The Smugglers' Secret (A Girl Called Justice 2)

The dark shape of Highbury House was getting closer and closer. Justice told herself that she knew the place now – its turrets and spooky ramparts no longer had the power to scare her. But the school was a daunting sight in the twilight, looming up out of the flat marshland, birds – or possibly bats – circling the four towers. There was still snow on the ground here – although, in London, the streets had been clear for weeks. Justice was glad that she had Dad beside her, humming a little tune, his hands relaxed on the steering wheel. It was far better than her first journey to the boarding school, when she’d been alone in a taxi driven by the sinister Nye.

‘How are you feeling?’ asked Dad, as if he understood. 

‘All right,’ said Justice. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing Stella and Dorothy again.’

‘Stella’s a nice girl,’ said Dad. She had visited their house in the Christmas holidays.

‘She is,’ said Justice. ‘She’s sometimes a bit reluctant to break school rules though.’

Dad’s mouth twitched. ‘Try not to break too many rules this term, Justice.’