Summary: Alfred Ashford's first week at boarding school.
During the first week of probation, while his classmates were busy getting acquainted with the school's facilities, the uniforms, the nets between the three houses, and memorising the initials of all the school's staff, Alfred was forced to lead a double life.
From half past six in the morning until seven in the evening, Alfred went about his business like any other student. In the dormitory on the first day, he endured the tears of longing for home and family from his roommates, while he himself took refuge in the bathroom to stifle them. From the second, he learned that none of them were from his class, and none of them were Scottish. Bryson, an eight-year-old southern Englishman, shared his accent and boasted of his wealth. Alfred, remembering the advice of his relatives, refused to reveal his true origins. He told how his ancestor, Veronica Ashford, a UK's peer, had founded his house in the 19th century and been one of the leading industrialists and intellectuals of the Victorian era. At first her name did not ring a bell with any of his classmates, a fact that did not bother Alfred because it was supposed to go unnoticed. The other eight-year-old, Everett, was from the city, from Manchester, and from a less than privileged background, as evidenced by his thick regional accent and fickle manners, which contrasted with Alfred's restrained manner, Bryson's middle-class sobriety, and the military firmness of the eldest in the room, nine-year-old Moore.
Moore was their watchman. In Watford parlance, a watchman, or wak, was a second-year pupil who helped to integrate newcomers into the school. In the school hierarchy, the wak was one step below the prefects, who were chosen from among the best and oldest pupils. The wak were responsible for ensuring that the boys behaved and did their homework. The wak were also responsible for carrying out the punishments devised by the prefects for the rebs, the naughty and disobedient boys. Moore made them aware of the rules they had to obey at all times, on pain of punishment, and of their roles. Using some abstruse criteria, it was decided that Bryson would be the morning boy, waking up an hour before everyone else and going door to door to warn them that it was time to get up. Everett was given the job of cleaner: tidying the room, making the beds and taking the laundry to the laundry room. And Ashford, as he was now known, would serve as Moore's fag because he was the youngest [1]. Alfred's reaction was to clench his fists in anger. Moore told him that his duties would include carrying his books to class, making his tea, polishing his shoes and acting as his informer. In return, Moore would protect Ashford and their relationship would ensure that when Ashford moved on, he would have a fag of his own.
On the third day, Alfred enrolled to play the piano and cello, was accepted into the school's small choir because of his particularly high voice, and joined the Northumbria House football team. On the fifth day, the opening of the school year was formalised with a closed session, which was not attended by parents. On the sixth day, Alfred received his first caution when, still angry about his role as a fag, he took out his frustration on one of the boys in his house with a hard tackle. The boy sprained his ankle, earning him an ejection and a scolding from the captain. On the seventh day, out of obligation, he went to the chapel for the morning service conducted by a Protestant priest.
From seven o'clock in the evening until nine o'clock at night, from after dinner until lights out, Alfred would temporarily go to the housemaster's office for his daily lesson in Scottish[2]. Cornwall was apparently a member of Jacob's Circle and had been instructed to teach the suitor to speak and write in the Circle's lingua franca. From eight o'clock it was his turn to study in the common room of the building with the other fifty children of the house. On Sundays, at the same time, Alfred would report to Dr Ward's office for a type of study not included in the school curriculum. Their first meeting consisted of Dr Ward explaining his role as tutor.
"Your great-grandfather Arthur left a memo for the tutor who looked after the first Ashford to come to the school." Ward cleared his throat. "The memo tells the tutor how the Stuart is to be distinguished, and as you are an extremely intelligent young man, I will be frank about its contents. The Stuart will be instructed in the history of his dynasty and its clans, in the social role of that dynasty, in Jacobean values and ideology, in the perpetuation of his bloodline, and in the leadership of the fraternity of free men and women loyal to the Stuarts of the United Kingdom. For your role will be to succeed your father as Head of the Circle, master of your bloodline and chief of the clans, just as your father succeeded his, and so on down to Veronica Ashford. Any questions, prince?"
"No."
"Good. Welcome to Watford, prince."
Notes:
[1] Fagging. (UK). Fagging was a traditional practice in British public schools and also at many other boarding schools, whereby younger pupils were required to act as personal servants to the eldest boys. Fagging sometimes involved physical abuse and/or sexual abuse. Although lessening in severity over the centuries, the practice continued in some institutions until the end of the 20th century.
[2] Scottish Gaelic.