The song ended and the piano player launched into a rollicking version of “My Grandfather’s Clock,” sending everyone’s feet tapping. Maud saw the giant expanse of polished dance floor in front of her and swirled right out into the middle of it, twirling so that the yellow skirts billowed out around her. She spun until she started to feel so dizzy that she staggered to a stop. As the room swam back into view, she saw Josie standing before her. Maud tugged on her new friend’s hand.
“Come on,” Maud said. “Come dance with me.” Josie’s face was pale, and her mouth looked carefully arranged to appear completely neutral—just her eyes, normally merry, betrayed her sense of alarm. Only then did Maud notice that the music had stopped and that all eyes were upon her. She caught sight of Teddy Swain, still standing alongside the piano, a slight smile curling his lips. This was not the time to show embarrassment. That was a lesson the taunting neighborhood boys had taught her well. So, she laughed and did another twirl. She heard a smattering of applause, and saw that Teddy Swain and some of the other boys were clapping. Turning toward them, she curtsied low. Some of the girls looked away with pained expressions; others tittered behind their hands.
“That one’s lively!” a young man commented.
Josie came to Maud’s rescue, locking arms with her and marching her out of the common room and down the long polished hallway, until they stopped outside the library, where no one was about.
“Miss Gage. What were you thinking? Would it not be prudent to start your introduction to society here a bit…well, more sedately?”
Maud was stung that her brand-new friend was criticizing her, but she could plainly see that Josie’s expression was kind.
“We have a way of doing things here,” Josie continued. “We girls come in for so much attention—you have no idea. You might avoid bringing attention to yourself.”
“But I wasn’t trying to bring attention to myself,” Maud said, puzzled. “I heard the music, I saw the dance floor, and my heart was just full to bursting with the excitement of it all.” She looked curiously at Josie. “Aren’t you excited to be here? Oh, I mean, I know this is your second year, but we are away from home and on our own…”
Josie laid her hand on Maud’s forearm. “You are away from home. Away from the guiding attention of those who love you. But, Miss Gage, if you wouldn’t twirl like that in your own parlor, in front of your own mother and father, pray why would you choose to do it here?”
Maud stared at Josie, still confused. “Why would I not twirl in front of my own mother and father? Why, I’ve twirled around my own parlor more times than I can count. Is there a rule against twirling…?” Maud peered at her friend. “Are you a cranky old Methodist?”
Josie’s expression softened. She looked as if she was struggling not to burst out laughing.
“I’m not a cranky old Methodist,” Josie whispered. “I’m not cranky. I’m not old. I’m not even a Methodist,” she said. “I love dancing. But there is a time and a place for everything…and dancing is fine when others are dancing and you have been asked…”
“You need to be asked to dance?” Maud asked.
“You know, you are a most unusual person.”
Maud’s face crumpled. “I don’t try to be unusual. I don’t feel unusual. But no one has ever suggested to me that it might not be a good idea to dance when you have a dance floor in front of you and someone is playing the piano.”
“Well, let me tell you something,” Josie whispered. “Here at Sage, you might want to watch the other girls and see what they are doing, and try not to call too much attention to yourself.”
Maud frowned. “I’m going to try to learn. It is very important that I acquit myself well here.”
Josie patted her new friend on the arm. “Here are a few rules I suggest that you follow. When the gentlemen are about, don’t bring up any subjects to talk about. Let them lead the conversation. If there is an awkward pause, in a pinch, you can comment on the weather.”
“But why would I do that?” Maud asked.
“You truly don’t know?” Josie said.
Maud shook her head.
“I can see that you have a lot to learn.”
“Will you teach me?” Maud asked. “I don’t mean to seem unusual.”
“Have you seen the aspidistra plants, one in each corner of the common rooms?”
Maud nodded.
“You see how they stand in the corners, and you don’t really notice them?”
“Yes…”
“That is how you want to act. If someone looks at you, they will admire your shiny green leaves and the erect way you hold yourself, but if someone is not looking at you, they might forget that you are there.”
