The Book of Spells (6 page)

Eliza scanned the basement. Alice was batting her eyes at no fewer than four boys, while Theresa and Jane were listening to two others in the corner. Lavender and Catherine sat alone together, conversing in low tones. The rest of the girls were giggling and casting glances at the various groups of boys.

“My guess would be none,” she said, smiling and looking down
at her hands. “My mother would tell me to turn the topic toward the weather, or ask you about your family or your aspirations.”

“The weather is fine, thank you. My family is boring, and I aspire to keep talking to you for as long as possible, if you’ll agree to not mention any of those dull topics again,” Harrison said lightly, looking intently at her.

Eliza grinned. “Agreed.” For a long moment she held his gaze.

“Miss Williams, would it be too bold of me if I said that you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen?” he said quietly.

Eliza couldn’t breathe. She could barely even think. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard her mother teaching her the proper way in which to react to a compliment: Cast her gaze down, blush, and either thank the boy politely or protest. But as Eliza looked into Harrison’s dark blue eyes, another answer came to her.

“Likewise, Mr. Knox,” she said.

He grinned.

“There you are, Harry! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Harrison nearly jumped out of his chair. Theresa was cutting across the basement purposefully, a hand outstretched toward Harrison, the engagement ring upon it twinkling in the candlelight.

“Theresa. You look lovely as always,” he said. He took her offered hand and kissed it, an everyday gesture that nevertheless made Eliza’s stomach twist into knots.

Theresa chuckled and slipped her arm through his, pulling him proprietarily to her side. Together they faced Eliza, who rose belatedly from her own chair.

“You’re ever the gentleman.” Theresa reached up and brushed an errant lock of blond hair off his forehead. The knots in Eliza’s stomach tightened. “I see you’ve met Billings’s newest student, Eliza Williams.”

“Yes. We’ve just been discussing our aspirations,” Harrison said, his tone suddenly formal.

Eliza stared at Theresa’s hand on Harrison’s arm. “How do you two know each other?”

“Oh, Harry didn’t tell you? He and I are engaged to be married,” Theresa said, thrusting her ring toward Eliza’s nose.

The entire world dropped out from beneath Eliza’s feet. She tore her eyes from the diamond long enough to glance at Harrison. He looked away sheepishly.

Engaged. He’s engaged. And to Theresa? How could he be engaged to someone so awful?

A sour desperation spread through Eliza’s gut. She knew she was to congratulate the pair and ask what season they planned to wed. But her mouth felt glued shut, and her thoughts were a confused tangle. Harrison had complimented her taste in books, her thoughtfulness, and her eyes. Was that standard behavior from an engaged man? Obviously she had misinterpreted his interest in her. Suddenly Eliza felt awkward, naïve, and pathetic.

“We’re thinking a spring wedding, right, Harry?” Theresa said, smiling up at him.

“Spring, yes. Spring would be . . . fine,” he said in a strangled voice.

And just like that, something snapped inside of Eliza. Anger crowded out her desperation—anger not at Harrison nor at Theresa, but at herself. She had promised herself she wouldn’t turn into May and sell her soul for a boy, yet here she was, on her first night, ready to cry over the first one she’d met. What had gotten into her?

She drew herself up and lifted her chin. “Congratulations,” she said. “I’m sure the two of you will be very happy together.”

Then she turned and strode over to join Jonathan, Alice, and two tall boys, resolving to put Harrison Knox and Theresa Billings entirely out of her mind. He was a flirt, and she was a witch. As far as Eliza Williams was concerned, they deserved each other.

“Everyone, stop here,” Theresa said as they emerged from the tunnel. She paused at the edge of the woods and glanced up at Crenshaw House, which stood just across an open expanse of the hill. The rest of the girls crowded behind her, camouflaged by the trees. Eliza stood at the back of the pack with Alice, her pulse pounding in her temples. She couldn’t stand how Theresa kept taking charge of every situation, how everyone looked to her as though she was some sort of messiah. All Eliza wanted to do was get inside her room, pull the covers over her head, and pretend this night had never happened.

“We’ll go across in twos,” Theresa said. “When you get there, keep to the wall and out of sight. I’ll go last and let you all in.”

Everyone nodded their agreement.

“Viola, Bia, you go first.”

As the two sisters sprinted off across the grass, grasping each other’s hands, Alice leaned in toward Eliza’s ear.

