She paused. Was she in the right place? It looked way older than the rest of the school. It had a dank, musty smell, like no one had opened a window in years. Actually, there were no windows at all. Just flickering light bulbs and the occasional security camera. The ceiling was held up with wooden beams that hung so low a tall person might have to duck.
The hallway meandered a long way. The sound of voices echoed around a corner, and they finally led her to the Howard Room. She shoved the heavy door open and blinked. This was no ordinary classroom. It was a perfect circle lined with round benches. A steep stone staircase led down to a scuffed platform where a teacher might give lectures. It was like being at one of those old colleges—like Harvard or Yale. Emmy swallowed hard. Even the classroom felt way over her head.
She slid into a bench at the back, and someone cleared her throat. “You’re in my seat.”
Emmy turned around. Victoria was sneering at her, along with another girl who smirked like a cat that had seen a mouse.
“Sorry.” Emmy picked up her bag. “I didn’t know these seats were assigned.”
“They’re not.” A man strode into the room carrying a stack of books and papers. “And as such, I’m sure Miss Stuart-Bevington would be more than happy to find her own seat rather than usurping someone else’s.”
Victoria flashed a tight smile, like she was supposed to be happy about eating lima beans. Emmy cringed. She would pay for this later.
“Uh, that’s okay, I don’t mind,” Emmy said, “I’ll just—”
“Miss Stuart-Bevington and Miss Gray could do with a change of scenery,” the man said. “I think their recent quiz results suggest that a trip to the front row would do them a world of good.”
Victoria pressed her lips together. “No problem,” she said in an ultrasweet voice. “Come on, Arabella.” The two girls grumbled all the way down to the front row.
“You must be Emmeline,” the man said.
“It’s Emmy.”
“Nice to meet you, Emmy. I’m John Barlowe. I assume you’ve never taken a humanities class before?”
Emmy shook her head.
“Not to worry, we’ll get you sorted out.”
He turned and stepped lightly down the steps to the platform below. Lola and Jack came racing through the door and squeezed next to Emmy just as the second bell rang.
“Nicely done,” Lola commended. “How’d you get the harpies out of the back row?”
“Very brave for your second day,” Jack leaned closer and whispered, “I wouldn’t have had the guts.”
“All right, let’s get started.” Master Barlowe didn’t have to say it very loudly. His voice bounced off the old wood and stone like it was magnified by magic.
“Now that we’ve finished our introductory unit, we can start delving into British history and culture. In your first two years, you should have covered the Roman period, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Plantagenets. Today we start examining the Tudor period.”
Emmy stifled a groan. She didn’t even know who the Plant-ee-geniuses were, let alone how they fit into British history.
“I should warn you,” Master Barlowe continued, “the Tudor period is not for the faint of heart. It was marked by intrigue, betrayal, and terrible violence. Monarchs were assassinated, people were murdered because of their religions, and women had absolutely no legal rights. And yet, at the same time, public education was born and some of the most beautiful pieces of English literature were penned.”
Emmy sat up a little straighter. She was used to spending history lessons memorizing names and dates, but Barlowe made it sound like this class might be interesting.
“It was a time of great contradiction, and as you will see, many of the most important things that happened were carried out in secret. Secret marriages, secret alliances, and secret plots that led to the undoing of Britain’s most powerful men and women.”
Emmy shifted in her seat. Something about what Barlowe was saying didn’t make sense, but it was only her first day. If she asked a question, she’d probably just look stupid.
“Why are you all wiggly?” Lola hissed. “Do you have to use the loo or something?”
Emmy just about choked. “No! I just…it’s nothing. I just had a question.”
“So, ask it.”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“I—”
“Is there something you ladies wish to add?”
Emmy sank low into the bench. Barlowe was looking straight at her and Lola.
Lola smirked. “Emmy has a question.”
Emmy groaned. Maybe being friends with Lola wasn’t such a good idea.
“Yes, Miss Willick?”
Emmy cleared her throat. “I was just wondering—”
“I’m sorry, Master Barlowe,” Victoria interrupted, “I can’t hear her down here. Can you get her to talk louder please?”
Victoria’s friend smothered a giggle. Victoria was just trying to make Emmy even more uncomfortable.
Emmy tucked her hair behind her ear. Jeez, why does she hate me so much? She doesn’t even know me.
Master Barlowe smiled. “Miss Willick, could you speak up a little?”
Emmy nodded. “I was just wondering about how you said women had no legal rights.”
“That’s correct.”
“But then you said there were powerful women. How could women be powerful if they had no legal rights?”
Master Barlowe folded his hands behind his back and walked a few paces. “That is a very interesting question. It is true that women had few legal rights during the Tudor period. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t influence the men who did have legal rights. Have any of you heard of Anne Boleyn?”
Nobody said anything. Emmy had heard the name before, but she didn’t know where.
Lola put her hand in the air. “She was a queen who got her head hacked off.”
Emmy winced. Lola definitely had a way with words.
“Succinctly put,” Barlowe said. “Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry the Eighth, and yes, she was beheaded. Beheadings are a common theme of the Tudor period. But it is her life, rather than her death, that we are interested in. As a woman, she had no legal rights in Britain. However, the events surrounding her life literally changed the course of history.
“As influential as she was, much of her life was carried out in secret. She secretly married King Henry while he was technically married to another woman. She secretly tried to influence the king’s closest advisers. And because of her influence, people secretly plotted to have her tried and convicted of treason for a crime she did not commit.”