The Gilded Cage - Taking my Place

The Big Idea

"I am a genius, of course...Malcolm actually admits it, when pressed...but this time, I think I may well have excelled myself...even Miss Knight...who is always cruelly dismissive of my talents, in any regard...has been forced to concede that my cunning plan has many merits and a certain panache?" Catriona announced after a very peaceful two hours of silent prayer on the Monday morning. Miss Knight had just removed our modesty bridles, and we were all looking forward to our lunch, I think. I certainly was, but it was obvious that Catriona had something to tell us first, because she was very pleased with herself.

"An immodest genius, who was never a good student...but everyone has their moments, and one should give credit where credit is due." Miss Knight suggested, rolling her eyes as I tried not to giggle. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day! But I never used the word panache...it would better be described as low cunning...I think? Even if it is quite clever..."

"What plan, Grandmama?" Mama asked, glancing around at everyone else as we all tried not to laugh at Miss Knight's response.

"Oh, it is quite simple...although putting it into practise will require some specialist expertise and some considerable investment...but Malcolm will provide the latter...and expertise can be hired if you have the money in place...it is just a question of good recruitment..."

"What plan, Mama?" Auntie Louise repeated, obviously well used to her mother's ways.

"Well, if Deepdene is going to be the jewel in the crown of our new Elders, and good people are going to be sacked...or denied the opportunity to teach there, because they are making rules up as they go along...the answer is quite palpable." Catriona insisted, looking quite incredibly pleased with herself and obviously enjoying stringing out her triumph. We were all sitting in our usual places, hands clasped together in our laps and our gowns arranged neatly around us as always, and there had been no hint of anything new before we settled down to our devotions together. But Grandmama had evidently planned her big reveal, and she could hardly contain herself, now that the moment had come. "We must start our very own school...there are enough good Reformists living around Meadvale who either cannot afford to send their little dears to Deepdene, or have not received a scholarship to make it easier, and I believe that an institution that is not quite so dogmatic or extreme in its ethos might be quite successful...if we kept the fees down...to more reasonable levels?"

"But Grandmama...who would run such a school...and what would the Elders say?" Mama asked, sounding confused, or at least uncertain. I just sat there, holding my hands demurely in my lap, and stared at them both in consternation.

"Steven Blackstone could be the headmaster...if he is available...and he would certainly let his mother teach, don't you think? Although I do realise that might be problematic, unless her husband regrows his backbone." Grandmama suggested, almost nonchalantly, as if she had just tossed her big idea out like an afterthought. But as I listened to her words, the penny dropped for me. She was giving Steven a chance to stay in Meadvale. If he was sacked, or whatever, he could have his own school, backed by Malcolm Montague, or money raised by Malcolm, to rival the church school, or at least offer an alternative to Deepdene. "Not everyone can afford Deepdene, and not everyone wants to send their children there...a different institution, teaching the traditions but also not going quite so overboard, would be popular...don't you think? It might even attract some heathens?"

However, as much as our reactions to her proposal engrossed everyone, our opinions were not the most relevant. The fact that Grandpapa was taking the idea seriously was rather more pertinent, I felt, and rather selfishly, I started to think seriously about it, and what it might mean for me. After helping Mama in the kitchen for an hour or so after lunch, I went upstairs to my room to rest for a while, before joining Miss Ford on the school run, which was pretty much my afternoon routine if we did not have visitors, or some place to go. And I sat in the chair by my window, looking out over the garden, wondering what Catriona and Malcolm were really up to. Because starting a school seemed a bit left field, even for Meadvale. Obviously, if Steven got fired from Deepdene, he would need another job, and since he had always worked in large private schools, he would have to leave the village to get another one. So, starting a school and asking Steven Blackstone to run it would keep him in the village, which pleased me. But that would be a pretty dramatic way to make me feel happier about marrying him, and I did not think that was the primary reason for Catriona's plan.