To Walk in the Sun (Wiggons' School for Elegant Young Ladies - Book 1) (6 page)

For the moment he was trapped. The door
leading to the hall was flooded with sunlight and he weighed his
options of whether to remain in the darker corner of his library
like a trapped animal, or risk further pain by racing for the door
and into the hall.

“Sir?” Wesley called as he entered the room.
“Is anything amiss? Oh, dear,” he answered his own question and
stalked toward the draperies to yank them closed.

Vincent stepped further into the room. “Thank
you.”

“I am dreadfully sorry, sir. I did not know
the girls were coming here.”

“Remind me to keep the doors locked, so they
don’t disturb me again.”

“How could they know you would be in here?”
Wesley questioned. “And, the door was open. I thought you had
retired, since you had not called for me.”

“I should have retreated to my room and will
do so now.” Vincent turned and made his way to the door. His left
hand continued to massage his temple, willing the pain away, though
it had lessened a bit.

“I shall be up in a moment, sir. Would you
like something to help you sleep?”

“Yes, bring the brandy,” Vincent called out
as he turned toward the stairs.

He looked up to find Miss Crawford
descending. Her lips were pursed and her eyes held accusation.
What have I done now?

“Isn’t it a bit early for brandy, Lord
Atwood.”

He sneered at her. It was
her
charges
who brought on this pain.

She straightened and moved further away from
him.

“Had your students not awakened me, I would
be in a better mood. It is because of them I need spirits,” he
growled and marched past her up the stairs.

* * *

Goodness
! Tess didn’t know what to
think. The man became ruder each day. She had been ready to
chastise him for frightening the girls so, but he even scared her
now.

Wesley exited the library when her foot
touched the final step. “Please assure his lordship that I will
have the girls removed from the premises as soon as physically
possible.”

The valet grimaced. “Please do not think too
harshly of Lord Atwood. He was unexpectedly awakened and is not the
most pleasant gentleman when he has not had enough sleep.”

“It is far past morning, Wesley, and he had
no cause to yell at the girls. Why would he be sleeping in the
library when he has, what I assume, a perfectly good chamber?”

“He accidently fell asleep in the library
early this morning,” the valet explained. “And, this is very early
for Lord Atwood as he sleeps most of the day and works in the
evening.”

She snorted. He probably got those habits
from society and the life of the
ton
during the season. Not
that she had ever experienced such, but she had heard.

Wesley wasn’t the one to scare the girls or
behave in a despicable manner and she should not take her
irritation out on him. “I apologize. This is not your fault, but
all of us are a bit on edge from the experiences of last
night.”

“It is quite understandable, Miss
Crawford.”

“I will be taking the girls to the school
shortly to see how bad the damage is in the light of day.”

“I shall go with you, after I have seen to
Lord Atwood.” He held up the brandy and began to mount the
stairs.

“That will not be necessary, Wesley,”

He turned to look at her. “His lordship will
wish to know the details as well and I will be able to report them
to him.”

He probably wants to know how soon we will be
departing. Well, he shouldn’t have invited us if he was going to
make everyone’s life miserable.

* * *

Wesley helped Vincent out of his clothing,
for which he was grateful. Normally he could undress himself
without any help, but the pounding in his head was making him
nauseous. All he wanted to do was lie down.

“Sir, the laudanum would not be remiss,
especially at a time like this,” Wesley insisted

Vincent turned and glared at the man. “I will
not
rely on the fruit of the poppy.
Ever again
.”

“But sir, you cannot continue to live in this
manner.”

Vincent shrugged off his trousers and handed
them to his valet. “I have not exactly been given a choice, now
have I?”

Wesley folded his clothing, which always
amazed Vincent since they would now be taken to be laundered. With
a sigh, he settled into his dark cocoon of a bed. The entire room
was dark, from the chestnut stained paneling, deep blue - almost
black - carpet and draperies to the velvet, burgundy bed curtains,
which would be closed before Wesley left his room. Only in his cool
quiet cave did Vincent relax. Except for today.

