Half the school had shown up to the auditions for the play, even though only the sixth formers - and those taking English - were eligible to take part. The hall was packed out and the atmosphere was intense.

Sister Rosalind was bewildered by the interest. "I can’t think what the sudden interest is for. We usually do Shakespeare. Perhaps that’s put girls off in the past?"

Gabriel had a fair idea why so many had turned out. It certainly wasn’t due to a preference for American playwrights over English ones. He kept his expression guarded and avoided catching any one girl’s eye. The last thing he wanted was to be accused of favouritism.

He suspected the casting would create a lot of conflict among them. He just wanted it over with, so they could start rehearsals. The idea of producing a play was already starting to intrigue him. He had been involved with a student theatre group in his university days, though he had long since given it up in favour of his religious pursuits.

"If the rest of you are here to watch, you can sit quietly in the seats at the back," he ordered them. "Those sixth formers wishing to audition should be in the front two rows."

Mai and Figgy, who had come along only to give Leonie moral support, tried to head for the back of the room but Leonie stopped them. "It will be so much cooler if you guys get parts too."

Figgy looked nervous. "I really can’t act. Speaking on stage absolutely terrifies me."

"They may need help backstage though. Please. It will be so much more fun if you’re involved."

Figgy reluctantly agreed, and Mai said she would have a go as well.

Sister Rosalind and Gabriel had chosen a short scene from the first act to use for the audition. The girls were put in groups and each group read the same section.

It was a big mix. Some stumbled over the lines, others were monotonous. There were a few natural actors, and then there were Suki and Leonie.

Suki’s group went first, with Suki naturally choosing to read Abigail. Watching her, Leonie felt a stab of doubt. Suki was very good. She managed to put a sultry malice in the lines, playing Abigail as a devious, slippery character.

Finally it was Leonie’s turn. She stepped on stage and the world slipped away. Even with Figgy reading Samuel Parris in a nervous whisper and Mai managing to perform the Reverend Hale as a clear pastiche of Mother Benedict, Leonie was thrown back three hundred years. She didn’t even have to consciously try to act, she simply was Abigail.

Leonie-Abigail was imploring them to believe that she had never sold herself. That she was a good girl and a proper girl. Her appearance on the surface was of earnest entreaty. But below this facade lurked the sly gleam of the lie. She was bewitching and chilling and Gabriel caught his breath watching her.

He looked down at his script, not wanting to show any bias to Sister Rosalind. He saw the nun’s eyebrows raised but didn’t want to jinx things. After all, why should he care which girl played which part? But he did care. He wanted to see the American girl reading Miller’s lines on stage.

"Thank you everyone. Father Gabriel and I will be discussing the cast, and a list will be posted up tomorrow morning. Just remember, those of you who don’t obtain speaking parts will still be very much in demand for all the other roles involved in a production. I hope we can all have a very happy time of it." Sister Rosalind dismissed them, and went on her way.

As she was walking out, Leonie couldn’t resist casting a glance at Father Gabriel. He looked back at her and she felt a connection between them. When he quickly looked away she was even more sure of it.

Please let me get this role, she thought. It meant so much to her. It was her chance to prove whether she could perform well enough to choose acting as a career.

Leonie knew how hard it was to succeed, even if you had some talent. The competition was insane: there were hundreds of professional actresses for every role. Thousands, even. You couldn’t just be good, you had to be exceptional. And she knew that she had a long way to go.

That night, Leonie dreamt of Father Gabriel. She was standing in the dock of a courtroom and he was presiding over her trial, wearing his priest robes.

He looked stern and forbidding. "You know you are guilty," he was saying, and his blue eyes bored into her very soul.

In her dream, Leonie was pleading with him, but whether for her innocence or for his mercy she wasn’t sure.

"Prove it then. Now!" he commanded her.

Then they were in some back room of the court, just the two of them. It was all panelled entirely with wood. There were no windows nor door.

"Prove it," Father Gabriel was saying. His voice was close by her ear. She was pressed against the wall and his body was up against hers. "Prove it to me."

I don’t know how to prove it, Leonie was thinking. How can I prove it?

He could read her thoughts. "Like this?" he said, one hand reaching up her skirt. Pressing against her in an intimate place, his fingers swirling around.

"No, I didn’t do it!" she was crying out.

His other hand was on her breast. His breath was hot on her neck, and she could feel the hardness of his lean muscular body against hers. Her body was throbbing, wanting him closer, wanting his force and his command.

His fingers curled around her breast, teasing it and crushing it. "I know you did it, Leonie. I know. Prove it to me. Prove it."

His lips were closer, closer, nearly touching hers. She ached for him…

Suddenly the light went on and Leonie woke up, startled, to see Mai sitting up in her bed looking over at her.

Mai was frowning. "Are you okay? You’ve been thrashing around and shouting in your sleep."

Leonie was mortified. Her confused dreams were still rushing through her head. Had she said anything out loud?

"You kept crying 'I didn’t do it! I didn’t do it!' Have you murdered someone?" Mai asked.

The question was enough to make Leonie laugh and break away from the dream images. "Hell no. I was dreaming about The Crucible. I think it kind of got to me."

"Maybe the spirit of Abigail is possessing you. We should get Father Hot to perform an exorcism. Anyway, so long as you’re okay. Sweet dreams." Mai turned the light off again and settled herself back down. Neither of the others had woken.

Leonie snuggled back down herself. Had the dream continued, she suspected Father Gabriel would have been performing far more than an exorcism on her.

The next morning the cast list went up. Leonie felt so sick with nerves that she couldn’t even eat breakfast.

There was already a crowd gathered when she reached the noticeboard. Her heart sank to see Suki Laverne turning away, her head held high, a look of triumph glinting in her eyes as she cast a sneering glance at Leonie.

The sun went out of the sky and the day turned grey. Leonie felt leaden.

Miserable, she went to view the list to see if she had at least been given something. She waited until the rest of the crowd had dispersed and she was the last one there.

She scanned the names, starting from the top.

There - right there - at the very top…

Abigail Williams - Leonie Wilson.

What?

What the hell had Suki’s expression been for? Leonie guessed that she must have misinterpreted it. Or Suki was pretending not to care and putting on a show of defiance.

Leonie looked further down the list. Suki had been given the role of Elizabeth Proctor, which was still a pretty major part. Mai had been cast as Susanna Walcott and Figgy hadn’t made the list. She would be relieved rather than disappointed by that, Leonie thought.

But she, Leonie, was going to be Abigail. She did a little mental fist bump then turned to see Father Gabriel passing by. Thank God she hadn’t fist bumped for real.

He paused when he saw her. "You’ve seen the list, then?"

"I can’t thank you enough. You and Sister Rosalind," she added quickly.

Gabriel smiled. He smiled so rarely that it did something weird to Leonie’s stomach. "You have nothing to thank us for. You won the role by giving the best audition. I hope you’ll do us all proud."

"I will. I’ll try to."

They stood there for several seconds, unable to stop looking at one another. Leonie felt transfixed. It had gone past the point of an acceptable pause.

Gabriel managed to get a grip of himself. "I’ll see you in class."