Джеффри Арчер - The Prodigal Daughter

After a Thursday morning of Latin and a light lunch together in the kitchen, Miss Tredgold said goodbye to Florentyna and retired to her room. As two o’clock struck she opened the front door of the house and headed off down the street carrying a large canvas bag. Florentyna watched her carefully through her bedroom window. Once Miss Tredgold had turned the corner of Rigg Street, Florentyna dashed out and ran all the way down to the Inner Drive. She peered around to see her mentor waiting at a bus stop on Michigan Avenue. She could feel her heart beating at the thought of not being able to follow Miss Tredgold any farther. Within minutes she watched a bus draw up and come to a halt. She was about to turn back for home when she noticed Miss Tredgold disappear up the circular staircase of the double-decker. Without hesitation, Florentyna ran and jumped onto the moving platform, then quickly made her way to the front of the bus.

When the ticket collector asked her where she was going, Florentyna suddenly realized she had no idea of her destination.

‘How far do you go?’ she asked.

The collector looked at her suspiciously. ‘The Loop,’ he replied.

‘One single for The Loop, then,’ Florentyna said confidently.

‘That’ll be fifteen cents,’ said the conductor.

Florentyna fumbled in her jacket pocket to discover she had only ten cents.

‘How far can I go for ten cents?’

‘Rylands School’ came back the reply.

Florentyna passed over the money, praying that Miss Tredgold would reach her destination before she would have to get off, while not giving any thought to how she would make the return journey.

She sat low in her seat and watched carefully each time the bus came to a halt along the lake front, but even after she had counted twelve stops and passed the University of Chicago, Miss Tredgold still did not appear.

‘Your stop is next,’ the conductor said a few minutes later.

When the bus next came to a halt, Florentyna knew she was beaten. She stepped down reluctantly onto the sidewalk thinking about the long walk home and determined that the following week she would have enough money to cover the journey both ways.

She stood unhappily watching the bus as it traveled a few hundred yards farther down the street before coming to a stop once more. A figure stepped out into the road which could only have been Miss Tredgold. She disappeared down a side street, looking as if she knew exactly where she was going.

Florentyna ran as hard as she could, but when she reached the corner, breathless, there was no sign of Miss Tredgold. Florentyna walked slowly down the street wondering where her governess could have gone. Perhaps into one of the houses, or might she have taken another side street? Florentyna decided she would walk to the end of the block and if she failed to spot her quarry then, she would have to make her way home.

Just at the point when she was considering turning back she came into an opening that faced a large white archway on which ‘South Shore Country Club’ was embossed in gold.

Florentyna didn’t think for a minute that Miss Tredgold could be inside, but out of curiosity she peered through the gates.

‘What do you want?’ said a uniformed guard standing on the other side.

‘I was looking for my governess,’ said Florentyna.

‘What’s her name?’

‘Miss Tredgold,’ Florentyna said unflinchingly.

‘She’s already gone into the clubhouse,’ said the guard, pointing toward a Victorian building surrounded by trees about a quarter of a mile up a steep rise.

Florentyna marched boldly through, without another word, staying on the path because ‘Keep off the grass’ signs were displayed every few yards. She kept her eye on the clubhouse and had ample time to leap behind a tree when she saw Miss Tredgold emerge. She hardly recognized the lady dressed in red-and-yellow-checked tweed trousers, a heavy Fair Isle sweater and heavy brown brogues. A bag of golf clubs was slung comfortably over one shoulder.

Florentyna stared at her governess, mesmerized.

Miss Tredgold walked toward the first tee, where she put down her bag and took out a ball. She placed it on a tee at her feet and selected a club from her bag. After a few practice swings she steadied herself, addressed the ball and hit it firmly down the middle of the fairway. Florentyna couldn’t believe her eyes. She wanted to applaud but instead ran forward to hide behind another tree as Miss Tredgold marched off down the fairway.

Miss Tredgold’s second shot landed only twenty yards from the edge of the green. Florentyna ran forward to a clump of trees at the side of the fairway and watched Miss Tredgold chip her ball up onto the green and hole it out with two putts. Florentyna was left in no doubt that Miss Tredgold had been playing the game for some considerable time.

Miss Tredgold then removed a small white card from her pocket and wrote on it, before heading toward the second tee. As she did so she gazed toward the second green, which was to the left of where Florentyna was hidden. Once again Miss Tredgold steadied herself, addressed the ball and swung, but this time she sliced her shot and the ball ended up only fifteen yards from Florentyna’s hiding place.

Florentyna looked up at the trees, but they had not been made for climbing other than by a cat. She held her breath and crouched behind the widest trunk, but could not resist watching Miss Tredgold as she studied the lie of her ball. Miss Tredgold muttered something inaudible and then selected a club. Florentyna let out her breath as Miss Tredgold swung. The ball climbed high and straight before landing in the middle of the fairway again.

Florentyna watched Miss Tredgold replace her club in the bag.

‘I should have kept a straighter arm on the first shot and then we would never have met.’

Florentyna assumed Miss Tredgold was admonishing herself yet again and remained behind the tree.

‘Come here, child.’ Florentyna obediently ran out but said nothing.

Miss Tredgold took another ball from the side pocket of her bag and placed it on the ground in front of her. She selected a club and handed it to her charge.

‘Try to hit the ball in that direction,’ she said pointing toward a flag about a hundred yards away.

Florentyna held the club awkwardly before taking several swings at the ball, on each occasion digging up what Miss Tredgold called a ‘divot.’ At last she managed to push it twenty yards toward the fairway. She beamed with pleasure.

‘I see we are in for a long afternoon,’ declared Miss Tredgold resignedly.

‘I am sorry,’ said Florentyna. ‘Can you ever forgive me?’

‘For following me, yes. But for the state of your golf, no. We shall have to start with the basics, as it seems in the future I am no longer to have Thursday afternoons to myself, now you have discovered my father’s only sin.’

Miss Tredgold taught Florentyna how to play golf with the same energy and application as if it were Latin or Greek. By the end of the summer holiday Florentyna’s favorite afternoon was Thursday.

Upper School was very different from Middle School. There was a new teacher for every subject rather than one teacher for everything but gym and art. The pupils moved from room to room for their classes, and for many of the activities the girls joined forces with the boys’ school. Florentyna’s favorite subjects were current affairs, Latin, French and English, although she couldn’t wait for her twice-weekly biology classes, because they gave her the chance to use a microscope and admire the school’s collection of bugs.

‘Insects, dear child. You must refer to the little creatures as insects,’ Miss Tredgold insisted.

‘Actually, Miss Tredgold, they’re nematodes.’