"I understand. I will try my best to follow your example."

And fall short, but don't we all.

"Very well. We have some time before it's time to start dinner. Which subject would you like to begin studying?"

Oh are they starting now. "I'm interested in learning Greek, if you don't think learning how to do my chores is more urgent."

"The house is quite clean, there would be no point. You will have plenty of time to learn once Nick and Fred have dirtied it again."

"Yes, ma'am. Then Greek. I've read the Bible but only in translation."

And she may have skipped over parts of Habakuk, but hopefully she has time to rectify that before they get that far.

Serena Joy takes her to the study and they begin work on the Greek alphabet. Serena is actually a very good teacher: strict but patient and good at explaining, and not someone who will let you get away with half-understanding something.

If Keturah looks at the bookshelf in the corner, she'll see a shelf of books written by Serena Joy Waterford.

She does look. She doesn't mention them, but she remembers to ask for the chance to read them after she finishes the books that are already in her room.

Keturah has a pretty good memory, though she doesn't know that she'll be good at any of the other parts of language-learning. At least she has a good teacher? Free Greek lessons are at least some kind of silver lining to this whole mess, and she's going to do her best with them. 

Eventually Serena closes the book and says "Time to start dinner."

Dinner is mashed potatoes and meatloaf.

She can eat mashed potatoes and meatloaf, so that's something. She's never made them before, so she focuses on the instructions. By this point she has a tendency to miss things the first time and need them repeated, but she does ask again rather than attempt to fly blind. (It won't be like this forever, she reminds herself. She won't always be learning things. At some point she'll know them and some tasks will be familiar and her brain will hopefully be able to rest between the hard parts.)

Serena Joy is very patient and appears to be pleased with whatever Keturah gets right, as if she were bracing herself for someone who had only the faintest idea of what a cooking knife is.

She gradually stops looking vaguely like she's tensing for a blow.

"Thank you for your patience," she says, when both parts of the meal are nearly done cooking. 

"Patience is a virtue. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. I pray for it daily."

"Yes, ma'am. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness - there's another I'm blanking on - and self control. We're all called to display them, but I don't expect that all of us succeed."

"Gentleness, Keturah. Would you like me to set the fruits of the Holy Spirit as your first memory work?"

"If it doesn't bother you that I have them partly memorized already, sure. They're important."

Try not to think about the fact that externally enforced memory work is for eleven-year-olds. It's not any more humiliating than anything else about this. And that's an easy one, at least they're not assigning her something she can't do.

"It's best to start with something you will succeed at. It builds confidence."

She looks like she's about to say something else, and then the smile momentarily drops. "Oh good. I think I've failed at quite enough things in the recent past."

Annnd smile is back. "How many people are we setting the table for?"

"Four. You, me, my husband Fred, and his personal assistant Nick."

So she sets the table for four.

"Ah, meatloaf! My favorite! Who's the new girl?" 

"This is Keturah, our new Handmaid. Keturah, this is my husband Fred."

"An absolute pleasure."

"Thank you, sir."

Don't think about - don't think about anything, actually, that's probably simpler. But she's not going to get another chance to make a good first impression, and she kind of thinks that good first impressions might be sort of essential to her ability to live here, so -

"Your wife has been teaching me Greek," she says, smiling.

"Getting some practice for homeschooling, eh, Serena?"

"Evening, sir, ma'am, miss."