The dining hall held about eighty girls ranging from children of five or six to young women who could not be much younger than she was herself. Each of them was dressed plainly in a simple-cut gown of charcoal gray with black stockings and boots. All wore their hair in a single plait down their backs and a white cap atop their heads. They ate in silence at narrow wooden tables that ran the length of the expansive room. Sunshine filtered in through a row of windows that looked out over the school’s main drive and front grounds. The teachers sat at a table opposite the room’s main entrance. The breakfast of oatmeal and bread seemed much too heavy for Camille’s nervous stomach, but not wishing to appear ungrateful, she spooned a bite into her mouth. She lifted her gaze and unintentionally locked eyes with one of the students near the front of the room—a younger girl with rosy cheeks and dark eyes. The girl did not smile. Camille’s heart thudded within her. Doubts manifested in her mind.
