Horatio
August

Louisa and the dragon and the meek maid all got off this morning for their visit to Prestwich. I pretended that I would miss them, but oh, how I was longing for my month as a bachelor again.

Things are moving along nicely for our little house buying endeavour. I wrote again to Mr. Andrew, Lord Howard’s representative, specifying which houses we wished to buy - and he wrote back encouragingly, saying that he would hire a surveyor to visit the properties, and then make a proposal as to what they would be asking for them.
 
I have been keeping my eyes open regarding the prices houses are being sold for these days. There is a big boom in building new houses, but there will always be people who prefer the old ones, with more character. There was a group of 17 houses which were sold recently in Marple, and they fetched less than £100 each. Ours are more substantial than that, but of course, being such a distance from the town doesn’t always please people. That is why our best bet is to buy the houses but keep the current tenants in place, with a somewhat increased rent most likely. Although perhaps it would be sensible to hold off with that for the first six months or so.

The ground rent that Lord Howard requires will be roughly £4 a year for a house that he would sell for £800. I don’t think any of these potential buyers will balk at that.

There is a festival taking place in Compstall next weekend. They always have activities to tie in with their Wakes week - and the vacations of all the employees. I had a few words with Hannah after church today, and I threw in the comment about the Compstall Fair and asked if she was likely to be going. She said she thought she probably would, and I said perhaps I would see her there, as I hoped to be able to attend.

It would be lovely to have some time with her now that I am on my own, but finding the opportunity is the problem. I can’t very well call in at her house - with her being a single woman. And her nosy neighbour could hardly not know about it anyway. My only hope is that we meet somewhere, supposedly by chance, and then I take the opportunity of getting to know her better. I hadn’t realised what a problem it would be trying to get to know a proper woman better. It isn’t like she goes to the public houses or anything like that.

We have nothing in common except for the church choir - and that is hardly an opportunity for advancing a relationship. I have told Louisa that I must be here next weekend for business reasons. If I spend every other weekend with her in Prestwich, that should satisfy her. They do seem to be enjoying themselves there.