LITMIR.BIZ

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get out of here. Let’s go to Mount Donne,” she exclaimed, stopping Lady Theo from asking more questions.

      “Mount Donne? Why?”

      “Because it’s beautiful. Particularly at this time of the year. Come on. You’ll see.”

      “You were right, Sophie,” Lady Theo said a couple of hours later after she’d climbed to the lookout. “It’s absolutely stunning. I had no idea how wonderful the trees would look from up here.”

      Sophie had taken the incredible colour changes of a Vermont autumn for granted until she went to England with her papa. Even though English trees changed colour as well, their shades weren’t nearly so vivid. Now Sophie looked at the reds and gold with something like affection. No matter what the ABCs, their wives, or their children did, this beauty would not change. It was her birthright.

      “We own all the land between the lake,” she told Lady Theo, pointing to Lake Champlain in the distance, “over to that mountain and then north to the hill just past the crossroads.”

      “That’s a lot of land,” Lady Theo commented. “It looks as big as some of our English counties. Now I understand why Bear Ellice is so eager to have your father as a partner in this new business they’re talking about. There are probably enough trees here to build an entire fleet every ten years. Bear’s right. Your father could supply the Royal Navy with masts for years. That’s a rich, rich contract.”

      “Well, he won’t if the ABCs know about it. They wouldn’t trade with the British even if they were starving. Um —” Sophie broke off and stared intently at the path below her. “That’s odd,” she said eventually.

      “What’s odd?”

      “Nothing, I suppose. There’s a mystery boy around. I’ve seen him twice at Clart’s house, but when I ask about him everyone pretends he doesn’t exist. They say I’m imagining things. But I’m not. I’ve even seen him climb this mountain once but he came up over there.”

      “There? He must be half mountain goat, Sophie.” Sophie laughed. “Maybe he’s like Pan in the Greek myths. Half man, half goat. Either way, I’m not likely to find out.”

      “There’s a lot of secrets in your family, isn’t there,” Lady Theo commented, careful not to look at Sophie.

      “A lot. Mrs. Bates grumbles because Papa’s doing something with Mr. Ellice that she doesn’t know about, and the only reason she grumbles is because she can’t tell the ABCs about it. I think my brothers are up to something. Sometimes when I walk into a room everyone stops talking. Particularly if Clart’s friend is around.”

      “Clart’s friend. I don’t think I’ve met him.”

      “That’s why I think they’re hiding something from Papa. I don’t think he’s met him either and I don’t know why. His name’s Marc and he’s very nice. He calls me Miss Sophie and kisses my hand.”

      Lady Theo frowned. “How old is he, Sophie?” she asked sharply.

      “Quite old. About the same as Clart, I expect. Twenty-five.”

      “Well, well. Twenty-five is old? I suppose I must seem positively ancient to you.”

      “Of course. You’re almost as old as Papa,” Sophie said, laughing as she ran to the path leading down the mountain. “And if Papa’s Methuselah, the oldest man who’s ever lived, as I sometimes think, will I have to call you Lady Methuselah when you marry him?” She shrieked as Lady Theo made a playful grab for her and began running down the track towards home.

      The following day Sophie wondered if she’d ever joke again. Sadly she watched her papa, Lady Theo, and Mr. Ellice leave to visit the Governor to discuss some business, she supposed. Lady Theo explained they’d have to overnight in Montpelier and return the following day. When she added that Mrs. Bates would look after her, Sophie merely rolled her eyes.

      “I know, dear. But it was either that or have you stay with Albert and his family. I thought you’d prefer to remain here.”

      “Thank you. I do. But I’ll miss you,” Sophie told her unhappily. So many things had become clear to her. One of the reasons she liked Lady Theo so much was because she took the trouble to explain everything. She didn’t just order Sophie around like everyone else did. She ordered, all right, but she also told her why she wanted things done. The other reason Sophie liked her was because Lady Theo understood so much without actually being told anything. Already she’d sensed the undercurrent of distrust and bitterness that swirled through the Mallorys’ homes and businesses.

      Lady Theo couldn’t know everything, of course. Her biggest fear, Sophie now realized, was not being left alone with her nephews and nieces. Not at all. If Lady Theo ever figured out how horrible things were, she might not marry Papa after all. That would be the ultimate calamity, the very worst thing in the world that could happen.

      The next day Sophie had her morning lessons as usual, and after lunch, Elias and his twin sister Emily arrived.

      “You’ve got to come, Sophie. Pegasus is limping. I think something’s wrong with his hock,” Emily exclaimed, grabbing her hand. “Come on. He’s behind the stables.”

      The only thing Sophie liked about Emily was her profound love for Sophie’s old pony, Pegasus. Without a second thought, she told Mrs. Bates she was off to the stables and allowed Emily to tug her out the door. “Have you told John?” she asked, referring to the head groom.

      Emily shook her head. “I thought you should know first. After all, he’s your pony.”

      “Thanks. Maybe it’s just a stone in his shoe.”

      To Sophie’s surprise, the twins led her to the old box room behind the stables, and when she opened the door, she found not Pegasus but Daniel and Eliza waiting for her.

      She turned to Emily with fury and betrayal in her eyes. “You didn’t care about Pegasus at all. This is just a trap.”

      “Which you stupidly fell into,” Elias gloated.

      Sophie couldn’t say anything. She had been stupid. She’d allowed her love for Pegasus to overcome her caution. Usually she would not have trusted the twins to lead her anywhere, but Elias, as usual, had found her weakness.

      “Doesn’t it bother you, being so stupid?” he went on.

      Again Sophie kept quiet. There was no point in saying anything. Elias and Daniel stood between her and the door, and Eliza and Emily stood to either side. She had no chance of getting away.

      As usual, Elias started the attack. “You’re so stupid you don’t even know how stupid you really are. All we had to tell you was that there was something wrong with Pegasus and you didn’t stop to think. You rushed out of the house without even bothering to put on a coat. You’re just like Uncle Benjamin. You don’t think.”

      “Papa says Uncle Benjamin’s going to bankrupt us all if he keeps running the mills the way he does,” Daniel said. “Papa says that these new ideas of his don’t make sense. You can’t replace men with machines, so why does he want to invest in a railroad?”

      Sophie thought about telling them of the steam mills and other things she’d seen in England, but before she could say a word, Eliza grabbed her arm and pinched it. “And my mama says it’s all because of that fancy-piece he’s brought back with him, that Lady Theodosia,” she sniffed. “Mama says it should be Lady Whoreodosia.”

      Sophie saw red. “If anyone’s a whore, it’s your mother,” she shouted. “She didn’t have a cent to her name when she married Bert. I can remember Mrs. Bates telling someone that when I was little.”

      Elias, for once, stopped being an onlooker. Sophie had hardly finished the words when he grabbed her arms. “Go on, Daniel,” he said, his face flushed with anger. “I’ll hold her. Teach her to shut her mouth. No one should be able to say things like that about your mama and get away with it.”

      Daniel

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