Read Online Back To School Murder #4 by Leslie Meier - Free Book Online Page A

But if you ask me, the Victorians are popular because we’ve figured out that all that propriety and formality was nothing more than a coverup. They were obsessed with sex.”
    He paused, giving the students an opportunity to chuckle.
    â€œOh, sure, they concealed the piano legs, but we know from their diaries and collections of dirty postcards that they were really a bunch of filthy, dirty-minded little prigs.”
    While the professor waited for the giggles to subside, he began distributing copies of a reading list.
    â€œNow, I know the first thing you are going to ask is what happened to the Brownings. Well, they’re on page two. Your first assignment is Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus . Don’t panic, you won’t have to read the whole thing. And we will get to those wonderful sonnets, I promise. They’re for dessert, and as any proper Victorian would tell you, it’s meat before sweet. Now, what do you know about Thomas Carlyle?” He scanned the class, looking for a volunteer.
    â€œHe was Scottish,” offered a pretty young thing in the front row.
    â€œThat’s true. It’s a beginning,” he said, with an encouraging smile. “What else do you know about him?”
    The student squirmed. “Well, he was known as the ‘Sage of Chelsea.’”
    â€œVery good. Anyone else?”
    â€œThe Clothes Philosophy,” offered the older man in the back of the room. “The idea that old ideas, even religions, should be discarded like old clothes.”
    Lucy regarded the man with new interest. Already she was enjoying the exchange of ideas with her classmates, and the professor’s ready wit.
    â€œAh, yes,” said the professor. “Perhaps D. H. Lawrence, a twentieth-century writer who struggled mightily to free literature from the constraints of the Victorian period, said it best when he wrote, ‘Gods die with the men who have conceived them…Even gods must be born again.’ Thank you, Mr.…” He paused and looked down at his class list. “Mr. Irving. And on that note, I think we will end for tonight. I will see you all again on Tuesday.”
    Checking her watch, Lucy saw the professor had dismissed the class a little early. With luck she might get to the bookstore before it closed at nine. She was heading for the door, when he stopped her.
    â€œMrs. Stone, that was a very insightful comment.”
    â€œReally?” Lucy felt a bit uncomfortable at being singled out.
    â€œYes, it was.” He gave her a lopsided little smile, and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “I wonder if you would like to continue the discussion with me at the student union. I usually stop there after class for a cappuccino.”
    â€œOh, that would be nice,” began Lucy, as an embarrassed blush crept over her face, “but I really want to get to the bookstore before it closes. Thanks anyway.”
    It was only afterward, as she stood in line with her arms full of books, that she wondered why she had been so unnerved by the professor’s invitation. After all, she was reasonably attractive and this wasn’t the first time since her marriage that another man had expressed interest in her. The problem was, she realized with a shock, until now she hadn’t felt tempted to accept.
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    Trudging toward the parking lot with her heavy bag of books, Lucy was surprised to see Josh Cunningham.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?” she asked.
    â€œI was just catching up on my reading,” he said, shortening his steps to walk beside her. “I need to keep up with new developments in chemistry and biology, but I can’t afford the journals—teacher’s salary, you know. So I come here every now and then and use the science library. Can I carry those for you?” he asked politely, indicating the books.
    â€œOh, I can manage. Thanks, anyway,” said Lucy, thinking he was awfully nice. “You have another one