Before the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

reflected with much satisfaction.
    ‘Good morning, Miss Roche,’ the two prettiest girls, one of whom had the most astonishing dyed red hair chorused together. ‘Can you guess which of us is to be your pupil?’
    Sidonie smiled and pulled off her gloves, pretending to seriously consider this conundrum despite the fact that she had immediately guessed which girl, the sullen looking auburn haired child at the end, was Miss Clementine Garland. ‘Oh now, this is too difficult!’ she exclaimed with a laugh going over to them and pretending to scrutinise each in turn. ‘No, it is just too hard.’ She glanced at Clementine, who seemed determined not to meet her eye and instead feigned great interest in her scuffed pink satin shoes, which peeped out from beneath the hem of her flounced white gown.
    ‘Are you sure you can’t guess?’ one of the girls, a gorgeous blonde with enormous blue eyes asked cajolingly. ‘Oh do try! We have a wager on you being able to guess straight away.’
    ‘How very improper,’ Sidonie said with a twinkle that belied her stern tone.  
    ‘But it is Bath,’ another girl, this one a very lovely brunette with large gold hoops hanging from her ears that jingled pleasingly whenever she moved, which was constantly. ‘Everybody gambles in Bath.’
    ‘Well, in that case...’ Sidonie laughingly threw up her hands as though giving in, but before she could say anything more, Clementine stepped away from the group and ran towards the stairs, rudely pushing past her as she went. ‘Oh dear,’ she murmured.
    Clementine put one foot on the bottom step, paused and turned to look at Sidonie for the first time since she had arrived. ‘I don’t want a governess!’ she shouted. ‘I didn’t ask for you to come here, I don’t want you and I wish that you would go away again!’ And with that, she burst into tears and fled upstairs.
    ‘Well, how awkward,’ the redhead said with a laugh as an uncomfortable silence fell over the hall. ‘Of course, having a tantrum is always the best way to convince people that you are too old for a governess,’ she remarked drily before turning to Sidonie and offering her hand, which Sidonie shook. ‘Never mind. I am Venetia Wrotham,’ she said with a friendly smile. ‘This is Eliza Garland and Phoebe and Matilda Knowles.’
    ‘Clementine is my sister,’ Eliza, who turned out to be the lovely blonde, said with a roll of her expressive blue eyes, ‘and your pupil but you had already guessed that, hadn’t you?’
    Sidonie laughed. ‘Yes, I am afraid that I did. I must confess that I had no idea that my arrival would cause so much consternation!’ She smiled. ‘I hope that I am not an ogre?’
    Eliza sighed. ‘No, not at all. I am afraid that Clementine takes after Mama and is a little given to over excitement. It never lasts for very long.’ She smiled rather stiffly at Sidonie, who was rather worriedly wondering what she had meant by ‘over excitement’. Was she to be subjected to vapours and hysterics? ‘Now, I must take you up to see Mama. She wants to talk to you before you start.’
    Sidonie followed the elder Miss Garland up the sweeping staircase to a large pale blue drawing room on the first floor, where they came upon Mrs Garland dressed in a beribboned and flounced lilac gauze and satin gown that was just a tad too young for her. She was arranged rather becomingly upon a pink silk chaise longue by the tall windows, where she was working her way through a box of violet creams while idly flicking through the pages of a fashion magazine. ‘Ah, here you are!’ she exclaimed gladly as they entered the room.  
    ‘Mama, this is Miss Roche,’ Eliza said. ‘I am afraid that Clementine was rather displeased to see her.’
    Mrs Garland frowned. ‘Oh dear, was there a scene? I do hope not.’ Sidonie was surprised to find that her new mistress was well spoken; she had been expecting something quite different since accepting a position with the