False Tongues by Kate Charles Read Free Book Online Page A

her by talking to Adam. By virtue of Callie’s own relationship with Adam, he had been part of their little group up until the very end of their time at Archbishop Temple House. Until that ill-fated parish placement, when he’d met the wonderful Pippa. Still, Tamsin was her friend….
    She must get over it. Adam was here this week, and she couldn’t avoid him forever. She had to be a grown-up about it, and trust that he would do the same. After all, she’d endured the ordeal of dinner with Pippa, months back. And she had Marco now. Wonderful Marco, whom she loved deeply. Marco, with whom she was going to spend the rest of her life.
    It was just that here, in this place…
    â€˜Good morning,’ said the woman across from her.
    â€˜Oh. Hi,’ Callie replied, raising her head.
    The woman wasn’t someone she recognised—not one of her fellow deacons, then. She was perhaps a year or two older than Callie, she judged: early thirties, possibly. Neatly and unremarkably dressed—no dog collar—she had a rather flat, pale face with widely spaced eyes. Her mid-length hair was tinted a shade not found in nature, a sort of burgundy rinse over what was probably a nondescript brown.
    â€˜I’m Hanna,’ she said, then amplified. ‘Hanna Young. H-A-N-N-A. No H at the end.’
    â€˜I’m Callie Anson. I’m here for Deacons’ Week.’
    Hanna Young nodded. ‘Right. I recognise your name.’
    â€˜How…?’
    â€˜I’m the Principal’s secretary,’ she explained. ‘Her personal secretary. PA, really, to be honest. And I’ve had quite a lot to do with organising Deacons’ Week.’
    Callie remembered that the Principal’s old secretary had been planning to retire at the end of last year. This was her replacement, then. ‘It must have been a fair amount of work,’ she said.
    â€˜Oh, yes. You have no idea. The admin nightmares…People unable to commit, changing their minds…’ Hanna tutted in displeasure.
    Blushing guiltily and averting her face, Callie made an attempt at a sympathetic noise. It may have taken her a while to make up her mind and commit, but at least she hadn’t pulled out at the last minute, as she’d been tempted to do.
    â€˜Would you believe that I had one person who didn’t decide until yesterday to come? Easter Sunday! Did he think the housekeeping staff would be working yesterday to get his room ready? How inconsiderate can you be?’
    Adam. Clueless as ever. Callie tried not to smile. She bent over her tray and applied herself to eating her breakfast.
    Hanna lowered her voice, glancing toward the top table. ‘The Principal—I worry about her, to be honest. Don’t you think she’s looking tired?’
    â€˜Well…I suppose.’ The Principal didn’t look appreciably different to Callie, but it was easier to agree.
    â€˜I don’t think she’s ever got over what happened with her husband, to be honest,’ Hanna went on in a loud whisper. ‘But then you wouldn’t, would you?’
    Callie shrugged; it was all she could do, since she had no idea what the other woman was talking about. She knew that Margaret Phillips had been married, and that she had been one of the first female archdeacons in the Church of England before coming to Archbishop Temple House as Principal. Beyond that she had no knowledge of the Principal’s private life.
    Hanna was looking at her, seemingly waiting for a more satisfying response. ‘What did happen with her husband?’ Callie asked obediently, spearing some egg and bacon on her fork.
    It was Hanna’s turn to shrug. ‘I couldn’t possibly say.’ She compressed her lips, then added, ‘I’m in a position of trust, you realise. To be honest, the Principal hates it when people talk about her.’
    ***
    We’re overreacting, Miranda Frost told herself as she made