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Bel knelt at the hearth to insert the brushes through the fireplace Unfolding the jointed rod and locking the sections into place, she advanced the contraption higher and higher It wasn’t quite as easy as she’d ied with a winter’s worth of soot, and it took a great deal of effort to push the brushes through the narrow passageway S her hair and clothes

As she worked, she sensed the ladies in the roo restless She surreptitiously wiped her brow on her sleeve

"Is your husband not at ho voice

"No," Bel clipped, forcing the brushes upith a vicious shove "He is away"

"Pity," Lady Violet said "He is so a with the ladies One can always count on Sir Toby to enliven a dreary party"

"I beg your pardon," Bel said, her itated "This isn’t a party If it’s ao elsewhere"

A hush cloaked the rooainst flue were the only sounds

"As forany ladies thisHe is in Surrey"

"Oh, but surely there are ladies in Surrey," the er to be amused, no less But from what I read in The Prattler, Sir Toby’s corner of Surrey has a raphy I understand it quite closely resembles an establishment known as the Hidden Pearl"

"I’m sure I don’t knohat you ave her a cruel smile "That’s probably why he’s there"

Bel’s every er heated her blood, but she could not let it boil over She’d worked so long and so hard to make this demonstration a success, and the lives of children could very well hang in the balance Even though she was annoyed with Lady Violet forsuch crude insinuations, and even more irritated with Toby for the caricatures that spawned them … she would not be a slave to unpredictable passions

Patience, she admonished herself Goodness Charity Miserable waifs

"The brushes are fully inserted now" She addressed the roo the dust froive a small twist on the handle to expand the bristles, and as I retract the device, the soot will be reave Lady Violet an innocent smile "You may wish to retreat now, my lady To the back of the rooet dirty"

"Oh, I think I shall rehtening ain and began retracting the brush with rough yanks, twisting and turning the rod as she did With eacharound her skirts

"Now, typically this method is not so untidy," Bel explained as she worked "Sweeps who use this e before the hearth, so as not to--"

She stopped short as her brush caught on an obstacle "So as not to soil the--" A rougher tug gained her nothing She braced one boot on the grate and pulled hard with both hands No progress

"I believe it’s stuck, dear," Lady Violet said helpfully

"Yes, it’s stuck," Bel snapped, releasing the rod and scra was quick and shallow "Just as these young children get stuck in flues with alared into that flue two bricks wide I in a cloud of soot, frightened beyond belief I pins into your flesh to convince you tostraws on fire and using theine, Lady Violet, that you are a miserable, impoverished, friendless child about to die To be sacrificed on the altar of English tradition simply because a lady of the ton could not be bothered to instruct her housekeeper to embrace modern improvements" Bel sniffed and pushed a stray wisp of hair froe, Lady Violet?"

"No," the asped Lady Violet was right She was enjoying the ie of a cra it far toowith her? This was meant to be a charity function, not an exercise in hostility But she had soinside her--she felt like a volcano, preparing to erupt The worst of it was, she couldn’t very well flee the danger, when it resided in herself

She could do this, she told herself, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly She could conquer her sinity and grace She would not explode

Sophiaso hard Perhaps you need a rest"

Bel warned her off with a shake of her head and bent down to take up the rod again "What I need is a bit of assistance Let us work in harmony, Lady Violet May I ask you to lend a hand?"

The , Lady Aldridge As if--"

"Not strong enough, then?"

"It isn’t that, I assure you--"

"Afraid of a little soot?"

"No" Lady Violet’s ash in her face She rose from her chair and placed her hands on the rod above Bel’s "Anything to get me out of this e, she sang, "What a lark this is, Lady Aldridge It’s giving me all sorts of ideas for my next party I think I shall distribute aprons at the door and invite all the ladies to take turns at scullery uest led Bel seethed inside, but she forced herself to reritted teeth

"On three," Lady Violet agreed "Oh, but wait! I’ve just had a brilliant idea for nored the laughter and began counting "One …"