriously?” Janet said. “With all the things his Highness thinks I’ve done to Miss Edgeworth, I’m surprised I haven’t gotten one yet.”

“There’s more,” Mindy added and raised the hem of her dress, revealing bandages covering the bruises on her knees and shins. “I got attacked in the hallways this morning, and I’ve been here all day. I can walk now, but it’s still painful.”

“Who did that to you?” Ridley said.

“Just guess,” Mindy said. “You might be right.”

“Dear God, that vixen?” Janet said.

“I won’t be surprised if she’s the one who planned it,” Mindy said, lowering her dress and dropping her voice to a whisper, “but it was her lackeys, Lady Felton and Lady Childeron. Lady Felton pushed me from behind, and Lady Childeron kicked me in the stomach, and they both kicked me and stomped on me all over, then ran off when they saw my friends,” and she indicated the Drevis sisters with a nod of her head.

“We took her to the infirmary but saw Miss Edgeworth exit from there,” Jean Drevis said. “So when we walked in and told the nurse about it, she thought we were lying.”

“Are you serious?” Janet said.

“Yeah, it’s seriously messed up,” Mindy said.

“When we asked her what she meant,” Saraya Drevis said, “the nurse said she thought that Mindy had fallen down the stairs on the upper staircase this morning.”

“So we asked her if Miss Edgeworth had told her that, and she said she had,” Jean said, then in a whisper: “The bitch poisoned the well before we got here!”

“What did you tell the nurse?” Janet said.

“We told the nurse Miss Edgeworth had lied to her, so she went out looking for her,” Saraya whispered. “But when the nurse came back and informed us she couldn’t find her, we asked her if she had informed anyone else, and she said she’d informed Professor Palmer about it.”

Janet’s mind flashed upon the memory of Baron Palmer and the Prince walking up the stairs behind her as she headed for her new homeroom class, and it all connected: The Prince must have been looking for Miss Edgeworth already when the nurse told Baron Palmer about it, so if the Prince asked the baron if he had seen her, then the two must have joined up to look for her. And given the Prince’s bias against her when it came to Miss Edgeworth, Janet grimaced at the sadistic genius of her ruse playing out in her mind’s eye.

“She set both of us up,” Janet said.

“Yeah, we all heard what you were saying earlier,” Mindy said. “Ugh, this week is the worst! I swear, when I get out of here, I’ll report everything to my father, and he’ll raise hell when he finds out. He owns the Memory Times, and I’d love to see the look on their faces when he drags their names through the dirt, those bitches!”

“And I thought I was the only one,” Janet said.

“Trust me, you’re not alone,” Saraya said. “There are others who think the same way.”

“They’re just not speaking up,” Jean added.

“For obvious reasons,” Mindy added, then gave Janet a piercing stare. “Will you join us, Lady Fleming?”

“I’m in,” Janet said.

“Yes!” the Drevis sisters said.

And Mindy counted each person and said, “That makes six members in the Ghost Hunting Club. Now all we have to do is find a professor to approve our club, and we’re golden.”

“Wait,” Kevin said, “you said you’ve been evicted.”

“So where will you stay?” Ridley said.

“They can stay at my dorm in Mariana House,” Janet said, “and we’ll try to get things straightened out by tomorrow,” and she turned towards the beaming smiles of her new sisters-in-arms. “How does that sound?”

And the girls had covered their gaping mouths, all three with heart-shaped pupils in their eyes, and Jean said, “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You’re a Godsend!” Saraya added.

“Screw what they all say about you,” Mindy said and hooked her arms around Janet’s neck in a sorority kind of way. “You’re all right in my book. Welcome to the club, sister!”

“And your boyfriends, too,” Jean added.

At Jean’s words, Janet blushed, and Ridley choked, and Kevin laughed, and Janet’s spectral clones doubled over sniggering like a bunch of bratty sisters, bringing a smile on the faces of Janet’s three newest allies. And for the next few moments, Janet forgot all about the foregoing events of the great hall and the Prince’s atrocious behavior and wondered about the prospects of introducing DeeDee Marionette to her companions, but she perished the thought. She wanted to take things slow with her newfound friends and . . .

