Chapter Fourteen (part I)

2.3K 261 186
                                    

The student may be admitted when she is able to read and write in the Common Tongue and provide the solution to arithmetic problems as appropriate to the management of the home.

The student must be scrupulous in her conduct, eschewing such language, habits, and acquaintanceships that would compromise her character and the reputations of her peers and the Academy.

The student must attend punctually the gatherings for all students, as well as her own lectures and lessons; apply herself diligently to her learning; and also take care that she does not interfere with the learning of others.

The tuition of 20 Crowns per term includes the cost of room and board in the Farport Women's Academy quarters, as well as books and materials, and all garments comprising the uniform, with the exception of shoes. The uniform is mandatory for all students. Residence in the Academy quarters is not mandatory, but students are not entitled to a lesser fee if they decline room and board.

Under no circumstances shall any student of Farport Women's Academy be permitted to enter the Farport Academy quarters; conversely, under no circumstances shall a student invite any male person into the Farport Women's Academy quarters.

(excerpt, Farport Women's Academy Rules and Requirements)

.:.

That evening, at a ball, I cornered Doctor Brown -- literally, in a dim corner -- and peppered him with question after question about himself, his opinions, his work... Anything I could think of to get some sense of him as a person.

He didn't care for art or music, though he did like to dance, and he read very little besides the literature, as he called it, which he studied for at least an hour each day.

Again and again, I tried to engage him on the subject of his work, since he had no enthusiasm for any other, but again and again, he begged pardon and informed me it wasn't a fit topic for ladies.

At length, my frustration overwhelmed me. I smiled at him, trying to seem all sweetness, and I asked, "Doctor Brown, did you know I bred my own stock of fine wool sheep...?"

"Ah," he said, "did you?"

"I started out with only eight, but now I keep half a dozen rams and a bellwether or two and about ninety ewes. Of course, I needn't keep so many rams... A good ram can service thirty or thirty-five ewes eventually, but I like to get the rut done with by Midwinter."

"Ah..." Doctor Brown swallowed. "Do you?"

"I do. Come Grassmonth, I have perhaps a hundred fifty lambs, and I help make the sausages. Oh, but I do beg your pardon... I suppose that's not a fit topic with a doctor present."

Doctor Brown answered that with an uneasy little laugh. It was to his credit, I thought.

"I think I owe you an apology," he said. "Most of the ladies in my acquaintance do not have your... practical experience."

I forced a smile. "What a pity."

Doctor Brown grunted a vague agreement, and then he was quiet a long moment. It was not one of his usual vacant silences, but rather a definite pause for reflection. I watched him with keen interest, eager to see what fruit the quiet would bear.

At length, he said, "You might make a good nurse."

"A nurse?" I frowned. That was not at all what I had expected.

Doctor Brown suddenly paled. He stammered a bit, saying, "That is, I uh... I mean no offense, Miss Shepley, but I am a doctor, after all. I see the world as I see it. And nursing requires a sort of unflinching constitution. It's uncommon in women."

The Purpose of Miss ShepleyWhere stories live. Discover now