as Theo replied, “Oh, it’s nothing, ma’am.” And she tucked her injured hand behind her back.

“It doesn’t look like nothing to me,” said Madam Scargill with a frown.

“I fell while Ian and I were out walking the cliffs, is all,” Theo said casually. “Really, it’s just a scratch.”

“Let me see it,” Madam Scargill demanded. Theo looked reluctant as she extended her hand. Madam Scargill tucked Ian’s silver box under her arm and unwrapped Theo’s hand. “That’s a nasty gash, young lady,” she said. “Did you put iodine on the wound?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Theo said.

“Well then,” Madam Scargill said, winding the bandage up, “I shall want to keep an eye on it for the next few days. We should soak it tonight in salt water to make sure an infection doesn’t set in.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Theo repeated with a small curtsy as she moved around Madam Scargill to hurry down the hallway.

Madam Scargill turned away as if to carry on about the business of hiding the box in her room, but Ian saw her pause again. “Miss Fields?” she called over her shoulder.

Theo stopped short and turned to Madam Scargill. “Ma’am?”

“Did Ian truly find this box out along the cliffs?”

“Yes, ma’am. Ian found the box.” Ian smiled at the way Theo ducked the question of where he’d found it. “Searle didn’t even know about it until Landis gave it to you,” she added. Behind the door Ian beamed Theo a smile of gratitude.

“Then what were the boys arguing about?” asked Madam Scargill.

“Searle threw a rock and it hit me on the head. Ian was just trying to protect me.”

Madam Scargill scowled. “Come here,” she said to Theo, who obediently walked back to her. “Where did the rock strike you?”

“Here,” Theo said, and pointed to the right side of her head.

Madam Scargill parted Theo’s hair and looked at her scalp. Another deep frown formed on her face. “You’ve got a good lump there,” she murmured. “Go downstairs and chip some ice off the ice block to put on that. I shall go have a chat with Searle about why he will not only go without dinner this evening, but breakfast tomorrow morning and why he will be doing all of your chores for a week. And I’ll make sure he apologizes to you as well for his abominable behavior—throwing rocks at a girl indeed!”

“So you’ll give the box back to Ian?” Theo said hopefully, but even as she asked it, Ian was shaking his head behind the door. He’d been under Madam Scargill’s care a little longer than Theo and knew what her answer—and her reasoning—would be.

“I’m afraid not,” Madam Scargill said with a sigh. “Searle will have to admit his lie first.”

“But you believe me that Ian found it, right, ma’am?” Theo insisted.

Madam Scargill opened the door to her room and paused in the doorway. “Yes, Theo, I believe you. But I gave the terms of returning this box to the rightful owner in front of all the other children out in the yard, and I must abide by that rule. Remember, without rules, all we have is anarchy.”

Ian mouthed Madam Scargill’s favorite saying. “And you know what happens when anarchy rules?” she asked.

“Chaos quickly follows,” Theo said obediently. She was also all too familiar with Madam Scargill’s favorite lecture on rules and their purpose in keeping the world free from chaos.

Ian sighed and very gently closed the door. He’d known all along that Madam Scargill would not give up the box so easily. He felt deeply that the headmistress had never taken much of a liking to him, but she’d always seemed to have a soft spot for Theo. And Theo had convinced her that the box wasn’t Searle’s. That was a small victory at least.

Ian went back to his bed and waited. Sure enough, a few minutes later the clomping in the hallway returned and passed by his room. He waited several more moments before taking off his shoes and tiptoeing to the door. Very carefully he pulled it open and peered out. No one was around.

Quickly he slipped into the corridor, his back pressed firmly against the wall. From downstairs he faintly heard the chime of the dinner bell, followed by the pounding of many feet as children raced inside for supper.

He crossed to the water closet and pulled the door closed, putting the Occupied sign out on the door handle. If anyone came upstairs and saw him standing there, they would think he was waiting his turn for the