"Miss G, I wanted to thank you for lending me the book." "Did you read it?" "Yes." " Did you get caught?" " No." "And anyway, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about." "I wasn't corrupted." "Good for you." "Let them put that in their pipes." ""I stole milk from breakfast and made butter in an old cocoa tin."" "But I'm going to share it with the team so it's only half a sin, really." "And I had lustful thoughts about the gardener's boy." "But he was only here for the summer and I never even spoke to him." "Actually, I've... had rather a lot of lustful thoughts." "Do I have to be sorry for all of them?" "1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." " Did you tell him?" " Yes." " Everything?" " Not everything." " Did you mention the book?" " And get Miss G into trouble?" "They don't understand art and culture." "It's stupid to ban books that tell you the truth about life." "I don't think it's wrong to want to know about the real world." "We can't stay pure forever." "Come on, Rosie." "I'm so hungry." "Excuse me." "Coming through." "Excuse me." "I said excuse me!" "Hello, team." "The new girl is arriving today." "Toast, fag." "Yes, Radfield?" "Where's my butter?" "On your toast." "Really?" "Where?" "Show me." "How generous of you!" "It's funny." "I go to all the trouble making butter for the team, and then I actually expect to have it on my toast." "Sorry, captain." "Do it again." "From edge to edge." "Or I'll have you on a fork over that fire." "I have to set the standards, or everything goes to hell." "Quick, she's coming." "We have a new girl coming all the way from Spain to join your team." "And I want you to welcome her on her arrival." "I know you are not always pleasant to new girls, but I want you to be particularly nice to this girl because she's travelling such a distance, from another country, another background." "She's also a Roman Catholic, but she will attend religious services with the rest of you." "I want you to be kind." "This girl is an aristocrat." "She is accustomed to the best." "Yes, Miss Nieven." " Do you all understand?" " Yes, Miss." "Bugger." "Roman Catholics are superstitious and ignorant." "That's why they have those ghastly pictures of Christ bleeding with nails in his hands and thorns on his head." "Catholic nuns bury their babies in the backs of convent gardens." "And then they're walled in, standing up." "Can't even sit down to die!" " When's she arriving?" " I don't know and don't want to know." "I hear the Spaniard is a gymnast." "I hardly see the relevance of cartwheels to what we do." "Miss G allowed it, so I don't want to hear another word about it." "She's coming." "It's freezing in here!" "What does Sunny Nieven do with your parents' money?" "It's not going on the heating, that's for sure." "Must be throwing it away on drink, girls?" "Fuzzy, why are you hanging like a sack of spuds?" "I lost my bounce, Miss G." "Laurel, give her some bounce." "That's it." "Feet together." "Arms straight, eyes forward." "You are sinew and muscle, cutting through air and water." "With grace, with form, with agility!" "Fuzzy, you can do better than that." "I had seconds of porridge and toast for breakfast and now I feel a bit queer." "Fuzzy." "Is that the most important thing in life?" "Porridge?" " No, Miss G." " Then what is?" " Think." " God, Miss G." " No." "Rosie?" " Being kind to all God's creatures?" "No, you're missing the point, dear." "Poppy?" " Death." " In life, Poppy!" " Di?" " Desire, Miss G." "Yes!" "Thank you, Radfield!" "The most important thing in life is desire." "You can achieve anything you want." "The world is yours for the taking." "Nothing is impossible for you, my girls." "All you need is to desire it." " Do you have desire?" " Yes, Miss G." "If you have desire, nothing can stand in your way." "Aim high!" "'"We shall have a moment of contemplation."" "I think we should hear" "Mr. Shelley's thoughts on excessive ambition." "Poppy?" ""I met a traveller from an antique land" ""who said: 2 vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert." ""Near them on the sand, half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies" ""whose frown and wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command" ""tell that its sculptor well those passions read" ""which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things," ""the hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed." ""And on the pedestal these words appear," ""'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings." ""'Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" "'" ""Nothing beside remains" ""round the decay of that colossal wreck" ""boundless and bare." ""The lone and level sands stretch far away."" "Welcome!" "It's a pleasure to have you with us, dear." "Did you have a good journey?" "Come along." "Come along, George." "Come along, dear." "I pray the Lord my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake... strong conception that I do groan withal." "Thou art to die." "Then Lord have mercy on me!" " I say, amen!" " And have..." "Look, new drip." "With staff." "See, she is a real princess!" "Can't stop looking at her." "She's so beautiful." "She's not beautiful." "She's funny looking." "Her face is all lopsided." "Her features are too big." "Poppy, you're prettier." " I'm Di Radfield." "I'm your captain." " Fiamma Coronna." "You may have 5 things on your nightstand." "Then I shall do my very best." "These are the rules." "5 things." "Listen." "It's the sound of the world ending." "During your brief stay with us, Your Highness, the rules are:" "you must do up the top button of your shirt when wearing your tie, and you must ask a teacher or a prefect if you wish to remove it." "You may wear mufti on Sundays after chapel and before high tea." "And you are allowed 5 personal objects on display." "The rules are for everyone." "No exceptions, no favourites, no pets." "What a cow!" "Mummy." "Mummy." "Mummy!" "Mummy!" "Do you want to wake the others?" "There's nothing wrong with you." "Go to sleep." "I thought I heard my mother calling my name." "I thought she'd come to get me." "Thought I was going home." "Whoever you are, you're late." " That's Fiamma." " The aristocrat." "Should I curtsey?" "Why are you late, Fiamma?" "It is not late." "It is not even 7." "We'll see if you were worth waiting for, then." "Radfield sets the standard!" "What went through your head as you did that?" " Nothing." "My mind went blank." " Exactly!" "This is why we train, girls." "The body learns, it memorises." "Your muscles know how to respond." "Then you release your body from your mind." "It's purely physical." "But there is poetry in such perfection." "Right." "Who wants to go next?" "Fuzzy." "What's the matter with you, Fuzzy?" "Thinking about the boys again?" "No, I'm thinking about my dive." "Don't think!" "Do!" "Fuzzy!" "Fiamma?" "It's too cold to dive." "Too cold to swim." "It's not too cold for my girls." " This is winter in Spain." " But this isn't Spain, is it?" "What are you afraid of?" "Not as good as you look, perhaps?" " Amazing!" " Well done, Fiamma." "It seems the bar has been raised, Radfield." "Come on, Fiamma." "Fiamma, we're your horses, so you have to feed us." " Tally-ho!" " Wait for me." "Apparently, Miss G has ended her affair with Mr. Du Toit." "He's one of the fathers." "She wasn't in love with him, it was purely physical." " They were driven by their lust." " Is that true?" "It's absolute tosh." "Lily, stop making a show of yourself." "And I saw Mr. Du Toit once." "He was very handsome." "Like a movie star." "He had big strong hands and blue eyes that promised wild adventures." "So really, it's entirely possible that he and Miss G could have given in to their desire." "I quite fancied him for myself." "Because older men know all about female sexual ecstasy." "Lily, I think one day you shall have a first in sex." "What's that?" "For my breathing." "It clears the passages." "It smells." "Like my grandmother's linen drawer." "Come on, Rosie." "You've got the black spot." "On your head." "Black spot." " Didn't you notice?" " So what?" "It means you're going to die." "I'd better go back to the school then." "She's obviously never read "Treasure Island"." "She has no idea what you're on about." "Poppy!" "Ooh-ah, it weren't me and you can't prove a thing." "Ooh-ah, mind my peg-leg." "And my