To escape the dangers of wartime London, Millie has been sent away to Wickford Hall, but what lurks there is far more sinister than anything war might bring.
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THERE'S SOMETHING WICKED STALKING WICKFORD HALL...
As war rages on, Mildred Cunningham...
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The last few straggling students filtered out of the library and hurried towards the dining hall. The dinner bell had rung almost ten minutes earlier, and the meal was set to begin, with or without them. By the grand staircase, two nuns watched over the scene—Sister Marion and another older nun. They studied each passing girl with shrewd, sharp eyes, their expressions impassive. The nuns had been even more vigilant as of late, lurking around in pairs as if they were all standing on guard, waiting for something to happen.
"Is that everyone?" said the other nun, her gaze trailing after the last girls as they disappeared through the dining hall's open doors.
"Not quite, Sister Prudence," Sister Marion replied as she turned, her beady eyes drifting up the length of the staircase. "Mildred Cunningham hasn't come down yet."
Sister Prudence just closed her eyes and shook her head. "She's probably sulking in her room again. Should we go get her?"
"No, I'll go," Sister Marion said, looking back at her companion. "You can go ahead."
"Are you sure?" Sister Prudence asked, narrowing her watery eyes. "I can go with you, if you like. It's no trouble."
Sister Marion scoffed. "I can assure you, I can handle the girl on my own."
Sister Prudence did not look convinced, but all the same, even she didn't dare to challenge Sister Marion. She gave the senior nun a single nod, then followed after the last girls into the dining hall. Sister Marion watched her go before turning to head up the stairs. She took her time, her footfalls slow, in no hurry to discover wherever Millie had gone.
Just as Sister Marion disappeared around the corner of the upper landing, Millie poked her head out from her hiding spot. She had been lingering in the shadows of the lower hallway, waiting for the other students and teachers to clear out. She doubted anyone—aside from Sister Marion, perhaps—would notice if she wasn't at dinner. It was one small benefit of being disliked. If she needed to, it wasn't difficult to disappear.
And that was precisely what she needed tonight.
Millie stayed there for a moment longer, making sure that Sister Marion wasn't about to double back before she turned to her companion.
"Let's go."
Matthew stepped out of the shadows, too. He'd given George, the senior groundskeeper, some story of a stomach ache to get out of the last of his day's duties; then he'd snuck out and skulked by a back door until Millie had come to fetch him. Now he surveyed the staircase with a sharp frown.
"Are you sure the old hag is gone?" Matthew whispered back. It didn't seem he was much of a fan of Sister Marion, either. Millie wondered what sort of encounters he'd had with her. Knowing Sister Marion, she couldn't imagine they were pleasant.
"Yes, but she won't be gone for long," Millie replied. It wouldn't take much time before Sister Marion discovered that Millie wasn't in her room, and she went looking for her in other parts of the house. "So we should go now."
