Sofia felt guilty for everything her brother had done. She thought she should have anticipated it, after all, she knew him well, and he usually never had good intentions.
Once at the Scott's house, the girl repeated her promise.
"Since you've lost almost all your mother's jewelry because of my brother, except for this necklace, I promise I will be a worthy maid..."
"You don't have to offer to be a maid," Edgar interrupted her.
"But it's the least I can do to repay the debt."
"It's not necessary, really. You should focus on your studies to pass the entrance exam for the faculty."
"That's true," the girl nodded.
"Think first about your goals."
Edgar smiled at her, but the girl didn't return it.
"So you won't mock me anymore for studying medicine?" she said.
"You have noble intentions," Edgar explained. "You want to help others. If you ever become a doctor, your patients will be lucky."
"Would you let me treat you? A woman?" Sofia asked, astonished.
"You are first and foremost a human being, before being a woman," Edgar said. "And besides, you would be a professional, so yes, I would let you treat me if it were necessary."
"Thank you. It pleases me very much to hear those words."
"But you're not a doctor yet," Edgar chuckled, raising his finger. "So, go on, go study!"
Sofia smiled at him and went upstairs to her room. However, in the middle of the hallway, she saw Nanny's door slightly ajar. She stopped and knocked.
"Nanny, are you okay?" she asked the grandmother, who was looking out the window, deep in thought. Nanny pulled her gaze away from the garden beyond the glass and turned to Sofia. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"Grandma, why are you crying?"
"For Johnny," the old woman explained. "For his damned soul. I think sooner or later one of his creditors will kill him."
"Oh, Nanny, don't say that," Sofia said, moving closer. She wiped the tears from her face and hugged her. "Johnny is a very clever boy, and he knows how to cover his tracks."
"But you found him right away."
"Only because he didn't expect me to come looking for him," Sofia explained.
"He was at Mika's, wasn't he?"
"Yes," the girl nodded.
"Mika is a good person, but the work she does... I feel so sorry for her."
"I do too."
"I really wish Johnny would come here so I could give him a piece of my mind!"
"But Johnny will come here," Sofia said. "He has to return the Scott's carriage."
"Good, as soon as he gets here, I'll talk to him. I really want to slap him."
The girl smiled and said nothing more. She loved her grandmother infinitely. The two of them were almost never in disagreement. Sofia, too, wanted to slap Johnny, but first, she needed to study, so she sat down with her books.