The Interrupted Tale: Chapters 6–7

by Maryrose Wood
In Book 4 of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series, governess Miss Penelope Lumley and the wolf-children Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia visit Miss Lumley's former school and find it in peril.

Here are the links to our lists for the book: Chapter 1, Chapters 2–3, Chapters 4–5, Chapters 6–7, Chapters 8–10, Chapters 11–12, Chapter 13–Epilogue
25 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acclaim
    enthusiastic approval
    Many years into the future, and in an entirely different country than the one in which Miss Penelope Lumley and the Incorrigibles had their adventures, a book titled You Can’t Go Home Again would be published to great acclaim.
  2. shrewd
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
    “Welcome to Swanburne, Incorrigible children! I am Miss Mortimer, and you have just met my little lap cat, Shantaloo. She is infallibly shrewd. See how she already thinks of you as friends?”
  3. aversion
    a feeling of intense dislike
    Forgive me. I have a strong...aversion...to cats. They make me quite ill.
  4. strapping
    muscular and heavily built
    How easy it is to imagine you as you might have been some years ago, when these two strapping fellows were tiny boys in short pants...and baby Cassiopeia!
  5. plume
    the feather of a bird
    If I close my eyes, I can just picture you as a bright-eyed infant, with scarlet hair that stood up like a plume in a lady’s hat.
  6. tome
    a large and scholarly book
    Alas, the only books Penelope had close at hand were the cannibal book, her own book of melancholy German poetry in translation, Alexander’s book of Shakespeare sonnets, and Mr. Gibbon’s tome about the Roman Empire.
  7. armoire
    a large wardrobe or cabinet
    There were her suspicions about what the impostor Quinzy (or the IQ, for short) was doing at the Swanburne Academy, and her misgivings about the cannibal book, which was now hidden in the bottom of the armoire, beneath her rolled-up stockings.
  8. hindsight
    understanding the nature of an event after it has happened
    In hindsight she realized she ought to have checked the almanac for the date of the next full moon, so she might be prepared to begin the HEP, as promised.
  9. devious
    turning away from a straight course
    Surely, one person, no matter how devious, is no match for all of Swanburne!
  10. gusto
    vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment
    Better to make mistakes with gusto than squeak like mice so no one can hear you at all.
  11. jostle
    make one's way by pushing or shoving
    The girls did not rise up and jostle themselves into a happy, wriggling line to get their breakfasts, as Penelope remembered.
  12. lustrous
    reflecting light
    Even so, the Incorrigibles’ lustrous auburn locks stood out vividly from the rest, like bright red poppies in a grassy field.
  13. bemused
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    A bemused Miss Mortimer opened her office door to find the Incorrigibles taking mock bows and curtsies before an imaginary audience, as if they had just concluded a successful opening night on the West End.
  14. restorative
    tending to impart new life and vigor to
    And who could fail to enjoy a quiet afternoon in the days when Victoria was queen, sipping a nice, restorative cup of tea?
  15. meticulous
    marked by precise accordance with details
    Penelope was about to protest, for her penmanship was nothing if not neat, and she was positively meticulous in her use of the apostrophe—but at the word “dodo,” the children leaped up from their chairs and waddled clumsily around the office.
  16. wan
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    She gave Penelope a wan smile.
  17. guise
    an artful or simulated semblance
    I believe Edward Ashton faked his own death and then, some years later, reappeared in the guise of Judge Quinzy.
  18. duly
    in an appropriate or proper manner
    After the concoction was duly praised, and the children were occupied once more, Penelope and Miss Mortimer retreated to a nearby table.
  19. dwell
    inhabit or live in
    On a recent visit to Ashton Place, she used her powers to look Beyond the Veil, to where dead spirits dwell.
  20. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
    Miss Mortimer smiled ruefully as she swept.
  21. apoplectic
    marked by extreme anger
    It was a furious voice, and it grew louder and more furious with each apoplectic word.
  22. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    Penelope had met the haughty baroness on several occasions, and each time she had disliked her more than the last—a trend, she feared, that was about to continue.
  23. adversity
    a state of misfortune or affliction
    Through adversity, we march onward to triumph. Remember, Penny, even a narrow and difficult road can lead to a high place.
  24. summation
    a concluding statement that presents the main ideas
    After the applause died down (for truly, it had been a masterful summation), it was little Cassiopeia who shyly raised her hand.
  25. muddle
    make clouded as with sediment
    “That means the spark of Agatha Swanburne lives in each of you three. Every time you think of one of her wise sayings and use it to help muddle through your own life, it is as if you are meeting her again and again.”
Created on Tue Nov 26 03:31:13 EST 2024 (updated Mon Jan 27 19:35:18 EST 2025)

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