by Rebecca Kent
Staring into his eyes, she had an uneasy feeling that this time she may have gone a little too far.
Chapter 17
Searching desperately for words, Meredith decided the only option open to her was to feign ignorance. “Transformation?” Her voice came out a little too high and she made a supreme effort to lower it. “I’m not quite sure I know exactly what you mean.”
Hamilton’s expression turned incredulous. “Oh, come now, Meredith. Surely you’re not going to deny that your welcome was a great deal more exuberant than usual? I’d just like to know why, that’s all. Not that it displeases me, of course. Quite the contrary.”
Meredith forced a laugh. “Exuberant? Oh, that must be because of the weather. It’s such a beautiful day out there. Lovely warm sunshine and absolutely no clouds in the sky. Summer can’t be too far away. I do love the summer, don’t you?”
Aware that she was prattling, she pretended to cough and covered her mouth with her hand.
Hamilton frowned. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had been keeping company with a bottle of gin.”
At his mention of spirits, guilt made Meredith hiccup. She had, after all, enjoyed a large glass of cider midday, which had given her a very pleasant glow for a while.
It was the thought of the inebriated students, however, that gave her the most concern. She could only hope that Felicity would be able to hold their noise down until she could get rid of Stuart Hamilton.
“And you would be quite wrong,” she assured him. “Now, what was it you wanted to ask me? If it’s about the students, I’m sure they are still confined to their rooms, as you ordered.” At least most of them, she amended silently.
Hamilton continued to stare at her for another moment or two, until she became quite uncomfortable. Then he said abruptly, “This has nothing whatsoever to do with the students. I was going to ask you the last time I was here, and somehow I got sidetracked.”
Thinking back to their last conversation, and the manner in which he had left, Meredith could quite understand why he had forgotten to ask her whatever it was he wanted. She waited, in tense silence, for his next words.
“I . . . ah . . . was going to invite you to come with me to the May Day festivities. We might be a little too late now to watch the dancing on the green, but I have been asked to present the trophy to the winning dance group at the May Day ball this evening, and I would like it very much if you would consent to accompany me as my guest.”
Meredith stared at him in stunned silence.
After an uncomfortable pause, Hamilton, who seemed unusually ill at ease, added, “I realize this is short notice and I deeply apologize for that, but I thought, perhaps, if I returned for you at six o’clock, that would . . . ah . . . give you time to prepare yourself for the evening. I . . . ah . . . understand there will be refreshments served, and . . . ah . . . if you were so inclined, we could dine afterward.”
Meredith swallowed. “Dine?” It seemed to be the only word she could form.
“Ah, yes.” Hamilton ran a finger around the inside of his collar. “At my house. I have an excellent cook, and I think you would enjoy whatever she prepares.”
Alone with him in his house? No, no, she couldn’t. Fighting a sense of panic, Meredith sought for a polite way to decline the unexpected invitation. She had never seen Hamilton this way. He was always so supremely confident and in control. This was a new side to him, and it made her even more uncomfortable in his presence. “That’s most kind of you, Mr. Hamilton—”
“Now, Meredith. I thought we agreed that you would call me Stuart.”
That sounded a lot more like the Stuart she knew. Taking a deep breath, she murmured, “Stuart, then. As I was saying, it’s most kind of you to think of me, and I appreciate the kind invitation, but I couldn’t possibly—”
“Don’t say no just yet.”
She closed her mouth and waited.
“I realize that sometimes we differ in our opinions on how the business of Bellehaven should be run, and I admit that at times, I can be a trifle stubborn.”
She raised her eyebrows at this, but allowed him to continue.
“I do, however, feel that in all other matters, we share a pleasant affinity in most subjects, and I would very much like the opportunity to explore that in further detail.”
Again she hesitated, but before she could voice her doubts he added, “It could be a most pleasurable evening, Meredith. Just two friends enjoying a spot of dancing and then relaxing over supper, exchanging views on worldly affairs and such. I do hope you will consent to join me.”
