(2013) Looks Could Kill Read Free

matriarchal but matronly; friendly but firm; and she smelt of wholesome things like apple and cinnamon. All this apart from the apples and cinnamon was well explained in the glossy brochure that Emma’s parents had mulled over towards the end of last year. Emma’s mother was particularly pleased to see that Mrs Brown’s offered a substantial discount to members of the medical profession.
    And so the day came for Emma to start at Mrs Brown’s.
    Now Emma was quite a pleasant-looking girl and total strangers would stop and bend down to say things like: “What a pretty little thing she is”, “What interesting eyes she has” or “Hasn’t she got a nice smile”. In fact, Emma had the look of a young Elizabeth Taylor about her, with dark ringlets, a retroussé nose and almond-shaped eyes, one of which was a piercing blue and the other an equally striking green. So she had all that in her favour when she crossed the threshold of Mrs Brown’s establishment with her hand firmly clasped by her mother in case she considered running away.
    Mrs Brown greeted Emma and her mother effusively, ushering them into the main classroom. Emma clearly liked her immediately and Emma’s mother could see rivalry for her affection looming.
    “So, you’re Emma,” said Mrs Brown. “I’ve heard so much about you; come on in and join the other children. This is Emma, everyone, and she’s just had her fourth birthday.”
    Emma wasn’t immediately sure where to sit, but she noticed that there was a spare seat next to a boy with dark, wavy hair and she thought he looked nice.
    “I’m Danny, and I’m four,” he said.
    “Hello, Danny,” Emma said. “I’m Emma. What does your daddy do?”
    “He’s a Scottish laird and he’s got a castle.”
    Emma was very impressed.
    The class that morning was art, which is something Emma was quite good at, although she usually had her teddy bear to help her. Mrs Brown asked the class to draw a picture of a house with their mother, father and themselves in it. This was something of a conundrum for Emma. Her father wasn’t usually in the house as he was working, so she didn’t know whether to leave him outside; and her mother seemed to spend more time in the church than in the house. All of which meant that she’d have to draw a house with only teddy and herself in it, which would upset Mrs Brown and invite too many uncomfortable questions from her classmates. On the other hand, if Emma drew a full household, including teddy, she’d be defeating the purpose of the class, which Mrs Brown said was about expressing themselves. So, to cover all eventualities, Emma decided to draw houses on both sides of the paper.
    Emma was quite proud of her drawings when they were completed. She thought she’d caught the mock Tudor design of her house very well and even her figures looked quite realistic. Mrs Brown came to her table and bent down to look at what she’d drawn.
    “My dear, why are you in the house on your own?” Mrs Brown asked.
    Emma glanced down, shocked. Mrs Brown was looking at the wrong side of the page. Danny sniggered. He’d turned the page over when Emma wasn’t looking. Emma decided she’d get him for that.
    Emma turned over the page to show Miss Brown the intended drawing.
    “Oh, that’s so much better,” said Mrs Brown. “You must really love your parents and you’ve drawn them so nicely.”
    Next day, Emma and Danny were playing in the garden and trying to outdo each other climbing up the mulberry tree. Emma thought she had the edge of Danny but he rudely pushed her aside and almost made her slip. Emma glared at him and was surprised to see his eyes suddenly roll up in his face. Danny then lost his footing and fell about ten feet to the ground, landing heavily on his right arm. Emma scrambled down and ran into the house to find Mrs Brown.
    “Mrs Brown! Mrs Brown!” she called.
    “What is it, my dear?” said Mrs Brown, coming out of her study.
    “Danny’s fallen out of the