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By Root 536 0

Liddicote personally accompanying Maisie along a path referred to as “a Meditation on St. Francis.” The path led into woodland and snaked around a stream before emerging close to the opposite side of the property. At points along the way, stones were set into the ground, or hung on a tree, or perhaps placed alongside a wooden seat, each engraved with several lines from the Prayer of St. Francis. On a bench adjacent to a stone etched with the words “to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love,” Liddicote sat with Maisie, questioning her further on matters of philosophy, before escorting her back to his secretary’s office, where Miss Linden informed him that he was now running far behind schedule. Liddicote appeared unfazed by his tardiness and smiled as he introduced his secretary as if the women had never met, though Maisie suspected he was diffusing the young woman’s anxiety with humor.

“Miss Dobbs, this is my secretary, Miss Rosemary Linden, without whom the wheels of learning would doubtless grind to a halt and there would not be a pencil or chalk to be found—and, more to the point, our staff would never know where to go or which class they were teaching.”

Maisie smiled and extended a hand to Rosemary Linden, who offered the hint of a smile in return and barely grazed Maisie’s fingers by way of a handshake.

“Miss Linden, I would like Miss Dobbs to meet Dr. Thomas and Dr. Roth.”

The woman nodded. “Yes, of course, Dr. Liddicote. I’ll summon them to the library meeting room; that would probably be the best place for them to see Miss Dobbs.” She handed him a folder. “Mr. Shepherd, your second interview. Dr. Poole will be your third.”

Miss Linden turned to Maisie. “Let me take you to the meeting room, then I’ll find Dr. Thomas and Dr. Roth.”

With the College of St. Francis already in session, students walking to and from their classes now filled the previously empty corridors. Maisie could see where the house had been altered here and there to accommodate the needs of a learning institution, but thought it still seemed to bear the mark of an intimidating family home designed to be cool in the summer and warm in winter. Sandstone walls were adorned with tapestries, landscapes of the local countryside, and portraits of the masters of knowledge—she suspected the latter had been commissioned especially for the school, as they all appeared to be of the same recent vintage. Maisie took the opportunity to ask a few questions that she had not put to Liddicote.

“Where do the students live, Miss Linden?”

“Those in their first year here live in the dorms over in the east wing. We are a small college, but there are about fifty new students each year—they study at St. Francis for between one and three years.”

“So, I take it that after the first year they move into lodgings.”

“We have a roster of landladies who meet our standards at boarding houses around the city.”

“That must be difficult, when one considers the great number of students here in Cambridge.”

Linden led the way up a broad staircase with a grand banister that curved from top to bottom; at both ends the wood had been carved into a globe cradled in two hands. “Our students have a good reputation among the landladies, we administer all rents, and we pay well, so accommodation problems are rarely encountered.” She took out a set of keys as they came alongside a door adjacent to the library. “Here we are. Please make yourself comfortable while I find Drs. Thomas and Roth.”

The young woman closed the door behind her before Maisie could thank her. Had she not already known something of the property’s history, Maisie might have thought the architecture was Elizabethan. Dark wood panels flanked the walls, with a square diamond-paned bay window looking out onto the grounds. A wooden table was situated in the center of the room and could easily have done justice to a medieval banquet, though the leather blotter at each place marked it as a table where the school’s business was discussed. Armchairs were clustered around the edge of the room, and above the