When he looked at her with such warmth and yearning she found it difficult to deny him anything. For a second or two she actually considered accepting the unexpected invitation, but then panic set in once more.
It had been years since she had attended anything more stimulating than a choral recital at the village hall. The May Day ball was to be held in Witcheston, at the country club, and was a posh affair. There was absolutely nothing she had to wear that would be in the least suitable.
Besides, the thought of dining alone with Stuart Hamilton in his home was far too threatening to her peace of mind. “I’m so sorry,” she said abruptly, “but I’m afraid I have some urgent business that needs attention. I have to prepare my classes for next week, and I—”
“It’s all right, Meredith. I understand.” Hamilton stood, his smile obviously forced. “As I said, it was very short notice. Perhaps another time.”
“That would be very nice. Thank you.” She rose to her feet, and he held out his hand. Offering hers, she felt a fluttering in her stomach as he took her fingers and drew them to his lips.
“Until later then, Meredith.”
She was far too breathless to answer with anything other than a nod.
He had almost reached the door when he paused, and looked back at her. “Oh, I almost forgot. About Pratt. I managed to track down his birth date. It turns out he’s not my nephew after all.”
Sensing his disappointment, she said quickly, “Oh, Stuart. I’m so sorry. I know you were hoping that he would be your sister’s child.”
Hamilton shrugged. “Not really. Bit of a scoundrel that young chap. It’s better this way.” He touched his fingers to his forehead in farewell. “Until next time.”
It was only after the door had closed behind him that she was able to enjoy a full breath again.
“Oh, stop sniveling, Grace.” Olivia threw a petticoat into her battered suitcase. “It’s not the end of the world. It’s not like anybody died.”
“I might as well have died.” Grace sank onto her bed and sobbed. “What am I going to do?”
“You can come and stay with me and me mum until you find something else.” Olivia tucked a pair of drawers into the side of the suitcase. “She won’t mind. She’s all right, me mum. She’ll take care of you.”
“But your mum lives in London!” Grace wailed louder.
“Crikey, Grace, it’s not that bad. I grew up there, didn’t I? It’s not the country, I know, but there’s a park nearby and lots of stuff to do.”
“I don’t want to live near a park and do stuff. I want to stay here.”
“Well, you can’t, can you. Old Moaning Minnie up there gave us the sack and good riddance to her, that’s what I say.”
Grace clutched her favorite afternoon frock to her chest and rocked back and forth on the bed. “It’s all your fault. I told you what would happen and now it has. I’ll end up in the workhouse, I know I will. I’ll d-die in there.” Sheer fright had her in an ugly grip now, and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed, pull the covers over her head, and pretend that all of this was a nightmare.
“Don’t be silly.” Olivia sat down next to her and put an awkward arm around her shoulders. “Me mum won’t let you go to the workhouse. Besides, I know what happened was my fault and when I tell me mum about everything I know she’ll want you to stay with us.”
“What about your dad?” Grace s
niffed, and drew the sleeve of her frock across her nose. “Won’t he mind?”
“Me dad’s dead,” Olivia said, her voice short. “I told you that, remember? There’s only me mum and me brother. You’ll like Danny. He’s a bookie.”
Grace sniffed again. “What’s a bookie?”
“A bookmaker, silly.”
“He makes books?”
Olivia grinned. “Nah, he takes bets. You know, at the horse races.”
Grace opened her mouth in surprise. “Go on!”
Olivia nodded. “Makes good money, he does. Enough to keep me mum comfortable in a small house, anyway. I tell you, Grace, it will be all right. We’ll work things out somehow. We’ll both get new jobs, you’ll see.”
Grace nodded, and got up to finish her packing. She wished she could believe Olivia, she really did, but she just couldn’t stop worrying. She couldn’t stay with Olivia’s mum forever. She’d have to move out sooner or later, and then there’d she be, stuck in London, all on her own.
Fighting back the tears, Grace reached into the wardrobe for her nightgown. Her life was over. She just knew it.
