Marriage Spell

Prologue Stonebridge Academy Cumberland, Northwest England September 1793 "Time to get up, rat!" Jack Langdon's narrow bed tilted ruthlessly, pitching him onto the cold stone floor. He shoved himself to a sitting position and blinked sleepily at the young man who had invaded his room. Where was he? Stonebridge Academy. Of course. The family travel coach had deposited him here late the night before after days of exhausting travel. Jack had been given a piece of bread and shown to this room without seeing anything of his new school or classmates. Today he must learn how to survive the next years. He scrambled to his feet and asked the older boy, "Are you a prefect?" "I am. Call me Mr. Fullerton, sir. And you're a rat, the lowest of the low. Get dressed and go down into the courtyard. The colonel wants to speak to the new rats." The prefect scowled. "Do I need to stand over you while you put your clothes on?" Jack had a powerful desire to plant a facer on that smirking mouth, but he wasn't stupid. The prefect was probably seventeen, twice Jack's size and three times as mean. He settled for saying, "No, Mr. Fullerton, sir. I'll be right down." "See that you are." Fullerton left for the next room. Shivering, Jack went to the washstand. He had to break a skin of ice in the pitcher before he could pour the water. He should have guessed how cold Cumberland would be in September since they were practically in Scotland. It had taken three long days of uncomfortable travel to reach here from his home in Yorkshire. His home. He tried not to think of Langdale Hall, where he'd lived his whole eleven years. He'd never wanted to leave. Though he'd known school was inevitable, he'd assumed they would send him to a regular place like Eton, not that he would end up at Stonebridge Academy in disgrace. Trying to soften the blow, his mother had said the school was small and very good. The headmaster, Colonel Hiram Stark, was widely respected. Jack would learn a great deal, and each boy had his own room, not like some schools where dozens of boys slept in the same chamber. Jack scanned his spartan surroundings. His own room? More like his own cell. Even his mother hadn't tried to convince him that Stonebridge was anything other than punishment. Fullerton stuck his head in the door. "Am I going to have to strip that nightshirt off, rat?" There was something avid in the prefect's eyes that made Jack nervous for reasons he didn't understand, and didn't want to. "No, Mr. Fullerton, sir." Jack picked up his discarded clothing from the night before, grateful when Fullerton moved along to bully the next new student. He'd heard talk of how miserable schools were and thought maybe it was just older boys trying to scare younger ones. Apparently the rumors had been true. When he grew up and entered the army, he'd have to put up with cold billets and beastly senior officers, so time to get used to it. He yanked on his clothes and grabbed his cloak, then headed into the corridor. Outside in the long, gloomy hall, he hesitated. When a footman brought him to this room last night, it had been late and dark and he'd been too tired to notice the route. But he thought they'd come from the left. He turned that direction and set off at a brisk walk. It wouldn't do to be late when summoned by the headmaster, and maybe walking would warm him up. His corridor ended at another. As he paused and tried to rememberPutney, Mary Jo is the author of 'Marriage Spell ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780345449184 and ISBN 0345449185.