Chapter Eleven

Thursday

Several days later, in Edinburgh, Crystal and Aaron entered the weaving mill belonging to Mr. Robert Macintosh, the associate he had spoken of to her. Hilda walked behind them carrying small slates and chalk. Crystal looked around the cramped classroom. It was as cold as the grave, and many of the girls didn’t have enough warm clothing on.

“Thank you for allowing Lady Crystal to use this modest schoolroom to teach your weavers, Mr. Macintosh. As her benefactor, I thought I would accompany her this time,” Aaron said. “To observe her teaching methods firsthand.”

Mr. Macintosh bowed. “My lord, you and Lady Crystal are most welcome. I have spoken to the parents of the girls, and providing they are compensated with a shilling a day for their wages, they are prepared to give their daughters permission to come here and learn their letters. There are always others, like the cotters who have been forced off their land, who are grateful to have a day’s work weaving in the mill.”

Crystal thanked Mr. Macintosh before looking into the dirty, hopeful faces of the ten girls in front of her, ranging from five to thirteen years old. She hadn’t had a lot of teaching experience, but she had helped her sister, Lacey, give lessons to the village children back home.

She smiled and introduced herself, Aaron, and Hilda, then said, “Now, everyone tell me your first name and let me know if you have had lessons in reading before.”

One by one, the girls introduced themselves.

“I’m Ailish, and no, miss, I’ve had no learning,” one older girl said softly. “We work from sunrise to sundown six days a week.”

Crystal glanced at Aaron, so grateful for his interest. She could make a big difference in this town with his backing.

“I’m Sally. And I’m so glad for the learning,” said a girl of about ten years whose long, thin wrists poked out from the too-short sleeves of her dress.

One little girl with dirt-blond hair poorly tucked under a bonnet who was wearing a dress that was too big for her shook her head.

“That’s Janine,” Ailish said. “She doesn’t talk. She’s eight years old and from the workhouse. They start the little ones here as soon as they are able. The youngest girls have nimble fingers.”

“I see.” Crystal blinked back tears, confronted by the painful reality. “That’s…” She didn’t know if it was a terrible abuse or a blessing because it provided the destitute child with a bit of coin to buy bread.

Aaron came and stood close to her as if he shared her anguish. She could feel his body heat, and it was incredibly comforting. Underneath his dashing exterior was a good soul.

“One step at a time, my lady,” he said quietly. “Together, we can and will change things.”

“Yes, we will. Thank you,” she said, looking up into his eyes. “You dinnae ken how much your support means to me. It warms my heart in a way I never thought possible.”

She committed their names and stories to memory while trying to press down the sickening roll of concern in her stomach. It was one thing to know poverty existed and quite another to be confronted by the sheer hopelessness of these girls’ lives. Here in the city, there was none of the clan helpfulness and care for one another that existed back home.

It wasn’t a case of the parish schools teaching them at a lower standard; these girls were taught nothing at all except their craft…and some would say they were lucky to have that. Things were so much worse among the poor than she had ever thought. With their bleak eyes and hollowed-out cheeks, the children were all thin and exhausted. One little girl of about five, called Annabel, sat on the floor, leaning against another girl, her eyelids drooping. Her skin had the gray color of someone who had rarely seen the sun.

“Oh, Aaron, will you look at that little one? I cannae believe they start them so young,” Crystal said in anguish.

He blinked after looking at Annabel, then brushed the back of Crystal’s hand so lightly it could have been an accident. “Draw on that famous Highland strength. You will need every ounce of it if this is the path you wish to pursue.”

She nodded and swallowed down her distress, then turned back to the girls, putting on a bright smile. “Well, we’re going to make a fun start today. I want you all to go outside and wash your faces and hands in the trough. Hilda is going to give out some bread and butter when you return. Then we will start learning.”

The girls leaped to their feet, squealing with joy, and piled out after Ailish. Little Annabel awoke, rubbed her eyes, and wandered after them.

“I’m so glad I thought to bring bread and butter,” Crystal said to Aaron when the girls were outside.

Aaron frowned. “Next time we’ll bring in a jug of milk as well. These girls are far too thin.”

She looked up at him with real warmth blooming in her heart. “I knew you were a good man from the moment I saw you.”

“Well, that’s a nice surprise. Usually I just annoy you,” he said with a grin.

His comment made her laugh aloud, and she quickly clapped her hand over her mouth. Was she a fool to think this sort of relationship between a respectable woman and man could work without marriage?

Hilda looked up at her from her task of cutting and buttering bread, eyeing them with a frown.

“Stop making me laugh. My maid is getting suspicious,” she murmured.

His eyes gleamed with amusement. “I didn’t realize laughing was a crime.”

The maid set the bread and butter on the small table Mr. Macintosh had provided, careful to place it on a clean cloth. “These children are thin and small for their ages because they dinnae see the light of day nor get enough nourishment,” Hilda said with an indignant huff.

