Chapter 5: Power Plays

Once they closed the door behind her, the headmistress turned to Linda. "Now, before there are any more unfortunate incidents, I believe we should adjourn to my office." She held up her hand. "I will show you the way."

Taking Linda firmly by the arm, she bustled down a short corridor to a room at the corner of the building. Releasing her, she unlocked and opened the door. She gestured her through the door, then followed her and locked the door behind them. "Have a seat. I think it would be best to have a bit of privacy for this discussion."

As she moved to the windows and drew the curtains, Linda noticed her eyes in the glass. Clearly, she was covertly watching Linda as she sat. She steadied herself on the edge of the desk, and lowered herself into one of the available chairs. She noticed that the chairs were low enough to keep her a bit off balance. She also noticed that Miss James' chair was slightly elevated, to allow her to look down on most visitors.

As she moved to stand behind her desk, she began. "The time has come for a frank discussion of your situation. Wouldn't you agree?"

"In that case, the chair trick is a little old fashioned, don't you think?" Linda shifted easily from her uncomfortable, off-balance posture in the chair. She leaned back slightly, and stretched her legs out in an almost indolent show of relaxation. In the symbolic battle of status, her move was risky but effective.

"Posture, girl. I know you were raised better than that, despite your recent history of disrespect for authority."

"Oh, I'm sorry," with a clear lack of remorse. "I thought we were here to be frank, not to play pointless games." One side of her mouth quirked upward in an almost-smile. "You have some things you want to say to me. Why don't you just sit down and say them?"

"I am still headmistress of this institution, and you will address me with due respect." She glowered down at the girl.

"You are in danger of losing that title and finding yourself in another role at a related institution. How long do you intend to try fencing for advantage before you get to the point?"

"This is the kind of disrespectful misbehaviour that brought you here. Do you understand that?" Her voice deepened slightly, and became more resonant. "And do you understand that you will remain here, under my authority, until I say otherwise? And that, should I choose to expel you, you will find yourself again before the judge and in all probability be remanded to a much more disagreeable institution?"

"Oh, I would doubt that." she replied casually. "There are some things the judge takes much more seriously than my petty misdeeds. Especially after the events of the last year or so." The woman did not respond visibly to the last part, so she pressed on. "Rape, for one. Abuse under colour of authority is also high on his list." She reacted to that, but only to the apparent reference to the day's events and the inferred threat. From the reactions chasing each other briefly across her face, Linda suspected she was taping the discussion.

Miss James' next gambit seemed to confirm it. "I thought it would come to that. Next, I suppose, you will be telling me your demands. Alright, what would it take to ensure your cooperation in keeping this scandal from damaging this school?" She sank to her chair, in a feigned show of defeat.

"You do realize that even asking that question is probably a felony, don't you?" Linda countered. Before the headmistress could respond, she pressed on. "I have to wonder just how serious you are about this. You act like you are not aware of half the trouble you are facing. For instance, what do you think those ambulance people do when they are not on duty?"

With a puzzled look, "I would not venture to guess. But you somehow know? And their hobbies are germane to this discussion how?"

"The ambulanceman was wearing some discreet but expensive jewellery, and his shoes were custom made. You don't get that kind of money manning an ambulance. He is almost certainly an independent source for one or more publications. Probably the tabloids. I can see the headlines now: 'Exclusive School Hunting Preserve for Sexual Predators!' Hardly the sort of thing your supporters will want to be associated with."

Her face paled a little. "And the other, the woman?"

"From what she said, and how she said it, she probably spends at least twenty hours a week as an advocate or counsellor for rape victims. Maybe beaten women as well." Actually, Linda knew this to be the case. "For you, she is the dangerous one. You might be able to buy off the man, with money or access to other profitable stories. But she is an idealist, with a solid history of acting on those ideals. If anything were to happen to me, she would be the one leading the charge on your gates. There is only one way you could possibly buy her off, and I seriously doubt you would be willing to pay the price."

"And just what would that price be?"

"You would have to fire the rapist, and proclaim that she was acting on her own authority."

"She has a name, girl."

