“Of course it is,” Theresa shot back. “There’s no need to be so defensive.” She took a step toward the lantern—toward Eliza. “So, what did you think of my Harrison?”

Eliza clenched her teeth, the words my Harrison ringing in her ears. “It looks as though Alice and Catherine have arrived at Crenshaw,” she said coolly. “Shall we?”

Theresa took another step. A shock of fear went through Eliza’s veins. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I found him to be quite . . . polite.” Eliza held perfectly still.

“And handsome, of course. You found him handsome,” Theresa prodded, moving closer still. So close that Eliza could now make out every feature of her beautiful face—every suspicious feature.

Eliza’s face burned and she could only hope that, in the darkness, Theresa couldn’t tell. She cast a glance over the girl’s shoulder at Crenshaw, where all their friends waited impatiently.

“I suppose,” Eliza replied finally. “Shouldn’t we go? We don’t want to get caught.”

“I think he’s the most handsome boy in all of New York,” Theresa said in a wistful tone, gazing off toward the towering shadow of Crenshaw House. “He’s been promised to me since we were children—just a silly agreement between our parents, who are lifelong friends. But over the summer he made it official.” Theresa lifted her hand to gaze admiringly at her ring. “He went down on one knee and everything. The boy, I’m afraid, is completely in love with me.”

Eliza stared at Theresa. If the girl was expecting Eliza to break down crying and confess that she was pining for Harrison—well, that was not going to happen. Eliza had just met the boy.

“I’m so happy for you, Theresa, really,” Eliza said firmly, putting on a huge smile. She reached out and squeezed Theresa’s hands for good measure, even though the gesture made her own skin crawl. “I wish you and Harrison years of marital bliss. Now, can we please go?”

Theresa tightened her grip until she was squeezing so hard, Eliza feared for her fingers. “Of course!” Theresa said with wide-eyed innocence. “Why have you kept me out here so long? Our friends must be dying of fright.”

With that, she dropped Eliza’s fingers, grabbed the lantern, and sprinted across the grass. Eliza’s jaw dropped. For a moment she was stunned over Theresa’s accusation that she’d been the one to stall them. But as the pitch darkness closed in around her, Eliza recovered herself and ran. Theresa was at least ten paces ahead. Eliza lowered her head and sprinted as hard as she could, determined to catch up with her rival before they reached the dormitory. Determined to win. At least at this.

Theresa let out a yelp of surprise as Eliza drew up even, then passed her. Eliza drove her hands into the rough brick wall of Crenshaw at least three yards ahead of Theresa. She turned around, leaned back, and smiled over her triumph.

“Congratulations, Eliza,” Theresa said slyly, her chest heaving as she arrived. “You must be very proud.”

Eliza opened her mouth to respond that yes, she was very proud, but at that moment, the double doors at the front of Crenshaw House swung open, letting out a loud, ominous squeal. Lavender instantly stepped in front of the other girls as if she was readying herself to protect them.

“Hello, ladies,” the headmistress said, staring down her nose at Lavender. She smiled grimly at the collective gasp that met her greeting. “Kindly come inside so that I may take down your names.” She stepped aside to let them all through the double doors, but for a long moment, no one moved. Eliza looked at Catherine, whose face was deathly pale, her mouth set in a pained line.

“Good evening, Miss Almay,” Theresa said confidently. “And might I say, you look lovely in your dressing gown. Is that silk?”

Some of the girls laughed halfheartedly, but Miss Almay’s frown lines only grew deeper.

“Inside, Theresa. Now.”

Theresa strode through the door, her head held high. Slowly, the other girls followed, their eyes trained on the ground. Eliza brought up the rear, right behind Catherine, her heart heavy as she imagined her mother’s reaction upon hearing that her younger daughter had been expelled from the Billings School for Girls on her very first day.

Just as the door slammed shut behind her, a breeze curled around Eliza and tickled her ear. “I told you that you should have turned back,” the same low voice from the tunnel whispered. Eliza’s breath caught and she whirled around. But no one was there.

Treasure

“Miss Almay is simply evil for making us toil in this heat,” Theresa groused, shoving her spade into the dirt in the garden behind Crenshaw House. She pried out a dandelion by the roots and tossed it aside, then wiped the back of her hand along her perspiring brow. Even Eliza had found herself close to complaining as she worked under the relentless sun, but each time she’d held back. She didn’t want to sound as petulant as Theresa had sounded all morning long. Eliza could tell that Catherine, who was weeding a row of carrots a few feet away, was also biting her tongue.

Theresa tossed another dandelion. “And do you know that Viola and Bia haven’t spoken to me at all since last night? As if it’s somehow my fault we were caught.”

Viola, Bia, and Jane were gathering apples under the watchful eye of Mrs. Hodge; the cook was to use the fruit in her fritters and pies. Helen, meanwhile, had been charged with keeping an eye on the garden workers. The young maid sat nearby in the shade of an elm tree, her gaze trained on Eliza and her friends like a hawk stalking its prey. Eliza wondered if she’d been scolded for allowing the girls to sneak out on her watch.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Alice said, sitting back to fan her face under the wide brim of her straw hat. “We all wanted to go. I just can’t believe she’s also forbidden us from attending the dance. Isn’t it punishment enough that we’re being forced to weed the gardens and sweep the walks like common servants?”

“I rather enjoy this.” Eliza grabbed a weed at its base, yanked it out, and tossed it into the basket, which was rapidly growing full. “Being out in the sun, getting some exercise.”

“But don’t you care that we’re not going to get to go to the dance? All the other girls will get to talk and dance with the boys,” Alice said, her shoulders curling forward as she gazed longingly toward the woods that separated them from the Easton campus. “We’re going to be at such a disadvantage.”

“It’s not a contest,” Eliza said lightly.

“Not for me at least,” Theresa said. “I’ve already won the most worthy boy.”

Tags: Kate Brian Private
Source: readsnovelonline.net