The Unseen Guest: Chapters 1–2

by Maryrose Wood
In the third book of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, governess Miss Penelope Lumley and the wolf-children Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia must go on the hunt for an escaped ostrich. Along the way the children are reunited with their wolf family, and Penelope discovers some of the Ashton family's secrets.

Here are links to our lists for the book:

Chapters 1–2, Chapters 3–4, Chapters 5–6, Chapters 7–8, Chapters 9–11, Chapters 12–13, Chapter 14–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. governess
    a woman who cares for and instructs a child in a household
    Beowulf Incorrigible was leaning so far out the nursery window that his governess, Miss Penelope Lumley, was afraid he might tumble out.
  2. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    But the nursery felt stuffy all at once, without the wonderful summer breeze that had been making the curtains billow and dance all morning.
  3. grudge
    a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
    Truth be told, she had been rather hoping for a run-in with pirates, for she held a bit of a grudge against them ever since the Incorrigibles’ recent trip to London, and was hoping to get “last licks,” as they say nowadays.
  4. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    Penelope noted the changed mood of her three students with dismay.
  5. expressly
    with a clear or definite meaning or purpose
    The furry scamp lived outside in the trees, as any sensible squirrel should, but he had become so tame that he often scurried along a low-hanging branch and made the heroic leap to the windowsill, whereupon Cassiopeia would spoil him with treats and try to teach him to do simple arithmetic with the acorns she had saved expressly for that purpose.
  6. reproachful
    expressing disapproval, blame, or disappointment
    But the reproachful sound could not be ignored.
  7. curdle
    go bad or sour
    By now she understood that the mood in the nursery had begun to curdle, so to speak, and that the cause had something to do with her shutting of the windows.
  8. pang
    a sudden sharp feeling
    But then she felt a sharp pang of guilt, for Penelope knew that the reason she had taken her eyes off Beowulf to begin with was that she had reached a particularly exciting part of the very book she now held in her hands and, as a result, had temporarily forgotten—just for a moment, of course—that she was a governess in a nursery at all.
  9. sage
    having wisdom that comes with experience
    Nuthatches, warblers, sparrows, and the occasional wood dove—perfectly acceptable birds all, to be sure, but where were the sage and mysterious owls?
  10. pithy
    concise and full of meaning
    For that she could thank her years at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, which equipped her not only with a sound education, but also with the timeless good sense of the school’s founder, Agatha Swanburne, who was known for her countless pithy nuggets of wisdom (nearly all of which are just as useful nowadays as they were back in Miss Lumley’s day —a point to bear in mind).
  11. riveting
    capable of arousing and holding the attention
    The children had always found the antics of small, edible creatures positively riveting and could scarcely take their eyes off them—clearly an advantage when birdwatching—but whether they could refrain from pouncing remained to be seen.
  12. strapping
    muscular and heavily built
    To nourish is to feed and make grow; therefore, a nourishing mother would be the one who has fed you and raised you so that you might grow up into the strapping young man or woman you are no doubt well on your way to becoming.
  13. omnibus
    a vehicle carrying many passengers
    What was the point of all that alpine scenery, when what Penelope had really needed for her trip was a guidebook to London, which was a confusing city on foot and even worse if one needed to take the omnibus?
  14. robust
    sturdy and strong in form, constitution, or construction
    “Many birds are bigger than warblers, Beowulf. A full-grown pheasant can be positively robust,” Penelope said absently before returning to her train of thought, which was now zooming along like a Bloomer steam locomotive at full tilt.
  15. willy-nilly
    in a random manner
    Even when we think we know what is likely to happen, surprises tend to pop up willy-nilly—what?
  16. spindly
    long, thin, and often weak or fragile
    “What on earth ...” But before Penelope could say “... is an ostrich doing at Ashton Place?” the giant creature blinked and bounded off into the woods on its spindly legs at a truly astonishing speed.
  17. utterly
    completely and without qualification
    What they had just seen was not merely unexpected; it was utterly impossible.
  18. juncture
    a particular point in a process or activity
    At this juncture Penelope might have said any number of things: “We have just seen an ostrich” or “Would you like to join us on our birdwatching expedition?” or even “Is there any hope of having lemon tarts with tea today?”
  19. exertion
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    The older woman’s cheeks were already pink from exertion, but her proud blush shone through nevertheless.
  20. plumage
    the covering of feathers on a bird
    “I’m not quite ready for the Derby, mind you, but I’m picking up my pace, to be sure. And look at you children! I scarcely recognize you, you’ve grown so big. You boys will be wanting new trousers soon; I spy a bit of ankle peeking out. And where did you get that pretty bit of plumage, Cassawoof?”
  21. pandemonium
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    Penelope could think of only one person important enough to cause such pandemonium in the household, but a visit from Queen Victoria seemed altogether unlikely, despite the fact that Her Majesty and Penelope had recently exchanged some pleasant correspondence.
  22. portly
    fairly large
    But the portly housekeeper was already chugging back the way she came.
  23. meticulously
    in a manner marked by extreme care of details
    Lord Fredrick Ashton was a strange fellow, and Penelope had grown deeply curious about some of his odder traits: for example, his fascination with full moons, the dates of which he kept meticulously circled in his almanac, and which seemed to coincide with unexplained disappearances and fits of barking and scratching.
  24. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    The words seemed to come from outside her, but it was only a whippoorwill offering its plaintive, three-note cry.
  25. inclement
    severe, of weather
    With so many disadvantages, you may think it a wonder they survived as long as they did, but the extinction of the dodo was not caused by natural predators, inclement weather, or even a plague of contagious dodo disease.
Created on Fri Nov 22 08:49:52 EST 2024 (updated Mon Jan 27 19:56:20 EST 2025)

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