A Proper Education: Chapter Twenty-Three

The guilt that clung to her heart for betraying Sally faded with each step, and Credence began to feel more like her old self.

Like the girl from the woods, fierce and in control of her destiny.

Destiny.

That word gave her pause. It was a word that haunted her, a reminder of Ma's promise, and the evil that threatened to take her.

How long would Credence be in the woods before she had to face it again?

What would she do now, when she knew everything about it, but nothing that might stop it?

These are worries for later, she told herself.

She would defeat the Collector when the time came, but now she had to focus on escaping the towns.

On her initial walk to the tavern, Credence had studied the entry gates. She'd watched the guards patrolling it, and saw them open and close the tall, wooden door by cranking a large mechanical wheel.

There would be no getting in or out without manipulating the wheel—unless there was a weakness somewhere in the great wall that surrounded the whole of the towns. She had yet to spy one, but Credence held hope that she would find a crack or hole in it, large enough to fit through.

How else did people like Rose run away?

If it was a common occurrence to leave the towns in secret, Credence was sure to find the way. She walked along the edge of the wall, keeping a fair enough distance so she wouldn't draw suspicion, putting on an air of taking in the sights of the towns. She wouldn't make the entire walk around the wall in a day, so she had to trust that luck would help her spot a weakness quickly.

What if she didn't? Her mind bloomed with worry and doubt.

Could magic open an escape for her?

How did the runaways leave?

Her eyes landed on the slow-moving cart of a merchant. Behind the old horses that pulled it, and the saddled rider, sat an assortment of crates and boxes.

Easy enough to hide inside of one, she thought. Is that how Rose did it? Had she found her way into one of those boxes and waited for the merchant to leave the towns?

Credence cursed herself for not questioning Rose when she had the chance, but then again, she reminded herself, how could she possibly have known?

What if she was caught climbing into the cart?

She looked at her tunic, the eye-catching white that signaled to everyone she was not allowed to leave. Credence regretted destroying the coat Sally had given her, for it would have been useful to disguise herself with. She could not risk being seen climbing into the merchant's cart, so Credence returned to her original plan of finding a hole in the wall.

Focused on her task, Credence didn't see the familiar face approaching—a boy who had spotted her a few paces ago and was now heading her way.

"Oi! Woodgirl! Hey!"

The boy began a jog towards her, but Credence hadn't heard him, and she yelped when hands grabbed her shoulders to stop her.

"Let go!" Credence yelled before turning to her assailant.

"What's wrong with you—got mud in your ears?" Gregory asked with a scowl. He lifted his hands from her shoulders, holding them up in a show of no offense meant. "I've only called you a dozen times!"

"Oh," Credence said, calming instantly. "I was distracted."

"By the wall? What, are you trying to find a way out?"

"No!" Credence huffed but her tone wasn't convincing.

"Don't do that," Gregory warned. "You know that trying to leave is an immediate black stripe."

"I wasn't trying to leave," Credence snapped. "I just...I just saw a rat is all. I was following it."

Gregory's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Trying to make friends?" He laughed at his joke. "I'm out fetching rope. Why aren't you with your family?"

"I had some free time."

Gregory's eyes grew wide. "No one's family allows free time."

"Mine does."

"Who were you given to?"

"Sally. The tavern with the green doors."

"You call your family by their names?"

"It's just the one person, and yes."

"Mm. Don't know anything about a tavern, but my family's all right. Got me working from sun's rise to its fall, though. What about you? Your family give you lots of work, too?"

Credence had little patience for chatting. She was running out of time.

"I've got a lot to do today," she huffed.

"Yeah, with all that free time."

"I can't talk to you."

"Wait," Gregory called pitifully as Credence pushed past him, "I ain't seen any of the others on work detail. Just you."

Credence raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Gregory shrugged, suddenly very sheepish. "I don't know...I wanted to talk."

Credence grunted in frustration.

"All right," she said, "but you have to keep up."

Gregory rambled endlessly about his work detail. He'd been assigned to a family of tanners, who, as Gregory explained it, lived near the biggest pool of muck in the world, and were proud of it.

"It smells awful, but they're nice, I guess."

"What kind of work do they make you do?" Credence asked, only half-listening.

"I fetch stuff for them mostly, but sometimes they let me help clean the skins."

"The skins?"

"They get them from the butcher and they put them in the muck. Did I tell you how it smells?"

"You did."

"It's awful! Think of the worst thing you've ever smelled—and even that's not half as bad. I don't know if I'll ever get it out of my nose."

"Now that you say it, you do smell a little rotten..."

"Still smell better than you. You always reek of wolf dung."

It was a harmless tease, and Gregory smiled after he said it. Credence chuckled, finding his presence, though still irksome, slightly less obnoxious.

He questioned Credence about her work detail, but she had very little to offer on the matter. She told him it was limited to sweeping and refilling drinks but said nothing about the nightly celebration of the strangely-behaved guests.

With very little given in exchange, Gregory lost interest in Credence's experience and turned back to his.

"The mum says I show promise. She said I might be allowed to take the fur off the skins on my last day. They feed me good, too. It's different from the school, at least."

They walked on while Gregory continued talking, until Credence stopped listening to him altogether.

"Hey!" Gregory stopped her.

