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She cleared her throat. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced, sir. My name is Miss Ruth Blackburn, and I’m the schoolteacher here.” She held out her hand.
“Garth Mackenzie.” He didn’t take her hand. “Why is my daughter still in school at this hour?”
“I’m afraid I had to punish her, Mr. Mackenzie. She missed five words on her spelling lesson. I’ve let it slide in the past, but I’m not doing her any favors by—”
“Favors?” Though he did not raise his voice, the tone was not kind. His handsome face tightened. “Her lot in life is to marry and bear children. She doesn’t need to spell. She has chores to attend to at home, Miss—”
“Blackburn.” Ruth’s skin heated. Who did this man think he was? “And if that is what you envision as your daughter’s future, sir, why send her to school at all? Why not keep her at home all day doing chores?”
“I’ve considered it, Miss Blackburn.”
“And what stopped you?”
“That’s not likely any of your business. Your business is to teach my child. It’s what I pay all those damned property taxes for.”
Rage surged through Ruth, and she whipped her hands to her hips. “You will not use such language in my classroom, Mr. Mackenzie. And as for teaching your child, that is why she has been kept after school. To learn the spelling lesson that she didn’t learn the first time.”
“Let me rephrase myself,” Mackenzie said. “Your job is to teach my child during normal school hours. After those hours, she’s needed at home.”
“I understand that Mary Alice has chores to attend to. All my pupils do, as do I. But learning comes first in this schoolhouse, Mr. Mackenzie. It’s what the county pays me for, and I take my job seriously.”
“If you’d taken your job seriously, ma’am, you’d be married with a family of your own by now.”
His cruel words pierced her heart. Marriage and a family had always been her dream. But not her lot in life, it seemed. Her fate was to teach. A job that brought her both joy and frustration in equal amounts. She opened her mouth to respond but noticed Mary Alice had stiffened against the blackboard. The chalk fell from the girl’s fingers, and she grasped the bottom ledge. Paleness crept into her cheeks.
“Goodness, Mary Alice.” Ruth grasped the child’s shoulders and steadied her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ruth touched the girl’s forehead. Clammy, but cool. “It’s so hot in here, dear.” She ushered her to a nearby desk. “You sit down for a moment.”
“Of course it’s hot in here,” Mackenzie said, gesturing. “These windows are positioned all wrong. You can’t even get a cross breeze. Who built this schoolhouse?”
“I’m sure I don’t know, Mr. Mackenzie.” Ruth rubbed Mary Alice’s back in slow circles. “Whoever did so most likely did the best he could.”
“You need better ventilation. Any fool can see that.” He marched along the edge of the room, shaking his head. “What a waste of my good money. Damned taxes.”
“Mr. Mackenzie! I’ll not tell you again to refrain from profanity in this school.”
“Miss Blackburn, I’m not your pupil. I’ll speak how I like.”
“Not in my classroom. And I should think you’d be a little more concerned about your daughter. She nearly fainted. She requires medical attention.”
“Don’t put much stock in so-called medical science. She’s fine.”
“Then she’s overworked. Just how many chores does she have at home?”
“That’s not likely your business, ma’am.”
“I consider the well being of my students to be my business, sir.” She stood. “You stay here, Mary Alice. I’ll run and get Doc Potter.”
Mackenzie opened his mouth, but then seemed to think better of speaking and closed it. He nodded. “Get the doc. I’ll stay here with Mary Alice.”
Finally, some sense out of the man. If Garth Mackenzie couldn’t afford to pay the doctor, Ruth would bake him a few pies. Doc Potter always raved about her cooking at the church picnics.
“There’s a pump right outside, Mr. Mackenzie. Mary Alice could do with a dipper of cool water. I won’t be long.”
Ruth rushed out the door and down the steps of the schoolhouse. The general store was a block away, and Doc Potter kept his office in a room above.