Then Janet heard running footsteps, and before she knew it, the door opened and revealed a winded Viscountess Durham and Baron Palmer rushing in and asking what had happened in the Student Commons Cafeteria, asking if what the Prince had done was true or not, asking if Janet was all right, and asking other questions too jumbled for Janet to understand.

Then they paused and took Janet in.

The nurse came up to them and said, “Lady Fleming should keep off of her foot till after school just to be safe.”

“It’s not that bad,” Janet said.

“Are you sure?” Baron Palmer said. “After Father Robinson informed me of what happened, I ran to get Viscountess Durham as quick as I could and came over here.”

“Does it hurt?” Viscountess Durham added.

“Not really,” she said. “Just a bit of discomfort.”

Viscountess Durham deflated somewhat and whispered into Baron Palmer’s ear, and he nodded and exited the infirmary.

“What did you say?” Janet said.

“He’ll talk to the Prince during Homeroom 3,” Viscountess Durham said. “All right, let’s get you out of here.”

But when Janet swung her legs over the bedside, Sir Sydney picked her up in a bridal carry and said, “I’ll take her to the classroom, don’t worry.”

“Wait a moment, Professor Durham,” Mindy Kessler said. “May I have some of your time, please?”

“Okay, what is it?”

“We’ve found more members for our club,” she said, “so can you approve it?”

“How many?” the viscountess said.

“Three,” Mindy said, “which makes six in all.”

“Okay,” the viscountess said. “Follow me to my homeroom, and I’ll have you all approved there. Sir Sydney, watch your step on the stairs. I don’t want Lady Fleming to suffer yet another outrage today, by God.”

“Will do, Professor,” Kevin said.

And with that, while Ridley hurried back to the open-plan parlor and the great hall to deposit the trays, followed by three of Janet’s clones, the others followed Viscountess Durham up both flights of stairs to the 3rd floor, and the rest of Janet’s clones brought up the rear. And on her way to Viscountess Durham’s homeroom in Kevin’s arms, Janet heard Baron Palmer unleashing a tirade against Prince Blaise in the hallway outside of Classroom 1-3C, while three more clones gloated around him with evil smirks and giggles.

“Don’t give me that, your Highness!” Baron Palmer said. “Do you think it’s ‘justified’ to hurt one student and attack another just because of what you thought would happen to Miss Edgeworth? Are you that dim-witted?”

“It wasn’t like that,” the Prince said. “I was just . . . I just wasn't in my right mind.”

“Damn straight you weren’t,” Baron Palmer said. “Do you have any idea how this will look when his Majesty finds out? First yesterday morning, then this morning, and now this? Are you kidding?”

“Look, I know!” the Prince said. “Just let me—”

Then he stopped when Janet caught his eye, so the Prince went over to her, but Baron Palmer kept him from approaching.

“Don’t, your Highness,” Baron Palmer said.

“But I just have to talk to—”

“Until this is resolved,” he said, “I won’t let you anywhere near Lady Fleming. Do you understand?”

Prince Blaise opened his mouth to say something, but he nodded that he did.

“Good,” he said. “Get back to class.”

Prince Blaise gave Janet a brief glance, then trudged through the double doors back into the ignominious Classroom 1-3C, followed by Janet’s clones heckling him unawares.

Viscountess Durham and Baron Palmer exchanged brief words, and then the viscountess led the group around the corner into Classroom 1-3G. While there, amidst audible gasps and questions about what had happened to Janet this time, the viscountess only mentioned Prince Blaise’s outrageous conduct in the great hall of the cafeteria in connection to Janet’s injury. For the time being, she said, nobody is to talk about it during class or homeroom, till the faculty gets the matter resolved as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Janet’s suicide clone was talking with nine out of the dozen other clones present in the classroom, asking them to follow the Drevis sisters and Mindy Kessler to their homerooms and keep watch.

Afterwards, Viscountess Durham got out a stack of forms from her bag and had Janet and the rest of her allies sign them. Then Lord Woodberry came in later, followed by three of Janet’s clones, who witnessed him signing a form as well, thereby establishing the Ghost Hunting Club.

