For a moment I wondered which pamphlet he meant. Then I remembered the pink pamphlet that Mr. Winter had shown me, written by Johnny Harrington; published and distributed by the Church of the Omega Rose, and latterly by Survivors.

“HOMOSEXUAL, HELLBOUND,” Allen-Jones read the title aloud. “Are you telling me your organization didn’t produce this? Because here’s the Survivors logo, right here, and—”

“That’s enough!” Dr. Blakely, inflated to capacity, almost exploded with outrage. I imagined him standing there, looking down at Allen-Jones (vaguely unkempt, with his shirt untucked, and the remnants of that Sexy Cerise glittering on his bitten nails). “Who do you think you are, eh, to tell me how I should run my school? Nothing but a little queer who thinks he can get attention by stirring up trouble and making threats. Well, you might get away with that elsewhere, but St. Oswald’s has a moral code. We don’t tolerate perversion. Do you understand?”

There came no reply from Allen-Jones.

“Now get out of my office,” said Dr. Blakely hoarsely.

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

For a moment there was silence. Then came Allen-Jones’s voice. “Did you get all that, Ben?”

“Perfectly,” said the girl Ben. She turned to Ms. Buckfast, who had followed the proceedings with her usual serenity, and said in a rather gruff voice: “I thought you should know, we recorded all this. I think the Malbry Examiner would be happy to get an early scoop, after which I’m thinking the News of the World, or maybe the Daily Mail. Or both.”

Ms. Buckfast gave a little smile. “I don’t think that will be necessary. Do you?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Ben. “It depends on how much support you’re prepared to give to me and Allen-Jones.” She shot me a sideways look. “Mr. Straitley’s been very supportive. In fact, you might say indispensable.” She faced Ms. Buckfast defiantly. “I heard he was under pressure to leave. That can’t be true, can it, miss? I mean, that would be scandalous.”

La Buckfast’s Madonna-like gaze did not falter for a moment. “Benedicta—”

“Ben,” said the girl.

“Ben. Of course,” said La Buckfast. “Mr. Straitley’s retirement remains his choice entirely. I certainly wouldn’t put pressure on him to leave. As one of the few remaining independent schools to still offer Classics to students, I think it would be very shortsighted of us to lose one of our unique selling points. And as for Allen-Jones, I feel sure that Mr. Straitley will manage to resolve any misunderstandings—with my full support, of course.”