Love for Sale

of the boys in the fifth and sixth grade could do it for free,“ Mrs. Tarkington said with a laugh.
    “Which grade would we be teaching?“ Lily asked.
    “Fifth and sixth. They’re together. There aren’t enough children to have a teacher for each grade.”
    Robert said, “You better get Lily to take care of the arithmetic. She’s a whiz at numbers. I’m not. And she’d be a much better grammar teacher than I would.”
    Mrs. Tarkington nodded. “That would work out for the morning, Miss Brewster. And would you take on the short deportment lessons as well?“
    “I’d be glad to. I didn’t know grade schools did that.“
    “Most don’t. But Miss Langston insisted and we’ve found it valuable. That would leave history, geography, and physical exercise for Mr. Brewster to handle.”
    Lily looked at Robert. “Right down your alley, Robert.”
    She addressed the principal. “My brother follows current and past events more studiously than I. And he’s traveled more.“
    “What about this physical exercise thing?“ Robert asked. “All I know is how to play polo.”
    Mrs. Tarkington smiled again. “We don’t have horses, or even ponies, unfortunately. But we have a lot of hockey sticks and old croquet equipment. The boys, especially, need to run off a lot of their energy before they go home. Boys that age have altogether too much and put it to bad ends sometimes. And the girls tend to sit around and gossip and giggle if they don’t have anything else to do.“
    “We’ll be paid, Robert,“ Lily put in before he could ask.

    * * *

    When Mrs. Tarkington had gone back to school, Robert asked, “Who is this teacher and why did she leave?“
    “It’s Miss Millicent Langston. You remember her, don’t you?“
    “Oh, her! The woman who came to the Fate and wanted to see the whole mansion? What a nerve. Claiming you could learn a lot about people by the surroundings they chose to live in.“
    “She tried that on you, too?“ Lily asked. “I told her I didn’t have the time to show her around. Then she asked if she could just pop inside and go to the bathroom. I guess she didn’t want to ask that of you.“
    “We should have pointed her to the woods instead of letting her in the house. Just on general principles.”
    Robert spent some of the afternoon at the town library. This was partly to visit with Miss Philomena Exley, the deliciously attractive young librarian. He needed a text on games as well. He vaguely remembered croquet but not the specific rules, and field hockey was something he knew nothing about. If he’d be teaching kids how to play, he’d better get it right. It sounded as if it were like polo without the horses. He wasn’t sure of that.
    “You’re teaching for Miss Langston? Would you see that the children’s books she’s borrowed are returned? She seems to think they’re hers to keep as long as she likes,“ Miss Exley said.
    “Will do,“ Robert said. “When I master this croquet business, would you like to play a round or two with me and my sister? Maybe on Saturday, if it’s warm enough?“
    “That would be fun. But I don’t know the rules either. When I played it with my brothers, they made up rules as they went along, so I always lost. I’ll count on you to tell us how to play.”
    Robert went back to Grace and Favor, thinking this was the first “almost“ date he’d had since late October 1929. He didn’t count the old ladies he’d squired to Broadway plays and dinners during the months between the Crash and when he and Lily moved to Grace and Favor, rich dowagers who had introduced him as a nephew instead of what he really was—a paid gigolo.
    Then he laughed at himself. What kind of date was it when you invited your sister along? And probably Mr. and Mrs. Prinney would play, as well as whichever daughters and grandchildren might be visiting on Saturday.
    But it was a start. Maybe he’d invite Miss Exley to the movie house when he received his first payment for teaching.
    He wondered what kind of movies a smart, well-read woman like that would like.

Chapter 3

    The next morning, Lily showed up at school extremely early. Mrs. Tarkington was the only other person in the building. “Let me show you the room you’ll be using, Miss Brewster.“
    “How many are in this class?“ Lily asked as the principal showed her the way.
    “Fifth grade has two girls and four boys. Sixth grade has two girls and six boys.“
    “What accounts for the