parrot." "Spelling." "Spelling." "Fuzzy, grammar." " She reads our letters?" " Of course." "What did you think?" " Who's Pablo?" " A friend." " A boyfriend?" " A boy and a friend." " A prince?" " No." "Regrettably." " Is that why you were banished?" " I was not banished." " Like Romeo and Juliet?" " Do it again." " And don't sound so down in the dumps." " Yes, Miss." "Letters are greetings." "Use this opportunity to show your dear parents your fine penmanship and turn of phrase." "Don't harry them for tuck and pocket money." " Is that for me?" " No." "Are you sure?" "I think I can see my name." "No." "Shoo." "Go on, off with you." "Persephone Burls?" "Fuzzy, for you, I think." " Can't make head nor tail of the stamps." " They're Egyptian." "Fiamma Coronna." "You see?" "You haven't been forgotten." "That's all, I'm afraid, girls." "But I'm sure Fiamma won't mind sharing her treasures." ""Dear Persephone, hope you're well and studying hard." ""Daddy's taking up his post in Rhodesia a week earlier than expected..."" "Aren't you going to open it, then?" " Here?" " Come on, show us." "Let's see." "Look at this!" "Go on." "This is heaven." "Fiamma, tell me the story again." " I told you last night." " I like it." "Please." "Please." "There once was a king and his beloved daughter." "Together they explored distant lands." "One day, they encountered a sultan who offered the king an extraordinary gift in return for his daughter's hand." "A magical blue diamond." "But the king was greedy and took both, the diamond and the Princess back to his mighty castillo." "But the Sultan came looking for the Princess and begged her to fly away with him on a magical tapestry of silk." "And the Princess was so intoxicated that she flew away with him" "never to be seen again." "Can't sleep, Di?" "I was thinking of home." "Would be a shame to waste such a beautiful night." "Come on." "We're going swimming." "Wake the others." "Lily." " Laurel, wake up." " Wake up." "We're going swimming." "Don't be ridiculous." "It's the middle of the night." "It's a compulsory lesson." "You can't bunk." "Get up!" "What lesson?" "What are you talking about?" "What are you waiting for?" "Kingdom come?" "Lily!" "I'll splash you." " Got to swim faster than that." " You're mother!" " How do I play?" " Chase the mother fish." "Chase Di." "You're mother." " Who's mother now?" " You're mother." "Miss G learnt this game in India." "Really?" "I love India." "When were you there?" "A few years ago." "Miss G, tell Fiamma about how you rode on elephants with rajas!" "Di, we've all heard that story before." "I'd rather hear about Fiamma's adventures." "I haven't had adventures." "I just travelled with my father." "Miss G travelled alone." "Really?" "I was a bit of a scandal in my day." "I remember one captain who was quite loath to having an unaccompanied woman on board." "It caused such a stir, I was forced to disembark at the next port." "Where else have you been, Fiamma?" "Abyssinia, Somaliland, the Dodecanese." "And Paris." "Paris is filthy." "Do you care for Paris?" "I love to travel." "One day I shall have to resume my exploration of the world." "It's in our blood, isn't it?" "You're not like the other girls." "They're still waiting for their lives to begin." "But not you." "But you can go whenever you choose." "Why do you stay?" "I stay for my girls, of course." "When they leave, so shall I." "This is out of bounds, Miss Gribben." "I had no idea." "Nothing is locked." "It is an honour system." "We respect confidentiality here." "And I thought you would have known that." "Quite a scandal though, wasn't it?" "A countess stealing away with a peasant." "And a Marxist, to boot!" "Imagine the daring, the courage." "That is neither here nor there." "We have had to protect many girls from themselves over the years." "I just felt if I knew a little of her history, I could be of more help." "All our girls are to be treated equally, regardless of their past." "As you well know, Miss Gribben." "You have been with us a long time." "I'm sorry, Miss Nieven." "It was an error of judgement." "It won't happen again." "See that it doesn't." "The world is a perilous place." "It would be a shame for you to have