Love Engineered by Jenna Dawlish

Author:Jenna Dawlish [Dawlish, Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Usernet, C429, Kat, Extratorrents
ISBN: 9780956119117
Google: XUT7QQAACAAJ
Amazon: B0036TH4V0
Publisher: E-scape Press Limited
Published: 2009-12-14T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Mr Russell took off his spectacles and took a deep breath. “Very well. I'll start at the beginning. I believe you went to school with Mr William Risinger and you know him quite well?”

“Yes.”

“How much do you know of his late father?”

“Nothing much.”

“Then I'll explain. Mr Frederick Risinger was a close friend to Miss Thomas's father. Frederick was a frequent visitor to Glazebrook throughout his life and he and Sir Robert remained friends all their days. Frederick was in the Merchant Navy, and although an officer, never rose above the very basic rank. He was away at sea for much of the time and whilst away asked Sir Robert to watch over his son.

“Sir Robert did this whenever he could, and such was their friendship that Sir Robert paid the boy’s school fees, firstly at a school in Plymouth. This place he attended before he went to the same school as you.”

“A generous man then,” Charles, said thinking back. This wasn't the picture Risinger had painted of Miss Thomas's father.

“Indeed. However, his duty to watch over William Risinger reached further. Sir Robert was called to the school several times to attend to William, his father being away at sea. Then later, Frederick died. The final time Sir Thomas went there, Willian Risinger was expelled.”

“Expelled?”

“Yes. He had been the ringleader of group extorting money from other students. There were other misdemeanours: theft and damage of school property. However, things came to a head when one poor child almost died through punishment for non-payment. William Risinger was given an ultimatum: if he got into trouble again at his new school – the same establishment you attended – he would be sent to the workhouse.”

“Are you sure this is what happened?”

“Yes, of course. I have Sir Robert's journal as testament – it's all in there. Besides, I remember it myself. I have, after all, been the Thomas family lawyer nearly all my working life.” Mr Russell handed Charles a thick leather journal. “The pages relevant to Mr Risinger have been marked out, as you can see.”

Charles looked it over. “I wonder why Miss Thomas keeps the journal with you, and not at home?” he commented. He didn't expect an answer, but Mr Russell was eager to speak.

“She has had the contents copied by scribes. That is the original. I believe she reads it when she feels the need to be closer to her father.”

Charles turned to the first marked page. His eyes ran over the details. It was dated 1834. He and Risinger would have been thirteen.

Risinger’s criminal past had never been known to him until now. From the journal entry, he was lucky not to have been at the first school. He remembered William arriving at school, but he had told everyone he had changed to be nearer relatives.

He snapped the journal shut. “Forgive me, but crimes committed by a child mean nothing unless the adult has also fallen into such behaviour.”

Mr Russell gave a curt nod. “Indeed. In fact, despite these grave mistakes, William remained obedient to the masters at his new school.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.