Page 12 of A Two-Faced Laird
“Well, I want to make a start on my schooling of the village children today, Father. I need you to help me with furniture for the classrooms. Mother, Milady, when I come back, I will discuss the material they need for new clothes. Oh, and writing materials.”
She looked around her to see that the others were looking rather stunned.
“Is that all?” Lady Findlay asked, looking somewhat surprised.
“If I think of anything else, I will let you know, Milady,” Edina replied firmly.
“Yes, Mistress,” her father said drily, wondering what had just happened.
Edina hadno writing materials for the children yet, so she decided to start by reading them stories to give them an appetite for it. She had been taught by well-qualified tutors, and she had been around books since she could walk, whereas these children had never had any such advantage.
Since she had no training in the profession, Edina realised that she would have to teach by feeling her way, almost by instinct; she only hoped she was up to the task.
The children were assembled in the church hall. They were aged between five and eight years old. When they were older than that, they would begin to help their families around the farm and at home—if they had one.
Edina had always found it shocking that children of nine years old and upwards should be required to plant seeds and help bring in the harvest. If by giving them an education she could give them a better life, she was determined to do so.
She cleared her throat, feeling the flutter of nerves in her stomach, then smiled around the little faces. “My name is Edina,” she announced. “And now I would like to know yours.”
An eager chorus answered at once, with everyone striving to be heard above everyone else, but eventually, they resolved themselves into individual faces and voices, then Edina was able to identify each.
“Now,” she said, looking around at them, “I am going to read you a story, and after, we can talk to each other. I will ask about you, and you can ask about me.”
Edina was answered by nods and smiles, so she opened the book she had brought and began to read. The story involved talking animals, and since most of the children werefrom farming backgrounds, they found the idea of pigs and sheep having conversations with each other absolutely hilarious. When Edina had finished reading and closed the book, they immediately begged for another story, but she laughed.
“I will be back the day after tomorrow,” she told them. “And I will be bringing things to write with because I am going to teach you all to read.”
“Mammy said you live in the castle,” one little girl of about seven years old asked her.
“I do,” Edina replied, nodding.
“Is it nice?” she asked again. “Dae ye have gold an’ silver vases o’ flowers, Mistress?”
“Only when we have parties,” Edina answered. “But those do not happen very often, and we only have a few.”
“Dae ye know the Laird’s son, Mistress?” another girl asked, with a mischievous grin.
“Yes, I do,” Edina answered.
“Dae ye think he is handsome?” one of the boys asked. “Because my big sister is in love wi’ him. She never stops talkin’ about him. Are you in love wi’ him, Mistress?”
Edina had not realised she was blushing. “He is just like a brother to me,” she answered with a mischievous smile.
The children began to laugh.
“Aye, ye are!” the boy cried, pointing at her.
“Oh, all right!” Edina conceded, laughing. “I have been madly in love with him, since I was a wee lass. But do not tell anyone.”
She put a finger in front of her mouth to signal for silence, and they all giggled. Let them think it was merely a silly crush. She was not even sure how she felt about Lewis yet, so she could not share her deepest feelings with anyone else, let alone a crowd of children.
“I knew him and his brother when he was just a little boy, the same age as you are,” she told them. “We used to play together.Once I climbed a tree and fell down on top of his brother and Lewis had to pick us both up. He was very angry. Another time they both pushed me into the waters of the loch and I had to walk home dripping wet. Do you know what happened to them?”
The children shook their heads.
“They had to stay in their bedrooms for two days and were not allowed to go anywhere.” Edina assumed an expression of mock-righteousness.
“Serves them right!” said one of the girls.
