The Only Use of

dispensation
in
To Kill a Mockingbird

Jem's free dispensation of my pledge irked me, but precious noontime minutes were ticking away.
p. 26.2

dispensation = granting of an exemption or exception

Definitions:

(1) (dispensation as in: received dispensation to)
an exemption from some rule or obligation

In theology, in addition to referring to exceptions from general rules the word may reference the abuse of the selling of indulgences that occurred in the late Middle Ages.
(2) (dispensation as in: dispensation of supplies/justice)
the giving out or administering of something -- often officially
(3) (dispensation as in: the dispensation of that era)
a system of order; or a period of history