Cruel Shame (Knights of Templar Academy #3) - Sofia Daniel Page 0,53

but nobody dared speak up.

I shook my head, hoping we could get this plan together. The night before, Mr. Burgh and I had swabbed the insides of our cheeks with cotton buds, placed them in paper envelopes with our initials, and into another envelope addressed to his solicitor. Even if Mother refused to help us, he had a plan in place to sue the Liddells for harassment and libel.

As Gideon was explaining to the table how his father got to travel around with the oil company, Lady Liddell appeared at my side, filling my nostrils with a sharp, floral perfume.

“Miss Hancock?” she said. “Please join us immediately for an emergency hearing with the Board of Governors.”

My stomach dropped. I raised my head to meet her gaze, but the woman was already halfway to the head table.

“What’s happening?” asked Orlando.

“Remember I told you about the text I got from the academy yesterday morning?”

He frowned. “The one about the indefinite leave?”

I nodded. “It looks like she wants me to spout a stream of bullshit to keep my place at the academy.”

Kendrick’s lips tightened. “An ambush.”

“Depending who’s there, we might be able to take advantage of it.” Maxwell pulled out his smartphone and tapped a few buttons. “This model has a better microphone than yours. Even if you slip it into your pocket, the audio is crystal clear. I have no idea what they’ll say, but you’ve got to be prepared with these bastards, right?”

I glanced at Gideon, who gave me an approving nod.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Walking to the conference room was like walking to my own funeral and knowing that immediately afterward, I’d be dispatched to the pits of hell. Maxwell and Orlando flanked me on the left and right, their large bodies providing me with the strength I needed to put one step in front of the other.

This would be an inquisition. Lady Liddell had probably already prepared a bunch of rubbish that proved Mr. Burgh was unfit to be the headmaster, and no one would give a shit that her daughter introduced drugs to the school or she supplied a girl with a gun.

Rapid footsteps followed us down the hallway. I turned to find Mrs. Campbell hurrying after us. We paused, allowing her to catch up, and she offered Maxwell and Orlando tired smiles.

“Go to class, boys.” Even though she pulled back her shoulders to straighten her posture, the strain of recent events showed in her eyes. “I will escort Miss Hancock to her hearing.”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Just a bit of nonsense. Everything will work itself out.”

The boys turned to me as if asking permission. I smiled and mouthed at them to go. Even if Mr. Burgh wouldn’t be in the room, and Mrs. Campbell was powerless against Lady Liddell, I still had the truth on my side. That was more powerful than all that family’s toxic bullshit.

Mrs. Campbell and I stood in the hallway as the students darted in and out of classrooms before the first bell. Orlando and Maxwell disappeared into a door that led down the stairwell.

“You’ve made some rather influential friends,” she said.

“Their families?” I asked.

“And the boys themselves.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Between them, I’m sure they’ll come up with a way to put a certain young madam in her place.”

When the first bell sounded, the students disappeared into their classrooms, and Lady Liddell strode out of the dining hall with her nose in the air. Her steps faltered to find us both standing in the hallway, but she gathered herself and sauntered toward us like this was some sort of catwalk. Elizabeth jogged after her at her heels.

“Come along,” said Lady Liddell. “This hearing won’t start without either of you.”

The woman click-clacked down the hallway with a feline gait she’d probably practiced in the mirror. She wore red-soled Manolo Blahnik stilettos with seamed stockings with a bodycon skirt that hugged an ass that sagged like two bags of flour.

Mrs. Campbell’s eyes blazed with loathing, and the corners of her lips turned down with disgust. She curled her hands into fists and inhaled a deep breath through her flared nostrils, looking like she was ready to spew out a few home truths.

I placed my hand on the woman’s arm and shook my head. Mr. Burgh needed her in place, where she could keep an eye on the Liddells.

We turned the corner and followed the scent of freshly brewed coffee into the same boardroom from my last hearing. About