Read Online Secret Lives by Gabriella Poole - Free Book Online Page B

laughing. Why was she hiding? It was only Richard. And Katerina, of course, but it wasn’t as if she was scared of the Polar Rottweiler. Still, when they appeared at the end of the corridor, she didn’t saunter out to say hello. Not yet. Those instincts kicking in again …
    ‘Darling, she’s a chav from the sticks.’ Folding his arms, Richard raised an ironic eyebrow at Katerina. ‘You don’t actually feel threatened, do you?’
    Cassie’s whole body went rigid. For a moment she couldn’t breathe.
    ‘“A chav from the sticks .” What a quaint turn of phrase you have, Richard.’ Katerina sounded immensely bored. ‘That poor-little-scholarship-girl thing. How it vexes me. Such a mooning little kitten. Yet you seem to have a soft spot for her.’
    ‘Don’t be silly, Katerina darling. She’s pleasant company and I find her amusing. So do you, if you’re honest.’
    ‘Oh, hilarious.’ Katerina sniffed.
    ‘I’m not the only one with a soft spot , either,’ murmured Richard. ‘Jake can barely let her out of his sight, if you see what I’m getting at.’
    ‘Oh, yes. His protective instincts,’ said Katerina contemptuously. ‘She’s very like poor little Jessica, it’s true.’
    ‘Doesn’t that worry you?’ There was mischief in his tone. ‘Jessica was good-looking too.’
    ‘Why would it worry me?’ she snapped. ‘Ranjit had a silly crush on a girl who was beneath him. And that ended in tears, didn’t it?’ Her lips twitched as she checked herself in the nearest mirror. ‘He’s hardly likely to make the same mistake again.’
    ‘That’s what I love about you.’ Richard winked. ‘Such perennial optimism.’
    Katerina shot him a baleful glare. ‘And that creature from the cattle farms encourages her to think above herself. Good God, darling, you’d think Isabella could at least encourage her to get a hairstyle and some decent clothes. Your “chav” can’t even pronounce Versace. She wouldn’t know Prada from Primark.’
    ‘Perhaps bella Isabella could give her some hand-me-downs.’ Richard chuckled. ‘No wonder Sir Alric hides in his office. I mean, one fairly dreads to think what the likes of Cassie Bell or Jake Johnson will wear to the Christmas Ball. The poorhouse rejects do nothing for the aesthetics of the place, do they?’
    They were obviously planning to linger and bitch before heading downstairs, and Cassie could hear every word. She wished she couldn’t. Her cheeks burned with shame and fury, and she ached to leap out, grab a throat in each fist and tell these tossers what she thought of them. But something held her back.
    Idly, Katerina twisted a lock of pale satiny hair. ‘I can’t think why Sir Alric encourages this scholarship nonsense.’
    ‘Now, now, darling,’ said Richard darkly. ‘You know very well why. Besides, it’s excellent public relations. A fine pickle we’d be in if Sir Alric wasn’t so skilled in that department.’
    Even mired in miserable rage and embarrassment – how could I have been so stupid! – Cassie found herself intrigued. There was something wrong here. It wasn’t her imagination. The picture-perfect world of the Academy hid something very ugly: she was sure of it.
    The same could be said for the beautiful faces of Richard and Katerina.
    Something hot stung her eyes, and she gritted her teeth. To hell with that. He wasn’t going to make her cry. He was a male Katerina: stringing her along the way Katerina dangled Jake. She was humiliated, that was all.
    Richard had turned at the top of the stairs, grinning back at Katerina. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’
    ‘Starving, darling. But I think I shall miss lunch. What about you?’
    Richard gave that sudden bark of laughter again. ‘You know, I rather fancy a Danish.’
    ‘Do stay away from Ingrid.’ Katerina’s look was sharkish, if amused. ‘She’s my roommate. If Sir Alric could hear you …’
    ‘No sense of humour, that’s his trouble.’ With a giggle of delight, Richard