“Aye. I’d thought to let them eat when we finished the lesson, but these girls willnae learn on empty stomachs,” Crystal said, rubbing the sleeves of her gown from the cold.

Aaron put a hand in his pocket and drew out some coins. “Hilda, I saw a vendor on the high street, not far from here. Will you go and buy some firewood? The lady is feeling chilled.”

The maid looked at Crystal, and she nodded. “Do as Lord Lyle requests. I’m sure we’ll all feel more comfortable with a little heat.”

“As you wish, my lady.” She left, and Crystal bit back a smile, feeling wicked at not having a chaperone. The girls hardly counted. The room seemed small with him standing so close, but she liked that he was nearby and being so helpful. She couldn’t imagine her father or any other man of his station being this supportive.

After the girls ate, Crystal turned to the large slate Mr. Macintosh had mounted on the brick wall for her. Aaron passed out a small slate and a piece of chalk for each girl, and she cast him a grateful glance.

He was a pleasure to look at with his handsome, earnest face. What concerned her was how easily he had found a way into her life. He would be an enormous distraction from her work. The man had charisma and an undeniable charm. She was going to need every bit of her Highland strength not to fall in love with the man.

She shook her head to clear it and focused on her task. The girls gazed back at her with rapt attention.

“Every woman should be able to write her own name. We’re going to study what the letters are called and the sounds they make, but don’t worry—I don’t expect you to learn them all at once. We’ll just do three letters a day. And before the lesson finishes, I’ll write out your name on your slate so you can see what it looks like. In time, you’ll be able to read and write it yourself. Before we start, you need to know how to hold the chalk.”

When she was finished demonstrating, she watched the girls copy her motion—all except Janine, who simply gazed at her.

“What do you think has happened to Janine?” she asked Aaron.

He looked at the girl. “I dinnae ken. Do you think she is mute? I can ask Mr. Macintosh, if you wish.”

“Always so helpful,” she said with a smile.

“This is important work,” he said, his face serious and thoughtful.

Just then, Hilda came back into the room and started a small fire in a grate at the back.

“Good. I’m going to write the first letter of the alphabet.” She described the sounds A could make using simple words. “Hands up if anyone has that sound in her name.”

Ailish and Sally put their hands up.

“Good! Lord Lyle, whose first name is Aaron, has it, too.”

He nodded supportively to her and the girls.

She focused on Janine, who was seated in front of her. “What about you, Janine?” She sounded out the girl’s name slowly, enunciating the letters as her own governess had done for her when teaching her to read and write.

A light came on in the girl’s eyes, and she nodded and smiled. Her happy response made the backs of Crystal’s eyes prick with tears. “There is so much work to do here, Aaron. It’s going to take an army of teachers to make a difference in these girls’ lives.”

“All in time. But this is a damn good start,” he said, his voice full of reassurance.

She wanted to kiss him, to wrap her arms around the back of his neck and never let go. “Thank you,” she said, taking a steadying breath.

He was so kind that the day just seemed brighter with him in it.

Several hours later, with breaks for more bread and butter and fresh air, each girl, with lots of help, had traced out the letters of her first name on her slate.

Crystal intended to return the next day to teach them again. She packed up her basket, though it was not nearly as heavy as this morning. Each girl had been left with a slate and the assignment to copy out her name at least once a day.

She left the room with Aaron, and they thanked Mr. Macintosh on their way out. Hilda stood at a discreet distance while she talked to Aaron in the mill courtyard.

“Did you receive the invitation to speak again at Sir Walter’s tonight?” he asked. “He said he sent it two days ago.”

“I did, but I replied I’d only go if he assured me the men who made lewd comments last time would not be invited.”

His mouth thinned. “I promise to be there to protect you. I very much wish to hear more about your views.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. “I have my own views about how I feel about you, so I wrote my thoughts down.”

She took the letter and stuffed it into her pocket. She had a feeling his thoughts would be sinful. “You are incorrigible, sir.”

“I do my best. I’ll leave you now, my lady. I wish to speak to Mr. Macintosh. Enjoy my letter.” He bowed and strode back across the courtyard to Mr. Macintosh’s office.

Just then, Ailish approached her with a timid look on her face. “My lady?” the girl said.

“How can I help you, Ailish?” Crystal asked kindly.

“I have a good friend, Jenny, who would like to join us. She knows how to write her name, so she won’t be behind.”

“I suppose I can fit one more in.” Crystal watched while Ailish shifted from foot to foot, appearing uncomfortable. “What is it?”

“It’s just that… Will the lord always be here?” the girl asked. “Jenny is afeard of lords.”

“Lord Lyle is my benefactor, so I can hardly order him from the classroom if he wishes to visit.” What was going on with this girl? Crystal’s curiosity got the better of her. “Why would Jenny be afeard of Lord Lyle?”