“Wesley, hand me the brandy.”

As instructed, the servant placed the glass,
filled with a generous amount of liquid, into his employer’s hand.
“Will that be all?”

“Yes. No. Find out how long
they
are
going to be in residence.”

“Very good, sir.”

* * *

It was much, much worse than she believed.
The tree had not only fallen into the side of the house, but the
school appeared to be leaning a bit. That could not be a good
thing. Tess tilted her head to see if it helped straighten out the
image. It didn’t.

“Oh, dear,” Wesley muttered beside her.

The girls stood beside her in unusual mute
surprise.

“You are not imagining what you see,” Mrs.
Wiggons sighed as she joined them.

“How soon will it be repaired?”

Mrs. Wiggons harrumphed.

Tess turned to look at her. She was almost
afraid to ask what her employer meant by such a non verbal
statement.

The woman sighed. “It is quite possible the
entire school will need to be rebuilt.” Tears glistened in her
eyes. Tess knew the building had been her former home, from the
days when her parents were alive and considered wealthy, landed
gentry. That turned out not to be the case as Mrs. Wiggon’s parents
had lived beyond their means, as had her husband. When they all
perished, within five years of each other, Mrs. Wiggons was left
alone with only the house and a pile of debts. She was forced to do
the only thing she could think of, besides marriage, and turned the
house into a school. Now, twenty years later, she was prosperous
and considered to have one of the best girls’ schools in the
country. That was, until a tempest practically destroyed it last
evening.

Tess put an arm around the woman’s shoulders.
This must be as devastating as the loss of her parents had been
years ago. “What can I do?”

Mrs. Wiggons sniffed and brought a hanky to
her nose. “I am not sure there is anything any of us can do.”

“You have the responsibility of three dozen
students. We must think of a plan now, for we cannot be spread out
all over the county. How would any classes be conducted?”

Mrs. Wiggons shook her head as if to clear
her pain and focus on the immediate concerns. “I was here when the
sun rose and have already written to each of the parents. I have
given them the option of the girls returning home and I would forgo
the remaining tuition until the school is inhabitable again.”

“The financial loss will be too much.” Though
Mrs. Wiggons no longer owed creditors and she did have some
savings, most of it went back into the school and to pay her
teachers. Tess was not even sure there was enough in the accounts
to refund so many partial tuitions.

“I also explained the circumstances, where
the girls were living at the moment, with whom and which teacher
accompanied them. I assured them I would look into new lodgings
where we could all live and continue to educate their
children.”

Tess sighed, at least Mrs. Wiggons was
thinking of other possibilities.

“I just don’t know of any place that is large
enough for all of us.”

Tess considered the area. She had lived here
for almost two years now, and had also attended the school years
earlier, but she knew little of the homes and families, rarely
venturing into town. Unfortunately, there was only one place large
enough to accommodate all of the students and staff, and he wanted
the four currently living there to be gone as soon as humanly
possible.

“We must think of something, someplace. You
would be ruined if you had to return the tuition. Further, with the
funds gone, how would you rebuild? There has to be another answer,
one we just have not thought of as of yet.”

Mrs. Wiggons smiled at her sadly. “I’ve
already thought the problem through. I am afraid that when the
parents arrive, they will take the girls home and we will be
closing the school for good.”

“No,” Tess cried. What would she do? Or,
Claudia and Natalie, and especially Mrs. Wiggons? None of them had
any place to go. No family and only each other as friends. The
staff and other teachers could all find positions elsewhere or
return to families, but the four did not have that option. This was
turning into more of a nightmare than she ever thought
possible.

“Tess, we will find a way.” Mrs. Wiggons
looked deep into her eyes. “I will not let anything happen to you
or the others. On that you have my word.”

Tess was grateful for the reassurance, but
could not begin to fathom how Mrs. Wiggons would accomplish the
task.

