Lady Anne and the Haunted Schoolgirl by Victoria Hamilton

Author:Victoria Hamilton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: suicide, supernatural, ghost stories, faked death, bath england, georgian era, lady julia grey, england 1800s, teen bullying
Publisher: Beyond the Page Publishing

Fourteen

Though she chafed at the obligation, Anne knew her duty; church attendance was mandatory in Bath unless one was infirm. Service at St. Swithin’s was as good a chance as any to catch up with others who may be able to aid her in any number of ways, domestic or investigatory, so she sent a note to invite Susanna and Quin Birkenhead to share their family box. Alethea accompanied them, while her husband begged off, as he had things to arrange at the new home they were to move into soon. It took Quin a few minutes to mount the steep stairs to the box, but Tony helped him up.

As they all settled, Tony made sure his guests were comfortable. Following the service he would be taking them for a drive in the country, after which they would explore the city. The countess had agreed to accompany her husband, their future son-in-law and their son. Though Anne was invited, she had declined, for she had investigating to do.

Anne spoke softly with Alethea, filling her in on all she learned and suspected. She related what Lord Westmacott had told her the night before, of the Lees’ housekeeper’s suspicious behavior, and the man in the garden with the lame arm. “That must be Faithful’s father. What is he doing creeping into the school garden for an assignation with a housekeeper?”

“Are there no other men with one lame arm about Bath?” Alethea whispered. “When was this?”

“You, my friend, are supposed to go along with my every discovery and agree readily with all of my conclusions,” Anne said with a smile. “Else what are friends for?”

“And here I thought being a friend meant being honest and expressing my beliefs in a forthright manner.” Alethea smiled back.

“Of course, you are right. As my elder, I must listen to your wisdom.” Anne giggled.

Her mother gave her a stern look. “Girls, behave yourselves in church,” she hissed.

Which sent both younger ladies into fits of suppressed laughter. “I am ten years old again,” Alethea said.

“Likely the last time I feel that way,” Anne said, glancing at her husband-to-be. Her thoughts returned to the puzzle of the Lee school tragedy. “Poor Faithful,” she said. “If it is her father who murdered her, I’ll see him hanged. I lost all yesterday to Mother’s demands. Today I will spend investigating. Look!” She indicated with a nod the gathering congregation below. The Misses Lee had entered, followed by her two teachers and the older students.

Quin, sitting on her other side next to his wife, leaned into her. “Is that who I think it is?”

Anne gave an affirmative and whispered their names. While the Misses Lee kept themselves rigidly composed, the same could not be said of the teachers, nor the students. Miss Hopewell, it was true, kept her demure gaze fastened on her gloved hands, clutching a hymnal, but Miss Dankworth’s frenetic gaze traveled all about the place until it lit on one fascinating object.

Following the line of her stare, Anne discovered the Collier gentlemen, seated near the doors.

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