Wakestone Hall chapter sampler

piece in my pocket, and I threw it out of the window. It’s probably still lying right there in the flowerbed. I bet even rats wouldn’t eat it. The food here is utterly revolting.’ Stella and Ottilie giggled. Agapanthus pushed open the door to the dining room, and they threaded their way between the long tables. ‘This school is utterly dreadful. I’d like to put slugs in the mistresses’ stockings. I put a toad in my governess’s bed once. You should have heard her scream. The kitchen must be through here.’ She pulled open the green baize door, and they followed her along a tiled passageway, down a short flight of stairs, around a corner, and found themselves in a cavernous, shadowy room that smelled of grease and old boiled cabbage. A large table was covered with pots and pans and piles of plates and bowls. There was an enormous range, and high up on one wall was a row of small windows. One of them was open, and the rain was coming in. Ottilie opened several drawers and cupboards and peered inside. ‘There’s nothing to eat here,’ she whispered. Agapanthus lifted the lid of one of the giant saucepans on the range. ‘Empty,’ she said. ‘Where’s the larder?’

20