The Lost Sisterhood Read Online Free

anywhere. If only we knew the name of his foundation …”
    I shrank under her glare. Clearly, she was blaming me for not extracting more information from Mr. Ludwig, and she had a point. “I think they have an office in Amsterdam,” I said. “Because that’s where he wanted me to go.”
    “Does it really matter?” James cut in. “Obviously, you’re not going—”
    “Actually,” I countered, unable to resist the temptation to bait him a bit, “I came rather close to saying yes. It’s not every day some stranger in the street offers me five thousand dollars—”
    “Precisely.” James gave me a look of censure. “Some stranger in the street. And what does that make you?”
    I smiled, flattered that he took it all so seriously. “Curious.”
    James shook his head and would likely have thrown in another derisory comment, had not Katherine—exercising the privilege of genius—held up a hand to silence us both. “And he said he would meet you at the airport?”
    Perplexed by her gravity, I cleared my throat. “I believe so.”
    James could remain silent no longer. “Surely,” he intervened, squeezing his napkin into a ball, “you’re not encouraging Morg to actually take off with this … Mr. Ludwig? God knows what he’s up to—”
    Katherine sat back with a jerk. “Of course not! Don’t be absurd. I’m merely trying to figure out what’s afoot … who these people are.”
    Anxious to restore our amicable tone, I laughed and said, “I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it’s one of my lazy students—”
    James looked at me sternly. “I don’t see the humor in this. You’ve been targeted, and I don’t mean by some sort of student prank. Make sure to lock your door tonight.”

CHAPTER THREE
    In the face of a true friend a man sees, as it were, a second self.
    —C ICERO,
De Amicitia
    I T WAS STILL RAINING BY THE TIME JAMES WALKED ME BACK TO MY rooms across the quad, carefully steering us both around the inky puddles on the cobblestone pavement. He had never escorted me home before; if nothing else, at least I could thank Mr. Ludwig for this pleasing development.
    “Now, Morg”—James held up an arm to shield me from the rain as I stopped to take out my keys—” I don’t think you should leave college for a few days. At least not on your own. You never know—”
    I stared at him, hardly able to believe his sincerity. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “If you want to go out,” he continued, rain dripping from his hair and winding its way down his noble face, “call me and I’ll come with you.”
    Not just the words, but the deep tone of his voice crept right into my ear of ears and reverberated through the caverns of my hibernating hopes. Hungry for more I looked into his eyes … but rain and darkness blurred the moment. After an awkward pause I finally managed a stiff “That’s very kind of you,” to which James merely replied, in a voice as breezy as ever, “Rubbish. We’ve got to take care of you, don’t we?”
    And then he walked away, hands in his pockets, whistling a perky tune, while I retreated into my rooms at last. Or rather, the grand, tastefully furnished office apartment was not technically mine; it belongedto the esteemed Professor Larkin, who had conveniently been invited to spend the year at Yale. I had not been the only candidate vying for the one-year lectureship created to replace him, but I was a woman, and the college faculty had long been short on that particular variety of man. At least, that had been Katherine Kent’s argument in favor of them hiring me.
    I was not paid a full salary, but taking over Professor Larkin’s office had afforded me a chance to quit my dank apartment and live in college. The only snag to the lectureship was the workload. My days were so jam-packed with tutorials I had almost no time left over for my own research. And without a selection of fresh, head-turning publications to my name there would most certainly be no college