The Demon's Riddle Read Online Free Page B
Author: Jessica Brown
out, and Kerry pivoted, catching the last vestige of an even more knowing smile from Mrs. Dalrymple. She rolled her eyes and decided not to reply, then went back to checking the clock, which was crawling toward 4 PM, the time when she normally closed up.
When she did, Kerry rushed through the process frantically, trying to compress a fifteen-minute chore into five. She ended up having to recheck almost everything she did, and in the end she thanked heaven that there had been only a few customers, who knows how badly she would have screwed up the register if it had been a busy day.
Finally she went into the back room again, where the ever-diligent Mrs. Dalrymple was still slaving away at the books. She only came in once a week, and Kerry glanced at her, slightly annoyed, wanting to go get ready for rehearsal that night. She must have been pretty obvious about it, because finally the bookkeeper looked up at her and gave her yet another glowing grin.
"You go on ahead, dear, I'll make sure everything's locked up before I set the books aside for your father," she said, shooing Kerry away with a flutter of her hand. "I hope everything works out for you."
Kerry tried as hard as she could to suppress a grin, knowing even as she did that it was basically a futile effort. She felt herself turning red, and she bolted for the door before the bookkeeper could get the full effect of her color change.
Once out the door, she sprinted for home, without knowing exactly why she was running. There were still almost four hours until rehearsal, and she really had almost nothing to do other than prepare dinner for her father, which was fairly simple since he was a relentless meat and potatoes man.
When she got home, Kerry found herself still full of nervous energy, but with nowhere to direct it, really. She thought about making a roast for her father, but it was much too late in the day to start a cooking project like that, and besides, it would have instantly drawn her father's suspicions that something was up.
So she went up and started trying on summer dresses for the rehearsal that night, which didn't take long because Kerry only had four of them. She thought about going downtown to buy something new, but then she realized that the selection at the only dress shop in town would only depress her. And besides, if her father was running errands or doing visits in town it was quite likely she would run into him, and that was something Kerry definitely wanted to avoid at all costs.
Somehow she managed to extend the process of trying on dresses to take almost an hour, and when it was almost five she heard her father pull into the driveway. Kerry went downstairs to put on appearances and get dinner ready, already knowing which leftovers she would make a show of preparing.
Her father was something of a dunce when it came to matters of the kitchen, and she knew that as long as whatever she chose was ready when he wanted it he would scarf it down, barely realizing what it was.
Dinner conversation was scant between them, which was how Kerry preferred it, especially tonight. She made sure to ask her father about his errands, knowing she would receive a full account, and she made sure to ask extra questions, too, knowing how that pumped up his already inflated sense of self importance.
Chapter 7
Just...Choir Practice
Halfway through dinner she realized she was picking at her food, and she forced herself to stop and eat, even though she wasn't very hungry, knowing that her father would notice and become annoyed if her pace of eating wasn't about half the rate of his constant shoveling.
When she was done asking about errands, she turned her attention to Sunday's sermon, knowing that was always a popular topic of conversation. Kerry realized it was a little too early in the week to be doing this, and that there was some risk of annoying him if he hadn't already started to prepare.
But she also knew that with his ego he would be delighted
When she did, Kerry rushed through the process frantically, trying to compress a fifteen-minute chore into five. She ended up having to recheck almost everything she did, and in the end she thanked heaven that there had been only a few customers, who knows how badly she would have screwed up the register if it had been a busy day.
Finally she went into the back room again, where the ever-diligent Mrs. Dalrymple was still slaving away at the books. She only came in once a week, and Kerry glanced at her, slightly annoyed, wanting to go get ready for rehearsal that night. She must have been pretty obvious about it, because finally the bookkeeper looked up at her and gave her yet another glowing grin.
"You go on ahead, dear, I'll make sure everything's locked up before I set the books aside for your father," she said, shooing Kerry away with a flutter of her hand. "I hope everything works out for you."
Kerry tried as hard as she could to suppress a grin, knowing even as she did that it was basically a futile effort. She felt herself turning red, and she bolted for the door before the bookkeeper could get the full effect of her color change.
Once out the door, she sprinted for home, without knowing exactly why she was running. There were still almost four hours until rehearsal, and she really had almost nothing to do other than prepare dinner for her father, which was fairly simple since he was a relentless meat and potatoes man.
When she got home, Kerry found herself still full of nervous energy, but with nowhere to direct it, really. She thought about making a roast for her father, but it was much too late in the day to start a cooking project like that, and besides, it would have instantly drawn her father's suspicions that something was up.
So she went up and started trying on summer dresses for the rehearsal that night, which didn't take long because Kerry only had four of them. She thought about going downtown to buy something new, but then she realized that the selection at the only dress shop in town would only depress her. And besides, if her father was running errands or doing visits in town it was quite likely she would run into him, and that was something Kerry definitely wanted to avoid at all costs.
Somehow she managed to extend the process of trying on dresses to take almost an hour, and when it was almost five she heard her father pull into the driveway. Kerry went downstairs to put on appearances and get dinner ready, already knowing which leftovers she would make a show of preparing.
Her father was something of a dunce when it came to matters of the kitchen, and she knew that as long as whatever she chose was ready when he wanted it he would scarf it down, barely realizing what it was.
Dinner conversation was scant between them, which was how Kerry preferred it, especially tonight. She made sure to ask her father about his errands, knowing she would receive a full account, and she made sure to ask extra questions, too, knowing how that pumped up his already inflated sense of self importance.
Chapter 7
Just...Choir Practice
Halfway through dinner she realized she was picking at her food, and she forced herself to stop and eat, even though she wasn't very hungry, knowing that her father would notice and become annoyed if her pace of eating wasn't about half the rate of his constant shoveling.
When she was done asking about errands, she turned her attention to Sunday's sermon, knowing that was always a popular topic of conversation. Kerry realized it was a little too early in the week to be doing this, and that there was some risk of annoying him if he hadn't already started to prepare.
But she also knew that with his ego he would be delighted
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