He stands at the back of the room, a rifle in his hand. His straight dark hair is chin-length, his jaw square, his skin the same deep brown as mine. He wears a strange outfit, some kind of canvas pants that I’ve never seen before with a checkered shirt. My mouth falls open, part shock and part plain old rudeness. I ain’t too proud to admit that I stare at him as he watches me. But it ain’t entirely my fault. I never saw an Indian before.
Of course I’ve read the newspaper weeklies about them: “The Chieftain’s Son,” “Plains Bride,” and my favorite, “Two Braves of Yellow Rock,” which is a story about two Cherokee brothers, one that chooses the white man’s way and the other who becomes the chief of his tribe. Momma loved those stories, and when the paper would come we’d read them together, marveling over tales of a frontier untouched by the blight of the restless dead.
Momma used to say the Indian was even worse off than the Negro, because instead of being taken from his land he’d had his land taken from him. The man looks across the rapidly thinning audience at me, just as I’m staring at the fellow that saved my life. But then the Indian gives me a scowl, as though I am the most repugnant thing he’s ever seen, and turns and leaves the lecture hall.
Well.
Katherine comes running up, a revolver in her hand, huffing and puffing as she tries to get a full breath.
I glare at her. “Where’ve you been?”
“I had to run all the way down the street to find those dimwits. They were still searching for the shambler you sent them chasing after.” Katherine looks at me and frowns. “What happened to my bonnet?”
I don’t answer her. I just take it off, hand it to her, and walk out to find Miss Duncan.
I’ve had enough higher education to last me a lifetime.
A few of the girls here seem to find all sorts of mischief, constantly in trouble with the headmistress. You’ll be happy to hear that I am not one of them.
Chapter 7In Which I Receive Invitations Both Expected and Unexpected
Someone shakes me awake. I crack one eye open, notice the pale gray light filtering through the bars on the windows, and grunt. “You better be shaking me for a good reason.”
“Come on,” a voice says from the dark. It’s Katherine. She stalks off, and I reluctantly rise for our fourth straight day of house duty.
After we’d put down all of the shamblers, Mayor Carr had been kind enough to let us use his personal carriage to get back to the school. I’m guessing this generosity came on account of me saving his wife and all. The engine chugged through the twilight, moving down the road much more quickly than the rented carriages we’d taken to Baltimore. The steam engine had been nearly whisper-quiet, the hiss low enough that we didn’t attract a single shambler from the surrounding woods. The seats had also been more comfortable, and the interior large enough to fit all of us in one pony. I didn’t think the taxpayers would be too keen on hearing that their elected official traveled in unrivaled luxury while they were forced to ride in barrels pushed along by clanking old engines.
When we got back, Miss Duncan had marched us right into Miss Preston’s office. At first I thought maybe we were going to get a ribbon or something for our valorous conduct. What we got was another lecture.
“I’m surprised at you girls.” Miss Preston yawned wide, likely on account of the late hour. “You know better than to gallivant around wearing corsets and carrying firearms. You’re in your last year! I expect better from students about to graduate.”
“Miss Preston,” I said, raising my hand. “Can I just say that I am truly remorseful for my conduct? I understand that it is dismaying to know that a girl might be wont to strap a revolver to her thigh before attending an educational event. However, without my revolver those shamblers could’ve easily turned half that room. Wearing a corset is far more egregious a transgression. After all, the stays of the corset limit movement, and not being able to draw a proper breath could be the difference between life and death for the wearer.”
I could feel Katherine glare at me as I offered her up in the hopes of saving my own hide, and I’m certain that by the end she fairly had steam coming from her ears. Small price to pay to avoid getting the switch. But Miss Preston was having none of it.
“Jane, your point is well taken, but heroism means little when it rests on lawlessness. And don’t think Miss Duncan didn’t inform me of your outburst during the lecture. There are rules in this world, rules that are the only thing separating us from the restless dead. This isn’t the wild days of the Years of Discord, when anarchy reigned. We expect you to hold yourselves to a higher standard in civilized society. No, your choices were just as poor as Katherine’s. Both of you can look forward to getting the strap tomorrow after breakfast.”
Miss Duncan cleared her throat, and Miss Preston let out a sigh. “Yes, Amelia?”
“Headmistress, if it isn’t too much to ask, perhaps the girls could be given house detail instead of the strap? I know their behavior was appalling, but I’d hate for them to have to miss any of the upcoming drills this week because they’re laid up. The first-year girls are learning the sickle this week, and I need Katherine and Jane to help instruct. Also, I believe it should be recognized that, without them, this evening could surely have ended in tragedy. I know Mayor Carr is a close personal friend of yours, and even he was quite insistent that the girls had done a
