Read Online Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof by Niall Teasdale - Free Book Online

drawn to follow them around. I felt I was stalking them, though I’ve no perception of what I would do with one if I caught him. This is hardly decorous conversation for an afternoon stroll, Mrs Wooster.’
    ‘I have told you before, Kate, but I see I must say it again, when we are not surrounded by men and those of a more nervous disposition, you will call me Antonia. I believe we are friends, are we not?’
    ‘I would certainly be honoured to be considered one of yours, Antonia.’
    ‘And despite what society determines to call your lower station, I yours, Kate. And as to the subject matter, your state of mind concerns me greatly, as it does your guardian. You have made most excellent progress from the barely understandable, might I say almost feral, child I met this year gone. Even then you showed a humility sorely lacking in much of today’s youth, but now you would grace any gentlewoman’s dinner party who would be so fortunate as to have you as a guest. If there is some strange accident of your nature which might disturb your progress, we must uncover it and do what we can to negate it. And I would much rather do so in the bright sunshine than in that stuffy house.’
    Kate giggled. ‘In which case, Antonia, I would be most grateful for your assistance in this matter.’
    ‘Then let us see what can be done. How are you feeling when these moods are not afflicting you?’
    ~~~
    ‘It has only happened twice, Doctor Barstow-Hall,’ Mrs Morton stated, ‘but there have been other changes in your young ward since these episodes began.’
    Mrs Morton was an old school friend of Georgina’s and rightly a gentlewoman. Her husband had met an untimely end some two years earlier and at that time there had come to light some irregularities in the accounts of his business which had resulted in his wife being left with barely any income. At the same time Georgina had been looking for a governess for Alicia, and so an arrangement had been made. And when Kate had needed an education in manners and etiquette, Mrs Morton had stepped up to the plate, as the Americans said.
    Thankfully, while she shared an approximate age with Georgina, the woman had a far more practical and level-headed view of the world and had adjusted to her new circumstances well. It had seemed to Charles that she rather relished the task of educating Kate. It had come as little surprise to discover that Bernard Shaw was one of her favourite playwrights.
    ‘Please elucidate, Mrs Morton,’ Charles encouraged.
    ‘Well…’ She looked upward as though trying to put into words her feelings on the matter. ‘When Kate was presented to me, she was a rough girl with few words, no education, and manners born only of a natural inclination to avoid offence. She learned voraciously. I do not believe a child has ever grasped so rapidly all the skills she has acquired in the past year. It is true that undue stress has been known to cause her to become… less humane.’
    ‘There is no need to dissemble, Mrs Morton. I told you of Kate’s nature when I requested your assistance. We know that there are more basic elements of her brain which can gain a stronger hold upon her. Even if I succeed in curing her of her primary affliction, she may be plagued by those problems her entire life and you have done much to ensure that she is well equipped to avoid circumstances which provoke her in such a manner.’
    Mrs Morton gave a nod, accepting the compliment. ‘Since the first of these incidents, her progress has slowed. She is an intelligent girl and she still learns well, but not with the remarkable speed she has shown previously. Something about her has changed, Doctor.’
    ~~~
    ‘And these episodes last for perhaps six days?’ Antonia asked. ‘And then you return to normal?’
    ‘Aside from Mrs Morton’s disquiet at my decreased retention, yes. I feel no different now than I always have.’ Kate frowned. ‘That is not quite true. I feel…’ She paused, stopping