“Will you be our advisor?” Mindy Kessler said.

“No, I can’t,” Viscountess Durham said. “I’ve got other duties to attend to, but I’ll find someone who can.”

Mindy and the Drevis sisters thanked her, then said to Janet and Kevin, “See you this afternoon,” and left, and the three teams of clones followed after them.

Then Ridley said his own goodbye and left the room, and his three watchers tailed after him, leaving Janet seated at the table beside Kevin, while Janet’s ten remaining clones resumed their places by the corner of Classroom 1-3G and began talking amongst themselves.

After that, Janet rested her head in her arms and drifted off to a pleasant nap, in which she dreamed about eating more mocha cakes and downing them with pink lemonade.

The rest was all a blur for Janet after Kevin woke her up to see off Viscountess Durham and to get ready for Period 5 and Period 6. In Period 5, Janet could barely pay attention to the lecture half of Countess Clio Valentine’s Etiquette Studies class and couldn’t participate in the practice half of her class, because she couldn’t stand up to demonstrate how to balance a book on her head to show the proper way ladies walk and sit and stand, so Countess Valentine had someone else do it. Thus, Janet struggled to keep from nodding off throughout much of the rest of the class.

As for Period 6, Janet told a remorseful Father Giles Robinson that she was doing better and tried her best to pay attention to his lecture on the properties of mana and its affinities to the four physical attributes of earth, wind, fire, and water. By this time, Janet had gotten over her afternoon slump, taking notes in her notebook and keeping an eye on Kevin whenever he began nodding off in his own afternoon slump. When her sixth and last lecture class concluded for the day, Father Robinson approached her again and said he and Baron Palmer and Viscountess Durham would all seek an audience with his Majesty this afternoon to talk about Prince Blaise’s conduct during school hours.

“Thank you,” Janet said.

Again Father Robinson nodded and went on his way, and Janet stretched her limbs, arching her back from a day’s worth of sitting and listening and taking notes, on top of the three enormities of yesterday morning and this morning and the atrocity during lunch. Meanwhile, Viscountess Durham stayed absent for much of Homeroom 4, the last homeroom for the school day, so Janet spent the last thirty minutes speed-reading the reading assignments from Viscountess Durham’s class, Count Cosgrove’s class, Baron Underwood’s class, Baron Palmer’s class, and Father Robinson’s class. When the viscountess arrived, Homeroom 4 was at an end, and everyone was giddy to go to their clubs or dorms, and Janet had finished the assigned readings from Viscountess Durham and Count Cosgrove and Baron Underwood and was about to begin Baron Palmer’s readings.

Viscountess Durham approached Janet and Kevin’s table, bringing along Lord Woodberry and Lady Kessler and the Drevis sisters through the double doors, followed by their trio of clones each. Then Janet looked and found Baron Simeon Underwood coming in last, loitering behind like a bashful schoolboy with his hands in his pockets and looking onto the floor to avoid stares. Then the chiming of the clock’s bell sounded, and Janet’s classmates got up and said their good afternoons to Viscountess Durham before leaving through the double doors like a school of fish.

When everyone else had left, the viscountess said, “I’ve found your club advisor.”

Janet and Kevin traded looks, and the others looked away. Just one look at her companions’ dour faces told Janet that they were not looking forward to having a club advisor with a penchant for putting students to sleep, not one bit. As such, Janet’s suicide clone talked to three more of Janet’s clones, asking them to follow and keep watch over Baron Underwood, to which they nodded and said that they’ll do so.

“Okay, okay, I know what you’re thinking,” Viscountess Durham said, “but hear me out first. As you know, Baron Underwood’s classes are a bit . . . one-sided, to say the least.”

“Sorry about that,” Baron Underwood said.

“It’s all right,” Viscountess Durham said, then to Janet and Kevin and Ridley and Mindy and the Drevis sisters: “Having Baron Underwood interact with students outside of teaching hours will go a long way in getting him out of his shell. Also, you can think of Baron Underwood less as a professor and more as one of your upperclassmen. What do you say?”

Janet sat there remembering the abysmal snooze-fest that was Period 3 and said, “Well, if it’s to help him out, I guess we could play along.”

