Too Clever by Half_A Harrow's Finest Five Novella by Nancy Yeager

Author:Nancy Yeager [Yeager, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nyb Publishing
Published: 2018-11-28T18:00:00+00:00

Alone in her refuge, the small, mostly-forgotten study tucked at the rear of her father’s house, Tessa traced her fingers over the letters in the slim, brown, leather-bound volume she held reverently in her hands. The passages in it were from her favorite poems and novels by bold women, copied over in her own eleven-year-old hand. Each page carried a reminder of those great intellects, their contributions diminished or even outright dismissed because of the feminine forms carrying their messages.

The journal brought her comfort now, as it had when her first tutor, Mr. Pettibone, had been sent away because Thomas had gone off to boarding school. Her mother had eventually arranged for her to join Emme and Luci for lessons at Emme’s house, despite Tessa’s father’s disapproval. In the meantime, old Mr. Pettibone, knowing her thirst for knowledge, had taken pity on her and sent her the first of the tomes she’d hidden in this small room. If he’d still been alive, surely he wouldn’t have begrudged her using his name to enter the duke’s contest for the worthy cause of women’s education.

A knock at the door startled her. She glanced about to make sure none of her George Sand novels or comparative literature texts were in plain sight, then pulled open the heavy wooden door. “Thomas, what’s the matter?”

Her younger brother was flushed. A bead of sweat pearled at his brow. “We have a visitor.”

She laid her hand over the dread settling in her belly. “From your demeanor, I assume it’s not Luci.”

“It’s him. Your competition. Mr. Alcott.”

She grabbed her brother’s hand. “No. It can’t be. Is Father home?”

Thomas shook his head. “You’ve one bit of luck on your side. Father and Reginald are off at some sort of political meeting, and Mother’s out visiting.”

Tessa took a calming breath. Luck, indeed. All she need do was dispatch Mr. Alcott quickly, before any other family members arrived home and inadvertently discovered her secret. She took Thomas’s arm and started toward the parlor.

Thomas pinned her arm against his side. “I’ve ordered tea laid.”

“That’s good, Thomas. No need to hold me so tightly.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ll have to chaperone, of course.” She couldn’t be left alone with the man again, no matter how much she hoped he might attempt another kiss. Which was ridiculous, because his first attempt had been a lie. Not to mention, he was her competitor, her foe, not her friend, and definitely not a potential romantic partner.

Thomas clutched her arm again. “I’m not up to discourse with Mr. Alcott. I’ll say something wrong. I’ll ruin all your plans!”

His paleness concerned Tessa. It had been Luci who had pointed out – in her undiplomatic but keenly observant way – that Thomas might not do well with the ruse. In addition to his reading impediment and social anxiety, he struggled to see honesty as other than black and white. He couldn’t see the gray, didn’t understand the need for Tessa’s little white lie in the service of the greater good.

They stopped outside the parlor and she turned to face him, taking his hands in hers.

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