A glance at the clock warned Meredith to make haste. The students would most likely be waiting for her in the library, and she had much to do before she could prepare for the evening.
Arriving at the library door, she heard voices raised. She threw open the door, and briefly closed her eyes. Students were sprawled in chairs, some were actually sitting on the floor. Sophie Westchester and a young girl with flaming red hair argued with Felicity, while Essie hovered anxiously nearby.
Meredith had to raise her own voice to be heard. “What on earth is going on here?”
Felicity threw up her hands in disgust. “You talk to this little brat. I’ve had enough of her.”
Sophie turned a sulky face toward Meredith. “She won’t listen to me!”
Meredith stepped forward. “And to whom, may I ask, are you referring as she?”
Sophie’s face darkened. “I mean Miss Cross. She won’t listen to a word I say.”
Meredith looked around at the rest of the students, some of whom appeared about ready to fall asleep. “Get up, all of you. On your feet.”
Groaning and muttering, the girls climbed to their feet. Meredith waited until every one of them stood in front of her before adding, “I hope you all realize the disgrace you have brought upon this school and every one of our pupils. You represent the entire school when out in public, and I dread to think what kind of impression you have left behind.”
“But—” Sophie began, and Meredith cut her off with her hand.
“You will all remain in detention for the next four weeks. No one will be allowed anywhere off the premises until after that time.”
Groans and mutters of protest greeted this statement. Ignoring them, Meredith continued, “Furthermore, should any of you disobey this order again, you will be expelled immediately and sent home.”
Again Sophie spoke up. “But Mrs. Llewellyn, it—”
Meredith silenced her again with a swift gesture of her hand. “I don’t want to listen to any excuses, Sophie. I strongly suspect that you were the leader in this disgraceful escapade, and quite honestly I am wondering why I shouldn’t expel you this very minute. If I were you, I’d keep a still tongue, and be thankful that you have escaped my wrath. Now get back to your rooms, all of you, and remain there until I give you permission to leave.”
The girls filed out of the door, some of them stumbling, all of them with mutinous frowns, and as they trudged down the hallway Sophie’s voice rose in protest. “But it wasn’t our fault!”
“It never is,” Felicity muttered, throwing herself down on a chair. “There’s some consolation in the thought that some of those girls will have wicked headaches in the morning.”
“How did they find out about the dart match, I wonder?” Meredith shook her head. “Someone must have told them. They must have known they wouldn’t be allowed to stay in the public bar. Whatever were they thinking?”
Felicity sniffed. “I should have known when I first smelled the smoke in the dining room that something was afoot. Especially when I realized the fire was completely harmless. Girls that age don’t think. They just act and to hell with the consequences.”
Essie uttered a protesting gasp and Felicity sighed. “I beg your pardon. Excuse my swearing. I didn’t mean to offend.”
“Well, thank heavens Mr. Hamilton didn’t see them.” Meredith wandered to the window and looked out onto the sunlit lawns. “I have enough problems to cope with right now, without our illustrious owner weighing in with his biased opinions.”
“Considering we are a building full of women,” Felicity observed dryly, “you do seem to have a great deal of conflict with men. What with Roger Platt, Stuart Hamilton, and Lord James Stalham, you have your hands full, I’d say.”
“Drat James and his problems.” Meredith hugged her arms to comfort herself. “Who chose me to be a champion of lost ghosts, anyway? It wasn’t something I volunteered to do, for heaven’s sake. All this running around investigating takes a huge toll on my duties as headmistress, and I’m becoming quite tired of the extra work and responsibilities thrust upon me.”
“I don’t blame you,” Essie said, her tone soothing. “It must be so worrying, trying to satisfy a ghost. It could even be dangerous. I don’t know why you do it, Meredith. I really don’t.”
“It’s all for naught, anyway. I’m no closer to finding out who killed Lord Stalham. For all I know, James could well be the killer and is simply using me to vent his anger at being denied wherever it is he wants to go.”