to find that out firsthand." "So have you decided?" "Is it a centre-piece for a dinner party?" "Or a christening?" "Or a simple 'get well' arrangement for an ailing relative." "Or have you any ideas of your own?" "You can be creative." "The world falls at her feet because she's an aristocrat." "It's so unjust." "So unearned." "Fuzzy Burls, what have you done?" "Fuzzy never gets any help." "Did you hear?" "Your father called for you on the telephone." " My father?" " The prince himself." "Why wasn't I told?" "God knows where you were." "We looked everywhere for you." " In the end he had to speak to Lily." " What did he say?" "Well..." "I think he took quite a shine to Lily." "He's arranged to see her next week." "He's sending a carriage and champagne for her." "Your father's a randy bugger, Fiamma." "He's going to deflower our precious Lily." "You shouldn't be cruel." "Excuse me, Miss Cairns." "I was wondering if I might take advantage of the glorious sunshine and steal the girls away for a dive." "By all means." "Fiamma, dear?" "If you don't mind, Miss Cairns, I wish to stay." "Fiamma, the great British summertime rarely indulges us." "It is barely past lunch." "I will get a cramp and sink like a stone." "Suit yourself." "Girls." "Last dive, girls." "Show me something interpretive." ""Puttin' On The Ritz"" " Come on, be sexy, girls!" " Look, Miss G." " Well done, Fuzzy." " Elephant." "Poodle." "Chicken dance." "No textbooks today, girls." "Ta-da!" " Look at this!" " Look at this hat." "Now, a story about Africa, I think." "The last remains of the First Mate." "Mr. Riley I believe his name was." "He died in a mandrake swamp on the way to the Congo Français." "Poor Mr. Riley." "We were touring in a steamer, but he wanted to take a canoe and explore deeper into the lagoon." "A fascinating pursuit, but a pleasure to be indulged with caution, for you are certain to come across crocodiles." "Taken, he was, right out of the canoe." "It was a case of 'here one minute, gone the next'." "Foolish man." "Probably spent his last moments wondering why, having reached this point of folly... he need have gilded the lily by fooling around in mangrove swamps." "You must have heard me tell this one before." "I believe I must." "Nevertheless... we... we pushed on towards the Ogowe River... plagued by mandrake flies." "The stench of the swamp..." "Fairy tales." "Like all her stories." "Now not only are there crocodiles..." "Miss G has risked it all." "She's fearless and true and an example to everyone of us." "I think you'll find Mary Kingsley risked it all in 1897." "A bestseller, I think." "It was certainly translated into Spanish." "...to exit and begin its external life." "Come on, Laurel, you can do it." "Come on, Poppy!" "Fantastic, Laurel." "Well done, Laurel." "Where's your courage?" "Why?" "Why can't you give your all?" "Where is your poetry?" "Your passion?" "Why do I bother?" "Fiamma." "We're not finished." "Can we have another go, too?" "No." "Fiamma has another dive in her." "We shall all wait until she finds it." "Fiamma." "Where is she?" "Has she drowned?" "I'm not going to save her." "She'll pop up like a cork in a minute." "Fiamma has an intrepid spirit." "Real mettle in her soul." "Imagine possessing what she has." "How different to this dull, aching existence." "Only Fiamma is willing to risk it all." "To push herself beyond her boundaries." "You may go and get changed." "Circuits for the rest of you." "It's not fair." "That was top-notch today, Fiamma." "Don't feel bad for the others, you can't help being the best." "We have a great deal in common, you know." "We have experienced so much, you and I." "So much the same." "There's no reason why we shouldn't be the best of friends." "I don't understand why we were punished with circuits." "I did my best dive today, and Miss G didn't even notice." " I thought Laurel was very brave." " Thank you." " So why are we in trouble?" " Fiamma set the standard." "So?" "When you set the standard, we weren't made to suffer." " What are you doing?" " We're drawing from life." " Has anyone seen Fiamma?" " No." "Have you not seen her anywhere?" "She's been in a bate since this morning." " I thought it