Chapter 10
Week 4, Instructor Calendar, February 1896
A soft knock on the door and the clatter of crockery woke Concordia the next morning.
“How is Mary?” she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. After that awful dream, she had dozed a little, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Annie set down a tray of toast and fragrant tea—Light of Asia blend, a favorite of hers. The dollar-per-pound cost, however, was too exorbitant for a teacher’s salary. Concordia usually made do with Oolong or Ceylon.
Annie’s usual smile was absent this morning. Her teeth tugged nervously at her lower lip. “The missus is no better, Miss Concordia.” She hesitated.
“What is it?” Concordia slopped tea into the saucer.
“Oh, miss, no, she’s no worse neither,” Annie was quick to reassure her, blotting up the spi
