Read Online The Interrupted Tale by Maryrose Wood - Free Book Online

“It’s all right to howl, isn’t that what the littlest pup said? Hah! Easy for her to say. The Incorrigible children were raised by wolves in a forest. Of course they howl. Anyone would, under those conditions. It’s an ironclad excuse. I was raised by wealthy Ashtons. Good manners, the best schools, blasted hunting parties every week. My father made me go. I like to hunt, don’t get me wrong. That is, I learned to like it, over time. But I’ve always been a dreadful shot. Imagine being the only boy in the county who couldn’t hit a serving tray at ten paces.” Indeed, Lord Fredrick’s eyesight was very poor. “And when the other lads found out what came over me at the full moon . . . If you were me you’d be a bit secretive too, I’d expect.”
    â€œI am sorry, Lord Ashton,” she said again, for she was.
    â€œNot as sorry as I am. My own mother’s ashamed of me. ‘Poor Freddy, how’s your tragic condition? Poor Freddy, you must have inherited it from your father. Make sure you don’t have children! They’ll turn out just like you!’ Miss Lumley, I ask you: Did your parents ever warn you not to have children so they don’t turn out like you?”
    Of course, Penelope would have been grateful to have any conversation at all with her parents in recent years, but now was not the time to say so. She shook her head. “No, my lord. My parents never said anything like that to me—at least, that I can recall.”
    â€œLucky you, then. Well, no matter what Mother thinks of me, she had no business blabbing my personal business at dinner. After all the trouble I take to hide it! Now Constance won’t leave me alone about it.”
    Penelope sat up extra straight in her chair, much the way Miss Mortimer did when she was reminding the girls at Swanburne not to mope and complain. She, too, had a strong inclination to tell Lord Fredrick to buck up and look on the bright side. After all, was he not a very rich man, still young, and in reasonably good health twenty-seven days out of every twenty-eight? But she knew this advice would not be well received. When people feel sorry for themselves, the last thing they want is to be reminded how fortunate they really are. “A misery contest is not worth entering, for one only wins by losing,” as Agatha Swanburne once observed, and yet there are many who insist on holding such competitions, even to this very day.
    â€œMy lord, the children and I have no desire to intrude upon your personal affairs,” she said, hoping to put an end to the conversation. “I apologize for our accidental meeting in the attic, and for the acorn attack as well. I assure you, it will never happen again.”
    He leaned forward in his chair. “Never mind all that. Miss Lumley, I summoned you here for a reason. There’s something I’ve wanted to discuss with you for some time, but there was no way to do it without letting my embarrassing secret slip. Now that you know, it doesn’t matter.” He paused and drummed his fingers on the chair arm. “How do you stop the children from acting like wolves?”
    â€œHow?” His question took her by surprise, for neither Lord Fredrick nor his wife had ever expressed any interest in the children’s education before. “It takes patience, I suppose, and a great many reminders, and we must be careful to avoid temptation, especially if the children are hungry. Treats are also useful, as a reward for good behavior.”
    â€œPatience? Treats? That’s not going to work with me, I’m afraid.” He held up a hand to stop her interjecting. “Yes, me. Why do you think I’m so interested in having the wolf children live here? I’ve been keeping an eye on their progress. Not directly. Through Old Timothy.”
    Old Timothy! It was true that the enigmatic old coachman of Ashton Place had a habit of lurking