was more of a wuss." " No, definitely a bate." "Did you try the library or the rough patch?" "I've done that twice now." "Twice..." "We should help look for her, I suppose." "Come on." "We're on a mission for Miss G!" "But it's so hot." "Can't we just stay here?" "Fine." "I'll go on my own, then." "Look, over there!" "There you are." "Quite elusive today, aren't you?" "Why must you follow me?" "We didn't finish our conversation yesterday." "I've nothing to say to you." "I see." "You know, you really should make more of an effort to fit in." "I will not be here long enough to fit in." "My father will come and get me." "Of course, dear." "But, you see, Laurel came for a term." "So did Rosie." "Fuzzy thought she was going to be a day girl." "Only Di realised this is forever." "It is not forever." "They will leave you." "...and a loaf for Matron, please." "4 sugared rolls, 3 jam tarts and a loaf for Matron, please." "4 sugared rolls, 3 jam tarts... 4 sugared rolls, 3 jam tarts and a loaf for Matron." "4 sugared rolls, 3 jam tarts and a loaf for Matron, please." "Can I help you?" "4 sugared rolls, 3 jam tarts and a loaf for Matron, please." "Will that be all, Miss?" "Miss?" "And a... a quarter of lemon sherbets, please." "I hope this makes the homesickness go away." "Nothing worse than feeling all alone somewhere foreign." "I know that feeling." "And I know how important even a small kindness can be." "Fuzzy?" "I don't think that's a good idea, Burls." "You make too big a splash as it is." "It's not fair." "Please." "Help yourselves." "What good is that going to do, Rosie?" "I don't have any money." "Give us one of your shortbreads, then." "Rosie, this is deadly serious." "Do as you are told." "Good riddance!" "Come on." "Right, let's find Fiamma." "Get up!" "You're going home." "There's food, money and a map." "There's a ferry that leaves in an hour so you need to get a move on." "You do want to go home, don't you?" "Back to your villa and boyfriend and the diamonds and parties?" "Thank you." "I do." "Don't come back!" "I mean it, don't you ever come back!" "Bath night for Fuzzy, Laurel and Fiamma." " Where is Fiamma Coronna?" " I'll have her bath!" "No, you won't, Poppy." "Where is Fiamma?" "Don't know, Matron." "Hiding in the rose garden?" "Di Radfield, where is she?" "I have no idea, Matron." "She's a law unto herself." "We have not had an event like this in all my time." "Our reputation is at stake." "Our own good name." "I blame myself." "I have been too lenient." "In many ways the diving team has been a great success." "I do not wish to diminish your great achievements with these girls when I say that they lack a sense of proportion." "Fiamma must learn that she is no more special than any other child." "I'll use a firmer hand." "Good." "Now we must pray this child returns to us unharmed." " Try it again, please." " "Very well."" ""There's still no answer." "May I suggest you try later?"" "I have to speak to him." "He has to come and get me." ""Please try again later."" " Last crossing, Miss." " No, thank you." "I don't care for open water." "Come." "Miss G?" "We were all wondering if there was any news." "News?" "No." "Perhaps she's returned to Spain." "How foolish if she has." "No one is missing her there." "Why are you cross?" "I thought the team would be better off without her." "Well, you thought wrong!" "And when I want your opinion, I'll ask for it." "I don't think we need to pursue this matter." "She must've been out in the cold for hours." "We found her by the side of the road." "She was in such a state, poor girl." "She's back!" "They caught her dodging a bus fare on the mainland." "Girls!" "Lights out!" "I'm really glad you came back." "Fiamma!" "Come on, Fiamma!" "Amazing!" "Go on, Fuzzy." "Girls, we are... angels, eagles." "To dive is to fly." "Set yourself free of the shackles of conformity." "Let nothing hold you back except the air itself." "You are between heaven and earth." "The rules no longer apply." "I'm bored of practice." "When do we compete?" "We can have a little competition now if you like." "No, I want to compete against another team." "Radfield, pick a team." "Lily." "Fiamma, you can be captain of team