(COMPLETED)
It's 1817 and there is nothing more a woman wants than to marry a rich man and live a life of comfort.
But not Nancy Brooks. Having spent half her life helping her mother run her laundry shop and the other half in the local library, Na...
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"I wonder what Andrew has planned this time." Benjamin Soulden sounded excited. He sat with Roger Green and William Cooper in the private room of Alnick's Inn. Soulden and Green were sipping cocktails and William was reading a book.
"He cannot be too harsh this time." Green's voice was matter-of-fact. "It is a woman after all. Even Andrew would not go to such an extent."
"We can never be entirely sure about anything when it comes to Andrew Montgomery." Soulden sounded almost affectionate. "What do you think, William?"
William lifted his eyes from his book. "He better not go too far this time."
"Or what?" a voice asked from the doorway, and then Andrew appeared. He walked over to them and slumped down beside William.
William shrugged. "Or nothing. I don't care much about what you get up to, mate." He returned to his book.
Andrew scowled. He turned to the other two boys. "I was actually planning on leaving that girl alone, despite her intruding in the Jonathan Gale business. But now that she has tried to defy me openly in front of the whole school...I can't let this go."
Soulden and Green agreed wholeheartedly with Andrew. William sighed involuntarily, but Andrew did not miss it.
= = =
She heard whispers wherever she went. Everyone seemed to be watching her, talking about her, pointing at her. She did not acknowledge anyone or anything and walked with her head held high. She did not regret what she had done. After all, how would she have been able to live with herself knowing that she had let some rich boys bully a poor maid? No, she did not regret anything she had done. And she was ready to face the consequences.
She went to her first class of the day—quantum mechanics—and took her usual seat at the back of the class. They were to have a test today. Nancy was not allowed to take the final examinations since she was not eligible for a proper degree; she could only attend lectures. But she did get to take small tests in class, and, to many people's contempt, she always did better than everyone else. Today, as her eyes ran over the words the professor had scrawled on the blackboard, she smiled. This was exactly what she had been reading about yesterday in the library. She began to write, becoming so absorbed in her thoughts that she did not even notice the students around her throwing small pieces of parchment at her desk until one of them hit her squarely on the forehead. Looking up, she was surprised to see that her desk was littered with little bits of parchment.
At that moment, the professor's eyes snapped up from the morning paper he had been reading and scanned the room for the commotion, settling on her. "Is there a problem, Miss Brooks?"
"Of course not, sir." Nancy tried to keep her voice calm. She could feel the rage building up inside her.
The professor walked toward her, his eyes taking in all the pieces of parchment on her desk. "What is all this, Miss Brooks?" He picked up one of the pieces, unfolding it. "This is the answer to the second question." He narrowed his eyes. "Would you explain yourself?"
