ICAP 2 - The Hidden Gallery Read Free Page B

were still getting accustomed to expressing themselves in English (as opposed to barks and howls), but the challenge would help keep them occupied and, she sincerely hoped, far away from trouble.

    â€œWe shall study geometry by calculating the volume of our suitcases and organizing our packing accordingly.”

    â€œI TELL YOU , M ISS L UMLEY , it was just like watching one of those Spaniards in the tight suits and funny hats—the ones who get in the ring with a crazed bull and cry, ‘Toro! Toro!’ while waving a red blankie around.” Mrs. Clarke used her large apron (conveniently stained cherry red, since she had recently baked a pie) to demonstrate.
    â€œToro! Toro!” she exclaimed with verve. “Except this time Lady Constance was the minotaur, and Lord Fredrick was the bull, you should pardon the expression.”
    â€œI believe you are referring to a matador,” Penelope helpfully corrected. Mrs. Clarke did not seem to pay her any mind. She was too busy relishing her own performance, a dramatic reenactment of the negotiations between Lady Constance and her husband, in which the lady informed Lord Fredrick that he needed to lease a town house in London at once.
    According to Mrs. Clarke, the encounter could only be described as toreadorical: the outright threats and faked retreats, the defiant swirl of Lady Constance’s red skirts, the snorting, stamping protest of Lord Fredrick. Finally, the cunning matador played dead. Then, when the bull’s guard was down, she brandished a dagger to deliver the final blow.
    In Lady Constance’s case, this meant a heartrending bout of weeping, followed by the threat that she would succumb to something called a “conniption fit” if Lord Fredrick did not agree to her plan that instant. Penelope did not know if a conniption fit was a serious medical condition, but it certainly sounded unpleasant to endure, and even worse to witness.
    Lord Fredrick must have thought so as well, for it was quickly decided. A house in the city would be leased, a battalion of servants would be installed, and Lady Constance would be given a generous shopping allowance to boot.
    â€œIt’ll be a pleasant change of scene for the staff, anyway.” Mrs. Clarke was flushed with exertion and excitement. “But if Lady Constance doesn’t give alternate Sundays as a half day for the servants, there will be plenty of grumbling among them, mark my words.”
    â€œA half day would hardly be enough time to see the sights of London,” Penelope began to protest, but she was interrupted by a frightful noise, which seemed to have its origins rather close by.
    â€œTorowooooooooooooo! Torowooooooooooooo!”
    It was the Incorrigibles. Penelope had been under the impression that they had retired to the back nursery for afternoon naps, or perhaps some quiet activitiessuch as chess (which the boys enjoyed a great deal) or practicing sums on the abacus (a favorite pastime of Cassiopeia’s). But in fact they were leaping from bed to bed in a wild game of bullfighting. Alexander had assumed the role of matador, and Beowulf and Cassiopeia were taking turns charging at him. One of the red velvet curtains from the window now served as the matador’s blanket.
    â€œChildren, stop!” Penelope cried in alarm. “That will be quite enough of that. The poor window curtain! All the loops are torn off. It will not hang up properly again without a good deal of mending.”
    The children, whose tendency to get carried away was exceeded only by their eagerness to please, looked crestfallen.
    â€œSorry, Lumawoo,” Alexander offered, his head down. The other two made apologies as well, using the socially useful phrases they had studied so diligently. “Deepest apologies! Regretfully yours! Will not happen again!”
    â€œPeculiar, isn’t it?” Mrs. Clarke observed, as an aside. “Three savage creatures such as they are, and