Renegade Magic by Burgis Stephanie

Author:Burgis, Stephanie [Burgis, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

It was no easy task to carry Lucy all the way across Bath to the Wingates’ townhouse, even with Mr. Gregson bearing most of her weight and maintaining our invisibility. Of course, he didn’t know that I could have done that part myself, but I didn’t see any reason to volunteer the information—not after everything he’d said to me that night. Still, between the strain on my protesting arm muscles, the exertion of keeping our unwieldy procession out of the way of all the groups we passed on the city pavements, and, worst of all, the sheer, unmitigated aggravation of Mr. Gregson’s cold silence, I was ready to collapse by the time we finally arrived at the townhouse.

First, though, I had to find Lucy’s bedroom, tuck her into bed, see Mr. Gregson out the side door with cold civility, and make my way back, to the room I shared with Angeline. I was so exhausted by the end of it, I fell straight into bed without even bothering to change into my nightgown. I was just in time.

The others arrived home from the Assembly Rooms less than five minutes later. For once, I was too tired to even try to eavesdrop on the hissing, undervoiced lecture Stepmama delivered to Angeline just outside our closed bedroom door. I had already blown the bedside candle out. As Angeline stepped inside, I pulled the covers over my head to keep out any light from the corridor. I was asleep before she’d even gotten into bed.

But when I woke up the next morning, I knew my troubles had only just begun.

Lucy. Before I even opened my eyes, it all came back to me. The wild magic filling Lucy’s eyes with sparks of golden light … I scrambled out of bed, heading straight for the door.

Angeline’s voice stopped me halfway across the room. “What on earth have you been up to?”

I turned. She was sitting up in bed, her arms propped on her pillows, watching me with an expression that looked anything but tired. Curses.

“Everything’s fine,” I said, and reached for the door handle. “I’m just—”

“You are wearing your pelisse,” said Angeline.

“Oh.” I glanced down at the crumpled pelisse, half-unbuttoned over my even more crumpled gown from last night. Automatically, I tried to smooth them both down. It didn’t work. “Ah, that’s only—”

“You went to sleep in it,” Angeline said, and narrowed her eyes at me like an Indian cobra preparing for the kill.

I swallowed, frozen in her cobra glare. “Um … I was cold?”

She arched one eyebrow. “Indeed. So you went all the way downstairs to find your pelisse instead of using the spare blanket in the cupboard beside the bed.”

“Well …” I bounced on my toes. I didn’t have time for this! “The truth is, I went out for a walk last night, after all of you left. I wasn’t tired, and I wanted some exercise.”

“You went for a walk,” Angeline said evenly. “In the middle of Bath. At night.”

“I told you so, didn’t I?” I turned and reached for the door handle.

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