A Change of Fortune by Sandra Heath

Author:Sandra Heath [Heath, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1985-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Two days passed and there was no word at all from Guy; things were left just as they were. Stella was very quiet and withdrawn, never once mentioning what had happened at Grillion’s. Leonie was very sad to see her brought so low after being so very happy, but there was nothing that could be done. Too many things had been said that night; now they simply had to wait and see what happened.

On the Friday, Imogen and Nadia came to the seminary, demanding to speak in private with a rather uneasy Miss Hart, who guessed what they had come about. She was right, for they immediately demanded Leonie’s dismissal, and the headmistress was forced into the unenviable position of having to refuse them. She was all of a fluster, explaining that to grant their demand would be to risk Dorothea’s displeasure, and that was something she simply could not contemplate, not even for ladies as exalted as themselves. She was willing enough to see Leonie go, but only if Dorothea gave her permission. They left in a fury, and Miss Hart took refuge on her golden sofa, calling for a glass of something strong to steady her ragged nerves.

Leonie watched the carriage drive away, and she wondered what had happened. She’d seen their determined faces on arrival, and then she’d seen their absolute fury on leaving, but what their purpose had been, she could not guess.

* * *

In the carriage, their frustration was immense, for Miss Hart’s refusal to comply was a stumbling block neither of them had foreseen. Imogen’s anger was doubled because as yet Guy had not mentioned the visit to the theater. He had had ample opportunity, but he had not said a word about it. His silence made her uneasy, and for some reason she found herself unable to bring up the subject herself. She had been banking on Leonie being dismissed from the seminary without further ado, but now that was not to be, not until Dorothea intervened, and Dorothea was still out of town with her lover and no one knew exactly when she would return. Nadia had hinted that it might not be for another two weeks yet, and that was a length of time which it alarmed Imogen to consider.

That night was very cold indeed, bringing the thaw to an abrupt halt. London awoke the next morning to find itself once again in the iron grip of frost. The melting, broken ice which had been flowing slowly down the Thames now became choked by the ancient piers of London Bridge, freezing together to form a solid, uneven expanse which stretched upstream as far as Blackfriars Bridge. Before the end of the morning, people were seen on the ice, at first just testing it and then walking right across from shore to shore. By nightfall the first booths had appeared. The frost fair was beginning.

It was snowing on the Sunday morning when the entire seminary set off for church. Miss Hart

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