Master of the Game

The first step toward implementing Kate’s plan was to see that Eve got into the proper school. Kate chose Briarcrest, an excellent school in South Carolina. "Both my granddaughters are delightful," Kate informed Mrs. Chandler, the headmistress. "But you’ll find that Eve is the clever one. She’s an extraordinary girl, and I’m sure you’ll see to it that she has every advantage here."

"All our students have every advantage here, Mrs. Blackwell. You spoke of Eve. What about her sister?"

"Alexandra? A lovely girl." It was a pejorative. Kate stood up. "I shall be checking their progress regularly."

In some odd way, the headmistress felt the words were a warning.

Eve and Alexandra adored the new school, particularly Eve. She enjoyed the freedom of being away from home, of not having to account to her grandmother and Solange Dunas. The rules at Briarcrest were strict, but that did not bother Eve, for she was adept at getting around rules. The only thing that disturbed her was that Alexandra was there with her. When Eve first heard the news about Briarcrest, she begged, "May I go alone? Please, Gran?"

And Kate said, "No, darling. I think it’s better if Alexandra goes with you."

Eve concealed her resentment. "Whatever you say, Gran."

She was always very polite and affectionate around her grandmother. Eve knew where the power lay. Their father was a crazy man, locked up in an insane asylum. Their mother was dead. It was their grandmother who controlled the money. Eve knew they were rich. She had no idea how much money there was, but it was a lot – enough to buy all the beautiful things she wanted. Eve loved beautiful things. There was only one problem: Alexandra.

One of the twins’ favorite activities at Briarcrest School was the morning riding class. Most of the girls owned their own jumpers, and Kate had given each twin one for her twelfth birthday. Jerome Davis, the riding instructor, watched as his pupils went through their paces in the ring, jumping over a one-foot stile, then a two-foot stile and finally a four-foot stile. Davis was one of the best riding teachers in the country. Several of his former pupils had gone on to win gold medals, and he was adept at spotting a natural-born rider. The new girl, Eve Blackwell, was a natural. She did not have to think about what she was doing, how to hold the reins or post in the saddle. She and her horse were one, and as they sailed over the hurdles, Eve’s golden hair flying in the wind, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Nothing’s going to stop that one, Mr. Davis thought.

Tommy, the young groom, favored Alexandra. Mr. Davis watched Alexandra saddle up her horse, preparing for her turn. Alexandra and Eve wore different-colored ribbons on their sleeves so he could tell them apart. Eve was helping Alexandra saddle her horse while Tommy was busy with another student. Davis was summoned to the main building for a telephone call, and what happened after that was a matter of great confusion.

From what Jerome Davis was able to piece together later, Alexandra mounted her horse, circled the ring and started toward the first low jump. Her horse inexplicably began rearing and bucking, and threw Alexandra into a wall. She was knocked unconscious, and it was only by inches that the wild horse’s hooves missed her face. Tommy carried Alexandra to the infirmary, where the school doctor diagnosed a mild concussion.

"Nothing broken, nothing serious," he said. "By tomorrow morning, she’ll be right as rain, ready to get up on her horse again."

"But she could have been killed!" Eve screamed.

Eve refused to leave Alexandra’s side. Mrs. Chandler thought she had never seen such devotion in a sister. It was truly touching.

When Mr. Davis was finally able to corral Alexandra’s horse to unsaddle it, he found the saddle blanket stained with blood. He lifted it off and discovered a large piece of jagged metal from a beer can still protruding from the horse’s back, where it had been pressed down by the saddle. When he reported this to Mrs. Chandler, she started an immediate investigation. All the girls who had been in the vicinity of the stable were questioned.

"I’m sure," Mrs. Chandler said, "that whoever put that piece of metal there thought she was playing a harmless prank, but it could have led to very serious consequences. I want the name of the girl who did it."

When no one volunteered, Mrs. Chandler talked to them in her office, one by one. Each girl denied any knowledge of what had happened. When it was Eve’s turn to be questioned, she seemed oddly ill at ease.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this to your sister?" Mrs. Chandler asked.

Eve looked down at the rug. "I’d rather not say," she mumbled.

"Then you did see something?"

"Please, Mrs. Chandler…"

"Eve, Alexandra could have been seriously hurt. The girl who did this must be punished so that it does not happen again."

"It wasn’t one of the girls."

"What do you mean?"

"It was Tommy."

"The groom?"

"Yes, ma’am. I saw him. I thought he was just tightening the cinch. I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm. Alexandra orders him around a lot, and I guess he wanted to teach her a lesson. Oh, Mrs. Chandler, I wish you hadn’t made me tell you. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble." The poor child was on the verge of hysteria.

Mrs. Chandler walked around the desk and put her arm around her. "It’s all right, Eve. You did right to tell me. Now you just forget about everything. I’ll take care of it."

The following morning when the girls went out to the stables, there was a new groom.

A few months later, there was another unpleasant incident at the school. Several of the girls had been caught smoking marijuana and one of them accused Eve of supplying it and selling it. Eve angrily denied it. A search by Mrs. Chandler revealed marijuana hidden in Alexandra’s locker.