“It isn’t him that’s done anything, but a lord stole Jenny’s mother and sisters. She desperately needs to learn to read and write proper so she can ask for help. No one will listen to her or her father.”

Shock made Crystal’s mind spin. “A lord stole Jenny’s mother and sisters?” she repeated to make sure she’d heard Ailish correctly. “But what did he do with them?”

“He sold them as slaves, my lady.”

“But there are no white slaves. That doesn’t exist,” Crystal protested. “Our government would never allow it.” The whole thing was absurd. She’d never heard the like. Sometimes the working class was so ignorant they would believe anything they were told.

“Can I bring Jenny to see you tomorrow, my lady? Perhaps the story is better coming from her.”

“Yes, I need to hear this for myself.” Crystal motioned for Hilda to join her and waved good-bye to the girls who were standing in the courtyard speaking enthusiastically with a group of women.

One of the women hurried over to Crystal, long-faced and lean but tidy in her appearance. “Mistress, I wish to thank you for teaching my Ailish her letters. I’ve no learning myself and cannae afford to live without her labor. My husband passed in the war.”

The woman’s gratitude warmed Crystal’s heart, though privately she wondered whether Ailish had issues with telling the truth. Still, she couldn’t afford to be judgmental if she was going to do this work. “I’m happy I can help. I’ve been in Edinburgh but three months and am still learning how I can best contribute.”

“I heard you speak at the weavers’ guild earlier this week,” the woman said, straightening proudly. “I’m so pleased you are speaking up for women’s rights.”

“Things need to change, which is why I take every opportunity to speak. Until women can own property and gain an education, we will always be under the rule of men.”

“Aye. I didnae think education was possible for the likes of us until I heard you speak earlier in the week. I want more for my Ailish than I have.” The woman looked over at her daughter with warmth in her eyes.

Crystal nodded. “I pledge to teach these girls to read and write, and Lord Lyle has agreed to pay their wages while I do. My goal is to find a way for more women to be educated in order to have a greater choice of work.”

“I have friends I’m sure would like to meet with you,” Ailish’s mother said. “We will get together on Friday night. So much needs to be done, but without reading and writing, we women have little say. We must rely on the men to speak for us.” The woman named an alehouse not far from where Crystal lived. “Please come meet with us.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Crystal said. Now she had her own freedom, she would never allow men to speak for her again. These women deserved no less.

“I’ll be looking forward to not going out tonight,” Hilda complained as she walked up the cobbled road, hitching her skirt with distaste at the dung on the street. “You’ve had too many speaking engagements of late.”

Crystal wrinkled her nose at the stench. “I need to make as many contacts in the city as I can, both rich and poor, and listen to what they all have to say. I mean to make a difference.”

“I understand you, but my poor feet dinnae,” Hilda grumbled as they wove their way through the wynds toward the high street.

Crystal cast a glance at her maid. Even at fifty years, she rarely complained, but Crystal couldn’t help but notice she had dark circles under her eyes.

Crystal pulled Aaron’s letter from her pocket, unable to resist glancing at the inscription on the envelope, wondering what scandalous things he had written to her.

The man was fire to her wick, and so much trouble.

And she was falling headlong into it.

She turned to Hilda. “I willnae have need of you tonight. I have been invited to speak again at Sir Walter’s salon. He will send his carriage to pick me up.”

“That is kind of Sir Walter. Wait a minute.” Hilda stopped next to her, eyeing her with suspicion. “Why does the seal on that letter have the Lomond coat of arms?”

Crystal shoved the letter back into her pocket. “It is from Lord Lyle.”

Her maid walked beside her grim-faced. “That lord does not have marriage on his mind.”

“Which is why I like him,” Crystal said.

“You’ll be ruined,” Hilda said bluntly.

“I have already spoken publicly about desire with no ill effect to my reputation. I’ve been asked to speak again.”

“You don’t know whether your reputation has been affected or not. Do you really think the Duke of Lomond will receive you again when he hears about it?” Hilda asked.

“I’ve made one mistake. I dinnae intend to do anything more to risk my good name.”

“You can get away with the speeches because you come from an established noble family. Mark my words, if you go unaccompanied with Lord Lyle and act the courtesan, the doors that have been open will soon shut firmly in your face.”

Crystal couldn’t very well chastise her maid, who instinctively knew too much even though Crystal had told her naught. “I hope one day you’ll believe me when I say I’m not looking for a husband.”

“You’re young, and your ideas may change. Making the wrong decision now will ruin your reputation and affect your whole life,” Hilda warned. “I love you like my own child. Will you listen to me? Dinnae spend time alone with that man.”

“Hilda, I dinnae wish to speak of this anymore.”

And yet, she was so attracted to Aaron, so interested in spending time alone with him. But she needed to keep her head. Hilda was right, even if she didn’t want to hear it. She had everything to lose. She needed to carefully guard her reputation. Not for the sake of finding a husband but because of her noble cause.