Unforgettable Fifth at Trebizon Read online

  There was the matter she most wanted to talk to Tish about. And this was as good a moment as any.

  'So Robbie's applied for the RAF?' she remarked. 'Must've been a shock when you found out!'

  'Yes. Especially for him,' grinned Tish. 'Seeing it's a state secret!' She frowned. 'I can see him as a pilot, in a way. But it's all a bit sudden. He's applied to go straight in after A-levels. This summer! I don't think Dad will be happy. He wants him to go to university. But Robbie's eighteen and so there's nothing Dad can do about it!'

  'Wonder if he passed the selection board?' asked Rebecca. 'Will he have heard yet?'

  'Should've done by now. Maybe I ought to go over to Garth at the weekend and find out,' replied Tish. She gave Rebecca a sidelong look. 'I can't tell him you're interested, can I, seeing I'm not supposed to have told anyone!'

  'Well, that's just as well,' retorted Rebecca.

  Then she added, more calmly:

  'You're his sister. Don't you want to know?'

  'Not if he hasn't got in!' joked Tish. 'Still. Might as well find out. I'll go and see him sometime.'

  'Justin might know,' suggested Rebecca helpfully. 'He might be able to tell Sue when they ring each other tonight.'

  'If Rob's got IN, he could've told Justy,' mused Tish. 'In which case, yes, Justy might tell Sue.'

  'Can't we ask Sue to ask - ?'

  'No,' replied Tish crisply. 'It's a secret. I only told YOU, Rebeck, because... Well, look, if Sue hears anything she's bound to mention it. Otherwise I'll bike over to Garth on Saturday and see Robbie myself. I know it's no use ringing him at Syon House. Too public.'

  As they passed round the end of the headland, Rebecca felt contented. She badly wanted to know if Robbie had been successful. Sue might hear something from Justin, otherwise Tish was planning to go over and see Robbie on Saturday.

  Good.

  And if he HAD been successful perhaps it would stop him being such a pain. And, in that case, she could definitely think about inviting him and Ben to Commem as partners for Emmanuelle and herself. Just as a favour. No more to it than that.

  He'd be in a sunny mood for a change and be quite likely to agree. And that would be the perfect beginning to Emmanuelle's week at Trebizon, wouldn't it, having Ben as her partner at the ball?

  Cliff wouldn't mind about Robbie. He wouldn't be jealous. After all, there was nothing much to be jealous about.

  Wasn't it funny, though, to think of Robbie going off into the blue -literally into the blue! - to train as a pilot. He might be joining the RAF! At the end of this term. So soon.

  That this was Robbie's 'brilliant plan' had taken her by surprise. She'd stiffened when Tish had first blurted it out, on the boat. But she'd soon get used to it.

  The main thing now was to hope that he'd been successful, wasn't it?

  As they turned into Mulberry Cove, Tish was just in front of her. Rebecca was so deeply immersed in various daydreams about the Commem Ball weekend that she hadn't looked up. Her eyes were fixed on the ground in front of her as she ran.

  Until Tish stopped dead with such suddenness that Rebecca crashed into her.

  'Stupid!' she said crossly. 'What's wrong?'

  'Look for yourself!' replied Tish.

  Mulberry Cove seemed different.

  There was something odd about it, something rather bleak. Whatever was it? wondered Rebecca. Was it simply that they'd come out of the sun, round into the lee of the headland? The long hump of land always cast its shadow across the cove in the early morning.

  Blinking, she quickly took her bearings, looking first towards the caves at the top end of the cove. Beyond, high on the hillside above, stood the old castle owned by the National Trust and rented by the Willoughbys. All just the same as usual. Then she immediately turned her head to look the other way, out to sea. Yes, there was Mulberry Island standing beyond the mouth of the cove, in open sea. The view was just as it always had been. So what was wrong - ?

  Then she realized, even as Tish said it:

  'The sailing school's disappeared!'

  They gazed at one another in amazement.

  'But it's always been here!' said Rebecca indignantly. 'Where's it all gone to?'

  No big wooden hut with brightly coloured sign

  MULBERRY COVE SAILING SCHOOL

  Proprietor: Jock Armstrong

  No jolly little sailing dinghies, beached safely above high water mark. No Jock.

