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through more schooling than necessary.”
    â€œSo I take it you didn’t enjoy my lecture on The Aeneid ?”
    â€œI didn’t listen much, not worth storing in my brain.”
    â€œYou know.” He put his hands on his hips. “That’s exactly why no man’s ever asked for your hand.”
    â€œPardon?” How did hating on The Aeneid segue into men not finding her attractive? August probably didn’t count since she’d waved a business deal under his nose to get him interested in her.
    â€œOn Sunday in the cellar, you said men never liked you because you could outdo them, but it’s more that you’re never willing to be outdone. If you think you’ll be outdone in something, like understanding an epic poem like The Aeneid ”—he picked the thick classroom text off a nearby desk and held it out in his palm—“you either practice until you’re better than everybody at it or declare it to be stupid and not worth anyone’s time.”
    â€œMaybe I’m just extreme in my likes and dislikes.”
    â€œThen why avoid people who are better at things than you?”
    â€œI don’t. I talked to you all the time when it was clear I lacked your academic talent. But after I proved I was a better shot, you stopped talking to me .”
    His jaw hardened and he stared off into space. Finally he sighed. “Maybe we’re more alike than I thought.”
    She raised her eyebrows. A man who could quote random Shakespeare lines in the middle of a lecture was not at all like a woman who wrestled calves in the mud for branding.
    â€œStill, not many men want a wife who outdoes him at everything and declares his triumphs worthless. Take Lydia and Beatrice, for example. They’re studying together for the end-of-the-year Knowledge Bee, though it’s clear to everyone Beatrice is the one to beat. She’s a bona fide genius. Lydia has no illusion that she can beat her, but they’re true friends. She’s helping Beatrice be the best she can be even if that means Lydia’s sealing her own fate.”
    â€œBut no one helped me get better at stuff I liked to do besides my father. All my tomboy activities only made the girls hate me right along with the boys.” She flipped over another quiz. Too bad she’d gotten lost in thought and was still here for Harrison to pick apart.
    â€œNobody hated you, but like I said earlier, if people best you at anything, you avoid them, as if your inability to measure up to them makes you inferior. Why don’t you have lady friends your age?”
    â€œNo lady I know of wants to spend time with me, ropin’ and ridin’.”
    â€œThen why don’t you find something you can do with them?”
    â€œI ain’t about to do no sewin’ and stitchin’ either. Momma tried to get me interested in girly stuff for years. Never was thrilled with any of it.”
    â€œWhat about the Ladies’ Moral Society the Freewill Church is starting? You can’t have anything against meeting to pray for the town.”
    â€œI’ll think about it.” She shrugged and started grading the last quiz. She didn’t have time to win over girl friends when she was about to gain a husband. “My father never objected to my choice of hobbies. I don’t know why everybody else does,” she muttered.
    â€œIt’s not your choice of activities that rankle, but that you act as if you’re unhappy unless you’re better than everyone else at it.” Harrison flipped a pen through his fingers.
    â€œBoys compete against each other all the time—they seem to have no trouble remaining friends.”
    â€œYes, but you don’t just compete, you strut. Take some friendly marital advice. August won’t take kindly to you showing him up all the time.”
    â€œAnd you’re qualified to hand out marriage advice, I’m sure.” With a flourish, she wrote