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SASSY THANKED JESSIE and sighed as she watched hirown accustoo

She turned and inspected her room Molly had said she was to have Miss Saunders’ rooer than ten by eleven, alls papered in faded pink and besprinkled with green leaves Sassy frohen she realized the surprisingly large rectangularin the center of the wall facing the doorway had no covering

Next to the narrow bed, which was covered with a siround, stood a shtstand She also spied a sturdy chest of drawers, a long mirror, and a tall, albeit narrow satinardrobe

Well, well, she was at Netherby She had her own roos could be worse

Miss Sallstone was a bit of a mystery Sassy was certain she was not what she wanted people to think—a simple headmistress She was sure that the headmistress was much more than she presented, but what?

Also, as the awful sensation she got when she walked up the stairs? Evil? Her logic rejected this At a school for young girls? Iic voice had clearly whispered the word evil She had been accosted with it; the wickedness of lingering ill deeds always uard, and that was how she’d had felt

Briefly she wondered what had happened to Miss Saunders and

She thought of her father and an the business of unpacking

Light splattered with dust particles seared through Sassy’s undrapedthe following ly to life

She had not slept well, and with a groan she gazed up at the brigh

t sun’s rays taunting her Shading her eyes against the offending light, she groaned again “Must get to town and purchase some fabric for that bare ,” she mumbled to herself

How odd, she thought, that ain a rooone without drapes She shrugged this off as she pulled the covers over herself It was so cold in her room

A few ed herself out of bed and washed with the water froiven after dinner That too was uncomfortably cold She picked out a oolen shawl and draped it around herself before she went about the business of brushing her hair, taking out the Grecian curls it had been styled into by Lady Margate’s maid Decidedly that would not do at the school Instead, she divided her hair, braided both sections, and pinned them at the top of her head where wispy locks shaded her forehead

She donned one of her ray silk, with a white lace fichu at the neck The goas long sleeved and banded at the waist with a darker shade of gray velvet Finally, she pulled on her half-boots of black leather and then picked up the dark wool shawl Throwing it over her shoulders, she made her way to the stairs to find Miss Graves

Once again, she felt the pulse of ‘soed the wide staircase and tried to ignore it