“We have nothing left to say.”
“When you’re ready to talk about Longmere, about what happened with him, come to me.” His penetrating gaze seemed to see far too deeply. “Whatever you may believe, Iamyour friend. You have my word that you and your secrets are safe with me.”
“I have no secrets.”None that I would share with you.“And you should continue doing what you’ve done for the past fourteen years: stay out of my way.”
She brushed past him without another word.
4
1835
“Quickly, follow me!” Pippa said, her voice hushed. “No one will find us in the bell tower.”
“It’s just a game.” Cull gave her one of those slow, crooked grins that made her heart knock against her ribs. “Not life or death.”
In the weeks Cull had been staying with her family, his injuries had healed. His chocolate-brown eyes were free of bruising. Although the housekeeper had given him a trim, his chestnut hair remained shaggy. Pippa suspected that no scissors could tame that unruly mane, but she thought the rough-edged style suited him.
During his recuperation, she’d kept him company at his bedside, reading to him and chatting. She’d concluded that she’d never met a boy like him. The ones she knew were interested in boxing, horses, poetry, and the latest gentlemen’s fashions. Cull, on the other hand, had told her he’d never had time for sports; the only fighting he’d done was in the streets. He wasn’t a connoisseur of horseflesh and could hardly read and write. And he clearly didn’t give a whit about his clothes.
Currently, he was wearing cast-offs from the academy. His wide shoulders stretched the worn linen shirt, the plain brown waistcoat hugging his lean torso. Due to his height, the trousers ended several inches higher than they should have above his large, scuffed boots. He wasn’t refined, well-groomed, or anything like Pippa’s other male acquaintances.
Yet what made Cull truly different from other boys was the way he focused onher. Unlike most fellows, he was more apt to listen than talk. He asked her questions and seemed fascinated by what she had to say. She’d always thought of herself as ordinary, especially compared to her remarkable parents. Cull, however, made her feel worthy of attention, his presence setting off a strange, tingling awareness inside her…
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Maisie’s sing-song voice broke Pippa’s reverie.
Pippa had supervised a writing class at her parents’ school today. She’d promised the children a game of hide-and-seek for completing their lesson, which had led to the alphabet being copied in record time. Making good on her promise, she’d let the class draw straws; Maisie had selected the shortest, which made her the seeker. When Cull had shown up, Maisie had roped him into playing.
Hearing Maisie’s voice grow nearer, Pippa whispered, “It may be just a game, but I amnotlosing. Come with me or find your own way…it is your choice.”
She reached for the door to the tower; Cull beat her to it.
He opened the door for her, saying easily, “I’ll go wif you.”
Pippa’s blue skirts rustled as she led the way up the winding stairwell. When she and her brothers were younger, they had loved racing up these wooden steps to see who could get up to the top first. The prize was the view: when she stepped into the belfry, her pulse raced with exhilaration. The cupola sat five stories above the ground, a stone balustrade the only barrier between her and the grey sky and migrating clouds. A reflexive thought struck her: what would it be like to plunge over that railing and fall into the vast void? She shuddered, the fear heightening her excitement, making her heart pound faster.
Gripping the waist-high railing, she gazed down at the sprawling campus of the academy. Its long buildings formed a quadrangle, which contained a tree-filled garden. From this height, the students appeared tiny as they ambled along the graveled paths.
“Jesus wept, this is a view,” Cull said from beside her.
She smiled at the wonder in his voice. “It is my favorite spot.”
Cull peered at the empty vault above them. “What ’appened to the bell?”
“No one knows for certain. It was already missing when Papa purchased the property.” Pippa slid him a mischievous look. “Therearerumors, however.”
Cull raised his brows. “What sort o’ rumors?”
“The place used to be a spice warehouse, and the bell was used to summon the workers at the end of the day. Apparently, one night was so foggy and dark, with not a star in the sky, that the fellow who rang the bell misjudged where he was and fell to his death. The next day, when the warehouse opened, the bell was gone.” Pippa lowered her voice, the way her mama did when getting to the good part of the story. “They say the man’s ghost took it, and if you listen closely on the darkest nights, you can hear him ringing the bell.”
Cull’s rugged features paled. “You’re pulling me leg.”
“I have heard the bell ringing myself.”
“There ain’t no such thing as ghosts.” He didn’t sound entirely convinced.
She widened her eyes and pointed. “Then what is that standing behind you?”
When he jerked around, she let out a peal of laughter.
