Charles watched the curl of his father's cigar smoke as it sat in the ash stray on his desk. The light peeps and scratching of the mice as they crawled about their cage enchanted the room as he and his companions waited.

"Sumner has disappointed me," Mr. Christenson spoke. "He has inherited his mother's wantonness and brought shame to this family."

"I thought he was no longer part of the family," Charles said from the lounge. "Mother has spread it all around her social circle. Sumner only comes out after dark when it's safe."

"His deeds can't go unpunished," Mr. Christenson said. "I can't have people undermining my authority. Next the servants will demand higher wages...it will be anarchy. Someone has to be responsible for this town and that is me." He picked up some loose papers on his desk and stacked them even. "I've seen towns go to slums because of chaos. "Just look at Boysenberry. I want you boys to teach him a lesson but don't kill him."

"What about these girls?" Rothschild asked from his seat. "They are steady getting ahead of themselves."

"We could sabotage their school," Andrew suggested.

"Too obvious," Rothschild said. "They'll know it was us and our good friend Jessop St. Cloud will be on us like ugly on a hen."

Mr. Christenson babied one of his mice. "Simply remind them that they are feeble women. It won't take much and they won't fight back."

"What about Avery?" Cleve asked.

"Best to leave him out of this," Mr. Christenson said. "Only don't scare the girls too badly. Loyal help like Ezra is hard to find."

Charles watched Andrew and Rothschild grin at each other. Their actions before had been disastrous and he hated to think what they planned now. He followed them outside his father's house to their waiting horses.

"Your father has been the only thing keeping me from Sumner," Andrew said. "I'll just have to come up with something else for Jessop's girls."

"Now you heard him," Rothschild said. "We don't want to frighten them too much. Now mind you I can be the perfect gentleman to all. T'was I who helped that little colored boy when he had his shoes on wrong at the crossing. Ya'll remember?"

"Your point?" Andrew growled.

"I just may show one of those girls around my side of the big city, and buy her a few things."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Cleve asked.

"Why would she refuse?" Rothschild said. "She'd have money, food, shelter and...me. The best looking of the four of us."

Andrew waved him away. "I don't have time for that," he said. "I just want to see the look on Jessop's face when he loses everything."

"Wait one cotton picking minute!" Charles said. "You can't just run out there haphazardly. We're gentlemen and will handle things thus."

"You three may be gentlemen, but I threw out that silly notion," Andrew said. "Last year my father got it in his head to rewrite his will. My name was expunged for it."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Andrew," Cleve said. "Maybe he'll change his mind if you please him. You know...behave better."

Andrew mounted his horse. "You three do things the genteel way," he said. "Higher the poor to do your evil bidding, set up mistresses and please your pas but I have nothing to lose and I plan to do things my way." He kicked his horse into a gallop and rode away.

"Rothschild you need to watch him," Charles said.

"Why me?"

"Because he's your house guest and you two are more alike," Charles said climbing onto his horse. "I'd better get home to Bessie. She thinks she's expecting."

"Don't I know it," Cleve said. "Magdalene won't leave me alone about it. She falls into crying fits that Bessie already has a child one on the way and we have none to show. We had a terrible row the other night. I told her it was her fault."

"Cleve!"

"I know, but I was angry and she wouldn't stop crying."

"This is why I never married," Rothschild laughed. "Women are large baggage and I like my luggage to ride with me."

"Spare me, Rothschild," Cleve said. "The reason why you never married is because you don't want to share the money your father left you with a wife and children. Women are spendthrifts, and your well could run dry any day."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rothschild demanded but Cleve ignored him as he mounted his horse. "Burnstead!"

Cleve took up the reins and looked back at Rothschild. "Don't count your chickens too soon," he said. "Good day, now." He turned his horse away.

Charles watched Rothschild move uneasy then quickly mount his house and gallop off. He then climbed in his own horse and headed for home. He couldn't help but think that it would be nice to have a level head to talk to right now and that person had once been Sumner.

/

With a sigh Miriam checked her broach watch then looked at the nearly empty table. Providence sat there alone with her slate in hand waiting still to start the lesson at the library. Ottaline had insisted that she was tired of sitting and slowly paced the floor so not to get on Miriam's nerves as she said her pacing would. Presently Miriam got up. "Well we shall begin without the rest of the class," she said. "Ottaline, come on."