B. Your turn to choose." "Pick me!" "Real competitions." "Against other schools." "With prizes and trophies." "You do have trophies?" " Miss G?" " We're training to compete." "How many meets have you attended with this team?" "None." "None?" "We have never competed." "You've never been ready." " But I feel ready." " I feel ready, too." "What's the point if we don't compete?" "I won't tolerate a mutiny." "Since Fiamma seems to know what's best for you, let her take the reins!" "You shouldn't be so bloody superior all the time." "You're making her miserable, you know." "And ruining the team." "If we're to be lumbered with you, you have to learn the happiness of the team is more important than your own." "I have no interest in being part of your team." "I'm not even meant to be here." "Well, you're here now!" "So you had better make the best of it and stop being so bloody selfish." "I'm not selfish." "I just want to go home." "Don't you think we all want to go home?" "You can keep it if you like." "Thank you." "Maybe if I were kinder to Miss G, she would be kinder to you." "Maybe." "I will try." "No problems." "Dreg in a midge wig." "I'm bored." "What should we do?" "We could play hide and seek?" "Piggy in the middle?" "Red Rover?" "We should do something fun for a change." "Like a midnight feast." "Fiamma, do you have a suggestion for us?" "The feast of St. Agnes." "On St. Agnes Eve, if a woman performs certain divinations, she will see a vision of her future husband and he will eat and drink with her." " Divinations are ungodly." " Rosie, it's Keats." "Brilliant!" "Some of us can be Madeline and some Porphyro." "We can dress up and have a beadsman and a baledown." " Someone can hobble around." " I'll be Porphyro with his steed." "I'll be Madeline and pray for a dream lover in the moonlight." "Then it's decided." "Everyone must bring food." "And we shall need flowers for our hair." "We're going to have so much fun." "You'll see." "Then, of course, the 5th form was just lovely, lashings and lashings of cut flowers." " Have I missed it?" " Come on, it's starting." "Those are good." "Will you help with the Madelines?" "Somebody do my hair." "Everyone looks so marvellous." "It's like that." "Bless you." " How do I look?" " Exquisite." "Di, come over here." "Even more tinned peaches!" "Laurel, can I have one of your toffees, please?" "I could not get to sleep." "I just couldn't sleep." "Rosie!" "Fiamma, you've kissed a boy, haven't you?" "I have." "Tell me how to do it." "In detail." "It can't be taught." "You must practise on the back of your hand." "Or on the gardener's boy!" "Such amateurs." "Listen, it's all very well to moon after a pash, but there comes a time when you have to grow up and find a proper man and get your knickers off!" "Because you know all about that, don't you, Lily?" "Fuzzy!" "It's quite a noise, isn't it?" "It's a midnight feast." "But food is not permitted in dormitories." "They asked me for permission and I allowed it." "It is not for you to grant such permission." "Go to bed, old woman." "Miss Nieven will hear of this." "I feel so funny." " Come on, Fiamma, help us out." " Someone's coming." " Drag her to the bed, quick." " Shut up, it's not funny." "Sorry, Miss G. We didn't know she'd had so much to drink." "See that this room is put back together." "And clean yourselves up." "You look a fright." "I shall hide her until she's sober." "It will do none of us any good if she's discovered in this state." " Sorry, Miss G." " Thank you, Miss G." "Thank you." "Sorry." "I would do anything for you." "You do know that, don't you?" "We're going to be great friends, you and I." "And share simply everything." "We'll see the world together." "We..." "We will ride with bandits in South America with rough diamonds hidden in our saddles." "There are islands, you know, where there are undiscovered tribes, places no one has explored." "We'll climb the canopies of Amazonas and talk of the life we've lived." "Anything is possible, you know." "But you have to learn... to share." "You can't make friends beg." "Don't make me beg." " Fuzzy?" " I'm waiting for Fiamma." "I can smell your sick." "Sorry." "If you need to heave, do it where