  Just an empty beach, ringed by caves and

  'A notice!' exclaimed Rebecca. 'Look, up the top there, on the grass.'

  'Let's see what it says,' replied Tish.

  They walked slowly up to the top of the cove and climbed the grassy slope above the caves, until they reached the signboard. It was staked into the ground. It said:

  PRIVATE PROPERTY

  No Trespassing

  They stood and frowned at it in shock.

  'What on earth does it mean?' asked Rebecca.

  'What it says, I suppose.'

  'But it's NOT private property,' protested Rebecca. 'Is it? Who - why - ?'

  'Come on!' Tish grabbed the back of her tracksuit top and tugged. 'Let's get back to school and find out what's happened! Quick! Over the headland - '

  They scrambled up one of the tracks, knee high in cow parsley, and were nearly at the top when -

  'Barbed wire!' exclaimed Rebecca, in amazement. 'We can't get any further, Tish!'

  The new fence ran all the way along the top, cutting off their route to Trebizon bay.

  'What a nerve!' she added, furiously.

  'Look, there's another sign along there,' said Tish, grim faced. 'A rotten nasty big one this time. Let's see what it says.'

  It was an Estate Agent's noticeboard.

  FOR SALE

  By order of the executors of the estate of the late Mr M. W. Ruggles.

  A charming area of land known as The Headland together with small field abutting Mulberry Cove (with the benefit of access to 300 metres of foreshore and sheltered water) and including a small offshore island known as Mulberry Island with existing dwelling thereon, the whole totalling some 25 acres.

  OFFERS INVITED FOR THE FREEHOLD

  They read it carefully.

  'I'd no idea all this belonged to someone,' said Rebecca, in a small voice.

  'Someone called Mr Ruggles by the look of it. And he didn't mind us using it. Or Jock. He must have been a nice man.'

  'And now he's died,' said Rebecca. 'And it's all got to be sold!'

  'Bang go early morning runs to the cove and picnics...and barbecues on Mulberry Island...and all that stuff,' said Tish. 'And sailing, too.'

  'Oh, Tish!' Rebecca felt tearful. It was so unexpected. 'Nothing will ever be the same now, will it?'

  'And we can't get through this barbed wire, either, so we've got to go back the way we came and the tide's coming in!' Tish pointed out, in her practical way.

  After that they had to run like fury to avoid being cut off by the tide. The water was already licking over the flat rocks at the far end of the headland.

  They scrambled down there, took off their shoes and yanked up the legs of their tracksuit trousers as far as they'd go. Then they had to wade back round into Trebizon bay. By the time they reached dry land the waves had done their worst and they were soaked up to the waist.

  They returned to the top floor of Court House with their tracksuit bottoms clinging to them wetly, dripping little puddles everywhere.

  'Been for a paddle?' asked Margot, in amazement.

  When they explained, Mara's dark brown eyes became even darker than usual, with annoyance. She'd just finished penning a thank-you letter to Christelle, with news of the exciting plans for Commem weekend. It had had to be written in French and now it would have to be done again. And when, when, WHEN was she going to find the time...?

  But it wasn't just that.

  'All the land is private property and the island as well?' she exclaimed. 'It cannot be true!'

  'Looks li
ke it must be,' said Sue, wryly. She'd just come back from violin practice and was staring at her friends, all cold and wet and shivering. 'Hadn't you two better have hot showers or something? Oh, isn't this SICKENING!'

  At assembly that morning, nobody could have looked more sickened about it than Miss Welbeck.

  THREE

  SUSPENSE CONTINUES

  Rebecca could tell that at once.

  'A reminder about Mulberry Cove,' the principal announced. at the end of assembly. She looked rather paler than usual. 'Especially for the benefit of those of you just back from the French Exchange who may not have heard the bad news. But. everyone pay attention, please.'

  Near the back of the hall the six went on to full alert. Noticeably Mara....and Rebecca. And Elf, who loved sailing and had made more use of the sailing school than any of them.

  Rebecca had been sitting there in a blur, recovering from the rush and confusion of the past hour. So much for her bright, early start. She'd been lucky not to be late for assembly! It had all taken so long this morning. Waiting for the shower, trying to find her clean blouse and finish her unpacking from the night before, trying to sort out which books she needed for lessons this morning. While the whole floor gathered round asking questions... Then late for breakfast and ending up with a mad dash for assembly.