“If the alternative is to go down below,” Felicity murmured, “I really can’t blame him for trying to reach a more acceptable destination.”
“Well, he just might have to find his way on his own. I am at a point where I can go no farther.”
A tap on the door turned Meredith’s head and brought Felicity to her feet.
“What’s the matter now?” she muttered, as she strode over to the door.
Mrs. Wilkins entered the room in a rush. “I’m so sorry to disturb you, ladies. The students told me you were all in here. I wouldn’t have bothered you, but—”
“It’s quite all right, Mrs. Wilkins.” Meredith came forward to meet her. “Is something wrong?”
The cook’s face crumpled, and Meredith was afraid the woman was going to burst into tears. “It’s the maids, m’m. Miss Fingle’s given both of them the sack. They’re downstairs packing their things right now.”
Meredith sighed. “What did they do now?”
Mrs. Wilkins looked up at her in surprise. “You don’t know? They were the ones that started all that commotion in the Dog and Duck. At least, Olivia was. I think Grace just went along because Olivia told her to go. I don’t know why that girl listens to her, that I don’t.”
Meredith frowned. “The maids? I didn’t see them in the police station when the students were released. They went to the village with them? That’s rather odd, isn’t it?”
“They didn’t exactly go along with them, m’m. They was the ringleaders, so to speak. They were the ones that started the fire in the dining room so they could all slip out in the commotion. The students followed them.”
“That’s even more strange. Why on earth would Olivia and Grace invite students to go with them to a dart match?”
It was the cook’s turn to look bewildered. “Dart match? I don’t know nothing about a dart match, m’m. Olivia and Grace led the students down to the pub to hold a protest. You know, the suffragette thing. Votes for women and all that. From what I heard, it was Olivia that started smashing the glasses. The students were just having a good time with the lads down there. The barman rang for the constable and he took everyone down to the police station.”
Meredith grimaced. “He would. P.C. Shipham is always ecstatic when he has an opportunity to pronounce that a finishing school for young ladies is a complete and utter waste of time and
money.”
“Thank heavens you heard about it, Mrs. Lewellyn,” Mrs. Wilkins said, wiping her nose with a large handkerchief. “They might all still be locked up in that awful place if you hadn’t gone down there.”
“Actually it was Miss Pickard who heard about it first,” Meredith pointed out.
Essie nodded. “Miss Cross and I were waiting for Mrs. Llewellyn to arrive and we overheard some men on the green saying there had been a commotion in the Dog and Duck. They said a crowd of young women had been arrested. We didn’t take too much notice until one of them mentioned that he thought the women came from Bellehaven.”
The housekeeper nodded. “Lucky for them you went down there, Mrs. Llewellyn. You must have had a devil of a time getting them all released.”
Meredith smiled. “To be honest, I think P.C. Shipham was glad to be rid of them. They were making so much noise you couldn’t hear yourself speak.”
“Well, I’m just sorry my maids caused so much trouble.”
Mrs. Wilkins lifted the corner of her apron and dabbed at her eyes. “Mrs. Llewellyn, please. Those girls are like my own daughters, they are. I don’t know what I’d do without them. They’re good girls, when they’re not trying to act like saviors of the world, that is. They mean well, but they just seem to attract trouble. Can’t you please ask Miss Fingle to reconsider? Perhaps punish them in some other way?”
Meredith sighed. “I don’t like to interfere in the domestic issues, Mrs. Wilkins. That’s Miss Fingle’s job and she does it very well.”
A tear made its way down the cook’s cheek. “I know, m’m, but it’s so hard to find help these days. I can’t manage everything on my own.”
“Oh, come on, Meredith.” Felicity sat down on her chair and crossed her ankles. “After all, the maids were only trying to help the cause. They may have gone about it the wrong way, but no real harm was done. Let’s pay for the broken glasses out of the budget funds and tell Miss Fingle we can’t find replacements for Olivia and Grace. Which is the truth. Any female over fourteen is either married or has left the village to work in London.”
