The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood

Author:Maryrose Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2011-10-26T04:00:00+00:00

THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER

In the aftermath of adventure,

a friendship is forged.

NOWADAYS, PEOPLE RESORT to all kinds of activities in order to calm themselves after a stressful event: performing yoga poses in a sauna, leaping off bridges while tied to a bungee, killing imaginary zombies with imaginary weapons, and so forth. But in Miss Penelope Lumley’s day, it was universally understood that there is nothing like a nice cup of tea to settle one’s nerves in the aftermath of an adventure—a practice many would find well worth reviving.

As you might imagine, Penelope was now in sore need of just such a soothing cuppa, and the Incorrigible children were in sore need of baths; truly, the scent of elephants was so distinctive that Mr. Hixby may have had a point, after all. So back to Number Twelve Muffinshire Lane they marched, after bidding Judge Quinzy good day and offering more thanks for his kindness, all of which he grandly waved off.

Penelope felt she owed a debt to Margaret, too. If not for the young housemaid’s sense of duty—and Simon’s timely arrival, of course—the children might have been whisked off to spend the day alone with Judge Quinzy, an uncomfortable notion at best. It spoke so well of Margaret’s character that Penelope wondered if she, too, had been influenced by the wisdom of Agatha Swanburne somewhere along the way.

She tried to say as much, but the humble girl just giggled and squeaked, “No need for all that, miss! I was just minding the children, like I said I would. If you’ll pardon me, I’d best get back to work. Mrs. Clarke will be lookin’ for me.” She bobbed a quick curtsy and raced back to the house. Now that Penelope had returned, Margaret would spend the rest of this lovely day cleaning fireplace grates, sweeping carpets, and tending to the whims of her high-strung mistress whenever Lady Constance rang the bell.

“Poor Margaret,” Penelope thought as she watched the good-hearted girl skitter gracefully away across the cobblestones. “I hope Lady Constance does not scold her for going to the zoo. If she does, it will be my fault for mentioning it. And poor Lady Constance! I wonder if she knows how vexing people find her?”

Vexing, indeed! Even as she had the thought, Penelope wished she might invite Simon in for tea and a few of the biscuits that the children had begged her to buy at the Charming Little Bakery. (While paying for her purchase, she was saddened, but not wholly surprised, to overhear the baker complaining: Apparently a young boy had stolen two loaves of rye bread and a half dozen sticky buns before making a fast getaway, not twenty minutes earlier.)

But Penelope knew that if Lady Constance saw her entertaining an actual caller—and a young gentleman, mind you!—there would be no end to the hysteria.

Instead Penelope and Simon strolled at a leisurely pace, while the children took turns scooting beside them on the velocipede. Cassiopeia was much too small for her feet to

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.