Regency 01 - The Schoolmistress and the Spy by Julia Byrne

Author:Julia Byrne
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2015-06-23T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Taking her morning classes went a long way toward soothing Emily’s anger. By the time luncheon was over and the girls were skipping upstairs to fetch bonnets, capes, and sketch books for a sojourn in the park with Charlotte and Tibby, she was much calmer.

But she still felt unsettled, even sad. She’d actually been shaking inside while Lucas questioned her and she didn’t know why, because he hadn’t threatened her in any way or seemed angry. He had even tried to explain that the answers were important to him. By contrast, he’d been absolutely furious the night she’d come in through the kitchen door, and she hadn’t felt like this.

Perhaps because no-one else had been involved, she thought. She hated to think that someone she trusted, someone who came into her school to teach her pupils, had taken a quick opportunity to snoop around. What on earth did they expect to find among the belongings of a man-of-all-work? It didn’t make sense.

Emily wandered into the drawing room and sat down on the windowseat. In all fairness to Lucas, she was forced to admit that if someone went through her belongings, she’d be somewhat peeved also. Perhaps she would go up to the attic shortly to see how he was getting on, and to put them back on a friendly footing. And this time, she wouldn’t go up there anticipating another exciting, nerve-tingling encounter like last night in this very drawing room.

Her spirits rose a little. She was about to retire to her study to catch up on some accounts, when a carriage drawn by a team of horses rattled up the street and stopped in front of the house. A groom sprang down from the perch and hurried to open the door and let down the steps. Emily stared in stunned disbelief at the tall, grey-haired gentleman who emerged.

She closed her eyes and let her brow fall forward against the window pane. Could the day possibly get any worse? What on earth was her grandfather doing here?

A peremptory assault on the front door told her she was about to find out. Emily sighed, got to her feet, and went out to the hall to admit her grandparent.

“Do you make a habit of opening your own front door, Emily?” Sir John Proudfoot demanded as he stalked past her into the house. He stopped in the middle of the hall, dropped a carpet bag on the floor, and looked about. “Well, at least the place looks presentable.”

Emily eyed the carpet bag with trepidation. “Good afternoon, grandfather. I hope you and grandmother are well. Are you expecting to stay overnight? We don’t have a spare bedchamber, but you may sleep in my room. I’ll share with Tibby.”

Sir John glared at her. “Preposterous! I am glad I possessed the foresight to bespeak a room at the hotel where the standard of accommodation is clearly far superior to that which is offered here. One would think that after I’ve gone to all the trouble

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