Ludmila finished shelving the laundry, and Caroline joined her alongside the clothing shelves.

“An education will buy you freedom,” she said, covering Ludmila’s chapped, work-roughened hand with her own. She looked away, embarrassed at the difference in their skin. Ludmila was two years younger than Caroline, and yet the laundress’s hands looked like an old woman’s.

“You can become anything you want,” Caroline continued. “A typist. A translator. I know the two extra hours each night will be hard, but it will be worth it.”

“Man on the floor!”

The loud voice echoing down the hallway was a rude interruption. Caroline sighed as a brisk knock on the door was followed by a senior White House usher tipping his head inside.

“Meeting downstairs in the assembly room.” A scowl of disapproval darkened the usher’s face. “There’s a new man in charge of security, and all staff are required to be there.”

Even Ludmila noticed the resentment in his tone. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s new,” the usher said, then closed the door behind him.

That said it all. Most of the staff at the White House had been there for decades, and outsiders were looked at with suspicion. The only reason Caroline had been welcomed was because she was an effective buffer between the staff and the difficult first lady.

“We’d better go,” Ludmila said as she reached for the hamper, but Caroline laid a hand on her arm.

“Please think about the school,” she said. “It will never be easier than now. You don’t yet have a husband or children demanding your time. I know it will be hard, but it’s the hard things in life that make us most proud. Use those classes to fight for your future. You won’t ever regret it.”

“I’m already so tired,” Ludmila said as she balanced the hamper on her hip. “School will only make it worse.”

But Caroline caught the flash of hope on the laundress’s face. No matter what it took, Caroline would help clear the path for Ludmila to nurture that spark of hope into a flame.

By the time Caroline arrived in the assembly room, the other forty-five people who worked in the residence had already gathered. They were cooks, ushers, cleaning crew, telephone and wireless operators, and mailroom clerks. Even the gardeners had come in for the meeting. Rows of chairs filled the room, all facing the podium and blackboard at the front.

Caroline scanned the crowd, looking for George, who sat near the back. “What’s this I hear about new security rules?” she asked as she took the empty seat beside him.