Page 14 of Cruel Shame

I slid further into my seat, avoiding the waiter’s gaze.

The door clicked shut, and Orlando switched on the television to reveal a reporter with frizzy red hair standing next to Elizabeth on the academy’s front steps.

“Miss Liddell,” she said in a smooth Glaswegian accent. “How are the students coping with this awful tragedy?”

“Myra was in my year.” Elizabeth wiped away an imaginary tear. “We barely spoke but everyone believed her to be harmless.”

“Other students tell me you were close,” replied the reporter. “Would you care to elaborate?”

Elizabeth’s faux-distress dropped for a fraction of a second, only to be replaced with a narrow-eyed determination to discover who had been telling tales. “When Myra’s mother died, I reached out to her to offer counsel. You know, as a christian.”

The reporter raised a brow. “Some say you helped Myra Highmore come to terms with being a lesbian.”

“I will continue to pray for Myra’s soul,” Elizabeth said with a bite to her voice.

“Let’s hope the young lady in question gets the help she needs,” replied the reporter. “This is Morag Davonna from Scotland News, with Lady Elizabeth Liddell, daughter of Lord Liddell, Archbishop of Scotland. Over to Rossalyn for the weather.”

I shot out of my seat. “Fucking bitch!”

Orlando reached for my hand. “Lilah—”

“No!” I snatched my hand away. “Myra was a stupid cow, but no force on earth is going to convince me that Elizabeth wasn’t behind her actions.”

Kendrick rubbed the back of his neck and winced. “Of course, she was.”

Words weren’t enough, and neither were platitudes that they would help me get even. This trio had been part of the problem. For goodness knows how long, they helped dispose of the girls who fell out of favor with Elizabeth and had even tried to do the same to me.

I spun around, leveling Maxwell and Orlando with a glare. “You two were going to contact those girls you got expelled.”

Maxwell frowned. “None of them will reply to our texts.”

Orlando raised his shoulders. “They despise us.”

“Give me their numbers.” I clicked my fingers. “Maybe I’ll have better luck.”

“You’re not thinking of clearing Myra’s name?” asked Kendrick.

“The enemy of your enemy is still your enemy.” Maxwell stood and placed his hands on my shoulders.

Maybe this was his attempt to stop me from exploding, but I couldn’t relax until we had a plan in place. That wretched Elizabeth was already on national television, distancing herself from the shooting to everyone who would listen.

I stared up into Maxwell’s silver eyes. “If I can dredge up enough dirt on the Liddell family, I might be able to get them to hold off their attacks until I work out what they’re trying to hide.”

“Come on, then.” He slung an arm over my shoulder and guided me to the suite’s huge dining table. “You can write them an email while you eat.”

A long breath whooshed out of my lungs. Progress, at last.

Hello,

You don’t know me, but I joined Templar Academy last September. Elizabeth Liddell has been harassing me since the moment I joined. At the end of the autumn term, she planted flour in my room, saying it was cocaine and got me dragged out of bed half-naked by the drug squad.

Over the Christmas break, we had a fight. She wrestled me into the snow and kissed me on the mouth. Did she ever try that with you? After I rejected her, things turned even nastier. She has trashed my room, came after me with the most bizarre accusations, and got her mother to send Myra Highmore after me with a gun.

You don’t have to reply to this email, but if there’s any information you can share about Elizabeth and the Liddell family, it might help me to stop them from ruining other girls’ lives.

Let’s get this bitch,

Lilah Hancock