she was stepping out for a while. In response the housekeeper came to the lower door and Jane said, “I’ll be back in time for lunch.”
“All right Miss. Don’t forget your pelisse, it’s getting bitterly cold.”
Jane ran up to her room to retrieve it then exited the house, stepping briskly along the footpath looking neither left nor right.
What should she decide? To marry to save her family or to hold onto her principles?
Were her principles doing her any good, or had they made this whole situation worse because they marked her as outside the social norm and made her, in people’s minds, a potential threat to the order of society? She paced onwards.
Their financial situation was dire. Her sister was forced out of the family home into the role of a governess and her youngest brother was at sea with his life at risk from the elements at the age of twelve. All of this, due to her attitudes making it impossible to get families to support their school as a suitable educational institution.
But it was more than that! To save her family she would have to become a man’s property. Could she live like that? The bitter northerly wind whipped her skirts around her legs. Would it be any worse than living in poverty? If she couldn’t find work when Katherine was grown up, what alternative employment then would be available to her? Her pamphlet writing brought in precious little money. She may have worse choices to make then, when she was much older and no-one wanted to marry her.
Would her sisters be able to find husbands if they had no dowries? She may be condemning them to hang from the rope of her principles and they were not even their beliefs. That would be bitter to live with indeed in her old age.
At last her thoughts turned to Lord Dalton. Could she live with him? He was certainly a good looking man. She had had no difficulty responding to his kisses. Even in the bitter cold her cheeks blushed warm as she thought back to that scene many weeks ago. She cooled her cheeks with both her uncovered hands. Her steps slowed. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to lie with him. No, it wouldn’t. In fact it was something she had dreamed of in the weeks since their first passionate embrace.
Was she prepared to live with, or die from, the consequences? How many children would she have to bear? It was a woman’s duty to accept as many children as were sent to her. She hoped it would not be too many. She consoled herself that as Lord Dalton’s wife there would be no shortage of servants and nursemaids to assist her. Would he be a good father? Would he be a good husband? Would he be a good lover? These were questions that only the future could answer.
She hoped he was all three.
So, it seemed she had made her decision… she would accept him. God help her.
Jane stopped walking and looked around her. She was almost at Cavendish Square. She had walked a long way in what seemed to be a short time! Mrs Courtice’s house was a few doors away. Jane decided she couldn’t be so close and not visit her.
Within minutes she was being escorted up to the drawing room and into her old friend’s arms. “Jane, Jane, how lovely to see you again. You look flushed despite the weather my dear. Are you keeping well or coming down with a fever?” Mrs Courtice looked concerned.
“My dear Mrs Courtice, I am fine. I have so much to tell you.
“Well, take a seat and tell me everything.”
Jane sat quickly. “I think I am going to marry the Marquis of Dalton.”
Mrs Courtice couldn’t hide her shock and surprise. “Why? How did this come about?”
“Because he asked me and because I have no means of support for my family. My name has been sullied and I have failed to find any more pupils in the weeks since we moved. I’m at the end of the road Mrs Courtice. I believe I have paid all our creditors but there is no money for my sisters’ dowries and no money for anything but subsistence living. That is not how I wish to care for my
“All right Miss. Don’t forget your pelisse, it’s getting bitterly cold.”
Jane ran up to her room to retrieve it then exited the house, stepping briskly along the footpath looking neither left nor right.
What should she decide? To marry to save her family or to hold onto her principles?
Were her principles doing her any good, or had they made this whole situation worse because they marked her as outside the social norm and made her, in people’s minds, a potential threat to the order of society? She paced onwards.
Their financial situation was dire. Her sister was forced out of the family home into the role of a governess and her youngest brother was at sea with his life at risk from the elements at the age of twelve. All of this, due to her attitudes making it impossible to get families to support their school as a suitable educational institution.
But it was more than that! To save her family she would have to become a man’s property. Could she live like that? The bitter northerly wind whipped her skirts around her legs. Would it be any worse than living in poverty? If she couldn’t find work when Katherine was grown up, what alternative employment then would be available to her? Her pamphlet writing brought in precious little money. She may have worse choices to make then, when she was much older and no-one wanted to marry her.
Would her sisters be able to find husbands if they had no dowries? She may be condemning them to hang from the rope of her principles and they were not even their beliefs. That would be bitter to live with indeed in her old age.
At last her thoughts turned to Lord Dalton. Could she live with him? He was certainly a good looking man. She had had no difficulty responding to his kisses. Even in the bitter cold her cheeks blushed warm as she thought back to that scene many weeks ago. She cooled her cheeks with both her uncovered hands. Her steps slowed. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to lie with him. No, it wouldn’t. In fact it was something she had dreamed of in the weeks since their first passionate embrace.
Was she prepared to live with, or die from, the consequences? How many children would she have to bear? It was a woman’s duty to accept as many children as were sent to her. She hoped it would not be too many. She consoled herself that as Lord Dalton’s wife there would be no shortage of servants and nursemaids to assist her. Would he be a good father? Would he be a good husband? Would he be a good lover? These were questions that only the future could answer.
She hoped he was all three.
So, it seemed she had made her decision… she would accept him. God help her.
Jane stopped walking and looked around her. She was almost at Cavendish Square. She had walked a long way in what seemed to be a short time! Mrs Courtice’s house was a few doors away. Jane decided she couldn’t be so close and not visit her.
Within minutes she was being escorted up to the drawing room and into her old friend’s arms. “Jane, Jane, how lovely to see you again. You look flushed despite the weather my dear. Are you keeping well or coming down with a fever?” Mrs Courtice looked concerned.
“My dear Mrs Courtice, I am fine. I have so much to tell you.
“Well, take a seat and tell me everything.”
Jane sat quickly. “I think I am going to marry the Marquis of Dalton.”
Mrs Courtice couldn’t hide her shock and surprise. “Why? How did this come about?”
“Because he asked me and because I have no means of support for my family. My name has been sullied and I have failed to find any more pupils in the weeks since we moved. I’m at the end of the road Mrs Courtice. I believe I have paid all our creditors but there is no money for my sisters’ dowries and no money for anything but subsistence living. That is not how I wish to care for my
Similar Books
