Netherby Halls (6 page)

“Winthrop!” Sassy snapped, irritated without true
cause.

“Ah, yes, Miss Winthrop. We shall make certain she is
not accosted in the absence of her driver.”

“Unless Miss Winthrop takes us up on our offer to
convey her to her destination, which might be the better choice.”
Percy looked skyward. “There is no telling, but it might rain.”

Sassy sighed and with a wry smile offered, “The thing
is, I doubt that it would appear seemly for me to arrive at
Netherby Halls with two gentlemen at my side.”

“You are bound for Netherby?” The marquis seemed
surprised. “May I ask in what capacity, Miss Winthrop?”

“You may, though I don’t know why I should
answer.”

“Why should you not?” returned the marquis.

“Faith! If you must know, as
a tutor
,” Sassy
answered irritably. She was agitated by her reaction to the marquis
and the fact that she was fighting an inner voice that wanted her,
incredibly, to throw herself into his arms.
Madness.

Once again, Jessie came to the rescue. She observed
him riding beside another man in a wagon. Relief flooded through
her, more than she thought possible, and she waved joyfully to him
before turning around to announce that her guards were free to
continue their journey.

* * *

The marquis and Percy lent a hand getting the coach
upright, waited long enough to be certain the smithy would be able
to get the wheel back in place, and took their leave.

“Odd,” Percy remarked, screwing up his mouth as he
was wont to do when presented with a puzzle.

“Indeed—but I should like to hear exactly what you
think is odd,” the marquis replied, his eyes bright with a
smile.

“A beauty like that—in a decent enough coach—going
off to Netherby Halls. The whole thing strikes me as odd.”

“I agree. Most curious. Rather late in the year for
her to be starting a post at a seminary for young ladies as well,”
mused the marquis.

“That is another thing,” Percy said thoughtfully.
“Ain’t Netherby a charity school?”

“In a manner of speaking it is. It is maintained by
subscriptions and caters to the gentry. However, these girls are
orphans whose birthright might be aristocratic, but their pockets
empty.”

“How come you know so much about it?” Percy asked,
sitting up curiously.

“My aunt, you know her—the one with all the pugs
running about. She is forever after me to look-see whether it’s
worthy of my subscription.” The marquis offered a half-truth.

“You are a dog, Justin! I see what it is now. You
have made up your mind to have this Winthrop chit. I saw it on your
face when you first looked at her—it was as though … why, as
though …?”

“Never you mind, Percy, it is no such thing.” Justin
forced a chuckle.

“Ha! Mark my word, Justin, but you are out on this
one. She won’t have you. Ain’t the sort. Can always tell, you know.
She is fresh as a daisy, but that didn’t dull her tongue any when
she thought your behavior too brazen!”

“Aye, but I have not come to Bristol for Miss
Winthrop, and I am not interested in Netherby Halls because of Miss
Winthrop. And at this moment, I have no intention of spending my
leisure time seducing a sharp-tongued daisy!”

~
Six ~

BY THE TIME Sassy was in the righted coach and back
on her way to Netherby, the sun had dwindled and what had been a
refreshing breeze had turned very cold.

The coach slowed as they approached a crossroad with
a fingerpost, and all at once, Sassy got a terrible ‘feeling’. A
certain trepidation clutched at her insides and shouted in her
head,
D
anger.

Her witch’s senses were on the alert, and she rubbed
her ring without thought. This was of course, nonsense, she told
herself. She was going to a school for young ladies. What was there
to be afraid of?

They turned down a drive lined with pine trees, and
when they rounded the curve of the long, sandy drive, Sassy pressed
her face to the closed window and peered through the dusky light.
It was already past five o’clock and getting darker by the
moment.

When they passed a pretty, winding brook and a
stretch of dark, thick woods, Sassy smiled to see a rabbit scurry
across the road in search of its dinner.

As the sylvan darkness receded, she was met with the
view of a vast field of neatly trimmed lawn. They continued a slow
pace, and Sassy opened her window, shivered against the chill, and
looked past trimmed yews and hedges to the Doric-styled building
ahead. The huge limestone structure dated back centuries, but the
severity of its design was softened with an array of flowerbeds,
hardwood trees, and evergreens.

