(COMPLETED)
It's 1817 and there is nothing more a woman wants than to marry a rich man and live a life of comfort.
But not Nancy Brooks. Having spent half her life helping her mother run her laundry shop and the other half in the local library, Na...
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Oxford, England
January, 1818
Nancy was been surprised when, on her first day at Oxford, Jonathan Gale approached her, albeit uncertainly. After making awkward small talk for a while, their conversation became more relaxed as they discussed their courses and Jonathan told her a bit about life at Oxford and how to deal with the unreasonable professors and teachers.
"Well, Miss Brooks," Jonathan said as he got up from his seat across from her in the small but comfortable common room, "if you need any help, I hope you know that you have a friend here."
Nancy smiled. "Call me Nancy."
He bowed his head slightly. "Nancy." And with that, he took his leave, making his way toward the door of the common room and closing it softly behind him.
Nancy sighed as she gathered up her books and decided to go to the safe sanctuary of the library. All day she had been getting all sorts of reactions from different people, students and teachers alike. Some of them nodded at her—in appreciation or greeting, Nancy did not know. Others looked at her with disdain, contempt, or anger. Nancy ignored them all, but she did think she could do with being someplace people did not watch her constantly. The common room was empty right now but would fill up soon, as the current lectures were about to end. Nancy walked to the library, lost in thought. She had tried to dress in darker, duller shades. She wore a long black skirt with a dark blue blouse. She had pulled her curly red hair back into a ponytail. But she knew that no matter how much she tried to blend in, she would always stand out.
As she crossed the courtyard, she saw a crowd of students gathering on the other side. Curious, she made her way there to see what was going on. She stood a little behind the crowd, not wanting to draw attention to herself.
"You don't want to see what is about to unfold here, Miss Brooks." Nancy turned around to see a tall, thin boy with round spectacles and an easy smile standing behind her. "Oliver Crew," he said, introducing himself.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crew." Nancy glanced back at the crowd. "What is about to unfold here?"
Oliver's expression turned dark as his smile faded. "Wait and watch, Miss Brooks."
Nancy watched as eager students rushed forward. They seemed to be gathering around one of the boys in particular, pushing him toward the middle of the crowd. Nancy watched as they pushed him to the ground so that he was on his knees.
"Now, I am going to tell you this not to scare you but to warn you," Oliver said. "Miss Brooks, do you notice that group of students standing just there?" He pointed toward a group of four boys standing just a few feet away from the larger crowd. "While you are here, you must try to the best of your abilities not to offend or upset them in any way."