“I need your opinion on the boys,” she whispered.

“What boys?” Eliza asked, keeping one eye on Theresa. She was walking along the line of girls like some sort of army general.

“Jeff Whittaker and Christopher Renaud!” Alice said, wide-eyed. “You met them.”

“Right. Of course,” Eliza said, remembering the names of Jonathan’s other friends. Theresa glanced in her direction, then turned and walked back to the front, urging Genevieve and Marilyn to go next. A cool breeze rustled the leaves overhead, stirring up the scent of freshly fallen pine needles. In any other circumstances Eliza would have been taking in the scenery, enjoying the rare treat of being outdoors at night, but thanks to Theresa—and Harrison—she just couldn’t seem to relax.

“I’m deciding which one of them I’m going to allow to escort me to the welcome dance,” Alice said breathlessly. “You seem like a levelheaded girl, Eliza. Whom do you think I should choose?”

Alice grasped Eliza’s hand, and Eliza felt a rush of sudden and unexpected affection. Alice was almost like a little girl—a little sister, which was something Eliza had never had.

“Well, Jeff might be better for conversation, with his recent travels to talk about, but you and Christopher have similar coloring, so . . .”

“Oh my goodness, I hadn’t thought of that! We would make a handsome pair, wouldn’t we?” Alice gasped. “But Jeff is so attentive. He actually noticed my shoe had come undone and risked his pant leg on that musty floor in order to refasten it for me! Oh, why does this have to be so hard?”

She looked up into the boughs overhead as if the trees would offer some sort of answer. Nearby, Catherine stifled a laugh.

“I’m sure you’ll make the right decision in the end,” Eliza said, squeezing Alice’s hand. “Perhaps you should go see Christopher at Easton tomorrow and ask where he summers. That may help tip the scales.”

Alice nodded solemnly. “Of course. Thank you, Eliza. I knew you were the right person to talk to.”

Catherine turned around then, clearly unable to stay away any longer. “She’s right, you know, Eliza. You may claim to have had no beaux, but clearly you understand the perils of romance,” she teased.

“Thank you, Catherine. I do consider myself a student of the human condition,” Eliza replied, feeling Theresa’s eyes on her as she sent Jane and Lavender off into the night.

Catherine laughed quietly. “That reminds me! I wanted to ask you, have you read
The Canterbury Tales
?”

“Oh, it’s one of my favorites!” Eliza held a hand over her heart. “The language, the imagery, the dialogue! Don’t you feel as if you’re right there with the characters?”

Suddenly, Theresa cleared her throat. She eyed Catherine and Eliza, her hands behind her back. “Catherine, Alice, you may go.”

“What?” Catherine said. “But I—”

“I know we always stick together, Catherine,” Theresa said as if humoring her, yet in a somehow condescending tone. “But I’d like to get to know our new charge a bit better.” She looked Eliza up and down in a way that made Eliza’s blood curdle.

Catherine gazed at them for a moment, then shrugged.

“All right, then. But play nice,” she added, giving Theresa a shrewd look. She took Alice’s arm and turned around. “Shall we?”

“We shall!” Alice said.

Theresa watched the two girls race off into the night, then turned toward Eliza. She placed the lantern down on the dirt path. The flame cast dancing shadows along the ground, but Theresa’s face was shrouded in darkness. Eliza’s pulse began to pound with apprehension.

“You and Catherine seem to be getting along,” Theresa stated.

“We’re roommates. I should think getting along would be a good thing,” Eliza replied, casting a glare at Theresa. She refused to appear intimidated.

“Of course it is,” Theresa shot back. “There’s no need to be so defensive.” She took a step toward the lantern—toward Eliza. “So, what did you think of my Harrison?”

Eliza clenched her teeth, the words
my Harrison
ringing in her ears. “It looks as though Alice and Catherine have arrived at Crenshaw,” she said coolly. “Shall we?”

Theresa took another step. A shock of fear went through Eliza’s veins. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I found him to be quite . . . polite.” Eliza held perfectly still.

“And handsome, of course. You found him handsome,” Theresa prodded, moving closer still. So close that Eliza could now make out every feature of her beautiful face—every suspicious feature.

Eliza’s face burned and she could only hope that, in the darkness,
Theresa couldn’t tell. She cast a glance over the girl’s shoulder at Crenshaw, where all their friends waited impatiently.

