Room 14's Secret: The Heiress Who Outsmarted Her Betrayers novel · Chapter 18 of 24
Chapter 18: Gloucester
I didn't step back from her.
"Then you can tell the grievance committee it was your idea," I said. "They'll want to know."
Alicia's smile went crooked.
She turned and walked away fast, and for once nobody held a door for her.
On Wednesday, I took my daughters home to Gloucester.
My grandmother's house sat on the harbor, gray shingles and a long wooden dock.
Flora ran through every room on the first floor, shrieking, and found the dumbwaiter by the second hour.
Edie walked through every room slowly and drew each one in her sketchbook.
She drew the dock last.
By Saturday, Matthew had taught her four knots.
"The rabbit comes up out of the hole," Matthew said. "Goes around the tree. Back down the hole."
She pulled.
The loop held.
"Bowline," Matthew said. "Your grandpa could tie that in the dark with one hand."
"Could you?"
"Two hands. On a good day."
Edie looked at him with deep suspicion.
"Show me one hand."
He showed her. It took him three tries.
She laughed out loud, the first real laugh I'd heard from her since the hotel.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Room 14's Secret: The Heiress Who Outsmarted Her Betrayers are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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