Then the viscountess looked to the others and said, “Okay, what about the rest of you?”

They all groaned, but Kevin said, “I’m down for it.”

Then Mindy Kessler and the two Drevis sisters traded whispers amongst themselves, the three of them debating whether it was worth their time accepting Baron Underwood as their advisor. And after a bit of back and forth between Mindy Kessler and Jean Drevis, Mindy said, “If helping Professor Underwood involves something paranormal or supernatural or anything weird, really, then we’ll help.”

Viscountess Durham smiled, saying, “Let’s hope it doesn’t involve anything too spectacular. Lady Fleming is still recovering, you know.”

“Then count me in, too,” Ridley said. “Someone’s gotta look after her while we go ghost hunting.”

“Good,” the viscountess said. “Now, in addition to finding an advisor for your club, I’ve also been looking for a place for your clubroom, and I’ve managed to find you one, but since it was on such short notice, it’s the best I could do. You’ll just have to make do with it.”

“Is it in the Western Annex?” Ridley said.

“Nope,” she said.

“The Eastern Annex?” Kevin added.

“Not even close,” she said. “All the first-floor clubrooms were taken in the first two weeks of class.”

“Where is it then?” Janet said.

“Well,” Viscountess Durham said, “I figured you could use Elba House as your base.”

Janet just stared, pale-faced, and said, “Elba House?”

“That’s awesome!” the Drevis sisters said.

“I’ve always wanted to go legend-tripping there,” Mindy Kessler said. “I can’t wait!”

“But, Professor,” Ridley said, “that place has been abandoned for decades. Is it even safe to go there?”

“We need to consider Janet’s injury,” Kevin added. “Her footing might not be stable on the floorboards.”

“Don’t worry,” the viscountess said. “I checked that place already, and there were some workers renovating it.”

“Workers?” Janet said, starting to think of those talking busts and statuettes on the bookshelves, not to mention that big suit of armor holding a claymore in its gauntlets. “Did they see anything strange there?”

“No, they didn’t see any ghosts,” she said.

“That’s not what I meant,” Janet said. “Did they mention any weird objects or enchanted items or anything of that sort while working there?”

“Actually, they did,” the viscountess said. “There was a young maid there ordering around the workers. I think her name is DeeDee-something or other. I’m not sure.”

“DeeDee Marionette?” Janet said.

“Yeah, that’s it,” she said. “How did you know?”

And Janet froze, cursing herself for blurting out her name.

(“It’s okay, Janet,” Deedee said. “Just don’t mention anything about my shop, all right?”)

Janet gave an almost imperceptible nod and said, “Last night, I helped Miss Marionette move some furniture.”

The viscountess narrowed her eyes and said, “After curfew?”

Janet felt a stab of panic pulsing through her chest, and she added, “It wasn’t after curfew, I swear!”

“Lady Fleming,” the viscountess said, “after Baron Palmer and I talked with Father Robinson and Lord Woodberry about what happened during lunch, I know you don’t lie without a reason. Judging from his Highness’s conduct, I can see him forcing you to confess to crimes you haven’t done. With that said, is there a reason for you to be out after curfew even if it’s to help bring in furniture into Elba House?”

(Janet paused, thinking of a way to get out of this, till DeeDee came to the rescue and said, “Just say whatever is on your mind right now.”

“Like what?” Janet said.

“You decide, Janet,” DeeDee said. “It’s your life, not mine.”)

So Janet took a deep breath and said, “Yes, there is.”

“Then tell me,” she said.

“DeeDee Marionette is one of my maids,” Janet said, “and I sent her to move some of my old furniture into Elba House a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to cause a scene, so I went out incognito last night to help her.”

“Then why not send your other maids?” Viscountess Durham said. “And why not do it during waking hours?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise for Lady Kessler,” Janet said, looking at Mindy Kessler and thinking back to her conversation with her during their first week of school. “Before she got transferred to another class, Lady Kessler and I were talking about Elba House, and we wanted to refurbish the place as our own little hideaway on campus.”

“After I got transferred,” Mindy said, going along with it, “I had no other chance to talk to Lady Fleming, so our plans fell through. At least, I thought so.” Then she smiled at Janet and added, “That’s really sweet of you. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Janet said.

