Lessons After Dark by Isabel Cooper Read Free Book Online

acquire a suntan, no matter how unfashionable it was.
    Never mind. Carry on.
    Olivia smiled. She bared her teeth, at any rate. “I assure you, sir, I am quite capable of doing so. But the respect of a colleague is a very different thing, wouldn’t you agree?”
    â€œCertainly,” said St. John. He took a step forward and looked down at her, raising his dark eyebrows. “In fact, given the mission of this place, I would say we have even more responsibility than usual for the character of its students…and so more responsibility toward each other.”
    In other words, yes, he had been watching to make sure she didn’t somehow corrupt the students, and no, he wasn’t going to stop.
    If Olivia had been ten years younger, she might have slapped him. She didn’t like to think it. She preferred to believe her self-control had been very good, even at seventeen. Still, the temptation was very strong, even at twenty-seven.
    â€œYour dedication does you credit, sir,” she said and managed not to grit her teeth. “It gives me great comfort to know you’ll be as attentive to your role as I will be to mine.”
    St. John waved one hand, a gesture of concession. Olivia didn’t believe it for a second. “I’ll do what I can,” he said. “Of course, my experience with…occult matters…”—there might have been distaste in his voice—“is slight. I’m no judge of such things.”
    â€œI’d imagine,” Olivia replied, “a man such as you could consider himself qualified to judge any number of significant matters.”
    â€œSome situations are considerably easier to judge than others.” St. John turned abruptly away from her and toward the front of the room, where Waite was looking into the blue flame. The boy’s face had lost the amused look Olivia had already come to expect. He was biting his lip, and his brows were furrowed. “Could I see a face in that?”
    Olivia blinked. “I…er…yes, if you looked.”
    â€œEven if I’m not trying to?”
    â€œI would imagine so, yes,” Olivia said crisply, recovering herself. “You’re not trying to see the fire itself, after all, and yet it persists in being there.”
    St. John looked from her to the flame and back, then made a noncommittal noise in his throat. “I take it,” he said, “you’ve seen everything you’d care to of your future?”
    â€œCertainly as far as faces are concerned,” said Olivia and turned away.

Chapter 6
    All buildings started out ugly. There was probably some moral lesson in that. Gareth hadn’t seen the plans for the dormitory, but he thought it would end up handsome enough. Simon’s taste wasn’t bad, and he could afford competent builders. At the moment, there were only jagged, unfinished brick walls rising out of a muddy scar in the earth.
    The dingy sky overhead didn’t help either, nor did the raw wind put Gareth in a more appreciative mood. Nonetheless, after three days of rain, and another when the ground was too wet for his leg to support him, he was just glad to be outdoors.
    â€œTen people are far too many for one house,” he said half to himself.
    Simon lifted his gaze anyway, turned from inspecting the brickwork, and shook his head. “More than ten, old man. You forgot the servants.”
    â€œSo I did.” Gareth shook his head, abashed in the face of his friend’s good humor. “And it’s not as though I’ve ever precisely lived alone. I’m sorry. You’ve been quite hospitable.”
    â€œOh, the students count for two or three people apiece,” Simon replied easily. “Particularly to those who aren’t that young anymore. I confess I don’t know how we stood our crowd, and we had only four in our rooms.”
    â€œWine, as I remember. And the occasional brawl.” Gareth touched his left eye