Page 24 of Mysterious Teacher : Arrival
“How many of his wives were beheaded?”April said.
“There were only two of the six, both accused of adultery. He divorced two of them; Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves who...”
“German!”Igor shouted. “Anne of Cleves was of German blood. A beautiful German woman who became queen of England.”
“Actually,” Sonya argued, “Their union was annulled barely six months later. Anne of Cleves was never crowned queen.”
“That’s beside the point...”Igor muttered.
Sonya turned back to April. “As the count goes, two of his wives were beheaded, he divorced two other, one died of natural causes and, as mentioned, one survived unscathed.”
“The man is a hero,” Igor said, praising a non-German for the first time. “Any man who domineers his wife is to be applauded. A man needs to be strong, show his power, show no fear, no sympathy...if he is to rule with efficiency.”
“Ja,” Boris said. “It is a doggie dog world out there and you have to be tough.”
Sonya and April looked at Boris with an amused smile. Tempted to tell him that it was actuallya dog eat dog world, Sonya let it slide.
“There is no reason in the world to torture your own citizens,” April argued.
“The man was a terror,” Sonya said with an agreeing nod. “I think it could be very interesting to study Henry VIII in our history class. England has been through a lot of interesting periods. Henry had an interesting life, from being crowned at the tender age of seventeen, to terrorizing his citizenry, to dying at fifty-five years old following complications due to an old jousting injury. I think you would enjoy learning more about him and his wives.”
“I very much look forward to starting my studies with you, Sonya. It all sounds so fascinating. I’m hungry to know about everything that makes the world go round...the world’s leaders...kings, emperors, presidents and prime ministers.”
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am to hear you say that. There’s nothing more rewarding than having a bright and eager student. And when it comes to history in particular, a good student of history is always...always...a good student of humanity. Knowing the mistakes and victories of our past, guides us as we move toward the future. I hold to the hope that learning from our past mistakes, will spare us the consequences of repeating them.”
Sonya reached into the depths of her long sleeve and retrieved a small, tattered and dog-eared book. “On a completely different topic, this is a very special book that I would like to share with you,” she said as she pushed the soft leather covered book across the table to April.
“A Book of Prayers by Anonymous,” April read as she picked it up. “I’m sure it must be very nice.”
Sonya nodded. “It may sound silly, but this book really helped to get me through some pretty tough times.” Simply seeing the small handbook brought her back to a time when she thought she would go insane. Imprisoned, she thought she would never feel the warmth of the sun on her skin again. When left for dead, that little book had given her the strength to go on, to fight and to survive.How valuable that little book had turned out to be for her.
“Sonya?”April called out. “Are you still with us?”
“Huh?”Sonya said as she left the horrors of that far away prison and rejoined the group around the dining room table. “Um, yes. Of course.”
“Are you all right?”April said. “You looked positively horrified for a moment there.” She looked at the book in her hand and back at Sonya.
Sonya smiled. “I’m fine. I had something caught in my throat and it made my eyes water somewhat.” She tapped the top of the book in April’s hands. “In addition to this, what other books would you like to analyze?”
“I’ve heard such remarkable things about a book by Mark...oh, what’s his name? Mark Shain? Mark Cain?”
Sonya smiled. “Mark Twain. Ah, yes. A good choice.”
“Huckleberry Finnis the name of the book.”
“Delightful. I think you’ll enjoy it. A book about finding one’s independence...freedom...and dealing with prejudices.”
“Trash!”Igor spat. “Absolute trash! Why teach this girl such worthless works when there is such worthwhile literature available?” He reached out and yanked the small book out of April’s delicate hand and proceeded to tear out the pages.
“No!”Sonya said as she jumped out of her chair.
Igor threw the book to the floor and angrily stomped on it.
“Stop it!”Sonya said as she went to him and grabbed his arm. “Who do you think you are?”
“Leave me, woman!”Igor shoved her away from him. “Who are you to tell me, a man, what to do? I am Igor Karloff, and no one speaks to me like this, especially a woman.”
“You are a guest in this house,” Sonya tried to reason with him. “How dare you!”
