Cruel Shame (Knights of Templar Academy #3) - Sofia Daniel Page 0,46

seeming to remember Gideon’s words from Saturday night.

“Indeed.” Gideon took a sip from his teacup.

“But Mr. Burgh has enough legal troubles of his own,” said Kendrick

“Precisely.” Gideon raised a brow.

My shoulders slumped. “The Liddells are so—”

“Diabolical?” asked Orlando.

“Calculating?” asked Kendrick.

I shook my head. “They’ve thought of this from every angle. The word I was looking for was ‘thorough’.”

“Not quite.” Orlando leaned back in his seat, letting one of the servers slide a plate of scrambled eggs, kippers, and grilled tomatoes in front of him.

We waited for the servers to provide our cooked breakfasts—eggs on toast for me and a bowl of porridge for Kendrick. When they left, Orlando glanced from left to right before leaning forward. “I spent all of yesterday afternoon caddying for my grandfather.”

I leaned forward, my eyes wide. The Nevis family owned one of the oldest and most prestigious breweries in Scotland. These people were seriously old money, rich, and could get an audience with people like the archbishop.

Orlando picked up the pot and poured himself a cup of tea. “Grandfather asked the archbishop point blank if there was any truth in Elizabeth’s allegations.”

My heart flip-flopped. “And?”

“The archbishop said Elizabeth was a disturbed young woman who had a tendency for pork pies.”

I flinched. Did the Archbishop think rhyming slang would soften Elizabeth’s lies? “Did your grandfather press for more details?”

Orlando shook his head. “When I asked if they were going to let Elizabeth get away with it, Grandfather sent me back to the buggy.”

“I hope you didn’t leave,” said Gideon.

“Oh yes, I stayed alright.” Orlando cut into one of his tomatoes, sending juice spilling out into the plate. “The bastards changed the subject, but I asked them about Mr. Burgh.”

My eyes bulged. “And?”

“The archbishop plans on giving him a generous severance package in compensation for the hardship.”

“Hardship.” I exchanged a glare with Gideon. Money couldn’t compensate for Mr. Burgh living out the rest of his life with these filthy accusations following him around like a plague.

Kendrick cleared his throat. “His Grace wouldn’t pay off a man who molested his daughter, which proves the allegations false.”

“Cameron Liddell was standing right there,” Orlando snarled. “The bloody bastard didn’t say a word.”

I turned my gaze up to the ceiling and exhaled a weary breath. Maybe Kendrick’s plan to be nicer to Elizabeth wasn’t so outlandish.

Chapter Twenty

As soon as I stepped into the Fashion and Textiles class, Miss Martin clapped her hands together and beamed. She wore a high-necked dress with a cut-out front and fluted sleeves that ruched into deep pleats where they met the bodice. The rest of the garment was made up of panels that hugged her body and flared out to make a mermaid tail. It would have made a dramatic evening gown if she hadn’t made it in gray wool.

Today, she taught us the basics of appliqué embroidery, where you sew pieces of fabric onto an item of clothing to make a design. It’s something I watched on Youtube, but never paid it much attention because I thought it was more of a technique for baby clothes.

Miss Martin brought out some of her designs, including a dress of sheer, gossamer silk embellished around the upper skirt and bodice to create a garment out of a fairytale. She told us to make something out of a square of fabric and then walked around the class to offer corrections and advice.

I took some silk and cut it into the shape of a bandana top and sewed rolled hems on all four sides. Once I had my base for the garment, I picked scraps of mulberry silk and cut them into leaf shapes. For the rest of the glass, I machine-stitched the leaves to the base fabric, linking them with a rolled stem and branches.

Maeve worked at my side and said her parents would refuse to pay the tuition fees for a school where the founder’s kid pushed cocaine. A lot of other girls around the room said they would talk to their families about doing the same.

I kept my head down and ears open. To me, it sounded less of a protest and more like getting access to a posh school for free. The academy still needed to pay the salaries of the staff, who tried to run a decent school but kept getting undermined by Elizabeth and Lady Liddell. Why couldn’t they take the Liddells to court or press for criminal charges?

By the end of the three hour class, I had a basic front for the top