The Gentleman and the Thief (The Dread Penny Society #2) - Sarah M. Eden Page 0,71
shroud wearers without having to learn a blasted thing.”
Bathwater and Pudding whooped, both clearly seeing the genius in his suggestion.
Snout still looked skeptical. “A First Form shouldn’t be perfect at it, though. That’d make the professors start thinking too hard about who this unfamiliar student is.”
Ace nodded. It was a valid point. “So we figure out how to make it look like he’s slipping into the ground a little. They’ll assume he’s concentrating so hard on staying inside the shroud that he’s neglecting his feet a bit.”
“And he’d be entirely covered up,” Bathwater said.
Ace looked at each of his friends in turn. “What do you say?”
“It’s brilliant!” Pudding declared. “And if it means staying here, out of the rain, with food to eat, I’ll pretend to float through all the ground you want me to.”
Ace was getting excited. They were going to sneak a Perishable into the Spirit Trials, and they were going to get away with it.
Ace, Snout, Bathwater, and Pudding were about to become Higglebottom legends!
Ana held fast to Mother’s paste brooch. It had been more difficult to find than the other items taken from them. Father wouldn’t talk about the details of its loss. She’d only managed to learn two things: his former partner had stolen it and then had lost it in a game of cards.
The woman who had most recently acquired it had told a friend she was considering ridding her jewelry box of items she didn’t overly care for. That friend had told a friend, whose lady’s maid had overheard the conversation, and word of it had, through the servants’ gossip network, reached Wallace, who had told Ana.
Mother had loved the little brooch. As Ana had heard the tale told, Father had purchased it in the first days of their marriage, when his business ventures were still small but growing. The token had been a monetary sacrifice, a purchase that had caused a noticeable financial pinch. That had added meaning for Mother and had made its loss all the more heartbreaking. It had little value beyond the sentimental.
Ana returned home with the treasure held in a desperate grip, all the while keenly aware that Hollis was likely across the street attempting to rescue his brother while risking his own feeble fortune. She could hardly fault him for engaging in slightly underhanded endeavors for the sake of his family; she was guilty of the same.
Father was in his room, as always.
Ana sat beside him, then withdrew from her pocket the handkerchief-wrapped bundle. She slowly and carefully unfolded the linen. Seeing the blue-and-white cameo brooch again, even though she’d looked at it all the way from the home where she’d bought it, still brought a stirring of emotion. Mother had worn it so often, so proudly.
“Mercy,” he said. “Is that Beatrice’s?”
“It is.” She set it in his hand.
“Where did you find it?”
In a pile of unwanted trinkets Mrs. Castleton sold for a pittance. “I was fortunate enough to come across it.”
Wallace eyed her from over Father’s shoulder. She met his gaze, amusedly daring him to press for more information. Though they’d not discussed it in any detail, she felt certain he realized she hadn’t merely “found” many of the things she’d returned to this house.
“I hope you didn’t pay too much for it,” Father said. “It is merely paste after all.”
“I paid what it is worth to those who haven’t our attachment to it.” She made the declaration as much to Wallace as to him. She had, after all, honestly paid for this reacquisition. “Mother would be so pleased to know we have it back again.”
“That she would, assuming she had forgiven me for losing it in the first place.” He smiled sadly. “Her heart was broken already. Losing this only shattered it further.”
“It was hardly your fault.” Ana reached over and patted his arm. “None of us suspected Mr. Kellogg would do all the damage he did.”
“He lost it on the turn of a card.” Father pinned the brooch to his lapel. Anyone seeing it would think him utterly out of his mind, but to Ana, it was sweetly touching. “I’ve heard from many people who were there that they suspect the game was not a fair one.”
What was this?
Father sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I would have felt bad for the horrid man, being cheated at cards, but he deserved every spot of bad luck he had, even if it did cost your mother this lovely little bauble.”