So Into You [The Jane Austen Academy Series #2] Read Free

pressed her lips into a thin, hard line. "Ellie, do you think they’ll wire payment before next Friday? You know Bergie. If they’re even a second late, she’ll throw you out to prove a point."
    "Emma’s right," Lizzie said, sounding shocked to find them in agreement.
    Ellie chewed her cheek hard. "Anything from my parents?"
    "Maybe we should shoot them an email," Lizzie said.
    Ellie shook her head. "I need to speak to them." She scrolled through two months of bank statement history. "Now." There had to be a reason for what she saw.
    Or what she didn’t see.
    Which was money.
    There was no money in her parents’ bank account. Not a single penny.
    Instead, there was a mysterious withdrawal several weeks ago that had drained the balance. "Any answer yet?" she asked Lizzie again, careful to swallow the hitch in her voice. There was no need to panic. Panic never solved anything.
    She took a deep, cleansing breath just like her mother recommended in stressful situations. Breathing in from the left nostril and out through the right. It didn’t help.
    "Nothing from them . . . no, wait . . . here, your mom’s on." Lizzie pushed back the chair and stepped aside.
    Ellie jumped off the bed and slipped into the seat. Her fingers shook as tilted the monitor up.
    Her mother came into view. Her long, sun-bleached blonde hair was swept into a messy ponytail and she wore nothing over her pink and purple sports bra. Ellie knew this meant she had come from yoga practice. Clothes obscure the body’s intention, her mother always said. While Ellie tried to play like she was cool with it, she was embarrassed that her mother couldn’t wear a shirt around strangers.
    " Namaste, Ellie," her mother said. "Is that Lizzie and Emma with you? Namaste , girls."
    " Namaste ," Lizzie and Emma echoed. Ellie felt their fingers curled on the back of the chair behind her shoulders.
    "I hope you’re not studying too hard. Just remember—in the words of spiritualist Mr. Glass, take a moment now to breathe in the holy present."
    "Mom," Ellie interrupted before her mother could go into some long, existential rant, "I need to talk to you about something."
    "Sure, honey." Her mother paused and her head dipped closer to the screen. "Will it be all of you?"
    Ellie turned around to Emma hovering over her right shoulder and Lizzie over her left. "Could we have a second?"
    "Yeah, totally." Lizzie squeezed her shoulder.
    "Are you sure?" Emma asked. "We can stay if you need us."
    "She knows that," Lizzie said. "Don’t you, Ellie?"
    "What?" Ellie shook her head. "Oh, yeah, of course. But now I need a sec with my mom."
    "Come on, Emma." Lizzie hitched her head toward the door. "You can wait in my room."
    "We’ll be just across the hall," Emma said as Lizzie pulled her away. "If you need anything."
    Lizzie rolled her eyes as she stuffed Emma into the hall and shut the door.
    Ellie swung around to face her mother on the monitor.
    "You’re giving me a fright, Ellie," her mother said. "Your friend makes it seem like you’re sick."
    "Emma overreacts sometimes, is all," Ellie said with a shrug. "But . . . I do have something big to talk to you about. Is Dad there?"
    "He’s still at the studio, but we could wait."
    "No, no waiting. Our headmistress just approached me. She said there was a problem with the tuition." Ellie watched carefully as her mother’s gaze shifted to her lap. "So I checked the bank account."
    "Ellie!" Her mother’s hand flew to her heart. "There was no need for that."
    "I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a mistake before I called."
    "Maybe we should wait for your father."
    "They want me out by next Friday, Mom. That’s seven days. You have to tell me what’s going on."
    "It’s good news." A tentative smile stretched into a wide grin across her mother’s face. "It’s wonderful news."
    Her mom’s energy was infectious even from two hundred miles away, and Ellie found herself smiling back at her. "What’s the news?"
    "You’re not going to be