Cruel Shame (Knights of Templar Academy #3) - Sofia Daniel Page 0,54
twenty people gathered at the far end around a long table containing a breakfast buffet and insulated carafes of coffee, tea, and hot water.
I turned to Mrs. Campbell. “Are these all governors?”
She inclined her head. “We hardly ever get all of them in the same room, but recent events…”
Right. I gulped, wishing I’d brought a bottle of water. It was one thing battling Lady Liddell and a few sycophants, but it was me against a legion.
Lady Liddell made a show of adding cream to a coffee cup and handing it to the archbishop. Father Neapolitan stood beside the pair, trying and failing to engage them in conversation. Today, he wore a tweed suit with a white shirt and nondescript tie. It had been years since I last saw The Matrix, but I’m sure Neo wore that outfit before taking the red pill.
I clenched my teeth. The only person missing was Camden Liddell, who probably had real police business to do instead of framing teenaged girls and threatening them in their hospital beds. Every time I thought about how that man protected Elizabeth, I became more and more convinced that he was her real father.
“Thank you all for coming at such short notice.” Lady Liddell crossed the room and sat at the head of the table with the archbishop taking the seat to her right. “The allegations facing Headmaster Burgh are very serious indeed and require thorough investigation before allowing him near any of the precious children within the academy.”
The people around the buffet hurried to take their places closest to the head of the table. Father Neapolitan shouldered his way to Lady Liddell’s left and sat with his back straighter than a teacher’s pet.
Mrs. Campbell placed a hand on my shoulder. “Take a seat, Lilah.”
I trudged to the chair directly opposite the blonde harpy and sat with the deputy head on my left.
Lady Liddell pressed her lips together in a Deloris Umbridge smile. All that was missing from the ensemble was the abundance of pink. “Before we question Mr. Burgh, I thought it best to speak with Miss Lilah Hancock, a young woman who he helped to bypass the recruitment process to offer her both a luxurious guest room within the academy and a bedroom within his private quarters.”
Before I could speak up in his defense, Mrs. Campbell said, “Headmaster Burgh was taking advantage of a benefit offered to all members of staff. Your own daughter also bypassed the recruitment process, yes?”
The archbishop patted Lady Liddell’s hand. “Shall we continue the subject of the meeting, chairwoman?”
Lady Liddell cleared her throat. “Could you tell us in your own words your relationship with the headmaster?”
Resentment seared through my veins. Why the hell should I be talking about my life to a room full of hostile strangers who weren’t even the police? I sucked in a deep, calming breath, reminding myself that this was for Mr. Burgh. I had to do everything possible to discredit that collagen-riddled hag.
“Mr. Burgh is my mother’s father,” I said in a loud, clear voice, making eye contact with everyone, including Father Neapolitan. “I discovered this when Elizabeth—”
“Thank you,” said Lady Liddell with a tight smile. “You have answered the question to the governors’ satisfaction.”
“Elizabeth uncovered the information and told everyone,” I blurted. “After that, Mr. Burgh confirmed we were related.”
The other woman’s lips tightened. “Quite. There was talk of impropriety between—”
“You mean the stuff you made up?” I snapped.
Red blotches appeared on her face. She pressed a hand on her chest, spluttering with a fake attack of shock and outrage, looking like she was about to faint. “Why, I have never in my life!”
My blood boiled. What did the stupid cow expect from holding a hearing? Did she think I would throw poor Mr. Burgh under the bus to keep my place at the academy?
On my left, Mrs. Burgh made a hissing sound that hit me like an electric shock. Lady Liddell wanted me to fly into a temper, so she could expel me for bad behavior. After driving Mr. Burgh from the academy under such terrible allegations, she’d see to it that her partitioners drove us from Templar with pitchforks and flaming torches.
Exhaling a long breath, I said in my best Gideon voice, “Please forgive the outburst. Recent events have unsettled my emotions. I’m also recovering from a terrible concussion brought on by being struck with a pistol.”
All of the faces around the tables softened, save for Father Neapolitan, who fixed me with fiery glare hateful