“No, no, I wasn’t. It felt as if I were living in Texas rather than al-Remal. So, when I heard the Badir family was looking for a nanny who could also be a tutor …”

“You came here. And you’ll stay here forever—and we’ll all live happily ever after.” Nanny Karin did not answer. She simply stroked Amira’s hair and smiled her sad smile.

O

“That’s why I wonder what she’s really like,” said Laila now. “Tell me.” “Well, she’s not like the other nannies.”

“Wait! Do I see a pillar of flame? A message from God?”

Amira laughed. “You know what I mean.” She wasn’t talking about Nanny Karin’s blond hair. Miss Vanderbeek was different in more important ways. Most of the nannies were poor women from countries like Yemen or Ethiopia; Bahia was from the Sudan. Most, like Bahia, had been slaves until, barely a year ago, the king had finally abolished slavery, at least technically. And most, again like Bahia—and like the great majority of women in al-Re- mal—were illiterate.

“Sometimes I don’t understand why she stays here,” Amira said. “She could be teaching at a university somewhere. The things she teaches me …” Amira reached for the words, trying to explain how Nanny Karin painted word pictures of the world outside of al-Remal, how she brought to life its colors and textures and smells. But seeing the impatience in Laila’s face, she settled for: “Do you know I read English almost as well as Malik?”

“Really?”

“Don’t tell anyone. Father wouldn’t like it if he knew.” “Ha! And Malik would be jealous.”

“And she’s teaching me arithmetic.” Saying this, Amira lowered her voice. “What do you mean? Two and two are four?”

“We did that when she first came. I’m learning percentages now.” “What on Earth for?” Laila looked genuinely surprised.

“Nanny says you never can tell when something will come in handy. She says that the schools they’re starting for girls are just a beginning. All they teach now is the Koran, but someday girls will learn just like boys.” “Amira! Isn’t that against the Koran itself ?”

“Nanny says it isn’t. She says that nothing in the Koran says girls should be ignorant. It’s like the gutwah, the veil. That’s not the Koran either. Some rich women started wearing it a long time ago to be fashionable, now every- one does it. But it’s not in the Koran.”

“Miss Vanderbeek told you all this?”

“Yes. But please don’t ever mention it, Laila. I know it sounds awful, but it really isn’t.”

“Don’t worry. Your and Miss Vanderbeek’s secrets are safe with me,” Laila said a bit petulantly. “But she’s not the only one who knows things. Did you hear about the village girl who drowned in the well?”