Elspeth Starkenburg's Arc

Chapter 8 of 10

Apple slept fine now. The reed post kept her claws happy at night. But mornings turned bad. Each dawn the cat woke restless, then paced and cried all day in the barn while Elspeth sat in school. Heinrich said a barn was no place for a bored cat. Elspeth knew she had no warm daytime spot for her. She lay awake worrying. The barn had mice, but no lap. No soft voice. She thought Apple might grow tired of waiting and wander off for good. So Elspeth made a plan she knew was wrong. That morning she told Amalia she had put Apple back in the barn. She had not. She slid the cat into her leather satchel, tucked a rag under her, and buckled the flap loose so air could reach in. Apple stayed quiet against the soft lining. Elspeth carried the bag to the schoolhouse and set it under her bench. If Apple could not be alone, then Apple would come with her. Agnes noticed first. She sat two seats over, the carpenter's daughter with light brown hair to her cheeks. She never missed a thing. She leaned down and looked into the gap of the flap. "There's a cat in your bag," she said, flat, not loud. She did not gasp. She just reached in and let Apple sniff her fingers. "She's soft. My father would say she'll shed on everything." A small smile cracked her calm face. The two girls bent low over the satchel. Elspeth stroked Apple's white fur. Agnes scratched behind the cat's ear and Apple leaned into it. For a while nobody paced and nobody cried. Elspeth forgot the lesson entirely. She forgot the room. She only saw the cat's happy eyes and Agnes grinning beside her. Then the room went still. Elspeth looked up. Cecilia stood over the bench, the pink rose in her chestnut hair, her arms folded. She was the teacher who took Elspeth in each day while Amalia worked. She had helped build a scratching post once. Now her sleepy eyes were sharp. "Elspeth," Cecilia said. "Both of you have missed the whole lesson." She looked into the bag and sighed. "A cat does not belong in a schoolhouse." She crouched down. "I know why you did it. But this is not the place for her. She could bolt out the door and be gone." Elspeth's face burned. "She's lonely all day. She cries in the barn." Cecilia was quiet a moment. "Then we need a real answer, not a satchel." She stood. "Take her home after school. Tell Amalia the truth. And ask her what warm place the cat can have while you're gone." Elspeth buckled the flap. The plan was over. But now she had a new task, and it was bigger than a bag. She had to make a real daytime home for Apple, or lose her.