Earthly Astonishments Read Free

plague them all. And Miss MacLaren had promised a wage to Josephine’s father that very first day at the Fair! So where was it? She’d have to ask for her pay!
    She ignored the sign in the hall outside Miss MacLaren’s study:
E NTRY IS F ORBIDDEN
TO THE S TUDENTS
OF M ACLAREN A CADEMY
    A gas lamp burned on the wall by the door and another on the gracious writing desk. The walls had fancy paper on them, with a dark, rose-colored stripe. The whole room was pink and ghosty feeling. It was like being inside somebody’s stomach.
    The headmistress sat hunched over her desk. By her feet was her prayer stool, its hinged lid open to expose a cedar-lined compartment. Miss MacLaren’s hands moved in the circle of lamplight, scratching numbers in a book. Josephine hesitated at the open door, her exhilaration dribbling away.
    Miss MacLaren’s lips hung open slightly while she wrote. Josephine was reminded of the luncheon haddock when it was still whole, lying gape-mouthed on the chopping board. She realized with a jolt that stacked onMiss MacLaren’s desk, just beyond the circle of light, were little towers of coins. The haddock was counting her riches!
    Josephine nearly stole away back to the kitchen, but a picture in her mind, of Cook wielding the ladle, forced her across the carpet. Miss MacLaren banged her book shut when she found a face peering up at her.
    “Whatever do you mean, sneaking at me like that?” One hand pressed against her floral bodice, while the other promptly shielded her treasure from Josephine’s eyes.
    “I didn’t mean to sneak. I’m quiet, is all.” The sound of her own husky voice surprised Josephine; she could go days at a time without speaking to anyone.
    “Well? What can you possibly want?”
    “I want … I want you, please, to pay me. It’s five gold dollars. You promised my pa when you took me in. One gold dollar for each year’s service, you said. Please.”
    Miss MacLaren’s plump hand slid down from her bosom and smacked the surface of her desk, making a hollow thump. Her words came out like steam from between closed teeth.
    “My arrangement with your parents is no business of yours. A creature like you is lucky to have a corner to sleep in and food each day. I’ll thank you to never again put me in the position of discussing money with a servant.”
    She dipped her pen and returned to work, without blinking her stony eyes. Josephine’s ears stung, as if theunkind words had scalded them. Her feet stumbled over themselves, backing out of the room.
    “Excuse me!” Miss MacLaren’s curt bark stopped Josephine in her tracks. “I have not dismissed you. For your impertinence, you will do some copying.”
    Josephine tiptoed forward again to receive the pages thrust into her hands.
    “Ten duplicates by morning. Take ink and pen from the drawer of the hall table. You may go.”
    Josephine trudged back to the kitchen, trembling with anger at her own foolishness. She lit a candle and crouched on her mat, not daring to rest before she had copied the words:
    I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.
    This much I can do for Teacher.
    Morning came too soon for Josephine’s backside to have a chance at healing.
    “What’s the trouble, Worm?” asked Sylvester, with a sly look. “Having trouble sitting down?”
    “Keep out of my way, and I’ll keep out of yours,” threatened Josephine. “Otherways, I’ll make your eyes grow crossed.”
    He shot her a look that told her he believed her. His hand flew to his face, as if to protect himself. Josephine laughed to herself all morning, watching him peel potatoes without glancing up. Meanwhile she stayed as farfrom Cook as she could manage and still complete her tasks. And tasks there were aplenty.
    It was Parents’ Day. The front vestibule was festooned with flags and ribbons, welcoming families from all over New York City, as well as towns beyond its limits. Certain girls would return home next week, it being end-of-term, while others