Lightning Strikes (Hudson 2)

We've got to do it again. We didn't see very much of the city. What are you doing tomorrow?" he asked quickly.

"I have the day off but I have to be back here to help with dinner," I said.

"Why don't we take a boat ride on the Thames and stop at the Tower of London? It will be better if you can come to the dorm, since the boats leave from right around there. Just take the tube to the school as you always do. You know where the dorm is, right?"

"Yes."

"How about 9:30? Is that okay, because if you want to come later, that's fine, but..."

"Yes, yes," I said smiling at his enthusiasm, "I'll be there right after I help with breakfast. They eat early so there shouldn't be a problem."

"Great, great, great." He turned to walk away and then as if just remembering something, spun around, took a large stride toward me, and kissed me quickly on the lips. "Bye," he said again and hurried off as if he was afraid of what I would do.

I stood there feeling stunned, and for a moment I didn't know whether I should laugh or feel

wonderful.

The sound of the front door opening and closing behind me startled me and I turned around to see Mary Margaret step out. She paused when she saw me and then she started away looking like she wanted desperately to avoid me.

"Mary Margaret, what are you doing here so late?" I called to her. "I thought you had the afternoon off, too."

Reluctantly, she paused, looked back at the house and then at me.

"I had a few more things to tidy up," she said. "I'll be back in the morning to serve breakfast."

"How far away do you live?" I asked, stepping closer to her.

"Only a half hour on the underground. I've got to get home," she added, stepping back as if talking to me was forbidden.

"Is Mrs. Endfield all right?" I asked quickly.

"Yes," she said but narrowed her eyes. "Why do you ask?"

"I tried to talk to her earlier today, but she wouldn't answer when I knocked on her bedroom door. I heard her humming, but she didn't seem to hear me even when I knocked harder and called out to her. I thought she might be sick."

"I don't know," Mary Margaret said, shaking her head. "I don't know about that." She backed away faster, pivoted and walked quickly down the cobblestone drive, not once pausing to glance back at me. I watched her hurry away and then I turned back to the house.

My eyes were drawn instantly to an upstairs window. The curtain was parted.

I thought it was a window in my great-aunt's and. great-uncle's bedroom, but the woman standing there had longer, lighter hair than Great-aunt Leonora. She was back in the shadows and I just caught a glimpse of her before the curtain closed.

Who was she? I wondered. Sir Godfrey Rogers's mistress? I actually frightened myself and gave myself a chill. As soon as I entered the house, I listened for a moment and then headed down the corridor toward my room. I wanted to relax and read and write letters to Grandmother Hudson and to Roy.

The house was strangely quiet and the lights were low or off in every room. Boggs didn't seem to be around and I wasn't going to look for him. Maybe the ogre does take time off, I thought. Good riddance.

When I got to my room, the sounds of my own footsteps lingered in my ears. Once I lived in a world full of danger where drug addicts lingered behind buildings waiting to pounce on people so they could get some money to support their addictions, where innocent pedestrians were killed or wounded in gang war cross fires, where parents trembled when their children were out of the house, where the night was filled with the shrill sound of sirens, sounds that made our hearts pound our blood and filled our minds with pictures of horror. I had every reason to be afraid there.

What reason did I have to be afraid here, living among rich people who had servants and ate off real silver platters? I heard no sirens in the night, and yet the silence was somehow more frightening.

I quickly shut the door behind me.

The door without any lock.

6

Joie de Vivre

.