With so few possessions, Penelope did not take
long to complete her task. Within half an hour her
garments were hung up or folded in dresser drawers,
and a dozen carefully chosen books were displayed on
the small shelf near the door, including her very own
brand-new copy of Edith-Anne Gets a Pony, a good-
bye gift from the girls at Swanburne. It was the first
book in the Giddy-Yap, Rainbow! series—an excellent
present, of course, but Penelope would have preferred
Silky Mischief, which was her favorite. No matter; now
that she would be earning a salary, Penelope resolved
to buy copies of the entire series to read aloud to her
pupils—what a happy chore that would be!
The rest of the books she left in the trunk for the
present, until they could find their permanent home in
the nursery. There would be so much to do! She won-
dered if she would be allowed to have breakfast with
the children and, if so, at what time. The interview with
Lady Constance had been so brief and strange that
there had been no chance to delve into such details.
“Still,” she thought, “there will be plenty of oppor-
tunity to learn the ins and outs of my new position ‘on
the job,’ as it were. For now, my sole occupation should
be to acquaint myself with my new home—starting
with this charming room.”
At Swanburne, Penelope had always shared her
sleeping quarters. The dormitory halls had each held
a dozen girls, two to a cot. So, to have her own bed, in
her own room, was an unheard-of luxury. And such a
room! The flocked wallpaper had a delicate floral print,
the floors were covered with fine Arabian carpeting in
a leaf-and-ivy pattern, and the mahogany dresser had
drawer-pulls carved in the shape of mushrooms. The
four-poster bed was covered with soft, moss-green
bedding embroidered with every decorative stitch
Penelope had ever learned and many she had never
seen before.
Best of all: Tall French windows opened to a small,
private balcony. Penelope threw the windows open and
stepped outside. How delightful it was! Out here she
could sit and take the air, read, admire the gardens
near the house, and gaze at the majestic forest in the
distance—
“Ahwooooooooooooooooooo!”
“Woof! Woof!”
“Ahwooooooooooooooooooo!”
There it was again—the baying, barking, and howl-
ing of the dogs. Could they be hungry again so soon
after being fed? Did they miss their master and long
for the thrill of the hunt? Or was there something else
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