“Logan, let us go.”
He hopped off the pony and quickly harnessed it. His clothes were a bit of shambles but he still wore shoes and socks. She counted that as a success.
She climbed into the cart.
“Are we going home, friend?”
“Yes, yes, home.”
They rode in silence. In truth, Cassandra buzzed with frustration over Arabella. “I’m not going to end up like her,” she informed Logan.
“No, friend.”
“I’ve a good brain and sound mind.”
“Yes, friend.”
“I want to do something useful. I believe in ideas and knowledge.”
“Like us telling our stories?”
He had impressed her yesterday. She’d shared her favorite myth about Icarus, who flew too close to the sun. Logan had immediately understood and told her a story of an Indian boy who boasted too loudly that he could throw a ball farther than anyone else. Then a new boy had appeared and challenged him. The boy was actually a rabbit who had changed to teach him the dangers of pride.
Soren had been right. His son had a quick mind and it needed to be put to work.
They had discussed the issue over their pillows that morning. A tutor would have to be hired. Soren didn’t know if he wanted to send his son away; however, there was not a school in the village or anywhere close.
Cassandra, too, believed that sending Logan away to school would not be the wisest course of action for him.
A thought now struck her. At first, she pushed it away, but it came right back.
Her dream had been to create a literary salon where important ideas were shared.
But what if, instead, she created a school? A school that used modern ideas like Miss Edgeworth’s, such as educating both boys and girls?
What if the important ideas she was destined to share were not with adults who were already set in their ways, but with bright minds like Logan’s? What if she putPractical Educationto the test?
The idea took flight in her mind. Suddenly, Cassandra could not wait to return home.
She found Soren out in the sheep shed where he had been observing the shearing. The bleating of animals prevented him from hearing her excited explanation of her idea. He took her outside where they could talk.
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m going build a school,” she informed him.
“A school?”
“Yes, like the sort Miss Edgeworth and her father encourage. And I must find the second volume of their work,” she said, making a mental note to herself. “Yes, that is what I shall do.”
“How are you going to build a school? I’m not being critical, Cassandra, but practical.”
“I have the garnets. I will sell them and buy books and whatever I need. Perhaps there is a building here at Pentreath we can use. Or a building in the village. I’d rather not use the old schoolroom upstairs. It is too small for what I envision.”
“Whatdoyou envision?”
“A wonderful school. I don’t care about the sex of the students but I am interested in their willingness to learn. I’ve thought of a good name for it. One that is positive and uplifting. The Dove School. What do you think?”
He was unimpressed.