"Not to me. She lost that when she attacked me. You would have to actively aid in her prosecution, and renounce any use of forced nudity or other humiliation by the teachers and staff of the school. Would you really be willing to throw her to the lions like that, just to save yourself and your school?"

"To save the school? Absolutely."

"And would you do the same to Matron?"

"Matron? Why?"

"She made the mistake of showing her hostility and abusiveness in front of the ambulance crew. In the eyes of a rape advocate, ordering a rape victim not to report the crime is almost as bad as the rape itself. And she would always wonder how many other rapes and abuses Matron had acted to cover up. Of course, you could handle it a little more gently, announcing her resignation or retirement and then distancing yourself and the school from her. So, would you be willing to throw Matron to the lions as well?"

"If I thought it was necessary to do so to save the school, yes. I would. Now let me ask you something: even if the story were to get out, what makes you think anyone would take it seriously?"

"The ambulance crew already do. And when her hands are examined, they will find traces of my skin, my very tender skin," She shifted a bit in the chair, "and my blood under some of her nails. And probably some threads from my panties. But as a practical matter, they wouldn't have to. Just a hint of it would be a complete disaster for one of your more prominent supporters. Well, formerly prominent. And that, in turn, would be very bad for your other supporters and the school."

"What on Earth are you talking about, child?"

"I'm sure you know who I mean. Are you trying to tell me that you don't know why he suddenly left that conference and announced his immediate retirement from public life? And why he then ceased his overt support for this school?"

"Yes, I am saying that I do not know those reasons. And I suppose you do?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. He was a serial rapist, who drove at least one of his victims to suicide. He kept souvenirs of his victims. Those souvenirs were found while he was at that conference, and the forensics people tied them to several unsolved rapes. It was not necessarily enough to convict him in court, but the trial would have ruined him and the politically powerful people he associated with. They used their influence to keep it out of the courts, with several conditions. He resigned, and renounced public life. His victims, or their families, were compensated. He is undergoing intensive psychotherapy. And he must avoid any possibility of any related scandal. There are those who would literally kill him to avoid that last bit."

"And you know all this how?"

"One of his attacks was seen. A group of people were hiding in the alley he chose. I was one of them. I was the only one who recognized him, in fact."

"Did you report it?"

"Yes, but very quietly. I knew he had the money and power to buy his way out of it, and to possibly destroy my parents if he chose. The policemen I spoke with agreed that the case would have been weak at best, and helped me hide my involvement." She didn't feel the need to mention that one of them was the brother of one of her friends. "I didn't even tell my parents. When he fell, the police quietly let me know some of the details. When his associates learned of my role, and my discretion, my parents got certain advantageous business opportunities without knowing why. All I got was a little peace of mind. Very little."

The silence seem to stretch for a lifetime. Finally, "Very well. The situation is more serious than I had imagined, and you have it within your power to cause this school serious harm. What do you want?"

"For starters, some honest answers. It is perfectly clear that you deliberately engineered my humiliating experiences in the changing room and Matron's office, including that Victorian era physical exam..." Miss James gathered herself, as though she was going to object. Linda cut her off. "Please don't try to insult my intelligence. The only reason any girl would fall for that little pantomime of yours would be that she was already off balance from her trip here and was not thinking clearly. Nobody with a brain in her head would doubt that you knew my anticipated arrival time before I even left the court. Nor would anyone of your position and experience fail to know that class schedule, or to have the necessary clothes ready. And the attack rang false as well. My underclothes were quite ordinary and modest by current standards. But to hear her talk, you would have thought I was wearing a thong and a black lace peekaboo bra. And the whole scene didn't surprise any of the other girls. No, you had to have deliberately engineered the whole thing."

"And why would I do that?"

"And here I thought you were going to be honest. How disappointing. Clearly, you did so as a demonstration of the power of the teachers, as well as a way to further disorient, humiliate, and demoralize your newest victim. Pardon me, student. And it probably works, most of the time. But my first question, and you would do well to answer it honestly, is this: Was the rape attempt part of the plan, or was she adding to the script?"