“Okay, I’ll believe you,” Viscountess Durham said, “but if you plan on going out after curfew, at least take Baron Underwood along. He’s a teacher at this school, too, so he can look after you while you’re there getting things set up. Do I make myself clear, Lady Fleming?”

Janet nodded.

“Good,” she said, then turned to Lady Kessler and the Drevis sisters. “I’ve also heard that you’ve been evicted from Guinevere House this morning. Do you still have those eviction notices with you?”

“Yeah, we do,” Mindy said.

All three girls dug into their book bags and pulled out three dog-eared eviction notices and handed them to Viscountess Durham, who took and inspected them in turn. She looked at the three girls and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. His Highness actually signed these?”

“How should I know?” Mindy Kessler said. “I received this notice from Lady Felton at my dorm room.”

“And Jean and I received ours from Lady Childeron,” Saraya Drevis added, “and later that morning, we found Lady Felton and Lady Childeron beating up Lady Kessler in the hallway.”

“Baron Palmer and I will look into it,” the viscountess said. “Was there anything else that you noticed?”

Mindy Kessler traded glances with the Drevis sisters, and Jean said, “My sister and I took Lady Kessler to the infirmary and saw Miss Edgeworth coming from there before we came there. We informed the nurse on duty what had happened, but the nurse said that Miss Edgeworth told her she had seen her fall down the stairs instead.”

The viscountess remained silent for a time, then said, “Did you try to correct her?”

“No,” Jean said, “and she never brought it up again, so we didn’t feel like telling her.”

“I’ll bring all this up to his Majesty later today,” the viscountess said.

“Thank you, Professor,” Mindy Kessler said.

“I’ll have them stay at my dorm in the meantime,” Janet added.

“That’s not good enough,” the viscountess said. “You’ll also need to make room for their maids.”

“Then for tonight,” Janet said, “why don't our maids stay at my dorm, while we stay at Elba House?”

“Fine. Just don’t do anything weird,” the viscountess said and checked her watch. “Just one more thing before I go.”

“What is it?” Ridley said.

“Think of your club as a specialized literary club that focuses on ghost stories, the paranormal, the supernatural, etc.,” she said. “Besides ‘hunting’ ghosts, you’ll need to think about how you’ll share your findings. You know, personal anecdotes, legends, made-up stories. You get what I’m talking about, right?”

“Yeah, we know,” Kevin said. “No slacking off.”

And for the first time today, Viscountess Durham smiled and said, “Exactly. See you tomorrow,” and she walked out of the classroom, leaving behind the six members of the Ghost Hunting Club and their world-weary advisor and Janet’s twenty-two clones in her wake.

Moments passed at a snail’s pace.

Ridley was the first to speak, saying, “Lady Fleming, you’ve got some serious explaining to do.”

“I know,” she said.

“Out with it,” he said and crossed his arms.

(“DeeDee,” Janet said, “do you want me to tell them?”

“Yes,” DeeDee said.

“Everything?”

“Use discretion,” DeeDee said.

“Where did you get those workers?” she said.

“Your silent clones helped with that,” DeeDee said. “I turned them into maids with illusion magic, but don’t tell your friends or that woman about it.”

“Use discretion?” Janet said.

“Glad you’re starting to get it,” DeeDee said.)

So Janet put her fingers between her eyes, knowing full well the headache she was about to undergo, then smiled up at him and said, “These walls have ears, Lord Woodberry,” and she grasped the edge of the table and stood up from her chair on her good foot, then moved her other foot around the ankle joint and attempted to place a little weight on it.

“Now, now, Lady Fleming,” Kevin said and picked her up in a bridal carry. “Remember what Father Robinson said?”

“It’s not as bad as earlier,” Janet said.

“It’s not four o’clock yet,” Ridley said, “and we’re not letting you walk on your own until five o’clock.”

“Just to be safe?” Janet said.

“That’s the idea, my Lady,” Ridley said.

She smiled at their concern for her well-being and said, “Then I’ll tell you everything on the way to Elba House.”

End of Villainess 3