acutely noticing the intense silence. Where was everybody? Her heart stopped when she heard bustling activity in front of them. The auditorium? An audible groan escaped her lips, and she froze at the doorway.
“I implore you, Miss—”
“Lady Remington, Eliza,” Brigit corrected, opening the door.
“Lady Remington, I can’t go in there looking like this! It’s improper, and my position demands…”
“I will remind you one final time that your position is that of a naughty child who must be taught boundaries, limitations, obedience, and manners. Go, before I lose my patience.”
Head down, Eliza walked pass the rows of the gaping students and faculty. The room grew deathly silent as Brigit led Eliza to the platform and stood her before Gerard.
“Much better. Ladies and gentlemen,” he addressed the assembly, “if I may have your attention, please. Ladies in the front row, I would strongly urge you to reserve your whispers for a later time, unless you would care to meet me after this assembly.” He glared straight at them. The three girls nodded, sinking in the chairs. He cleared his throat,
“I am Lord Remington. I am here because your headmistress, Miss Woods, has recently provided the opportunity to have one of you sent out to a reformer. I felt it is important for each of you to know and understand our purpose and goal in the event one of you require such intensity of training. Eliza, stand here before the school,” he ordered, watching the woman flush the deepest crimson he had ever witnessed upon a face. “One who is sent to a reformer is first stripped of all dignity and is deemed a petulant child. Hence, they are first attired in the garb of a child. This is a visible reminder to the reprobate, as well as to those around her, that she has to earn the right to be an adult once again. It is very effective, is it not, Eliza?”
The girls whispered as he addressed the headmistress by her first name, looking around in shock. The faculty grimaced, glancing at one another. Eliza did not respond.
“Eliza has elected to go through reform in lieu of losing her position here. I assure you that if and when she returns, she will be a much better teacher and a more understanding human being. How many of you have been disciplined by her?”
Nearly all the girls, and some of the staff, raised their hands.
“Keep your hands up, if you please. Of those who have been disciplined, who has been bloodied? The rest, lower your hands.”
Slowly, hands dropped, leaving fifteen girls with their hands raised and looking shamefully at the floor. Gerard heard Brigit hiss behind him.
“Of you, who has been bloodied more than once?”
Two of the girls lowered their hands.
“Would you mind telling me what occurred that deserved such severity?”
“This is unacceptable, Lord Remington! These children have no right—”
“I am not asking you, Eliza. I am asking these young ladies. Well, girls? There is no need to be afraid. You are not going to be punished for answering my questions. I promise.” His warm voice and gentle expression earned him a response. The girls shared their sins—uttering a profanity, stealing a pastry, tripping into the headmistress while coming down stairs, copying a sentence incorrectly, hanging a smock inside out—and Gerard felt his anger burn within him.
“Thank you, my dears. Has anyone else here committed any such heinous crimes as these as well? Do not be afraid, I only want the truth.”
As he suspected, all the girls and most of the staff raised their hands. He turned to Eliza, “Why did you blood them, and not the others? “
“They were impertinent, sir! They refused to submit to my authority! They must be taught.”
“Beg pardon, Your Lordship,” a woman called out, “the lady broke a breadboard on a girl because she was hungry. The girl reported that the headmistress had cut back their rations, and the girl was severely underfed as was. The child still cannot walk
“I implore you, Miss—”
“Lady Remington, Eliza,” Brigit corrected, opening the door.
“Lady Remington, I can’t go in there looking like this! It’s improper, and my position demands…”
“I will remind you one final time that your position is that of a naughty child who must be taught boundaries, limitations, obedience, and manners. Go, before I lose my patience.”
Head down, Eliza walked pass the rows of the gaping students and faculty. The room grew deathly silent as Brigit led Eliza to the platform and stood her before Gerard.
“Much better. Ladies and gentlemen,” he addressed the assembly, “if I may have your attention, please. Ladies in the front row, I would strongly urge you to reserve your whispers for a later time, unless you would care to meet me after this assembly.” He glared straight at them. The three girls nodded, sinking in the chairs. He cleared his throat,
“I am Lord Remington. I am here because your headmistress, Miss Woods, has recently provided the opportunity to have one of you sent out to a reformer. I felt it is important for each of you to know and understand our purpose and goal in the event one of you require such intensity of training. Eliza, stand here before the school,” he ordered, watching the woman flush the deepest crimson he had ever witnessed upon a face. “One who is sent to a reformer is first stripped of all dignity and is deemed a petulant child. Hence, they are first attired in the garb of a child. This is a visible reminder to the reprobate, as well as to those around her, that she has to earn the right to be an adult once again. It is very effective, is it not, Eliza?”
The girls whispered as he addressed the headmistress by her first name, looking around in shock. The faculty grimaced, glancing at one another. Eliza did not respond.
“Eliza has elected to go through reform in lieu of losing her position here. I assure you that if and when she returns, she will be a much better teacher and a more understanding human being. How many of you have been disciplined by her?”
Nearly all the girls, and some of the staff, raised their hands.
“Keep your hands up, if you please. Of those who have been disciplined, who has been bloodied? The rest, lower your hands.”
Slowly, hands dropped, leaving fifteen girls with their hands raised and looking shamefully at the floor. Gerard heard Brigit hiss behind him.
“Of you, who has been bloodied more than once?”
Two of the girls lowered their hands.
“Would you mind telling me what occurred that deserved such severity?”
“This is unacceptable, Lord Remington! These children have no right—”
“I am not asking you, Eliza. I am asking these young ladies. Well, girls? There is no need to be afraid. You are not going to be punished for answering my questions. I promise.” His warm voice and gentle expression earned him a response. The girls shared their sins—uttering a profanity, stealing a pastry, tripping into the headmistress while coming down stairs, copying a sentence incorrectly, hanging a smock inside out—and Gerard felt his anger burn within him.
“Thank you, my dears. Has anyone else here committed any such heinous crimes as these as well? Do not be afraid, I only want the truth.”
As he suspected, all the girls and most of the staff raised their hands. He turned to Eliza, “Why did you blood them, and not the others? “
“They were impertinent, sir! They refused to submit to my authority! They must be taught.”
“Beg pardon, Your Lordship,” a woman called out, “the lady broke a breadboard on a girl because she was hungry. The girl reported that the headmistress had cut back their rations, and the girl was severely underfed as was. The child still cannot walk
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