“You want me to emulate the behavior of a potted plant?” Maud said.
“I think a potted plant would be a good place to start,” Josie said.
“And should I hop about?” Maud asked, hitching up her skirts and bunny-hopping down the corridor. “Because it will be most difficult to walk normally if both of my feet are planted in a pot.”
At that, Josie hitched up her skirts and the two of them proceeded to hop down the empty hallway toward the dining room, their laughter ringing out.
As they reached the far end, they almost hopped right into Teddy Swain. Somehow, in a miracle of quick transformation, Josie managed to drop her skirts and reassemble her face into an expression of quiet repose, but Maud forgot to let go of her skirts and exclaimed, “Oh!”
The gentleman bowed gracefully, though Maud could see that he did so partly to hide the smile on his face.
“May I make the honor of your friend’s acquaintance, Miss Baum?”
Maud, coming to her senses, let go of her skirts, smoothing them under her palms, which suddenly felt sweaty, as she looked up into the hazel eyes of Teddy Swain.
“Miss Maud Gage, may I introduce Mr. Theodore Swain.”
“How do you do,” Maud replied, aggravated when she heard a small squeak in her voice. She must get hold of herself.
Teddy Swain nodded. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Gage. Are you by any chance one of the Fayetteville Gages? My uncle’s family has spoken of a family of that name.”
“Yes,” Maud said, smiling. “My father is Henry Gage. And who is your uncle?”
“We are related to the Marvel family, on my mother’s side. Pastor Marvel is my mother’s brother.”
Maud couldn’t believe it. Of all the luck that she should arrive in Ithaca to be reminded of her former tormentor. But she didn’t want to let on how she felt. She thought of the potted plants and tried as best she could to emulate their expression.
“Well, I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said. Teddy Swain tipped his head and held the door open for Maud and Josie to pass into the dining room.
“He’s so handsome,” Maud whispered to Josie, after they were seated.
“He’s a big man on campus,” Josie said. “President of the student body. He makes quite an impression on all of the girls.”
* * *
—
AS THE WEEKS PASSED, Maud began to settle into her new life. When she walked across campus, such a wide swath of the world was in view—august brick and stone buildings crowned the top of a large hill. In the distance, she could see the rooftops of the buildings in the village of Ithaca spread out below them, the multihued autumn trees, the wide dish of the valley. The campus’s broad green lawns were crisscrossed by pathways crowded with students. But as Maud hurried from building to building with her books tucked under her arm, she could not miss how much easier things were for the young male students. They controlled all of the school’s institutions—the newspapers and social clubs, the sporting activities and academic groups. They clustered noisily outside the buildings, calling out to the girls as they passed. After nightfall, the girls rarely ventured outside, but they could hear the young men carousing freely across the campus’s dark expanses.
The days grew shorter and colder, the sky was brilliant blue, and the red, yellow, and gold leaves brightened the campus quadrangle. Maud had not made much progress in behaving like an aspidistra. She introduced topics of conversation when young men were present. She never mentioned the weather, and she thought nothing of interrupting her male classmates in class discussions, which always caused the line of female heads (the coeds always sat in the front row) to turn and pivot toward her as if she were a squirrel and they were a line of eager hunting dogs. She had not yet had the opportunity to speak again to Teddy Swain, although she sometimes imagined that he was looking at her, and she always felt a blush form at the base of her neck as she quickly glanced away. She noticed that groups of boys sometimes stared and whispered behind their hands when she passed, but Maud tried not to let that bother her.
But one day, Maud tarried too long in the library and did not notice that it was time to leave for her botany class. She rushed pell-mell across the campus, pushed through the classroom door, and winced as it banged shut behind her. Maud could feel her bun pulling loose, and when she reached up to smooth her hair, her Latin book slipped out of her grasp and landed with a loud thwack, skidding along the polished floor in front of her.