Free Finished Off (A Bellehaven House Mystery Book 2) by Kate Kingsbury Page A

aren't we? Forward and onward, no matter what stands in our way!" She raised a fist above her head and started humming.
    Grace rolled her eyes. If she'd had any idea what she would have to suffer for the cause, she might have changed her mind about joining the WSPU.
    Women's Social and Political Union. It should be called Women's Stupid Pranks Union. It wasn't going to get them anywhere. What was the use of smashing windows? Even if women got the vote, how would they know who to vote for? Everything that had to do with government was kept a big, dark secret.
    So deep was she into her inner ranting, she failed to notice Olivia had stopped marching until she bumped into her.
    "Ouch!" Olivia glared at her. "You trod on my toes."
    "Sorry." Grace pulled off her wet glove and squeezed it to get some of the water out of it. "What'd you stop for, anyhow?"
    "We're at the crossroads, aren't we." Olivia peered down the lane at the dripping hedges. "There's a tree down there. Let's stand underneath it while we wait for a farmer to come along."
    Muttering under her breath, Grace followed her down the lane to the gnarled and twisted oak tree. It had lost most of its leaves, and provided little shelter from the rain.
    Olivia leaned her back against the soaked trunk. "We shouldn't have to wait long."
    "I hope not, or my hands are going to shrivel up." Grace hugged her own shoulders. "I hope Mona doesn't hear about this. She'll lock us up for a month if she finds out where we went."
    "She won't find out if you don't tell her."
    "Mrs. Wilkins will know we're gone."
    "No, she won't. I told her we'd been ordered to clean out the attic. I told her it would most likely take us all day."
    Grace shot her a look of grudging respect. "That was clever. But what if she goes up there?"
    "She's not going up there, is she. With her creaking old bones, she'd never be able to climb those steep, narrow stairs."
    "I hope not." Grace shivered. "I hate to think what trouble we'd be in if we got caught again."
    "That's nothing to the trouble we'd be in if we got caught breaking windows. So you'd better pay attention and do everything you're told." Olivia shuffled through the wet leaves to get a better look down the lane. "Listen! I hear horses' hooves. Looks like our ride will be along any minute."
    Even the thought of a dry place to sit did nothing to settle Grace's stomach. She was too busy worrying about what would happen to her if the bobbies caught them. The consequences were too dreadful to even think about.
    As the plodding horse came into view, she thought very seriously about running off, back to the warmth and safety of Bellehaven. But Olivia had already hailed the farmer, and the cart was slowing down to a halt.
    There was no turning back now. She was in this whether she liked it or not, and she would just have to hope that they could get through all this without ending up sitting in some cold, damp prison cell.
    After announcing that she had errands to run, Mer edith set off later that morning. Fortunately she had an hour or so before she had to be back in the classroom, and Reggie had assured her he knew where to find Meadow Lane.
    With raindrops spattering on the window of the carriage, they jogged along the narrow lanes until Reggie pulled up at a crossroads.
    Meredith waited while he climbed down from his perch and opened the door. "It's just a short walk from here, m'm," he said, holding out his hand to assist her. "I'll turn Major around and wait for you here."
    She allowed him to take her arm as she stepped down onto the wet road. "Thank you, Reggie. I shan't be long."
    He frowned down at her. "Want me to come with you, m'm?"
    "Thank you, but no. I can manage quite well on my own."
    He continued to scowl. "I know it's none of my business, m'm, but I do have to wonder why you want to go visiting a burnt-out house with nobody living in it."
    Meredith nodded. "Quite right, Reggie. It is none of your business."
    He shrugged. "Only asking, m'm,