Blue Bloods #2 - Masquerade by Melissa De la Cruz

Author:Melissa De la Cruz [Cruz, Melissa De la]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General, Fiction, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, People & Places, Secret societies, Vampires, Social Issues, Fables, Legends, Myths, United States, Adolescence, Wealth, Secrets, New York (N.Y.), Rich people, Balls (Parties), Arthurian, Masquerades
ISBN: 9781423101277
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Published: 2008-07-29T05:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

When Schuyler arrived home from school,Lawrence still had not returned. She asked Julius to bring her grandfather’s luggage up to Cordelia’s room. It looked forlorn and lonesome in the entryway. Hattie had prepared supper, and Schuyler took a tray up to her room, eating her meat loaf and mashed potatoes in front of her computer. Cordelia would never have allowed such a thing. Her grandmother had been vigilant that Schuyler eat dinner properly at the table every night. But then, Cordelia wasn’t around to enforce her rules anymore.

Schuyler fed Beauty scraps from her plate as she checked her e-mail and made a halfhearted attempt to finish her homework.

Afterward, she brought her tray down to the kitchen and helped Hattie load the dishwasher. It was after nine o’clock. Her grandfather had been gone for more thantwelve hours already. How long could the meeting have lasted?

Finally, at a little past midnight, Lawrence’s key turned in the lock. He looked exhausted. The lines on his face were haggard. Schuyler thought he looked as if he had aged sev eral decades.

“What happened?” she asked, alarmed at his condition. She flew up from the window seat where she had been doz ing. The living room, removed of its heavy drapes and cov ers, was a surprisingly comfortable place. Hattie had lit a fire in the hearth, and Schuyler couldn’t get enough of the river view. Lawrence set his crushed fedora on the rack and sank into one of the antique couches across from the fire. Dust flew as he shifted in his seat. “I do think Cordelia could have put some money into keeping this place a little cleaner,” he grumbled. “I left her with quite a nest egg.”

Cordelia had always given Schuyler the impression that they had run out of money, and what little they had went to financing the bare necessities: Duchesne tuition, food, shel ter, the skeletal staff. Anything aside from that—new clothes, money for movies or restaurants was grudgingly parceled out dollar by dollar.

“Grandmother always said we were broke,” Schuyler said.

“In contrast to how we lived once, surely. But we Van Alens are far from bankrupt. I checked the accounts today.Cordelia invested wisely. The interest has been collecting interest. We should be able to bring this house back to where it should be.”

“You went to the bank?” Schuyler asked, a little startled.

“I had to run a number of errands, yes. It’s been a long time since I was in the city. Marvelous how the world has changed. One forgets that in Venice. Ran into several friends. Cushing Carondolet insisted I dine with him at the old club. I’m sorry, I would have come back earlier, but I had to find out what Charles has been up to in my absence.”

“But what happened with The Committee?”

Lawrence took a cigar out of his pocket and carefully lit it. “Oh, at the hearing?”

“Yes,” Schuyler said impatiently, mystified by Lawrence’s casual attitude.

“Well, they brought me into the Repository,” Lawrence said. “I had to speak in front of the Conclave—the coven’s highest leadership.

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.