  So she'd been slumping, letting the rites of assembly wash over, checking mentally whether she'd brought the right notebook for history and hoping that her maths revision sheet was in her desk in the form room because it certainly wasn't in her cubicle.

  But now she at once sat up and took notice.

  'I cannot stress too strongly to you all that the headland and the field at the back of the cove are now out of bounds. Mr Ruggles always most generously allowed unlimited access to these areas so you may never have realized you were on private property. Now he's died, the land is being sold off. You must all get used to the new situation and not trespass.'

  Rebecca could tell that Miss Welbeck was very upset. And because she was usually so calm about everything, it was strangely unsettling.

  'The foreshore, of course, is open to all. So when the tide's out and it's safe for you to do so, you're free to walk round the headland and enjoy the excellent beach at Mulberry Cove as always. But you are NOT to approach it by going over the top of the headland. Which reminds me - '

  She looked down sternly at the rows of juniors.

  'I've had a phone call from Ruddocks - the estate agents - and it seems that two of our younger girls were trespassing in the caves yesterday while Ruddocks were showing round a prospective buyer. As the tide was well up, they could only have entered the cove by going over the headland, presumably having found a way through the new fence. They also made some cheeky remarks.'

  A ripple of whispers and nervous giggles ran through the Second Years and Miss Welbeck waited patiently for it to die away. Then -

  'Will the two girls concerned please come to my study after assembly and own up?' she said pleasantly.

  And school was dismissed.

  The culprits were Holly Thomas, Justin's young sister, and her best friend Harriet. After assembly Holly came up and tugged on Sue's sleeve. Elf and Sue and Rebecca were talking to one of the prefects at the time, just outside the main doors.

  'All I've heard is that Jock's been evicted!' Suky Morris was telling Elf. 'He's had to dismantle his hut and clear all the boats out of Mulberry and start looking for somewhere else.'

  As the prefect hurried off, Sue turned round.

  'Hello, Holly!'

  Holly, a Second Year, was standing there red faced, with Harriet hovering behind her.

  'Did you have a good time in France, Sue? Listen, it was Harri and me!' she hissed.

  'Oh, no!' Sue pushed her spectacles up her nose a bit and stared at Holly. For Justin's sake she sometimes kept an eye on his kid sister. 'That was stupid,' she said.

  'You'd better go and own up then, hadn't you?' said Rebecca calmly.

  'We're scared,' said Harriet, coming forward. 'Aren't we Holly?'

  'Don't be,' said Elf, kindly.

  'Miss Welbeck won't eat you,' said Rebecca. 'What were you cheeky about?'

  'We just said we'd as much right to be there as them.'

  'Who?' asked Rebecca.

  'Mr and Mrs Tarkus.'

  The three older girls exchanged disappointed looks. The Tarkuses weren't exactly friends of Trebizon. He was a local businessman with a finger in every pie and she was anti the school. Always had been.

  'Anyway, you didn't have as much right! You'd better go and see Miss Welbeck,' said Sue. 'Right now!' She gave Holly a gentle push. 'Off you go.'

  'Come and have tea with us at Court House this afternoon!' Rebecca called out, as they left. 'After lessons. Then you can tell us how it went!'

  'I've brought some marron glace back from France!' added Elf.

  'Okay! We will!'

  'Thanks!'

  Looking slightly more cheerful, they disappeared into the throng; heading for the confessional.

  'Glad you thought of that, Becky!' said Sue. 'I need to know if Holly's going to be okay. Justy will be ringing me up tonight.'

  'Oh, she'll be okay!' said Rebecca. 'But did they manage to hear anything yesterday? We can pump them! That's the really interesting bit. Not what Miss Welbeck's going to say to them! Whatever would the Tarkuses want to buy the land for?'

  'Local paper says he's always into money-making schemes,' replied Elf, scowling. 'Can't see them ever letting Jock back on.'

  'Or us,' pointed out Sue.

  It didn't even need saying.

  'If the Tarkuses aren't just being nosey and having a poke round, then - ' began Elf.

  'It's bad news,' finished Sue.