They passed another far narrower road that led to a
building she supposed to be the stables. As they slowed to a stop
in the circular courtyard, Sassy surveyed her surroundings with
avid interest.

The building appeared to be three stories, probably
with an overhead attic, though she couldn’t be sure. The front
entrance boasted four thick columns that met the roof of the low
portico. Wide flagstone steps led to the double oak doors. Those
doors were heavily trimmed with black iron. Everything about the
school building and grounds looked beautifully maintained, and she
tried to dissipate the unease she felt.

Her driver came to and opened her door, lending her a
hand to help her down, and said with an accompanying smile, “I’ll
see to your luggage, Miss.” He eyed her a moment. “There, there,
you’ll do, you will. Pluck to the backbone and well able to look
after these girls and yerself.”

Sassy gave him a warm smile. “Thank you so much,
Jessie.” However, as she gazed at the doors, she vacillated between
nervousness and outright fear. Something told her to bolt! The
problem—where would she go?

She couldn’t go back to Lady Margate with Sir John in
the house. Until she could figure something out, Netherby was the
only solution.

She placed a half crown in Jessie’s weathered,
callused hand, knowing she could ill afford to do so until the next
quarter, when she would receive interest from her trust fund.

“Aw now, Miss,” he said sincerely, “no need for you
to do this.”

“No need, only heartfelt. Thank you, sir, for all you
have done for me on this journey.” She smiled warmly and turned
back towards those front doors that worried her so very much.

He tipped his woolen cap and as he carried her
luggage to the door ahead of her said lightly, “Miss Winthrop,
thankee. You are big hearted, ye are. Thankee and God bless.”

Sassy smiled absently at him as she stood before the
enormous set of oak doors. Something was wrong. Her insides were
churning. Was it simply ‘nerves’ because she was starting a new
unfamiliar life? It had to be.

She reached for the knocker, but the door was pulled
away from her and opened wide.

A young girl in a simple day-gown of dove gray with a
long white full apron and a mop cap covering her mass of short
brown hair bobbed a quick curtsey. The freckles all over her nose
and her clear, inquisitive, and smiling brown eyes immediately put
an answering smile on Sassy’s face.

“How do you do?” Sassy said quietly, “I am Miss
Winthrop, and I believe your headmistress is expecting me.”

The girl’s brown eyes filled with surprise. “Gawks!
You are too pretty to be a teacher. Gawd, when Mistress Sallstone
claps eyes on you, she is likely to go into convulsions.”

The girl’s remark startled Sassy, and she bit her
bottom lip. Would the headmistress turn her away because of her
appearance?
Oh no.
She gathered herself up and bolstered her
fears with the hope this would not happen. After all, what
difference would what she looked like make here at an all-girls
boarding school? No husband would be lurking around ready to be
tempted, as Lady Margate had explained would be her obstacle and
keep her from being hired as a nanny or a governess.

“Would you be so kind as to announce me to Mistress
Sallstone?” Sassy said, stepping into the hallway and motioning for
Jessie to set her things down there and wait.

He whispered, “I’ll not leave till I get ye settled,
Miss … mark me on it.”

She returned the whisper. “Thank you.”

“I’m Molly, cook’s daughter, ye see. We weren’t
expecting ye till morning,” the girl said over her shoulder as she
turned and led them down the wide corridor of oak flooring to an
open doorway that gave way to what appeared to be a small chamber.
Looking over her, Sassy could see wooden chairs lining one wall. No
other furniture graced the dimly lit room. No doubt this was where
students waited to be called inside Miss Sallstone’s office for
some offense or other.

Molly motioned for Sassy to enter. “If ye take a
seat, I’ll let headmistress know ye be here.” Molly waited for them
both to take a seat and went to yet another door. When her knock
was met with an impatient response, Sassy and Jessie exchanged
looks.

Molly went inside and closed the door at her back. A
moment later she re-entered the anteroom to say, “Headmistress says
ye are to go in now.” So saying, Molly rushed out.

Sassy turned to Jessie, who nodded encouragingly.
“I’ll be here, I will. Don’t ye worry none.”

