For Teddy

Chapter 8

Hannah

I was pleased when I received Horatio’s next invitation to meet at his house regarding buying our property. I am not sure I am really interested, but it won’t hurt to find out more about it. I invited Mary and Maria over for coffee one day, and as we sat there, with their babies playing happily by their sides, I put the question to them.

“Are neither of you at all interested in buying your houses, then? I know Mary, that you said you didn’t think you could afford it, but can’t you see that in the long run, you will save money?”

Marie said, “We don’t know whether we will be in this area much longer. John is hoping for a promotion, and it would be silly to be tied to this area because of purchasing a property just now.”

“Where are you likely to go?”

“Oh, anywhere if it means more money. Having so many children is certainly an expense, as I’m sure you know too, Mary. And I would like the children to be somewhere closer to a main town, where jobs would be easier to find. I know the girls are working at the local factories now, and they might choose to stay here, even after we leave, but I am not tied to this place at all. I hate the damp house, and the wind that blows me over each time I need to walk for groceries.”

“We are also still of the same mind, Hannah, and have no wish to get involved in this purchasing malarky. But it sounds to me like you are interested. Is that the case?”

“Well, I have been invited to the next meeting to see what is going on, but I would feel happier about it if I wasn’t the only one, and especially with me being a woman on my own. I would appreciate having a man’s opinion as to how all these things will work.”

“Joseph heard that Squire Higgenbottom is planning on getting involved. Maybe you can have a word to his wife.”

“I know Margaret only slightly, but I can easily call on her one day, en route from the shops.”

“I think their daughter is much of an age with your Annie, so that would be a good reason for calling in. And they have another child as well, Blanche who is the same age as my Jane. And of course, they have their very attractive single nephew, John, living with them.”

“Attractive he might be, but I think he is too young to be interested in me.”

“Well, you can never tell about these things. Fred is younger than you too, but I have seen the way he looks at you.”

“Why don’t you ask Fred to accompany you to the meeting, and then he can advise you if there are aspects of the discussion that you don’t understand, or feel that you are being pressured into.”

“Oh, but he might think that I was asking him for an ulterior motive. I really am not that taken with Mr. Fred Hodgkinson, for all that he seems very friendly.”

“Beggers can’t be choosers, Hannah. You aren’t getting any younger, and if a man wants to have a child with you, he will have to move quite quickly on it.”

“What a way to talk. What worries me mainly is that it is well known that Benjamin left me with a good income, and if I remarry, that money will be under the care of my new husband. That’s what they might be wanting, rather than another child.”

“Well, you go to the meeting love, and keep your eyes open for some man who will have his own financial resources so that you will know that if he fancies you, it will be for yourself. I did hear that there were outsiders who are coming to the meeting. That worries me, as I prefer the devil I know - when it comes to landlords.”

The babies were starting to show signs that their meal times were imminent, so my friends left shortly after. I thought that perhaps the idea of inviting Fred to go with me might not be such a bad one after all, and I decided I would pop around to Ivy Cottage after he was back from work tonight and see how he feels about it.