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“As I myself have yet to eat, I shall be happy to take you to the dining hall.” Not bothering to await his response, she gave him her back and began to walk. “How are you enjoying Hayton House?”
“It’s just as you promised—my hostess is a delight. Oh, before I forget, Mrs. Hayton and Miss Flanagan send their regards and bade me extend an invitation for you to visit soon.”
“I shall be happy to oblige. If you don’t mind carrying it for me, I will send a letter back with you this afternoon.”
“Not at all.” Again, he smiled brightly. “Mr. Watlow and Mr. Sharpton also send their regards.”
The mention of Mr. Watlow brought a smile to Jacqueline’s lips. “I shall be sure to include them in my correspondence.”
Entering the dining hall, she swept past the long rows of bent heads and guided her new employee to the table at the head of the room. “Monsieur Woodson, it’s my pleasure to introduce my teaching staff. Mrs. Orson teaches literacy and diction. Mrs. Coburn teaches needlecraft. Miss Blake is in charge of music and arts, and Mrs. Wicklen instructs the students in etiquette and comportment. In addition to serving as headmistress, I teach French. Ladies, this is Monsieur Woodson, our new mathematics instructor.”
He bowed to the group. “It’s my pleasure and honor to join you in educating the young ladies of this school.”
Cheeks pinked around the table, and Jacqueline stifled a flash of irritation. They couldn’t help it if their faces colored. Still, their reactions didn’t bode well. Neither did her own, she realized, as heat suffused her cheeks. “Come, Monsieur Woodson. You may join me over here. We have much to discuss before you begin lessons.” She led him to an empty space at the end of one of the long trestle tables, away from her flustered staff.
“Your school is a model of order,” he commented as he took a seat. “Never were Lord Mulgrave’s daughters this quiet, and there were only six of them.”
“The first twenty minutes of every meal are spent in silence, allowing not only for good digestion but self-reflection and mental preparation for any upcoming activities. After twenty minutes, students may converse quietly with a tablemate, provided both are finished with their meal.”
His brows rose. “All the schools I’ve visited require silence throughout the entire meal.”
“And doubtless they are forced to punish infractions on a frequent basis, whereas I’m not,” she replied, nodding thanks to Katie, who had brought her usual morning egg and toast as well as a pot of tea and two cups.
Jacqueline poured for Mr. Woodson. “To forbid a child from speaking to her friends is to invite subterfuge as well as necessitate consequences for violating the restriction. My students know they will be given a chance to speak freely with their peers, thus they don’t find it as difficult to withhold conversation until the appropriate time and are by the same token encouraged to finish their meal in a timely manner.”
“And if a student breaks this rule?” he asked, taking a sip of tea.
Swallowing a buttery bite of toast, she nodded toward a small table off by itself in the corner. “Then that is where she will take her meals for a week. Alone. Good behavior comes with privileges, Monsieur Woodson. Poor conduct comes with the loss of those privileges.”
A bell rang from the teachers’ table, and all around them girls began whispering.
Woodson’s brows rose. “Impressive.”
She patted the corner of her mouth with a napkin and allowed herself a proud smile. “The rules here are simple, but effective, monsieur. Students are to be respectful and courteous at all times. They must attend all classes and complete all assigned chores. No food or drink other than water is permitted outside the dining hall. No student is allowed outside her designated room after eight o’ clock at night or prior to seven o’ clock in the morning unless it’s an emergency warranting a teacher’s attention. Students are expected to keep their rooms and themselves neat and clean.” She took a bite of egg.
After a moment, his eyes widened. “Is that all?”
“Is more needed?” Another smile tugged at her lips. “The fewer the rules, the more easily they are remembered and the better they are adhered to. You’ll find punitive action is seldom required here.” Again, she nodded at the empty table in the corner. “It’s been three months since a student last sat there.”
The corners of his deep blue eyes crinkled attractively as he gave her a rueful smile. “How I wish my old schoolmasters had thought as you do. I cannot tell you how many times I was caned as a boy for breaking one of the dozens of rules we were expected to follow to the letter. I seem to recall it was at least once daily.”
She laid aside her spoon. “There are no canings here, monsieur. Striking a student is strictly forbidden and will result in immediate dismissal without a reference. Any behavioral problem is to be brought to my attention at once, to be dealt with by me. Is that understood?”
“Of course, Headmistress.”
The line in his brow told her she’d been too forceful. “Apologies, monsieur. Discipline in this school is quite different from what you experienced.” Picking up her spoon, she resumed eating.
“Indeed,” he conceded. “But little girls are not half as troublesome as little boys.”
Unbidden, a chuckle escaped her. “I never said they were not troublesome, monsieur. Believe me, they find ways to try the patience.” She lowered her voice. “The key is to stay ahead of them, remain calm, and never let them think they have gained the upper hand.” Her egg was growing cold. She took another hasty bite.
“That, Headmistress, is a lesson I learned well while in Lord Mulgrave’s employ. Despite their tendency to squabble amongst themselves, when united in mischief against a common foe his children could work together like a veteran regiment.”
Washing down the last of her egg with a swallow of tea, she nodded. “If I may offer a suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“It might be prudent to let slip to the students your prior experience as a teacher to Lord Mulgrave’s brood, and allude to the fact that while clever, they never managed to best you.”
