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the parties will resume,” he told Tessa.
    She could see her father was dead serious and even though she was thrilled with his answer, Tessa kept her happiness in check for the moment. “We are agreed.”
    Only then did he smile again. “You are incorrigible. Now, come give me a kiss goodbye. I must get to the office.”
    Tessa jumped up and went around the desk and hugged her father. She planted a huge kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, Papa! Have a wonderful day. I love you.”
    “I love you, too. Now, off with you,” Geoff said gruffly.
    Tessa wanted to run from the room, but walked out in a lady-like fashion. She mounted the stairs and kept her composure until she reached her room. Once there, Tessa ran to her bed, buried her face in her pillow, and shouted her joy. Then she got up and twirled around the room, performing some moves that would have made anyone watching think she’d gone mad.
    A weight had been lifted and now Tessa could start to live life somewhat as she wanted. She lay back on her bed and began thinking about what she would do with her extra time. There would be extra time because she didn’t have to spend hours preparing for and attending the dreaded parties. During the season, it wasn’t unheard of to have an event almost every night.
    If she became involved in a charity, it would mean more functions and because that was what she was trying to avoid, she decided against it. What could she do educationally? Society had little use for truly educating women, although her father was very forward thinking in that respect and had made a large donation to Chatham College for Women in Shadyside, an affluent area of Pittsburgh.
    She decided to contact them to make an appointment to visit. The idea of taking a few classes was appealing to her. It would certainly be something different and she would meet new people, too. Tessa ran downstairs to tell Maureen the news.
     
     

Chapter Two
     
    One month later found Tessa miserable yet again. Only two of her classes interest her; English and history. The others were lost on her. She discovered an aptitude for writing and constantly scribbled down notes, which she rewrote and expanded upon later. Tessa tried her best at the mathematics courses, but she couldn’t seem to grasp anything higher than basic algebra. Claire put her to shame by being able to complete the whole book, and correctly at that.
    The foreign language courses were interesting, but it was really the English class that was fascinating to her. She’d been studying other writers and trying to learn as much as she could about the great writers down through history. Her professor was very pleased with her progress and told her that she had wonderful insight and wrote beautiful, descriptive passages.
    Tessa would have liked to have dropped out of the other courses and just concentrated on writing. However, she knew that if she did, the parties would begin again. Therefore, she kept going to classes while trying to come up with another solution.
    One day after class, Tessa asked her English professor, Mr. Rothwell , about what made for great writing.
    He thought for a moment and then said, “You have to experience life, pay attention to the little things, and know your subject. Research is the key to writing an accurate, meaningful article, or writing anything worth reading, actually.”
    Tessa took that nugget of advice to heart. Over the next couple of months, she observed everything in her neighborhood and around various parts of the city where she traveled. She soon became aware that there was little in her life that was different to write about. She needed to travel to other lands and experience new things, but she would never be permitted to do that.
    Lying in bed late one night, Tessa thought about running away to follow her dream. Her vivid imagination began concocting various scenarios that would allow her to do just that. She would need money. She had some in her account, but her father