Sophie Cleverly - The Dance in the Dark

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2016

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,

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Scarlet and Ivy: The Dance in the Dark

Text copyright © Sophie Cleverly 2016

Illustrations copyright © Manuel Šumberac

Jacket illustrations © Katie Forrester 2016;

Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2016

Sophie Cleverly asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007589227

Ebook Edition © 2016 ISBN: 9780007589234

Version: 2016-04-27

“This is one of the best books I have ever read. It was exciting, funny, warm and mysterious.” Lily, aged 9

“The whole book was brilliant … after the first paragraph it was as though Ivy was my best friend.” Ciara, aged 10

“This book is full of excitement and adventure – a masterpiece!” Jennifer, aged 9

“This is a page-turning mystery adventure with puzzles that keep you guessing.” Felicity, aged 11

“A brilliant and exciting book.” Evie, aged 8

“The story shone with excitement, secrets and bonds of friendship … If I had to mark this book out of 10, I would give it 11!” Sidney, aged 11

For all my Superheroes. The show must go on …

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Dedication

Chapter One: Ivy

Chapter Two: Scarlet

Chapter Three: Ivy

Chapter Four: Scarlet

Chapter Five: Ivy

Chapter Six: Scarlet

Chapter Seven: Ivy

Chapter Eight: Scarlet

Chapter Nine: Ivy

Chapter Ten: Scarlet

Chapter Eleven: Ivy

Chapter Twelve: Scarlet

Chapter Thirteen: Ivy

Chapter Fourteen: Scarlet

Chapter Fifteen: Ivy

Chapter Sixteen: Scarlet

Chapter Seventeen: Ivy

Chapter Eighteen: Scarlet

Chapter Nineteen: Ivy

Chapter Twenty: Scarlet

Chapter Twenty-one: Ivy

Chapter Twenty-two: Scarlet

Chapter Twenty-three: Ivy

Chapter Twenty-four: Scarlet

Chapter Twenty-five: Ivy

Chapter Twenty-six: Scarlet

Chapter Twenty-seven: Ivy

Chapter Twenty-eight: Scarlet

Chapter Twenty-nine: Ivy

Chapter Thirty: Scarlet

Chapter Thirty-one: Ivy

Chapter Thirty-two: Scarlet

Chapter Thirty-three: Ivy

Chapter Thirty-four: Scarlet

Chapter Thirty-five: Ivy

Chapter Thirty-six: Scarlet

Chapter Thirty-seven: Ivy

Chapter Thirty-eight: Scarlet

Chapter Thirty-nine: Ivy

Chapter Forty: Scarlet

Chapter Forty-one: Ivy

Chapter Forty-two: Scarlet

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Also by Sophie Cleverly

About the Publisher

As new beginnings go, it was a good one.

The sun was making its first attempt at shining after the long dark winter. I had my twin by my side – Scarlet was lounging on the grass, pretending it was warmer than it really was. Tall trees towered over us, their fresh buds stretching towards the sky.

And, well, we were back at Rookwood School. That part wasn’t so good, but things were better than they were last term. Mrs Knight, the interim headmistress, welcomed us in the foyer with a big smile on her face. The school hadn’t had much luck with headmistresses and headmasters of late – Miss Fox was still on the run after being accused of embezzling money, not to mention hiding my sister in an asylum and pretending she was dead. And Mr Bartholomew had been no better. The cruel headmaster had finally been locked up for his involvement in the death of a pupil decades ago. Now the school was headless, so to speak, and Mrs Knight was left in charge.

We’d had our first day of lessons of the spring term, and there hadn’t been a caning in sight. All the teachers seemed happier. Even Violet seemed happier, and that was a feat in itself.

“Everything’s rather good, isn’t it?” I said to my twin with a happy sigh. I was a little chilly in my thin uniform, and the grass was damp, but the view down the long driveway of the school was beautiful now that everything was turning green again.

Scarlet looked up at me, unimpressed. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

I wasn’t, but I was trying my hardest to be airy and cheerful. Of course, Scarlet had to bring me right back down to earth with a bang. Ariadne . Our best friend had been expelled before Christmas, after she was blamed for the fire that Mr Bartholomew had set to cover his tracks. Even after her name was cleared, her parents didn’t want her coming back to Rookwood.

It felt like there was an Ariadne-shaped hole beside us. Several times that day I’d gone to tell her something, or expected her to pipe up with a jolly comment, only to be met with silence.

“I’m sure she’s happy at home,” I said weakly.

Scarlet sat up, grass stuck all down the back of her dress. “Oh, come on,” she said, giving me a gentle shove. “Cheer up, Ivy, things are better. Let’s make a list.” She pulled out her pen and a tatty notebook, the one she’d been using in place of her old diary. “One: no headteachers are going to try to murder us. Two: no more nasty punishments. Three: everyone’s getting on. Penny has even stopped hating Violet.”

Penny Winchester and Violet Adams were former archenemies of Scarlet, and they’d had their own massive falling-out last term. It was true that they had finally made up, although that mostly involved not speaking to each other. “I’m not sure whether that should be on the list of good things,” I said. “Do we really want them teaming up again?”

My twin chewed the end of her pen thoughtfully. “Good point. All right, scratch that one. Now we need a new number three.”

“Well,” I said, “Christmas was nice.”

We’d been allowed to spend Christmas with our Aunt Phoebe, Father’s scatterbrained sister, after she’d found the courage to stand up to our meddling stepmother. I’d lived with our aunt for years before I came to Rookwood, when Scarlet was away at the school. Although I didn’t like to admit it, she’d always seemed to prefer the company of my twin, which was rather strange given how opposite they were.

“Three: Christmas,” Scarlet said aloud as she jotted it down. As an afterthought, she added, “excellent plum pudding.”