Free The Complete Mackenzie Collection by Linda Howard Page A

move.
    Walton Is by cleared his throat and called the meeting to order, no doubt feeling the importance of his position with so many people present to watch the proceedings. Mary drummed her fingers on her arm. The board went through the routine of its normal business, and suddenly she decided she wasn’t going to wait. The best defense, she’d read, was an attack.
    When the normal business was finished, Mr. Is by cleared his throat again, and Mary took it as a signal that they were about to get down to the real purpose of the meeting. She rose to her feet and said clearly, “Mr. Is by, before you continue, I have an announcement to make.”
    He looked startled, and his florid face turned even redder. “This is—uh, well, irregular, Miss Potter.”
    “It’s also important.” She kept her voice at the level she used when lecturing and turned so she could see the entire room. The deputy straightened from his position against the wall as everyone’s attention locked on her like a magnet to a steel bar. “I’m certified to tutor pupils privately, and the credits they earn in private lessons are as legitimate as those earned in a public classroom. For the past month, I’ve been tutoring Joe Mackenzie in my home—”
    “I’ll just bet you have,” someone muttered, and Mary’s eyes flashed.
    “Who said that?” she demanded crisply. “It was incredibly vulgar.”
    The room fell silent.
    “When I saw Joe Mackenzie’s school records, I was outraged that a student of his intelligence had quit school. Perhaps none of you know it, but he was at the top of his class. I contacted him and persuaded him to take lessons to catch up to his classmates, and in one month he has not only caught them, he has surpassed them. I have also been in contact with Senator Allard, who has expressed an interest in Joe. Joe’s strong academic standing has made him a candidate for recommendation to the Air Force Academy. He’s an honor to the community, and I know all of you will give him your support.”
    She was gratified to see the stunned looks in the room and sat down with the cool poise Aunt Ardith had tirelessly drummed into her. Only rabble got into brawls, Aunt Ardith had said; a lady could make her point in other ways.
    Whispers rustled through the room as people put their heads together, and Mr. Is by shuffled the three sheets of paper in front of him as he searched for something to say. The other members of the board put their heads together, too.
    She looked around the room, and a shadow in the hall beyond the open door caught her attention. It was only a slight movement; if she hadn’t looked at precisely that second, she would have missed it. As it was, it took her a moment to make out the outline of a tall man, and her skin tingled. Wolf. He was out in the hall, listening. It was the first time she had seen him since the day he’d come to her house, and even though all she could see was a darker outline against the shadows, her heart began to pound.
    Mr. Is by cleared his throat, and the murmuring in the room settled down. “That is good news, Miss Potter,” he began. “However, we don’t think you’ve given the best appearance as an example to our young people—”
    “Speak for yourself, Walton,” Francie Beecham said testily, her voice cracking with old age.
    Mary stood again. “In precisely what way have I given the wrong appearance?”
    “It doesn’t look right to have that boy in your house all hours of the night!” Mr. Hearst snapped.
    “Joe leaves my home at exactly nine o’clock, after three hours of lessons. What is your definition of ‘all hours of the night’? However, if the board doesn’t approve of the location, I take it all are agreed that the schoolhouse will be used for night classes? I have no objection to moving the lessons here.”
    Mr. Is by, who was at heart a good-natured soul, looked harassed. The board members put their heads together again.
    After a minute of heated