I can't see it or smell it." "What do you think they're talking about?" " Maybe something they did last night." " What do you mean?" "Fiamma's not a virgin, you know." "She's quite the little whore." "She seduced that beastly foreigner and now she's seduced our Miss G." " You're upsetting the others." " I don't care." "Let them be upset." "Let them see that I hate you." "I want them to know what you really are." "Is everything all right, Miss G?" "Has something happened?" "I was thinking of resuming my travels." "In the holidays?" "And beyond." "Miss G!" "There are parts of Asia I would like to see." "The silk route of Xi'an, the highlands of Tibet." "You won't leave us." "I have to leave." "Fiamma wants to make it impossible for me to stay." "But what can she do?" "She intends to spread hateful lies about me." "She will destroy my reputation." "Do you understand?" "I am eyeless in Gaza, betrayed to the Philistines." "Come on." " Fiamma, get out!" " Go away." "Di!" "You're being too rough!" "Miss G is leaving us, and it's all Fiamma's fault!" "We are abandoned." "What happened with Miss G last night?" "You have to tell us the truth." "Were you playing St. Agnes Eve with Miss G last night?" "You have to answer." "I don't feel well." "Not so fast Princess Fiamma." "You have to tell us what happened last night." "What do you think happened?" "Did you do it with Miss G?" "Did you do it for real?" "You're not a virgin, are you?" "You said you would be kind." "Not disgusting." "You know what's happened." "Look at what she has done to me!" "Why can't you see it?" " Liar!" " No!" "We have to tell someone what she has done to me." "No." " Take it back." " No!" "That's not how you play." "After her!" "Where did she go?" "I can see her." "Follow me!" "We're coming to get you!" "Where are you?" "I can see her!" "You disgusting, horrible girl." "Filthy girl!" "We're going to teach you a lesson." "You cow!" " Leave me alone." " Poppy, Di, stop, please!" "I can't breathe!" "Di, she's had enough." "Please, please stop it." "Di." "Di, what's wrong with her?" "What's wrong with her?" "Di, why does she sound like that?" "Go and get help." "Find Miss G, find anybody!" "Thank God I found it." "I'll take it from here, Radfield." "Go and find Miss Nieven at once." "Everything is going to be all right." "I'm here now." "Please, please." "Please." "Please." "My beautiful child." "My beautiful girl." "I suppose you were not really meant for this world." "Go to sleep now." "Go to sleep." "We didn't mean it." "We were just playing." "What's going to happen, Di?" "Let's go and talk to Miss G. Maybe she'll know what to do." "We can tell her we just wanted to give her a scare." "Whatever we say, we did this." "We're to blame." "Please... stop." "I have to tell you something." "What can I do for you?" "I thought she was special." "Your favourite." "Yes." "It's a tragedy." "But we shall move on." "And we shall be as we once were, a team." "You don't deserve us." "Is this a protest?" "You could have saved her." "You need a scapegoat." "So, of course, it has to be me." "You forget your part in this." "Do you think you will be forgiven for what you've done?" "We don't ask for forgiveness." "Nothing will come of you now!" "Your lights are extinguished!" "I appreciate your coming to see me, Miss Radfield." "We all feel we are in some way to blame." "But you must accept that this was an act of God, and not allow rumour and hysteria to tarnish this school's reputation." "Miss Gribben will, however, be taking a leave of absence to deal with this tragedy." "Beyond that, I consider this matter closed." "Dear team." "Please don't be cross with me for leaving you in the lurch." "There is no place here for me now." "And I feel with great certainty that I must chance to make a discovery of my own." "I'm not sure I will come across elephants or crocodiles immediately, but I shall write and tell you the minute I do." "You must look after each other now and do your best to be fearless and true." "Carry these notions forth into the world, because without you they will simply disappear." "Don't fret." "I will write soon and..." "PS:" "I promise to replace the shortbreads." "Love, Di."