A new home

Miss Bradford's school for young ladies

"Do you think they will like me?" Alisa played with the ties on her hat nervously as we drove by in the automobile we had rented.

It was much too far to walk to the school and Andrey had insisted that if we wanted to make a good first impression arriving in an automobile was the first step.

Alisa was dressed like a  china doll. Her brown hair done up in ribbons and the soft blue dress making her look lovely. Nervous brown eyes looked out of the window and her face was so pale it looked like all the color had been drained out of her.

"It's alright. You will be fine just take a deep breath and be yourself. Everyone will love you and you will pass that test with flying colors." I patted her knee and gave her a small smile but it didn't seem to help.

"We're here!" She stood up before the driver had stopped and when he did it sent her flying with a jolt right back into her seat.

We stepped out and faced the school in awe. It was a large brick building probably in New York for years. There was even a greeter at the door.

"Can I help you?" The greeter asked as we walked up the large steps toward the door.

"Yes we are here to see the headmistress? How would we find her?" I tried my best to sound confident and not like a young child.

"Yes of course. Just enter through the doors and you will find a maid not far away. Just tell her who you are and she will know immediately where to take you."

"Thank you very much." I said giving him a warm smile and walked through the doors.

Alisa was oddly quiet and it made me chuckle inside. She must be impressed if she was silent.

I found a maid dressed in a light blue dress and a white apron. "Excuse me my name is Annika Antonova and I am here to see the headmistress about Alisa?"

The maid looked me up and down. "Yes we've been expecting you Mrs. Antonova. Right this way."

My heels clicked on the marble floor making me feel awkward. It was just like when I had first gotten to the ballet. I felt lost and extremely small. I couldn't imagine how poor Alisa felt.

We walked through a hallway adorned with portriats of former headmistresses and girls that had graduated. It felt like I was walking through a palace. At the end of the hall we came to a large oak door and the maid knocked twice.

"Come in." I heard a woman answer.

"Miss Wattford? Mrs. Antonova and her daughter are here to see you."

I wanted to tell them Alisa was my sister not my daughter but I felt if I spoke I would imediately be judged.

"I must say Mrs.Antonova you look so young to be the mother of a 9 year old girl." Miss Wattford's gray eyes looked at me. They weren't cold but they weren't warm either. It was sort of in between.

"Oh she's not my daughter Miss Wattford. She's my adopted sister." I didn't bother to mention it wasn't really official.

"Ah I see...well we rarely take in orphans."

"I beg your pardon Miss Wattford but Alisa is far from being an orphan. She lived with my husband and I and our niece."

I could have sworn I saw a small smile cross the glass face. "Yes your very right Mrs. Antonova. I will take Alisa into the study room for now to take a test. If she passes we will discuss her education here at the school."

Alisa shot me a frightened look as she followed Miss Wattford out the small door to the right into an empty room.

The wait was driving me insane. My handkerchief was starting to fall apart from twisting it so many times and my tongue was numb from when I had bit it too hard. Then finally the door opened. Both Alisa and Miss Wattford's face was void of emotion so I couldn't tell how she had done.

Alisa sat back down in the chair next to me and faced the head mistress.

"I must say Alisa's test scored are amazingly high. Did she go to a formal school in Russia?"

"No not that I know of. When my sister and I took her in we were living at  a ballet. She was schooled of course the head of the ballet. I can't imagine she went to a formal school before then. She was only 6 when we took her in."

"Well then the head of your ballet must have been a amazing women because this child is going to be one of our best pupils. I can tell already." This time the smile was so wide no one could have missed it. I saw Alisa's eyes sparkle next to me.

"Her classes here will be the same as any school. Although she will have added classes in the training of a young lady. She will learn how to sew,cook,dance,speak french,and of course the rules of a proper courtship. She will learn how to breath,eat and sleep like a lady and at the end of her schooling here there will be a ball given for the young lady's to meet suitable suitors."

It was all said so fast my head spun. "It all sounds very lovely and I am sure Alisa will be very happy here. "

"I hope she will be. Of course she will have to keep high academic scores as well as in her other classes. She will arrive at the school at 7 am and leave at 4:30 pm no earlier and no later. Tea and Luncheon will be served at the school and will be a sort of dining class for the young ladies. She will have a school uniform which will be provided today.  She starts tomorrow morning and her tuition is due the first of every month. Seeing as it is already the first week in the month I will allow her to have free tuition until next month." She rang a small bell on her desk before continuing.

"She will need proper ballet attire,dancing shoes for learning ballroom dances and a ball gown so she can learn how to properly dance in one. Her books will be provided to her tomorrow morning and every Wednesday and Friday there will be riding lessons as long as the weather permits it. She will learn how to ride side saddle. Riding gear is provided at the school so please bring in her measurement's tomorrow morning. You will need black shoes for her and any color ribbons for her hair will do. "

She stood up as the maid from the hallway entered the room.

"Alice please see to it that Mrs Antonova has the young girls uniform please and see her to her car. I am very pleased to have met you Mrs. Antonova and you as well young lady. Please send word to Bridget that Inga is doing wonderfully here and we are very glad to have her as a pupil."

I nodded exiting the room with Alice feeling very much like a maid myself. I waved good-bye as Alisa and I got into the car and took in a deep breath trying to take it all in. My Alisa was going to one of the best schools in New York....it was all too exciting!

"Driver please take us to Mrs. Quinns dress store please and then pick us up at the dance store down the street at two please." It was only 8 in the morning now but I knew it would take a while to get Alisa's things.

"Of course Madame."

I looked at the little girl beside me. She really wasn't a little girl anymore. She was growing up so fast and I wished sometimes I could just stop her for a little while before she got too old. Then I remembered Natya and realized it would only be 4 years before she went to Miss Bradford's school herself.

It was hard to imagine both Alisa and Natya in ballgowns dancing the waltz with future suitors. Some girls had started to cut their hair short just below their ears. It had been shocking to me and I wondered would Alisa do the same thing? Would she come home one day her long beautiful brown hair gone? 

No surely the short hair on girls was just a passing phase. Nobody would have done that in Russia. I couldn't see it lasting too long. I had no clue that short hair was just the short of the amazing yet confusing roaring twenties yet to come.

Hey there everyone! Sorry the chapter is so short and late in coming but I've been super busy! I promise the next chapter will be much longer!

Giselle