Sometimes, the malice between women could be the most dangerous of all. Trevor may be the royal chancellor and a highly respected figure, but Rosalind was still young. Some of the students would naturally feel reluctant to fully accept her as their teacher.
If it were only that, it would be easy to handle. What worried Carissa was that behind the group of troublemakers, there could be someone trying to sabotage Gracewood Women's Academy. Right now, the group of troublemakers seemed to be led by Jocelyn, but there was no sign they were following someone else's orders.
With Carissa holding so much leverage over the Quinton family, how dare they disrupt the academy?
Her first priority was to reassure Rosalind, fearing the toll it might take on her mood.
Rosalind sat in her private study, flipping through a pile of practice sheets in front of her. Her brow furrowed as she examined each page, so deeply absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even hear Carissa approach.
It wasn't until Carissa spoke her name that she looked up, her eyes briefly flashing with irritation before she caught herself. She quickly stood and greeted Carissa with a polite bow, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Headmistress, I didn't see you come in. I apologize for my rudeness."
Carissa nodded in return to her greeting. "No need for formalities, please. Do sit down."
As they settled into their seats, Carissa noticed the stack of practice sheets in front of Rosalind and recalled how furrowed her brow had been upon her entrance.
She gently asked, "Are they falling behind on their assignments?"
Rosalind handed her the first few sheets of paper. "Take a look, Headmistress."
Rosalind spoke with quiet determination, "As their instructor, it should be my responsibility to address this. It's a trivial matter and not worth troubling you with, Headmistress. But I do wonder—these girls were taught at home before coming here, so how can a short essay of a few hundred words have over thirty mistakes? What were they learning all this time?"
Carissa blinked, then picked up the papers again. Upon closer inspection, there really were a lot of errors, mostly involving longer words that were misspelled or swapped for similar words.
"So, you're upset because of the mistakes?" Carissa asked.
Rosalind straightened up and said firmly, "Headmistress, you mustn't overlook these errors. These girls all had private tutors at home, so how can they still make such basic mistakes? It shows they don't take their learning seriously. They think women only need to recognize a few words to get by, as long as it's enough for them to manage the account books.
"Men believe that women who lack talent are virtuous. How can we as women accept this? Especially considering the Quinton family's history—they once produced a renowned scholar, and I've heard their servants are all literate. How could a daughter of their family be so ignorant and careless with her studies?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Her Graceful War Song
What happens to the other chapters, I've been waiting to read more of this story, the character's and the screening are fantastic, very intriguing story...
Next chapter please, what's happening...
Very captivating novel....
Both content and context are very intriguing, the writer style of pulling out characters in their unique ways are profound,I have recommended this book because it's very captivating...