With this, Sassy went to the open door and stood at
the threshold, where she got her first look of the headmistress,
Bianca Sallstone, according to the nameplate on the desk.

A silence followed as each was taken aback by the
other. Sassy had been expecting to meet Lady Edna Devine, Lady
Margate’s friend, not this young, tall, well figured woman.

Miss Sallstone was provocatively clothed in a gown of
red velvet, not at all suited to a headmistress. Her hair of auburn
was cropped short and curled around her lovely face. Her eyes were
hazel and lightly painted, as were her cheeks. Nothing about her
was anything like Sassy’s expectations!

“You are not at all what I expected. Edna advised me
that her ladyship had written you were too beautiful to place as a
governess, but, my dear, you are perhaps even too exquisite even
for here.”

Sassy felt waves of irritation coming off the
headmistress. Clearly, she wished to send her off. “I assure you,”
Sassy said quietly. “I will do my job.”

“At any rate, Edna owns Netherby Halls, though she
rarely visits.” The headmistress paused and eyed Miss Winthrop
speculatively before continuing, “She leaves it all to me, except
in this instance, where she was insistent that we hire you.” Miss
Sallstone sighed heavily. “You are well connected, on both your
parents’ sides, but that won’t help you here. You must understand
that to fit in here, you will have to do just that—
fit in
.
Because you are young, you will have to work harder to prove your
worth.”

Sassy understood her all too clearly. “Yes.” She
placed Lady Margate’s letter of introduction on the desk before
her, noting to herself that the headmistress had not even asked her
to sit.

“No need to read this now. I am fully aware of your
circumstances.” Miss Sallstone sighed again and now waved her to a
nearby chair. “Do sit, and we will chat for a few moments.”

She eyed Sassy in a manner that made her feel somehow
violated. Something was off … wrong. However, she sat with her
hands folded in her lap and waited.

“It is past tea. However, dinner is always served
promptly at six o’clock. I have instructed Molly to serve you
dinner in your room, which I am certain you will appreciate after
your long journey. The students would no doubt be tiresome to deal
with during the dinner hour.”

“Thank you,” was all Sassy could say. She struggled
to keep her expression pleasant, fighting not to show that she was
nearly overwhelmed with a horrible feeling something about
Sallstone was off, something in her eyes.

“Is there anything you would like to know?” the
headmistress inquired politely but obviously hoping Sassy wouldn’t
bother her with questions.

“Yes, I think I need to know what the routine
is … what I am expected to do first?”

“Time enough for Miss Graves to explain all that to
you tomorrow morning,” Miss Sallstone returned in clipped
accents.

“I see …” Sassy hesitated and then asked, “What
age group will be in my charge?”

“Lady Devine would like you in charge of girls aged
ten to twelve. We don’t enter them younger than ten, you see.”

A knock at the door brought Sassy’s head round, as it
was still open. Miss Sallstone sighed and asked, “What is it now,
Molly?”

“Jane wanted me to let you know Miss’s room is ready,
and I can serve her dinner there now if ye like?”

“Yes,” Miss Sallstone said, obviously relieved to be
done and not trying to hide that fact. “Excellent.”

Sassy nodded, got to her feet, and followed Molly out
to the waiting area, where Jessie fidgeted on his feet.

“I can take up yer bags,” Molly said.

“I’ll be doing that.” Jessie’s tone was
uncompromising.

“I don’t know if the headmistress—”

“I don’t answer to her, and my lady told me I was to
see Miss Winthrop situated, and so I mean to do,” Jessie
answered.

Molly beamed. “Then, off we go.”

As Sassy climbed the stairs, a vibration seemed to
pulse inside the walls adjacent to the stairs, as though reacting
to her. What was this?
You know what
it is
, her
mother’s voice whispered in her head.
You know very
well
—evil.
Something evil resides here
.

~
Seven ~

SASSY THANKED JESSIE and sighed as she watched him
leave. She had grown accustomed to his company and was sorry to see
him go.

She turned and inspected her room. Molly had said she
was to have Miss Saunders’ room. The room was no larger than ten by
eleven, with walls papered in faded pink and besprinkled with green
leaves. Sassy frowned when she realized the surprisingly large
rectangular window in the center of the wall facing the doorway had
no covering.