  'Yes.' Rebecca could feel a sinking of the spirits. 'We want somebody nice to buy it. Somebody who wants to keep everything just the same and let people go there as they always have done. And to the island!'

  Tish came bounding up at that moment and they told her.

  'Perhaps they won't be able to afford it!' she said cheerfully. 'Come on, you lot. We're going to be late for registration.'

  'The school should buy the land!' Mara stated firmly, at lunch time. 'It is obvious, is it not? Then we could be sure that everything would stay the same and the cove and the headland and the island would never be spoiled.'

  'Yes, we're nice, Rebecca,' joked Sue. 'We're the nice people you were looking for.'

  'Much nicer than the Tarkuses!' agreed Margot.

  'Wonder how much the agents expect to get for it?' commented Tish.

  'Would the school be able to afford it?' asked Rebecca, dubiously.

  The six were sitting at their usual table in the dining hall.

  Rebecca had put in a hard morning's work, concentrating keenly on her lessons. Geography with Mrs Beal, maths with Miss Hort, history with Miss Maggs, then Latin with Pargie.

  She'd asked Mr Pargiter for a vocabulary list. Pargie had photocopied a really useful one for her and she intended learning it, in the library, this lunch hour. She wanted to study Latin in the Sixth, with French and history, and she had to get a really good GCSE grade. The prospects were much better than with the history, but she couldn't afford to slacken off. There was no Latin coursework. Everything was going to depend on the exam.

  But she wanted to do well in all her subjects and this morning had reminded her how much work lay ahead. She'd given up her tennis competitions. She wasn't going to allow herself to become too distracted by anything else, however important. Not even Emmanuelle's visit! Not even the fact of favourite places being snatched away from them... Places she'd been planning to share with her.

  Yet inevitably, at lunch time, they'd all promptly returned to the subject.

  'Let's try and get an appointment with Miss Welbeck,' Tish was saying. 'Let's suggest things.'

  'We could help fund-raise!' exclaimed Mara. 'We could all write to our parents!'

  'Speak for yourself, Mara,' grinned Ma
rgot.

  'My parents grumble enough about the school fees!' sighed Elf.

  'Mine couldn't pay them, if Dad's firm didn't,' said Rebecca.

  'And Murdochs are bankrupt,' Sue reminded them. It was a long story, that.

  'But there might be something we could do,' insisted Tish. 'Address envelopes and things. Help with a Special Appeal or something.'

  After lunch, they all trooped along to the school secretary's office. They asked for an appointment with Miss Welbeck.

  'She's got a very busy week,' said Mrs Devenshire, looking at the diary. 'Is it important? The first gap's Friday. Four o'clock.'

  They told her it was very important.

  It seemed a long time to wait. But they came away feeling pleased with themselves.

  'It'll give us time to come up with some fundraising ideas,' said Rebecca.

  'Winning the pools, for example,' said Tish.

  Nevertheless, however bad the situation, no harm in sussing it out, they decided. No harm in seeing if there was anything positive to be done.

  'Wonder how Holly and Harri got on with her this morning?' Sue said to Rebecca.

  They found out later.

  'She didn't give us a hard time at all,' said Holly.

  'We had delicious orange juice and loads of chocolate biscuits as well,' added Harriet, smugly. 'Even though we'd just had breakfast!'

  'Oh?' Rebecca and Sue exchanged puzzled looks.

  'You can go easy on the marron glacé, then,' Elf pointed out.

  They were entertaining the two juniors to tea at Court House, after school, as promised.

  'Didn't Miss Welbeck even tell you off?'

  'Well, yes,' admitted Holly. 'But she got it over with quick as possible. You see, we had important information to give her. Didn't we, Harrii?'

  'She wanted to know exactly who the agents were showing round,' explained Harriet. 'Then, when we told her it was Mr and Mrs Tarkus, she got out the chocolate biscuits and asked our opinion.'

  'Your opinion? What about?' asked Sue.

  'Whether the Tarkuses looked serious about buying the land,' interjected Holly, nettled at Sue's disbelieving tone. 'All sorts of stuff like that.'

  'Okay,' nodded Rebecca, looking suitably deferential. 'So what did you tell her?'

  By this stage, the other three had wandered over and were listening with interest.