Secret Sisters by Joy Callaway

Author:Joy Callaway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-07-11T04:00:00+00:00

12

I could hear them before I could see them. I stepped through the front doors of Old Main and paused for a moment in the sunlight beaming through the windows. It was a beautiful day, warm for late January, and the distant chatter of a large crowd made it all the better. Even so, I was nervous. Though my efforts could better the lives of Whitsitt girls forever, they could dissolve Beta Xi Beta just as easily.

“Are you certain you want to go down there? There’s a mob this morning . . . for some reason,” Miss Bradley said, looking over her wire-rimmed glasses at me as I walked down the corridor toward the board room.

“Thank you for the warning,” I stuttered.

“I can’t figure it for the life of me,” she called. “It’s only you and Professor Helms’s student assistant on the docket today—though he says he can’t locate the professor anywhere.”

I couldn’t help but smile. Apparently Professor Helms had decided to disappear rather than tell President Wilson he was leaving.

“There’s a rumor going around that someone is going to propose the campus go dry,” I said, finally finding my voice. “Perhaps that’s the reason for the crowd this morning.”

“Oh goodness, no,” Miss Bradley said. Her hand flew to her neck, palm flattening on her out-of-fashion vulcanite brooch. “How long has this rumor been circulating? The men will revolt without their glass of brandy during study hours. And what about our dinnertime wine? Do I need to send for Mr. Stanley?” Mr. Stanley was the janitor. Standing well over seven feet tall, he’d been a champion boxer in Cuba before making his way to the United States—or so it was said. His mere presence had the power to scatter a fight. I’d seen it happen.

“Only since yesterday,” I called to her as I turned into the main hallway, and nearly fainted on the spot. The hall was jammed with students, encouraging the pungent odor of body sweat to prevail over the ordinary scent of cleaning vinegar and wood smoke. I pushed my way through the heavy swarm of wool morning coats and pulled the high neck of my velvet dress, hoping to relieve some of the heat. I didn’t see Mary, Lily, or Katherine, who’d gone down to the dining hall to eat breakfast without me since I couldn’t bear the thought of food, but I hoped they were somewhere in the throng.

“Beth.” A hand brushed my shoulder and I turned to find Grant. I hadn’t seen him since Saturday morning after the ball. The memory of what he’d said about us, about a future together, filtered through my mind, but I forced myself to forget it. I couldn’t think about it. Not now.

“How are you?” I asked, avoiding his eyes by scanning the crowd over his shoulder.

“Absolutely terrible,” he said, and I looked at him, wondering what had happened. He smiled. “It seems like I haven’t seen you for a week.” His lips kept moving, but I couldn’t hear him over the boom of a chant coming from behind me.

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