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Sister Benedicta had always assisted and provided a warm embrace to forlorn newcomers. She had now taken over receiving the children and interfacing with the community.
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To Sister Bridget fell the task of teaching the orphans not just their letters but how to behave. For those going into service, a familiarity with etiquette and manners gave them a leg up on their future careers, even if they would never need to distinguish between an oyster fork and one for fish at their own meals. But they also learned deportment and even dancing.
The specifics of the education the young ladies received was not generally discussed outside the orphanage, as discretion was also considered part of ladylike behavior, but from its earliest days the system had been modeled on that of exclusive girls’ schools such as had been known by the original founders. Their own experience had been that the really superior household servants knew the details of comportment better than the young hoydens whom they served and, as those servants usually had more influence than parents in a large, well-staffed household, it behooved the Sisters of Mercy to ensure their own pupils would have the best opportunities for success.
Those girls who showed promise and wished to continue their education past the age of fourteen were integrated into the private academy the Sisters ran for the wealthy families who desired a solid Catholic education for their girls. This had been done for so long no one questioned the fact.
Besides providing a break from everyday activities, dance lessons also gave exercise and taught grace, as well as the conservation of movement that allowed the best staff to move invisibly behind the scenes even though functioning in plain sight. And the monthly “cotillions” to which the male orphans were invited gave split families another opportunity to stay in touch.
~~~
Sister Frances was head housekeeper. In addition to maintaining linens and supplies, she supervised the training of the girls in the basics of cleaning and housework. The girls were responsible for keeping their own spaces bright and shining while the nuns maintained their own areas, which were separate and private, providing them peace and solitude for prayer and contemplation.
Various other nuns also taught skills such as cooking and sewing, but these three plus Sister Agatha served Mother Evangeline as her own advisory staff.
Now she needed input from those advisors, so Mother Evangeline invited Sisters Benedicta, Francis, and Bridget to join her in her study. She also asked Sister Agatha, formerly Mother Agatha, to please offer her counsel as well.
Before making any plans the notion must be discussed thoroughly. This whole concept was far outside the traditional arrangements usually made for the girls when they came of age.
CHAPTER 11 – Opportunities
“Thank you for joining me this morning,” Mother Evangeline greeted her staff. “By now you have all been made aware of this new decree from our Board of Governors. While I am awaiting further advice from the Mother House, I think we need to make contingency plans for our young ladies to ensure their smooth transition into the world outside our doors.
“Under no circumstances will they be simply abandoned after we have cared for and nurtured them to become the best women they can be.”
There were eleven girls at the orphanage who were either already over sixteen, or about to have birthdays, and become victims of the Board of Governors’ new policy. A few minutes were devoted to grumbling about the idiocy of the new Board, before Sister Benedicta cast her eyes skyward and prayed for their souls.
“Thank you for reminding us of our duty,” commented Mother Evangeline, dryly. “Yes, we all need to pray on this a great deal. But God also expects us to endeavor on our own behalves and I'm looking to you for your advice on a proposal to allow our young ladies to become, in effect, mail-order brides.”
There was a stunned silence in the room.
“Sisters, I’ve asked you here for your intimate counsel on the propriety and feasibility of taking a group of our girls to Kansas to try to find suitable jobs and potential husbands. But not only must we determine whether this is appropriate for our girls, we must determine whether our girls are appropriate for the venture. Have we trained them to cope with such a completely different life from what they now know? Most of them don’t know one end of a cow from another, after all.” She chuckled, remembering her brother’s comment in his letter.
“Evangeline, I think you’re being a little bit harsh on the girls. I realize we live in a city, but they have seen some animal life. You know full well there are dairy cows in the park and we keep chickens in our own yard.”
The twinkle in Sister Agatha’s eyes was matched by that in Mother Evangeline’s.
“Nonetheless, Agatha, we really do need to consider how these young ladies would cope with the countryside. I cannot imagine Gracie, for example, trying to milk a cow.”
There was a general round of laughter before Sister Benedicta commented wryly that Gracie was an unlikely candidate since she was mooning after Clara’s brother, Jack.
“If we agree to go forward with the plan, in fairness, we should offer it to each of the girls, but I agree that Gracie is unlikely to be interested unless Jack were to decide he wants to be a cowboy. And he’s doing quite well as a haberdasher’s apprentice right now.”
There was another round of laughter as they thought of the young dandy Jack had become. He had been a regular attendee of the monthly dances held with the boys from the monastery. At first he and his
