Chapter Thirty-One
Lord Newingham usually knocked on the schoolroom door not long after breakfast. That morning he didn’t make an appearance. Neither did Lord Octavius. Or Mr. Pryor. Pip tried not to worry, but it was impossible not to. Had something gone wrong last night?
An hour passed. Arithmetic gave way to French verbs, and still Lord Newingham didn’t come. Edie and Fanny were restless and fidgety. “Where’s Uncle Robert?” Fanny asked, a whining note in her voice, when Pip asked her to decline the verb pouvoir.
Pip didn’t reprimand her. She felt like whining, too. Where was Lord Octavius?
Another hour passed. Pip heard the sound of rapid footsteps in the corridor. Lord Newingham burst into the schoolroom. His face was flushed, as if he’d run up the stairs. “Guess what?” he cried.