“In the meantime,” Mrs. Wiggons brightened
and clapped her hands. “We need to pack up what belongings survived
for storage. The stables were untouched, thank goodness, and we
will be storing our items in there for the time being.”

“What about the horses?” Rosemary asked.

“Mr. Conner has agreed to stable them for us.
He has ample room and promised they could remain there until the
students return home.”

Tess narrowed her eyes and looked at her
employer. “Mr. Conner?” She arched an eyebrow in question. The man
was of an age as Mrs. Wiggons and had been smitten with the woman
for as long as Tess could remember and also a widower.

A blush spread across Mrs. Wiggons cheeks.
“Do not make anything more out of this than there is. He is simply
being kind,” Mrs. Wiggons insisted as she hustled toward the
house.

Tess skipped to catch up. “And what is the
fine Mr. Conner charging?” She already guessed.

“Nothing. He is doing this out of the
kindness of his heart.”

“Really?” Tess chuckled.

Mrs. Wiggons turned on her and wagged a
finger. “
Kindness of his heart
,” she insisted. “I will hear
nothing more on the subject.”

Tess knew when to keep quiet, and that
usually occurred when Mrs. Wiggons talked to her as if she were a
student once again. Still, it would not be so bad if, through his
generosity, Mrs. Wiggons warmed to the older man. Why should one be
lonely when one did not need to be? Unless ones only option was
someone like. . . no, she would not even think his name.

* * *

“No,” Vincent roared, then quieted his voice.
It was a mistake to be too loud, but he had to make his valet
understand. “I barely survived three of them,
three
, and you
expect me to take in
three dozen
, and their teachers?”

“I know it may seem like a hardship-”

“A bloody disaster,” Vincent corrected.

“But you are the only one who can help,”
Wesley continued unfazed.

“Have you forgotten how much I need and
enjoy
my quiet, peaceful existence? It is all I can do to
hold onto what sanity I possess, and you are suggesting the one
thing that will send me straight to Bedlam.”

Wesley sighed, crossed his arms over his
chest and stared his employer right in the eye, his left eyebrow
arched. “We will make it work.”

“
You
will make it work,” Vincent
corrected.

“Ah, then we are in agreement.” Wesley turned
to leave.

“Hell, no, we are not in agreement!” Vincent
shouted and brought his palm to his head. He really should quit
raising his voice. “You will make it work somewhere else, far, far
away from me and this house. Do I make myself clear?”

Wesley sighed. “Sir, after I left the school,
I went into town to check on the schools finances. If they are
forced to return the tuition, the school will never be
rebuilt.”

“It is not the only school in England,”
Vincent argued. He leaned his head back against the soft cushions
of the chair and closed his eyes. Wesley asked the impossible.

“Yes, but it was Mrs. Wiggon’s home, and the
home of three of her teachers who have nowhere else to go.”

Vincent cracked one eye to look at his valet,
but said nothing.

“You are a leader in this community. The only
lord, and the magistrate. It is up to you to take care of these
matters.”

Vincent snorted.

“Sir, you cannot let this travesty
continue.”

Vincent sat up and narrowed his eyes on
Wesley. “As I did not bring on the tempest, I certainly don’t see
how I can possibly be the one responsible to set things right.”

“I am disappointed in you, Lord Atwood,”
Wesley sniffed. “For the first time in my life, I am completely and
utterly disappointed.” He turned to leave the room.

Vincent stood. He had known Wesley since he
was a boy. The man had never been disappointed in him. Perhaps
angry on occasion, when he was young, but never disappointed. This
did not sit well with him. “How long?”

Wesley turned to look at him and raised an
eyebrow in question.

“How long would
they
be here?” He
wanted to make it very clear that while he was giving the idea some
thought, he had not yet agreed.

Wesley folded his hands in front of him and
smiled. “That all depends on how long it takes to rebuild the
school.”

Vincent relaxed against the chair and mulled
over the idea. “Who in town is there to get the deed done?”