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Molly squeezed her arm and flitted off. Watching her depart, Sassy marveled to herself for a moment. Molly was no more than a child really, and yet she spoke with the most knowing manner Sassy had ever encountered in one so young.
The doors opened into a rectangular room some forty feet wide and sixty feet long. Windows reaching from ceiling to floor covered nearly the full length of the front wall overlooking the rose garden. The drapes of maroon velvet were pulled back, and a swag of gold-trimmed maroon velvet made up the valance.
A huge fireplace took up a side wall, and one long rectangular table sat in the center, at the moment housing some sixty girls ranging in age from ten to sixteen.
Sassy smiled at their upturned faces and made her way with as much poise as she could summon while all eyes were on her.
She stopped at the round faculty table. As the headmistress had not yet appeared, she decided to introduce herself to the elderly women already seated there.
“Good morning, ladies. I am Miss Winthrop, the new tutor.” She turned to the eldest woman and said, “You must be Miss Graves.”
“I am,” said the small wiry woman, not getting up from her seat as she waved her hand towards the other ladies. “This is Miss Betty Tyler and her sister Wilma Tyler.”
“I am very pleased to meet you,” Sassy said politely, noting that none of the three women had yet to offer a smile. Miss Graves wore her short gray hair bobbed and covered with an ivory lace cap, and her features were as steely as the shade of her hair. Her gown of puce was trimmed with the same ivory lace. Her eyes were a hard shade of gray and held no warmth.
The Tyler sisters seemed at first glance complete opposites of one another. Betty, whom Sassy judged to be the elder of the two, was fair. The woman’s hair was streaked with gray and was tied in a single braid wound into a bun at the nape of her neck. She was plump and short, while her sister Wilma was dark-haired, tall, and bony. All three women were well past their fiftieth year.
“She is far too young, Miss Graves,” Miss Betty said in a high, shrill voice as though Sassy were not standing there.
“But sweet, don’t you think?” put in her sister.
“Never mind that, ladies. Miss Winthrop is here, and as she has been appointed by Lady Devine herself, it is not our place to question her lack of years,” Miss Graves said, her eyes flickering over Sassy and then looking past her with an obvious change in her demeanor.
Sassy looked around to find Miss Sallstone walking briskly towards them.
“Up early, isn’t she?” Miss Wilma whispered within Sassy’s hearing.
“Hush!” her sister cautioned.
Miss Sallstone came up short before Sassy and inclined her head. “Ah, Miss Winthrop, I approve of your hair today. It is far more in keeping than the cluster of ringlets you wore yesterday. Perhaps later you might be able to do something about all those curls around your face?”
Sassy’s temper tickled a few thoughts off in her mind, but she didn’t allow herself to voice them. Her immediate reaction was that her wispy curls were nothing compared to the low-cut bodice of Miss Sallstone’s lovely green velvet gown. However, for the moment, she maintained her composure and her tongue.
“I see that you have already met your colleagues and shall detain you only another moment from your breakfast to make you known to our students.” She lifted her right hand for attention, stilling the quiet chatter. She then announced the new addition to the teaching team at Netherby.
Morning introductions at an end, Sassy was invited to sit beside Miss Graves, as the headmistress excused herself and left them to one another.
An odd feeling came over Sassy whenever Sallstone was about, and it was very difficult to set aside. Was it just her nerves? Was it the instant dislike she’d felt when she met the woman? Just what was it?
During the meal, the women gave Sassy a thorough lesson as to location of school supplies, students who could be what they called ‘mischievous,’ and others who were downright ‘trouble-makers.’
Miss Graves took over at one point and gave her the particulars of her job and what was expected of her.
“Unfortunately, Miss Winthrop,” Miss Graves said, “the girls that will make up your class—twelve of them, I think—have been left to themselves since Miss Saunders’s regrettable departure. They will need some managing.”
“I see,” Sassy replied, wondering how she was going to get organized.
“You have time off to yourself directly after their morning lessons, an entire hour and a half, while the girls take lunch and have free time. Saturday is only a half day, and of course, Sunday is your own,” Miss Graves added with a sigh.
“Thank you, Miss Graves. You have been most kind,” Sassy, said thinking the woman had been as cold as she could be without being rude.
Breakfast was porridge, toast, and an apple. The simple fare suited Sassy just fine, though the time seemed to drag until she saw Miss Graves prepare to rise.
“Ah,” Miss Graves said, looking at the Tyler sisters, “we are off.” She turned to Sassy. “Come along, and you can follow me to your classroom.”
Thus, it was, a few moments later, Sassy stood behind her desk looking out onto the faces of twelve girls. She could see some of them sneak quick peeks at her, while others looked downright fearful. One seemed to sneer at her. She went about the business of changing the mood.
Sassy had been holding a large, leather-bound book. She allowed it to drop soundly on her desk, which got all their attention for that moment. A moment was all she needed for her first foray into their lives.
