Interlude

Violet and Tess were sitting together, and Violet found herself gripping her friend’s hand tightly. A murder? Her father had taken the posting here in part to get away from violence back home; she was small enough when they’d come that that she had only distant memories. Daddy is not going to take this well.

“It’ll be OK,” said Tess.

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“I hope so,” said Violet. “This feels like a lot all for one student.”

“There are the kids of some real big shots here, right?” said Tess.

“I guess,” said Violet. Do I count as one of those? she wondered. Her family wasn’t especially wealthy or important by local standards, but her father held a senior diplomatic post, and back at home they were part of a very old noble family.

Tess and Violet talked about their classes for what seemed like a long while, when the Dean came back to the microphone. “Thank you for your patience,” he said. “Please return to your homerooms for an attendance check, and to be dismissed.”