Chapter 13: False Accusations Summary

Once again Ruby is summoned to Mrs. Ironwood's office where she is shocked to learn she will be subjected to an expulsion hearing. A respected teacher alleges to have witnessed her after curfew having an illicit rendezvous at the boathouse with Buck. The accuser is Mrs. Gray, a teacher Ruby has always gotten along with, and Buck himself has signed a testimony naming Ruby before he was fired and forced off the grounds. Ruby cannot begin to fathom the allegations, as she was with Louis at the time, but Mrs. Ironwood refuses to allow Ruby to involve the Clairbornes in the hearing. Ruby has no way of defending herself and is bound for expulsion but she is determined to go through with the hearing to face down her accuser. Gisselle is thrilled when she learns of Ruby's hearing, believing...