To Walk in the Sun (Wiggons' School for Elegant Young Ladies - Book 1) by Jane Charles

describe
it.
    “I believe I should return to my room. Thank
you for the brandy.” Miss Crawford turned to leave. He was not
ready for her to go yet, but knew it was probably the wisest thing
she did.
    Vincent stood to follow her. Only every other
sconce was lit, and he feared she would trip in the darkness.
    Tess placed her hand on the railing and took
the first step. Her foot caught on the hem of her robe and she
tumbled forward.
    Vincent stalked forward and lifted her into
his arms.
    “Put me down,” she protested.
    “And watch you try and negotiate the stairs
only to fall and break your neck? I think not.” His voice was harsh
to his own ears, but the sight of Veronica lying broken at the
bottom of these very stairs swam in his vision. He would not allow
another lady to share the same fate.
    He cradled her in both arms and stalked up
the stairs.
    “You may put me down now,” Miss Crawford
hissed once they stopped on the main floor.
    Vincent knew there was very little chance of
her getting injured in the hallway, but it had been so long since
he held a woman in his arms, and one that smelled as sweet as Miss
Crawford, he did not want to relinquish her too soon.
    “I prefer to see you to the safety of your
room,” he replied and strolled further down the hall.
    A door banged shut at the end of the hall and
he turned to look but no one was there.
    “I am sorry. It was probably one of the
girls.”
    Vincent rolled his eyes. It would be
interesting to find out what tale they made up after seeing him
carrying Miss Crawford to her chamber.
     
     

 
     
    “ Haste, let us away ere the dawn breaks,
for my eye
    is yet too weak to endure the light of
day.”
     
    Wake Not the Dead
    Johann Ludwig Tieck
     
     
     

Chapter 10
     
    “Did you see?” Eliza asked her wide-eyed
friends, her back pressed against their bedroom door.
    “Who do you think it was?” Sophia asked. She
walked toward the burning fireplace, her arms wrapped around her
body as if to ward off a chill.
    “Who do you think?” Rosemary turned toward
her.
    Sophia shrugged her shoulders. “All we could
see was her feet.”
    “And the pale robe,” Rosemary added, her tone
ominous.
    Sophia looked between the two girls, her
expression blank, and she shrugged her shoulders again.
    “It was her, his wife ,” Eliza insisted
as she came forward.
    Rosemary grew pale. “It must be here. Who
else could it be?”
    “It is impossible. We would have heard.
Remember the story.” Sophia turned her pleading eyes on Eliza. “It
has been a calm night.”
    “True,” Rosemary agreed.
    “It wasn’t last night ago,” Eliza reminded
them, a small smile on her lips, her eyes lit with excitement.
    Rosemary’s mouth popped open and her eyes
grew wide.
    “Where do you think she has been all this
time and why did Atwood wait until now to bring her home?” Sophia
sank into a rocking chair.
    “Maybe he didn’t know it worked.” Eliza sat
on the bed, then jumped back up and paced. “He had to hide in the
crypt with Miss Crawford, and then they went to the school. He
probably didn’t even know his wife had awakened.”
    “Then where has she been all this time,”
Sophia asked with exacerbation.
    Eliza’s pacing increased. Her fingernail
tapped against her chin. Suddenly she stopped and looked at her
friends. “I know. She was hiding in the crypt at day and hunting in
the woods at night.”
    “Hunting? Vampires don’t hunt animals,”
Rosemary argued. “Or, at least I don’t think they do.”
    “True.” Eliza resumed her pacing. “The poor
woman must have been hiding and waiting for her beloved husband.”
Eliza stopped in front of the fireplace and focused on frightened
Rosemary. “She must have been beside herself, wondering why she was
back and worried about where her husband may be,” she ended with a
proper dramatic sigh.
    “Do you think we will see her?” Rosemary
leaned forward.
    “Of course not. Atwood will have to keep her
hidden,” Eliza