"What?"

"Don't you agree? About the towns?"

"Agree with—what?"

Gregory's eyes narrowed. "You haven't been listening. You're too focused on the wall. Why?"

"I told you."

"Yeah, the rat." He looked at the wall. "You know, the whole time we've been walking I haven't seen any rat. Makes me think you were lying, and you're looking at the wall for something else."

"I'm not, so shut your mouth."

Gregory's face wrenched in anguish, as if the thoughts in his head were too much to handle. He huffed and puffed and kicked the ground with his shoe before hanging his chin against his chest.

"I...I like you, woodgirl," he mumbled. "But only a little." His tone was equal parts shame and hope.

Credence wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly.

"What did you say?"

Gregory lifted his head and his face was flushed red.

"Don't you go tellin' anyone I said that!" he snapped. "I'll say you're lying! But...I don't think you should get a black stripe. I don't want you to get one." His expression turned stern. "Don't try to escape."

"I'm not!"

"You'll get caught, you know."

Credence snorted but Gregory continued, "Everyone thinks they won't get caught, but they all do. Every time. You will too, and then you and your family will get black stripes, and it's off to the Chopper you'll go." He frowned. "Are they mean to you? Is that why you don't care if they die with you?"

Credence went still. "What did you say about my family?"

Gregory shrugged. "They'll get black stripes, too, when you're caught."

"The Headmaster didn't say that."

"Yeah, he did—weren't you paying attention?" He rolled his eyes. "Your mind is always miles away from where it should be."

"You're lying."

"You really need to start listening. If you get caught trying to escape while on work detail, you and your family get black stripes. You get one for trying to escape, and they get one for letting it happen under their watch. And even if you do escape—well, the family still gets a black stripe anyway."

"No."

"Work detail is serious. It's a...promise between the school and the towns. If someone loses the school's property, well, the school has to collect, don't they?"

A world of sorrow fell upon Credence. She shook her head several times, trying to make it go away.

"They don't want anyone to leave, that's why it's a rule. It's not just your own life you're risking. It's the entire family. Mum, da, even the children. All get black stripes if you run."

He studied her face.

"I think you should forget about the rat in the wall."

His tone had changed when he realized his suspicion had been right. Now he sounded afraid for Credence.

"I need to get back to work," Gregory mumbled, though it was obvious the only thing he needed to do was get away from Credence. "You should go back, too. Go to the tavern, and nowhere else."

In a move that made Credence bristle, Gregory attempted to put his arms around her for a hug. It was a painfully awkward maneuver that turned into Gregory taking Credence's elbows and squeezing them. She never imagined the boy knew how to show affection, and he was making it abundantly clear she'd been correct. He grunted something she didn't catch and turned to walk away, leaving Credence shaking from the revelation he'd just ruined her life with.

He cast one final pitying look over his shoulder.

"I'll see you at school, woodgirl. Hopefully."

***

Credence ran through the streets, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening her eyes.

Gregory was lying—he had to be, and Credence was only endangering her own life by trying to escape.

Sally was a free woman who hadn't committed any crimes. She hadn't done anything but be extraordinarily kind and wonderful.

If Gregory was telling the truth, it didn't matter if Credence failed or succeeded—Sally's life would be over and she would tremble before the Chopper.

The last thing she'd hear would be the crowd laughing at her pain.

Credence wouldn't kill Sally.

That kind of guilt could never go away, but would tear her apart.

She burst through the tavern door and found the room empty. Sally appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a rag. When she saw Credence, she smiled wide.

"Go on," Sally said excitedly, "show us what you got!"

The treats. Credence hadn't remembered to purchase them.

It wasn't enough that Credence had risked Sally's life, now there was the added shame of disappointing the woman by returning empty-handed. It was too much to bear, and Credence fell to the floor sobbing. Sally was by her side in an instant, and threw her arms around the girl.

"Did someone hurt you?" Sally asked, terror and fury combined in her voice.

Credence couldn't answer. She couldn't get a word past her tears.

She shook her head and thought with great dread, I almost killed you, Sally.

"Did they take your coins?"

Credence shook her head again and pulled the coins from her tunic pocket.

"What happened? Tell me, please!"

When Credence caught her breath she could say no more than, "It was too much...to risk..."

Understanding slowly dawned on Sally.

"Oh."

She pulled away to meet Credence's eyes. Recognition passed between them and Sally gave a short, knowing nod.

"The towns...it's too much, isn't it? You're used to living in the quiet trees." She embraced Credence once more and ran her fingers through the girl's hair. "It's all right. I understand, I understand..."

Sally didn't chastise her for failing to return with a treat, but held her and allowed Credence to weep for as long as she needed.

"I'm sorry," Credence squeaked.

"What did I tell you about being sorry, little tree?"

Still cradled in Sally's arms, Credence tried to return the coins she'd been given, but Sally refused.

"You keep those and use them when you need to."

They didn't speak another word about it, and Credence wrestled with the horrible truth she'd learned, and what it meant for her future.

I have to go back to the school. I have to do everything they tell me to do. I'm trapped in the towns for the rest of my life.

Ma used to say that love was more than a feeling. It was a power that could save lives.

Now, Credence's love for Sally was the very thing that condemned her.