She Returns From War Read Online Free Page A

she let it spread, filling every fiber of her being. Her eyes glittered like distant stars.
    "Father." Her voice was dark and hard like the granite walls around her. "Mother." She drew herself to her full height. "I'm sorry I failed you. I know it can't help you now, but I vow to you that I will hunt down those beasts. I will hunt them to the ends of the earth and back, and I will kill them. I know I may not have been the daughter you wished for, but I will make you proud in this. No matter the cost, no matter the distance, I will give you justice."

TWO
     
    Victoria felt the curious eyes of the fellows all around her as she stood beside the coach. Aspiring scholars in flowing robes strode along the paved avenues in groups of two and three, oblivious to the grandeur of the buildings around them. Their conversations gave way to mute stares when they caught sight of her. Although Oxford had just established their first women's college, she imagined it had been a good while since many of the students here had seen a young woman of marriageable age without an escort. Stray strands of hair peeked out from beneath her hat, gleaming like gilded steel in the sunlight and catching the golden thread woven into the bodice of her dress.
    She straightened her back and allowed her bosom to thrust forward a little. Might as well give these poor shutin schoolboys something to remember. Her mother had been a shapely woman, and Victoria had inherited her good fortune. Combined with her father's piercing blue eyes, she'd stolen many a young man's heart since growing into womanhood. She found it quite tiresome at times, waiting for a smitten messenger boy to deliver his message or seeing round, gawking eyes follow her from doorways and carriage windows. Still, she couldn't resist the modest flaunting of her charms from time to time.
    Today, however, she couldn't linger to tease passing students. Pulling a slip of paper from a coin purse tucked in her bodice, she compared the name written on it to the building in front of her. Blackfriars Hall. This was where she was supposed to meet him.
    Victoria approached the front entrance with an air of caution. Unlike the other buildings that comprised the various colleges at Oxford University, Blackfriars Hall was a squat, simple construction that had fallen into some disrepair. Two rows of windows stared gloomily out across St. Giles, and a third above them was nearly lost in the sloping roof. It boasted no sweeping arches or towering spires, and even its front doors were plainly carved. It seemed a poor choice for the professional edifice of such a renowned scholar.
    Her hopes dampened, she pulled open the old oak door. Inside, the floor groaned beneath her, announcing her every step. A man ensconced behind a massive desk looked up at the sound, candlelight dancing in his spectacles.
    "Excuse me, miss," he said. "Are you lost?"
    "No," Victoria replied. "I'm here to visit a friend of my father's."
    The man smiled and rose to his feet. "You must be mistaken. You see, Blackfriars Hall has not been in use by the university for a very long time. We keep it open for historical purposes, but I'm afraid there are no offices here."
    "But I'm certain he told me to meet him here." The paper crackled in her hand as she held it out to the man. "Blackfriars Hall."
    The man took the paper from her and inspected it. "Yes, that is what it says. Perhaps you misunderstood?"
    "Perhaps not," Victoria replied. "I'm quite capable of reading, sir."
    He offered her a thin smile. "With whom were you exchanging letters?"
    "A Mr. Townsend, an acquaintance of my father and scholar of some renown."
    Behind his spectacles, the man's eyes widened. He looked back down at the scrap of paper and swallowed. "Mr. James Townsend?"
    "Yes." Victoria stood up straighter. "He requested that I come visit him, and he instructed me to meet him in this hall."
    "Of course," the man said, returning the paper. "If you'll follow me."
    Surprised but