"But it's not a class with just Rovy and me," Ottaline said as she sat. "It will just be us answering all the questions."

"Well I can't stop your education for a lack of students," Miriam said. "I must do what I'm paid to do; what I love to do."

"But where do you think everyone is?" Providence asked. "They couldn't all be ill."

"I'll go over to some of their homes later perhaps," Miriam said though she wasn't too sure herself.

/

Heloise, Alifair and Hannah were on their way from school when Olive Johnson and Amy Birch ran them down.

"Heloise!" Olive shouted. "I heard what happened to your sister. Poor Miss Fairchild."

"Why poor Miriam?" Alifair asked. "She's doing fine."

"My mama said this morning that we'd have a new student in our class and we did," Olive said. "I asked her about it and she said a lot of parents were sending their children to learn somewhere else because they are afraid your sister will get the library burned up next."

"What?" Heloise gasped. "That's madness."

"But it's true," Amy said. "My mama told me something similar. She says your family has a reputation with fire she thinks Miss Fairchild's teachings, along with something your sister Selene done did has something to do with it."

"Your mama is a cow, Amy," Hannah said.

"Hannah, don't you say such things about your elders," Alifair said.

"Well she shouldn't say such things about Selene and Miriam."

"I don't agree with my mama," Amy said. "I like Miss Fairchild, and want to join her classes one day but that's just what folks are saying. You can't be cross with them. No one wants to get burned up."

"I think I'll catch fire just thinking about it," Heloise said. "Poor Miriam. She must be a human torch by now. She loves teaching. What will happen if that's taken away?" She thought of how cold Miriam once became and shuddered at the thought.

A few boys behind them began to make a rowdy noise as a horse and rider trotted up the road. The five girls stepped out of the way as the flea bitten gray went past them. Amy recognized the rider and took extra precaution by nearly stepping in the ditch.

"Mr. Addams," Heloise said.

"Is that how he is called," Amy said. "I was walking to Mr. Calico's store one afternoon and he gave me a mean look. I told my mama about it and she told me to keep well out of his way. I always remember him by his horse." She pointed. "It's got a bleeding mouth. Papa says that's because he rides him too hard."

Heloise wasn't really listening to her. They had been in Mr. Addams presence before and the situation had gone bad and now here they were again. She turned back to the other girls. "Come on. We should get home before the heat gets us." The sisters left Amy and Olive on the road and hurried home."

As they came through the door they heard a man's voice that wasn't their father's. Miriam was pacing between the kitchen and parlor rubbing her arms.

"This is just another one of their ploys," Jessop said. "I know it doesn't seem like anything is happening in your favor but Idris and I are doing all we can."

"I can't wait anymore," Miriam said. "I'm flying out of my mind! I love teaching and I don't know how to do anything else."

"You can still teach Rovy and me," Ottaline suggested from where she sat in the parlor with Wysteria and Breakfast.

"That doesn't pay," Miriam said. "We have mouths to feed and I'm one of them. I can't burden my parents. I may be a spinster but I won't be that sort of spinster. It is better if I go. Maybe they will lose some of their anger."

"Miriam, how can you give up?" Selene said. "We are the blessed twelve remember?"

"Selene is right, Miriam," Ladybird said. "Besides if they defeat you they'll just come after the rest of us."

"And where will you live?" Beatrice asked. "How far will you go from us?"

Miriam shook her head. "When Mama get's back from the doctor with Astrid I will tell her what I have decided. Years ago I remember when they first opened to school at Custardville. Miss Martin was so worried she would lose all her students. Me, I was too excited to really notice. Well now I know how she felt. The thought of potentially losing the only thing you've got..."

Jessop got up from the dining room chair. "I still say you are giving up too easy," he said.

"I know you mean well," Miriam said, "but our situation, our lives they just aren't the same." She turned her back on all of them and went into the workshop closing the door.

Selene sighed. "I'm sorry I asked you to come," she said to Jessop. "I was hoping you could help her." She turned to the door and noticed the three youngest for the first time. She opened her arms and they hurried over to her.

Heloise wouldn't let this happen. She couldn't let Miriam be separated from them on account of the hate of others.