ICAP 2 - The Hidden Gallery Read Free

faint, mysterious howling sounds emerging from a secret attic room, the door to which had been camouflaged beneath some rather tasteless wallpaper.
    Penelope puzzled over these mysteries daily, and had even paid a surreptitious visit or two to the attic while the children were otherwise engaged. There she heard nothing unusual, although she was by now quite familiar with the strange, dark forest scene that was painted on the wall.
    The mural itself had been damaged in spots by all the wallpapering done over it, so she was not able tomake out the artist’s signature. However, after consulting some dusty books of art history she found in Lord Fredrick’s library, she concluded that it was a third-rate example of the Ominous Landscape school of painting, which had never quite caught on with critics or the general public and had been quickly superseded by other, less depressing styles.
    That this particular Ominous Landscape featured the terrifying figure of a wolf, yellow eyed and with fangs that dripped blood, was one more disturbing mystery to add to the pile. It was all rather unsettling to think about; in short, it would be a relief to get away from Ashton Place for a while—and to London! What a marvelous adventure that would be!
    Back in the nursery, Penelope gathered the children ’round and told them of Lady Constance’s plan. She fully expected their excitement to match her own, for who would not feel a thrill to visit London, home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, capital city of the nation, seat of the empire, and (one might argue) the cultural and economic crossroads of the world?
    Cassiopeia, the youngest Incorrigible, looked up at Penelope with her green, pixieish eyes.
    â€œNutsawoo come, too?” she asked sweetly. “To Londawoo?”
    Penelope had not thought of this. Nutsawoo was the very same squirrel that had caused such a ruckus at the holiday ball. Somehow the furry scamp had avoided being torn to shreds by the children and had subsequently become Cassiopeia’s beloved pet, living on the tree branches outside the nursery windows. Having already given such glorious chase in pursuit of him (or her—Penelope was not entirely sure how one told the sex of a squirrel, and was not inclined to investigate), the children had grown more or less immune to Nutsawoo’s “squirrelyness” and could coexist calmly with the anxious little creature. Alas, this privilege did not extend to others of Nutsawoo’s kind. To the Incorrigibles, they remained fair game.
    Cassiopeia gazed pleadingly at her governess, waiting for an answer. What to do? Nutsawoo could not come to London; that was obvious. But how to convince Cassiopeia? The child was quite attached to her twitchy, beady-eyed pet.
    â€œThe city is no place for a squirrel,” Penelope began, but then thought better of it, for of course the many parks of London were no doubt overrun with squirrels.
    â€œNutsawoo is not accustomed to travel and might catch cold,” she then commenced to say, but again she stopped, for surely Nutsawoo had done nothing hiswhole life but skitter from tree to tree over the vast forests of Ashton Place. In terms of sheer mileage, he had likely traveled far more than Penelope had, and in all sorts of weather, too.
    Beowulf and Alexander flanked their sister. All three children lifted their shining eyes to Penelope, and one of them (she could not tell which) whimpered imploringly. It reminded her of the not-so-distant afternoon when she had first discovered the three siblings locked in the barn at Ashton Place, unkempt, unschooled, and untamed—truly, so much had changed since that day! And yet so much, clearly, had not, for Beowulf was starting to drool in anticipation of her reply.
    â€œNutsawoo,” she said finally, “does not own any appropriate luggage.”
    The three Incorrigibles looked at their governess as if she were not entirely well. However, Penelope had