The Education of Bet by Lauren Baratz-Logsted Page B

the same room every night with
a boy?
"
    "I take it you hadn't thought of that, then?"
    If I hadn't been ready to faint at the prospect of what lay before me, I would have been tempted to slap that smile right off his face.
    "Do not worry," Will said, removing one of the impossibly thin blankets from the bed and spreading it on the floor. "You can have the bed here. I suspect that I will have a few things to get used to myself and that once I am in the military there will be no comfy pillows for me. Now then." He clapped his hands together. "Dinner? I must say, I am
famished!
"
    ***
    "You are not eating?" Will said, attacking his own meal with relish as we sat in the small dining room, the lighting turned so low one could barely see what one was eating.
    "Mutton is not my favorite," I allowed.
    "That is too bad, then." Will tore off a chunk of bread. "You will find that mutton is as omnipresent at school as cold water in the baths there ... when there is water."
    To say that I was growing increasingly nervous would be a gross understatement. And so, in order to disguise my nervousness, I bluffed like mad.
    "That sounds wonderful!" I said brightly. "I am sure that I will find all of these challenges to be rather, um, character-building. No doubt it will make a man out of me!"
    "You are an odd girl, Bet."
    "I thought you were going to call me Will now," I countered.
    "Very well,
Will.
You say you are ready for the challenges, but you have never been at school before. How do you propose to approach the actual
lessons?
"
    "Lessons?"
    "Yes, you know, that thing you are supposed to be there for—an education? You have never been in a classroom, have never taken any formal subjects in your life."
    "Oh, that part will be easy," I said, and this time I wasn't bluffing. "Why, I can read anything, and I know a lot of history and literature, same as you. The difference is, I will work hard at those subjects and I will excel at them, since I will apply myself where you have not." I nervously twisted my napkin. "So, what other subjects will there be?"
    "I would have thought you'd have asked about such things sooner, Bet, in terms of what to expect," Will said, eyeing my napkin-twisting. "You know, you can still change your mind..."
    "Never," I said firmly, putting down the napkin with some force. "And stop calling me
Bet.
"
    "What about mathematics, then? How is your Latin?"
    "Does it matter?" I shrugged. "You have never done well at those subjects because they bore you." I shrugged again. "I could hardly do worse."
    "You are maddening." He wiped his mouth hastily with his napkin before tossing it on the table and rising to his feet. "Come on. Let's go."
    "Where are we going?" I wondered, rising just the same.
    "To show you a little bit more of what you can expect at school." Will took me hard by the elbow, steering me toward the door. "I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner."
    ***
    The night air was crisp as Will led me down the street. There were several small houses scattered along the way, a cheery light here, a welcoming wisp of smoke from a chimney there.
    "Where are we going?" I demanded this time, seeking to extricate my elbow from Will's grasp, but he held firm.
    "I will show you," he said. Then he muttered to himself, "Every small village has one. I should have been paying more attention as we rode in."
    "One
what?
"
    But Will wouldn't answer.
    At last, we drew up to a squat building, the front of which had lots of small panes of glass, each pane its own small world shedding golden light outward onto the street. The door was open, and the sound of loud merrymaking poured out. I had never stood in front of a building such as this before, but I had read about these places in books.
    "A
pub?
I can't go in there!"
    I also knew from reading books that no lady—or at least, no lady who cared about her reputation—ever set foot in a pub.
    "Of course you can," Will said, steering me toward the doorway. "You're Will Gardener