The Inheritance Book 1

Ch 39 Realization: Elizabeth Rowe [Monday Evening, Week Three]

Elizabeth's jaw dropped. So now the help was giving orders to the guests? Unbelievable!

Austin seemed appalled as well. While he glared at his mother, Elizabeth got a good look at him. He was extra appealing tonight in a clean, turquoise button-up, with his dishwater blonde hair freshly washed. The dark stubble under his nose and on his chin made him seem so grown-up.

She waited to see if Austin would set his mother straight. He didn't, which could be both a good sign or bad.

Not one to cause a scene, Elizabeth got up and pushed in her chair. She vowed that when the time was right, she would find a way to put the insolent woman in her place once and for all.

"Yes, ma'am." She dropped into an exaggerated curtsy.

"Very good then, thank you." Mrs. Carter apparently didn't catch the passive-aggressive sarcasm.

How could such a plain, dense woman have produced a son like Austin? On her way out of the dining room, Elizabeth rewarded him with her trademark half-smile.

By now, Mirabelle had certainly heard about Elizabeth being the one to save the day instead of her, and was simply avoiding having to face the humiliation.

She knocked impatiently on Mirabelle's door first. "Dinner is ready. Everyone's waiting."

Moving to Hannah's door next, Elizabeth did the same. But there was no response from either. She tested the knob. It wasn't locked, so she slowly opened the door and peeked inside. Hannah wasn't there.

She went back and jiggled Mirabelle's door knob. It was locked.

Next, she went to the bathrooms. Empty. Wonderful. Further inconvenience by being forced into a game of hide and seek.

Or was it more than that? Elizabeth paused to remember. The last time she saw those two was on the mountain after the accident, when they went off to find the boys.

When Elizabeth returned to the castle, she had showered, eaten lunch, then relaxed with a movie in her room--having smuggled in an old portable DVD player and some DVDs from home--until Sione and Jarrett had knocked on her door.

In the back of her mind, she had assumed that Hannah and Mirabelle had come back with the boys. She hadn't even asked about them. Were they really still out there in the forest? Leave it to that big-mouth, big-chin Mirabelle to get herself lost in the mountains. What an imbecile!

Mrs. Carter's fleshy face fell. "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" She covered her little round mouth with her hands in an undignified, childish way, looking at if she might faint.

When it was clear that no one had seen the girls since the hike, the room began buzzing with confusion.

Mrs. Carter's chubby knuckles turned yellowish-white as she held tightly onto her chair to steady herself. "I have to call Allora. She will know what to do."

"Here, let me, dear," Mr. Carter said as he got up to help his wife out of the dining room. "And don't worry yourself into a panic. I am sure that the girls are fine."

However, behind his wife's back, he flashed Austin and Kara a worried look.

Kara jumped into action. "Hey kids, I know you're all concerned, but look, dinner is on the table. Let's go ahead and eat. Allora and my dad know these mountains, so don't worry. We found Miss Sarah and Kellyn, we will find them too."

That was fine with Elizabeth. She ladled out some soup and at the same time, noticed that Austin had moved to the end of the table where his family had been sitting. Whatever. Sione was next to her anyway, and deserved a little attention.