House of Cards Read Online Free PDF Page B

sore spot and sat up. Her flashlight lay on the floor next to the bed, its torch shining on the journal just peeking out from underneath the bed. Goose egg forgotten, she scrambled over to it.
    She froze when she heard a noise in the Oratory. Who would be here on a Saturday? Her tatù automatically switched to Jennifer’s leopard as she tucked the journal into the back of her shirt and tights. Sneaking to the hidden door she rested her ear against it and listened as hard as she could.
    Footsteps echoed away and then nothing.
    Slowly, and with a grimace, she opened the secret door. She almost giggled out load as she wondered how her scrunched up face would prevent the door from creaking. Surprising her, the old wood slid open without a sound.
    She glanced around the Oratory, her heart racing, and didn’t see anyone. Pulling the door closed, she jumped when it clicked shut. She spun around the room and cocked her ear for any sound. Only the building’s natural noises greeted her. As fast as she could, and beyond humanly possible thanks to the leopard tatù, she ran to the entrance and out the door.
    Slowing to a jog on the sidewalk, it was only then she remembered the door code. She hadn’t stopped to enter it. What if there was an alarm rigged to the lock code? Wouldn’t whoever was in the Oratory have set it, instead of turning it off? Or maybe they knew someone was inside and were checking the back rooms? Who had been there? Would they still be in the area? There were too many questions and no answers.
    Rae sped up her pace again. She had no intention of finding out, or getting caught. She stopped to catch her breath just outside Aumbry House. While sucking air in and out of her lungs, she stretched her calf muscles using the edge of the steps as her base and dropping her ankles low toward the previous step. She held on to the railing for balance. It felt incredibly good to stretch her sore muscles. It occurred to her that simply having sore muscles from actual physical exertion felt pretty good too.
    “Taking up running now, Ms. Kerrigan?”
    Rae slipped mid-stretch at the sound of Madame Elpis’ voice. “Uh… yeah. I couldn’t sleep.”
    Madame Elpis stood by the door looking down her long noise at Rae. She wore her usual wool skirt and white blouse. Arms crossed over her chest, she frowned at Rae. “I know you’ve taken an early position with the Privy Council,” she said in a quiet voice. “I suggest you worry less about training, and more about school work. Don’t think your professors will be lenient because you choose to try to juggle both.”
    Rae didn’t know what to say. Was Madame Elpis giving her crap? She never had before. At least she believed her and wasn’t questioning the early run on a Saturday morning.
    “I can appreciate you finishing school. I think it’s a very smart decision.” Madame Elpis , the headmistress for her dormitory, frowned. “You’re young and it’s easy to get caught up in the glamor of the job. However, it’s not all as beautiful as it sounds. The Privy Council was silly to push you into service so soon. You’ve been through enough the past two years.” She shook her head, staring down her long pointed nose at Rae. “They should have waited. I told the Guilder board of directors the same thing, but nobody listens these days.”
    Elpis was giving advice against her sacred Guilder Boarding School and the Privy Council? What other crazy thing was going to happen today? “I appreciate your concern, Madame Elpis. And your advice.” Rae felt the journal slipping slightly down her back and thought of Madame Elpis’ crown tatù; it wouldn’t take the woman long to figure out something was amiss. She needed to get upstairs before someone noticed it or it fell out. “I think I’ll do a bit of that studying now.” She trotted up the stairs, facing Madame Elpis as she stepped by her. As she turned to open the door, she pulled the journal out of the back of her shirt