The Headmistress didn’t waste any time.
“Miss Rattcliff,” she said, frowning at Nancy. “Did you and your fellow witches put a three-squared cheer charm on this cake that Miss Fellows and Miss Latimer made?”
Nancy didn’t bother to deny it.
“Yeah. So what?” she asked in a bored voice.
“Miss Rattcliff, a little respect if you please!” Headmistress Nightworthy’s voice crackled like a sudden bolt of lightning in the small office and despite herself, Nancy stood up taller and put her arms to her sides.
“Yes, Headmistress,” she said sullenly. “We be-spelled the cake.”
“And did you do it with the express purpose of getting Miss Latimer and Miss Fellows in trouble with your Home Economics teacher?” the Headmistress demanded, a cold, steely glint in her blue eyes.
“Why, no Headmistress!” Nancy opened her eyes very wide, clearly trying to look innocent, I thought sourly. “We just wanted to cheer up poor little Kaitlyn there.” She pointed at me and my stomach seemed to fill with acid as I stared back at her. “She always seems so sad and down in the dumps,” Nancy went on, just as though she really gave a rat’s ass how I felt. “And we thought our little spell would cheer her up. We didn’t mean to overdo it—honestly.”
Her little performance might have won an Oscar but thank goodness, it didn’t appear to fool Headmistress Nightworthy who had crossed her arms over her chest and was tapping her perfectly manicured fingernails against her upper arms as she stared coldly at Nancy.
“Miss Rattcliff,” she said flatly. “Have you heard the saying, “I wasn’t born yesterday?’ No, don’t bother—it’s a rhetorical question,” she went on before Nancy could answer. “It speaks to the presumed gullibility of the recipient of a particular claim or excuse. And let me assure you, Miss Rattcliff, at the age of five hundred and sixty-five, I was not born yesterday and I am in no way taken in by your little act.”
“But Headmistress—” Nancy began but the tall Nocturne held up a hand to stop her.
“It is my belief that you placed this extremely potent spell on Miss Latimer and Miss Fellow’s cake for the express purpose of getting them into trouble. And I further know that you insulated yourself from any repercussion on Mrs. Hornsby’s part by placing a feel-good spell on her as well, so that she would be pleased with you no matter what your magic did to her.”
Nancy’s black eyes got even wider with apparent shock and guilt. It was the first genuine expression of emotion she’d shown since she walked into the office and I saw Ms. Yasmeen nodding as her theory was proven correct.
“Don’t bother to speak, Miss Rattcliff,” the Headmistress went on calmly. “Your face tells me everything I need to know.” She leaned forward and pointed at Nancy. “I promised your mother, before she was sent away for life in prison, that I would watch over your education and never expel you from Nocturne Academy. But there are consequences other than expulsion which can make your life and the lives of your cohorts extremely unpleasant. Do I make myself clear?”
Nancy pursed her lips but apparently knew better than to smart off or lie a second time.
“Yes, Headmistress,” she said sullenly. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
By which she doubtless meant the three-squared cheer charm, though I was certain she would probably think of other ways to turn seemingly innocent magic to her own nasty ends.
“It had better not,” Headmistress Nightworthy said sharply. “But an apology is not enough in this situation—there must be consequences for your actions.” She looked at Nancy and the other two Weird Sisters. “The three of you will be assigned to kitchen and clean-up duty for the next month. You will be helping to serve the food and afterwards, you will be cleaning the entire Dining Hall—by hand—with no magical help at all.”
“What?” Nancy exploded. “But that’s menial labor! My mother is head of—” She stopped abruptly.
“Yes, Miss Rattcliff? Do go on,” Headmistress Nightworthy said coolly, raising an eyebrow at her.
“My mother wouldn’t like this,” Nancy said sullenly. “And she pays good money to send me here.”
“Correction, she paid good money,” the Headmistress said crisply. “Unfortunately, much of the fortune she acquired went to the legal fees she incurred during her trial. As of right now, you are a scholarship student, like Miss Latimer, here.” She nodded at Megan.
“Headmistress,” Megan said, speaking up. “I don’t mean to interrupt you, but aren’t you afraid if Nancy and her friends help serve the food, they’ll do something, well, nasty to it?”
Headmistress Nightworthy nodded.
“A very good point, Miss Latimer. I am not concerned about magical interference since our kitchens are a magic-free zone, in order for the ovens and stoves to work, but it’s certainly possible to tamper with food in many non-magical ways.”