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filii..."
Abell seemed to be getting sidetracked into forests of grammar and philosophy. His future pupil soon
brought him back to the true path, though.
"It doesn't matter whether its filli or fratis or even Philip orFrederick , since I'll never learn the difference
unless we convince him! But I think we have the right idea. Convince him that in Grantville a daughter is
as good as a son and that in time here will be likewise."
She looked around and, taking a deep breath to calm herself, walked over to the kegs and the man
sitting beside them. At first sight he bore little resemblance to his daughter, but a closer glance shaved off
about thirty years and considerably more pounds and showed the relationship. Red hair had darkened to
brown and a hard life had roughened and thickened the features. But the nose was the same: a bit too
large for beauty but not disfiguring.
"Pa, can you come over here? I'd like you to meet Master Abell."
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"I was wondering whether you would want to let me meet your new lad. Seems a bit young for you,
mind."
"Pa, he's a fellow commoner at the college, just arrived this week. He's got a proposal for you."
The two of them returned to Abell.
"So, my daughter says you arrived here this week and already you're proposing to my daughter? I knew
fellow-commoners were better than sizars or pensioners, but that's fast work. Might even be a record
were I minded to accept. A record for the brevity of your life as a student, that is. You do know that the
king and the chancellor do not permit undergraduates to marry and especially not to townsfolk?"
Abell went bright red. But Bess, being more used to her parent's often crude sense of humor, just raised
her eyes to the heavens."'Tis nothing of the sort. He is a both a scholar and a gentleman. Sit down and
restrain your attempts at wit. Abell, this is my father Mark Chapman; Pa, this is Richard Abell, fellow
commoner at Magdalene."
She paused while they shook hands. "His father is a merchant who trades with the Baltic and of course
he hears all the news from there. When he first came here on Wednesday, he was telling us all about that
new place Grantville and how different it is. Anyway, we got into an argument about women because in
Grantville the women are treated no different from the men. The girls can go to school or university just
like their brothers can and they can own their own property and one of their rulers is a woman and..."
"So, let me guess. You have somehow trapped this poor boy into promising to make a little Grantville
here a utopianGrantaVillage as it were. And I further guess that you wish to be the first female resident
ofGrantaVillage ?A place where you won't have to work all day in a tavern."
Mark Chapman may have looked a stolid dull-witted person.But, as the prosperous tavern itself
testified, there was quite a brain tucked behind that dull exterior a brain that, moreover, had
experienced his daughters wheedling ways for some eighteen years. Sometimes his daughter had a
tendency to overlook that and try to be too devious. But she recovered quickly, showing that she had
also inherited those quick wits.
"That's not quite true. We were arguing about whether women could really learn anything and I said the
only way to find out was to try it and Abell said that he'd be happy to try and teach me. Today we were
discussing how we should do it and then we thought we'd best beg your permission. But I don't want to
stop working in the tavern, or even work less; I just want to rearrange things a bit. If I can swap a couple
of chores with Margaret I can find some free time in the mornings on my own and most afternoons are
free anyway so I can take an hour or two then to be taught by Abell. Think of it! You'll be getting an
educated daughter who can look after you properly in your old age."
"I fear I may be getting a daughter who is never satisfied with her station in life, but then I suppose I have
already got that. If I grant permission, at least you'll not be bitter with me. Now then, sir, what do you
intend to teach this child of mine and how much do you expect to receive as payment?"
"Latin.Latin and grammar, at first.And probably arithmetic and geometry as well.Ah, but I hadn't thought
about payment. I wasn't expecting any except maybe the odd tankard of ale. Ummmm, we do need to
have somewhere private as a classroom, if that's possible."
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