Finding such a perfect property had been a dreamcome true for Brina, Adeline, and Julia four years ago. Situated in the middle of a privately secluded cul-de-sac near the business district of St. James’s made it valuable. After hearing what they wanted to do, the owner had made it affordable. Now that Brina lived on the grounds, she was convinced they couldn’t have found a better place in all of London.
The school started with nine girls. All from families that had lost either a father or brother who worked on theSalty Dove. It had taken time for their solicitor to track down eligible girls and explain what the widows wanted to do for them. Persuading their relatives to allow them to come live at a boarding school and be taught to read and write as well as the seamstress trade hadn’t been as easy as Brina thought it would be. Boarding schools for girls were rare. Free ones almost nonexistent.
Another child had been added the first year. Little Nora. At only five, she was younger than the other children. Brina, Adeline, and Julia knew they had no choice but to take her in after her mother abandoned her there shortly after the school opened.
Nora was the illegitimate child of Adeline’s first husband. There had been numerous attempts to find the girl’s mother, but no leads to her whereabouts had been discovered. Their hope was that one day the mother’s circumstances would change and she would come back for her child. In the meantime, her daughter was being well-cared for and educated, and would one day be earning her own way in life as a skilled seamstress.
Brina knocked on the door of the school and opened it, calling, “Hello,” as she entered.
The ten girls immediately pushed back their chairs from the long rectangular table and rose. So did Mrs. Tallon and her two helpers.
“Good afternoon,” Brina said, walking into the large,square room with enough windows to let in plenty of light. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything too important.”
“Not at all, Mrs. Feld,” the headmistress said with her usual pinched expression. “Your presence is never a disturbance for us. We welcome you anytime. Say hello, girls.”
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Feld. How are you today?” they asked, all speaking together.
Brina beamed as the chorus of greetings echoed around the room. Fanny, one of the oldest students, was always easy to spot with her long, vibrant red hair. Recently, she’d learned how to somewhat tame her unruly curly locks by pulling half of them up and away from her face, tying them at the back of her head with a ribbon. Fanny wasn’t tall, but she made up for height in her personality. Unlike the other girls, she was never shy around Brina, always lifting her hand to wave as she said hello. Brina acknowledged her with a slight nod.
“I’m good,” she answered the girls. “Thank you for asking. I don’t know if you’ve been outside today, but the sun has chased away the cold wind and the weather has warmed considerably again.” They looked at Brina but said nothing, so she added, “I enjoyed hearing you sing this morning. Your voices were pure and enchanting. Angelic. I thought I was listening to a choir in a cathedral.”
Ahhs and gasps of surprise sounded around the room. The girls looked at one another and smiled. Brina was glad her compliment pleased them.
“We’ve continued to work on the flowers you brought us, Mrs. Feld,” Fanny said.
“That’s wonderful to hear,” Brina moved a little closer to the table. “I’ll send over some more. One can never have too many flowers to study.”
“I drew a beautiful snowdrop yesterday,” the tall and thin Mathilda said in an eager voice.
“Did you? How lovely.”
“I drew one too,” one of the other students chimed in cheerfully. “Mine was bigger.”
“But it wasn’t as pretty as mine,” another girl cut in quickly.
“Yes, it was,” Fanny remarked tartly, taking up for her taller, crestfallen friend. “Yours didn’t have any leaves on the stem.”
“We were told to draw a flower, not leaves,” she remarked right back to Fanny, jerking her hands to her waist and sticking out her tongue when she finished.
“I drew a garden of flowers this morning and everyone said mine was the best,” Mathilda injected excitedly, seeming not to want to be outdone by any of the other students.
“That’s because no one else drew flowers today,” one girl added with a high-pitched giggle at the end of her sentence.
Suddenly, in the space of a few seconds, all the girls were talking at once, and Brina couldn’t hear one over the other. She hadn’t realized how competitive they were.
“Girls,” Mrs. Tallon called above their loud, excited chatter. “You can all sit back down now and go back to your work.”
Quietness quickly settled over the room once more, except for the sounds of chair legs scraping across the wooden floor.
The headmistress walked over to Brina. The skin around her eyes and forehead had tightened, though her lips formed a smile. “Was there something in particular I could help you with today, Mrs. Feld?” She spoke in ahushed tone. “If so, perhaps we can discuss it outside so as not to hinder the students any longer.”
“That’s not necessary. I won’t be long.”
Mrs. Tallon was by no means disrespectful, but Brina felt she was never happy for her to come over and visit the girls. The head mistress had once suggested it might be better if Brina sent a note over and ask Mrs. Tallon to visit her. Brina didn’t want to do that. She enjoyed seeing the girls, looking at their happy faces and hearing their voices.
She supposed she could understand why Mrs. Tallon thought she was interrupting their lessons, but Brina didn’t want to stop, no matter if Mrs. Tallon wished otherwise. Besides, children needed a break from their studies once in a while. And everyone loved unexpected surprises if they were good ones. She knew the girls liked for her to visit them.
“I wanted you to know that with Lady Lyonwood and Mrs. Stockton’s approval, I will be giving the girls painting lessons. I’m not sure of all the details yet.”
