A Vindication Of Miss Everlee

Chapter 8

She said a pale goodbye to her siblings for, despite there being a tension between her and Ruth, neither of them wanted to part on bad terms. As Sammy and Ruth settled in the carriage, Midge lifted herself up onto the step and hugged her sister.

"I'm sorry to have pushed you so, but you do promise that you'll be observant, don't you?" she checked one last time. "Though I shouldn't like to put any pressure on you,"

"Careful, Ruth. If you're too lenient with her than she shall fall into the enlightenment and take a liberal stance on Judaism. A liberal stance. Have you ever heard something so horrific?" Simon said from the other side.

"And what if I do? I certainly see no problem with trying to integrate myself into English society. The more involved we are, the more likely our emancipation is," Midge pointed out and, before her sister moved to another argument on why they should treasure their culture, she added, "But I shall be observant. Never fear,"

Her foot then left the step and met the pavement once more, whereupon she watched the carriage disappear around the stack of buildings at the end of the street. At their departure, Midge wondered if she had to stay true to her promise to Ruth as she would be none the wiser.

Before going inside, Midge pulled up her necklace and rested the star in her hand, where it winked at her from the light of the day about her. A breeze, cold so that her skin prickled but also gentle so that she felt a lightness about her, suddenly danced through the streets. As it did, strange twisting built up within her chest as she continued to gaze at the star. She could so easily throw it to the breeze. It would disappear soon enough and she wouldn't ever have to think about it again.

For a moment, she felt her arm lift up in the air. The hand loosened so that the necklace could drop onto the ground but, just as she felt the chain slip through her fingers the breeze seemed to force them to clamp down upon the end. It felt...wrong. She couldn't explain it. It was just a useless piece of metal, signifying nothing, no matter how much emphasis Ruth put on it. However, the dots of light upon it thudded upon that peculiar sensation within her again.

Besides, Ruth would check that she was wearing it the next time they met. Yes, that was why she didn't get rid of it. That was why she just tucked it into her drawer and decided to observe Shabbat- for Ruth's sake.

After she tucked it away, she went down to the first study where Daniel was sitting doing his work. He had started lessons himself whilst she said goodbye to her siblings, like the angel he was. He scratched the back of his head once as he sprawled his pen across the desk; a large smudge of ink landed on his page and he mumbled something under his breath.

"Working hard?" she said with a smile.

He almost jumped. "You said yesterday you wanted to go over decimals with me...It's hard,"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I know," she said.  Approaching his side to look over at his work, she stroked his hair until he appeared less stressed. "Truly, you've hardly made any mistakes. Soon you shall be Immanuel Bonfils himself,"

"Who's that?"

"A mathematician from the 14th century who innovated the decimal system. A Jew, as well, though that you shall never share that,"

"A Jew like you!" he said.

"A lot more intelligent, no doubt," she said.

"You're the smartest person I know,"

A smile came upon her the same time as an eye roll. "Come on now, flattery won't save you from having to do your work. Let me help you and I'm sure you shall understand it in no time. It's really very easy,"