Page 14 of The Seaside Homecoming
“Why not? My aunt may have neglected to write you a good character, but I shall write one myself.”
“Thank ye, miss. But findin’ a new place takes time. And I’ve nowhere to stay meanwhile.”
“Why not go home? Your father lives nearby. Is that right?”
“I canna do that. Anywhere but there.”
Claire was taken aback by the panic in the young woman’s voice, the tight terror in her expression.
“Why?”
“My da’, he ... No, I won’t. I’d go the workhouse first.”
The workhouse?Claire shivered. Her father must be harsh or even abusive.
She gently pressed the girl’s shoulder. “Once I decide where to go, we shall talk again. Agreed?”
“Aye, miss. Bless ye, miss.”
The next morning, Claire went downstairs for a cup of tea and found the others gathered at the table in the servants’ hall, heads bent as they searched the employment sections in several newspapers, which considerate Mr. Campbell had bought for the purpose.
Campbell himself thought he might retire and live with his sister when his duties were done. But Mrs. Kerr and herkitchen maid, the lady’s maid, Fergus, and Mary would all need new situations.
Mary could read simple text, but she read very slowly, so Campbell sat beside her, helping her review the notices. The girl seemed to listen only half-heartedly, resting her cheek on her hand.
Should Claire search for a new place as well? Perhaps she could find another situation as a companion—if the lady did not inquire too deeply into Claire’s background. No one would hire her to chaperone and safeguard a young lady, not with her past. But perhaps an elderly spinster or widow might take her on now that she had experience. She should have thought to ask Aunt Mercer to write her a character reference.
Noticing Claire hovering nearby, Campbell seemed to guess her thoughts. He handed her two of the broadsheets. “We’ve finished with these, if you’d like to take a look.”
Not sure she would be welcome at the servants’ table, Claire took the papers and teacup to a chair in the corner. Setting the teacup on the nearby sideboard, she began to read.
She saw no situations for a lady’s companion, but another advertisement caught her eye.
GOVERNESSWANTED
Wanted, a middle-aged person of respectability, as a tutoress in a private family. She must be fully competent to teach the English and French languages grammatically, together with the other usual branches of Education.
Letters, post-paid, addressed A.E.T. Post-Office, Exeter, and stating qualifications and references will be duly attended to.
Exeter was not terribly far from her family’s seaside home in Sidmouth. The thought of being in the same county as her mother and sisters appealed to her. She doubted she wouldever see them again if she remained in distant Scotland. But if she relocated to Devonshire...?
She read the advertisement again and inwardly quailed. No. She was neither middle-aged nor fully competent to teach French. The little French she had learned in the schoolroom would prove insufficient to the task.
Besides, who would trust her when she had displayed such a lack of judgment? Once, all she had wanted was to be a wife and mother and raise a happy brood of children. Now she felt disqualified to even educate someone else’s offspring.
With a heavy sigh, she turned to the next broadsheet and skimmed until she reached theSituations and Help Wantedsection.
Suddenly, an advertisement in the middle of the page came into focus as though haloed by light.
WANTED
As partner, in a genteel Boarding House in Devon, a respectable Female, who could advance from £50 to £100. Letters (post-paid) addressed to W.H., Boarding House, Sidmouth Post Office, shall meet with immediate attention.
Fifty pounds ... Claire’s pulse accelerated. The amount of her allowance. Was this a sign?
Sidmouth was where her mother and younger sisters were now living. Emily might be glad to see her, but the others? Surely young Georgie wouldn’t despise her. She was less certain about Viola and Sarah. And their mother? A chill crept over her. They would probably be offended at her presumption in moving so near to them after her disgrace.
Yet time was running out. What other options did she have? Yes, she might keep to her original plan of renting a small apartment somewhere until her money ran out. But at the thought of living alone in some cheerless pair of rooms, lonelinessgnawed at her. She longed for her family, and prayed that somehow, someday, they might all be reconciled.
