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I'm the King of the Castle: Chapters 12-17

When his mother accepts a job as a housekeeper, young Charles Kingshaw must endure the cruelty of her employer's son.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-3, Chapters 4-6, Chapters 7-11, Chapters 12-17
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Full list of words from this list:

  1. lichen
    a plant occurring in crusty patches on tree trunks or rocks
    The surface was the colour of damp sand, rough and grainy to the touch, except where bits of moss and lichen grew out of the cracks.
  2. mortar
    plaster with a bond in masonry or for covering a wall
    They had put new mortar between the spaces, though, so that there were no loose stones.
  3. prance
    move or step in a lively, spirited, or showy way
    Kingshaw began to wave his arms about, and to prance a little, delicately, on top of the wall.
  4. parapet
    a low wall along the edge of a roof or balcony
    If he walked forwards a few yards farther, he would come to a gap. If he could jump it, he would be out on the parapet, leading to the tower.
  5. procession
    the action of a group moving ahead in regular formation
    Then they set off towards the ambulance, a little procession, marching in time.
  6. hypnotic
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    It was quite deep, even then, and oddly hypnotic, it went up and down in a rhythm.
  7. maw
    the mouth, jaws, or throat
    A combine harvester rolled down a field like a dinosaur, corn disappearing into its great, scarlet maw.
  8. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    He kept glancing at her, furtively.
  9. clammy
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    The thunderstorm had faded away, and the air was still, hot and clammy.
  10. gratification
    state of being satisfied
    Mrs Helena Kingshaw heard the warmth of his voice and flushed with gratification, relaxing into the thick, soft upholstery of the car.
  11. sheen
    the visual property of something that shines
    He could make out the shapes of the furniture, and the pale sheen of the silk coverlet on the bed.
  12. quad
    a rectangular area surrounded on all sides by buildings
    The quad was on a slope, and a lot of them were running down it very fast, bunched up together, playing jets.
  13. parson
    someone authorized to conduct religious worship
    'All the same. It's where the parson goes, and you’re not the parson.'
  14. plantain
    any of numerous plants of the genus Plantago
    Now, he pulled up some plantains and knotted them quickly, and then began to shoot off the brown heads.
  15. unwieldy
    difficult to use or handle because of size or weight
    There was the sound of the cow panting and the breathing of the men, the sweet smell of sweat, and then a soft, quick suck, as the calf came out, slithering and unwieldy, and lay on the straw covered in blood and skin and long, colourless strands of slime.
  16. heifer
    young cow
    Heifer calf,’ he said casually. ‘Nice and big.’
  17. guillotine
    instrument of execution used for beheading people
    ‘You ought to be here when we do them at Christmas. There's a guillotine and I have to hold the dustbin to catch the heads when they fall off.’
  18. battery
    a collection of related things intended for use together
    ‘Do you want to see my hamster?' Kingshaw nodded, numb before this battery of experience, bewildered by so many sights and smells and terrible truths, but still willing to be led by Fielding, to be shown everything at once.
  19. convey
    make known; pass on, of information
    Everything that Hooper had ever done to him, all the things he reminded him of, the crow and the moths and the dead rabbit, the shed, and the way he had looked falling off the castle wall, were crowded inside his head, but it was impossible to convey how terrible they were, to say that it was not what Hooper really did, as what he might do, it was how he could make him feel.
  20. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    He held it, and the snake-shaped, neolithic head poked forward, the mottled skin of the neck flaccid, like that of a very old man.
  21. flaccid
    drooping without elasticity
    He held it, and the snake-shaped, neolithic head poked forward, the mottled skin of the neck flaccid, like that of a very old man.
  22. pavilion
    a large and often sumptuous tent
    It was down in the old pavilion on the lower sports field.
  23. surreptitiously
    in a secretive manner
    He had looked at Mr Hooper surreptitiously across the dining table, and when he passed by him on the staircase, trying to understand.
  24. ajar
    slightly open
    The door of the Red Room was slightly ajar, he looked in quickly and saw the first of the glass cases, with their outstretched, shadowy shapes.
  25. impetuous
    characterized by undue haste and lack of thought
    He thought that life had taught him not to make impetuous decisions.
  26. linoleum
    a floor covering made from linseed oil, cork, and resin
    It hit the far wall and dropped, landing upside down on the linoleum beside the carpet.
  27. resentful
    full of or marked by indignant ill will
    He was a little resentful.
  28. dispassionate
    unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
    There had been a dining room which was always cold, and they had their own table, by the mirror in the corner, people said, 'That is the Kingshaws' table,’ in odd, dispassionate voices.
  29. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    Kingshaw bent his head forward, closer to the model, breathing in the thick, acrid fumes of glue and metallic paint quickly, trying to forget.
  30. somber
    lacking brightness or color; dull
    He looked at the shaded, sombrely-papered bedroom, with the neatly made double bed in which he slept alone.
  31. fusty
    stale and unclean smelling
    The fusty smell seeped from out of the chinks in the dolls' glass cabinet, into the room.
  32. carrion
    the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food
    The white paint was like a skin stretched over it, glistening with sweat, and there was a huge scarlet mouth, opening and shutting like the mouth of the carrion crow, there were the eyes, staring into his own.
  33. agile
    moving quickly and lightly
    He came here sometimes, when he could get away from Hooper, because there were grey squirrels, darting and leaping about in the trees, and he liked to watch them, he liked their soft, agile bodies and swaying tails.
  34. temperament
    your usual mood
    He could neither frighten nor humiliate Fielding, because his temperament would reject all of it without trouble, he would not bring out the worst in Hooper, as Kingshaw himself did.
  35. promenade
    a public area set aside as a pedestrian walk
    Outside, rain and a high wind, tearing through the yew trees. Mrs Kingshaw packed a long-sleeved woollen dress, thinking of outings along the promenade at Torquay.
Created on Wed Mar 21 10:52:04 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Mar 22 08:55:04 EDT 2018)

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