“I suppose,” Eliza replied finally. “Shouldn’t we go? We don’t want to get caught.”

“I think he’s the most handsome boy in all of New York,” Theresa said in a wistful tone, gazing off toward the towering shadow of Crenshaw House. “He’s been promised to me since we were children—just a silly agreement between our parents, who are lifelong friends. But over the summer he made it official.” Theresa lifted her hand to gaze admiringly at her ring. “He went down on one knee and everything. The boy, I’m afraid, is completely in love with me.”

Eliza stared at Theresa. If the girl was expecting Eliza to break down crying and confess that she was pining for Harrison—well, that was not going to happen. Eliza had just met the boy.

“I’m so happy for you, Theresa, really,” Eliza said firmly, putting on a huge smile. She reached out and squeezed Theresa’s hands for good measure, even though the gesture made her own skin crawl. “I wish you and Harrison years of marital bliss. Now, can we please go?”

Theresa tightened her grip until she was squeezing so hard, Eliza feared for her fingers. “Of course!” Theresa said with wide-eyed innocence. “Why have you kept me out here so long? Our friends must be dying of fright.”

With that, she dropped Eliza’s fingers, grabbed the lantern, and sprinted across the grass. Eliza’s jaw dropped. For a moment she was stunned over Theresa’s accusation that she’d been the one to stall them. But as the pitch darkness closed in around her, Eliza recovered
herself and ran. Theresa was at least ten paces ahead. Eliza lowered her head and sprinted as hard as she could, determined to catch up with her rival before they reached the dormitory. Determined to win. At least at this.

Theresa let out a yelp of surprise as Eliza drew up even, then passed her. Eliza drove her hands into the rough brick wall of Crenshaw at least three yards ahead of Theresa. She turned around, leaned back, and smiled over her triumph.

“Congratulations, Eliza,” Theresa said slyly, her chest heaving as she arrived. “You must be very proud.”

Eliza opened her mouth to respond that yes, she was very proud, but at that moment, the double doors at the front of Crenshaw House swung open, letting out a loud, ominous squeal. Lavender instantly stepped in front of the other girls as if she was readying herself to protect them.

“Hello, ladies,” the headmistress said, staring down her nose at Lavender. She smiled grimly at the collective gasp that met her greeting. “Kindly come inside so that I may take down your names.” She stepped aside to let them all through the double doors, but for a long moment, no one moved. Eliza looked at Catherine, whose face was deathly pale, her mouth set in a pained line.

“Good evening, Miss Almay,” Theresa said confidently. “And might I say, you look lovely in your dressing gown. Is that silk?”

Some of the girls laughed halfheartedly, but Miss Almay’s frown lines only grew deeper.

“Inside, Theresa. Now.”

Theresa strode through the door, her head held high. Slowly, the other girls followed, their eyes trained on the ground. Eliza brought up the rear, right behind Catherine, her heart heavy as she imagined her mother’s reaction upon hearing that her younger daughter had been expelled from the Billings School for Girls on her very first day.

Just as the door slammed shut behind her, a breeze curled around Eliza and tickled her ear. “I told you that you should have turned back,” the same low voice from the tunnel whispered. Eliza’s breath caught and she whirled around. But no one was there.

“Miss Almay is simply evil for making us toil in this heat,” Theresa groused, shoving her spade into the dirt in the garden behind Crenshaw House. She pried out a dandelion by the roots and tossed it aside, then wiped the back of her hand along her perspiring brow. Even Eliza had found herself close to complaining as she worked under the relentless sun, but each time she’d held back. She didn’t want to sound as petulant as Theresa had sounded all morning long. Eliza could tell that Catherine, who was weeding a row of carrots a few feet away, was also biting her tongue.

Theresa tossed another dandelion. “And do you know that Viola and Bia haven’t spoken to me at all since last night? As if it’s somehow my fault we were caught.”

Viola, Bia, and Jane were gathering apples under the watchful eye of Mrs. Hodge; the cook was to use the fruit in her fritters and pies. Helen, meanwhile, had been charged with keeping an eye on the
garden workers. The young maid sat nearby in the shade of an elm tree, her gaze trained on Eliza and her friends like a hawk stalking its prey. Eliza wondered if she’d been scolded for allowing the girls to sneak out on her watch.