The girl sighed, but dutifully got up from her chair. “Yes, Miss Billings,” she said, and left the room.
“Jane, Viola, Bia, and I know some of the boys at Easton from back home,” Theresa said as soon as Helen was gone. “And I happen to know that they’re all going to be gathering at Gwendolyn Hall tonight. They do it every year on the first night at school.”
“Ooooohh!” Alice cried, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. “Then what are we waiting for?”
“I’ll go get my wrap!” Jane offered, dropping her needlepoint in her chair.
“How would we get there?” Viola asked.
“There’s a tunnel not far from Crenshaw, at the edge of the woods. It will take us right there,” Theresa said, her dark eyes gleaming as she placed both hands on the back of Eliza’s vacated chair. “I overheard my father and his friends talking about it at cards. It’s amazing the things you learn about men when they think they’re on their own.”
“So you want us to sneak out of here in the dark and take some tunnel to Gwendolyn Hall to meet the boys?” Eliza asked skeptically.
“Precisely.”
“Are you sure about this?” Catherine asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “If we get caught, we’ll be forbidden from the welcome dance. And that’s the best-case scenario.”
“Helen already overheard your plan,” Clarissa pointed out from her chair.
“Helen just heard me suggest it,” Theresa replied. “She won’t report us unless she sees us leave.”
“But I do not wish to be kept from the dance,” Genevieve said. She placed the top on her box of chocolates and tucked them away into a quilted bag she had slung over her shoulder.
“Nor do I,”
Marilyn added, her accent even thicker than Genevieve’s. According to Alice, the two of them had grown up together in Paris. Eliza hadn’t seen them leave each other’s side all day.
“Oh, come on, girls. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt us,” Theresa said, waving a hand. “Besides, I own this place, remember? If she threatens us, I’ll just telephone Father. He owes me after insisting on that change to our curriculum.” She walked to the door and grasped the brass doorknob. “Now, do you want to stay in here under lock and key all night, or would you rather go on a little adventure?”
Though she hated to admit it, excitement pounded through Eliza’s heart at the word adventure.
“Is the tunnel safe?” Lavender asked.
“Of course it is,” Theresa replied, rolling her eyes. “My grandparents and the Eastons had it built as a hiding place for runaway slaves back in the day.”
“The Underground Railroad?” Eliza asked.
Theresa nodded. A few of the other girls wrinkled their noses and shuddered, but Eliza was intrigued.
“Not that you’ll be coming along, Eliza,” Theresa said, looking her up and down.
Eliza blinked. “Why ever not?”
“Why, you’re a Williams,” Theresa said with a snort, looping her arm through Catherine’s. “The faculty might have revered your sister, but that girl wouldn’t know an adventure if it jumped out of a bush and bit her. Given your love of libraries, I have to assume you’re cut from the same bland cloth.”
Eliza’s jaw dropped, and Theresa turned to face the room. “The rest of you, go get ready. I’ll wait for you outside. But hurry. Helen will be back soon. Perhaps Eliza can tell her we all went up to bed.”
Catherine eyed Eliza sympathetically. Eliza felt as if her insides were about to burst.
“I’m coming with you,” she said in a determined voice.
Theresa paused. She turned around and raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” Eliza said firmly. “I am not my sister. I’m always up for an adventure.”
“We’ll see about that,” Theresa said.
Agreed