“I must get something to do, and if I can make no arrangement by which my child can live with me, I shall try and place her with a friend. I may be able to hear of some appointment as a daily governess.”
“I should have thought that in your native town you would have been easily able to find employment—you must be well known?”
There was a pause, and after a moment or so she said:—
“We were well known once, but we went abroad and lost all our money. My husband died abroad. When I returned, I found that there was very little which my friends could do for me. I am not accomplished, and there are crowds of young women who are more capable than I am. Moreover, I saw that I was becoming a burden, and people called on me rather as a matter of duty than for any other reason. You don’t know how soon all but the very best insensibly neglect very poor relatives if they are not gifted or attractive. I do not wonder at being made to feel this, nor do I blame anybody. My little girl is a cripple, my rooms are dull, and I have nothing in me with which to amuse or entertain visitors. Pardon my going into this detail. It was necessary to say something in order to explain my position.”
“May I ask what salary you will require if you live in the house?”
“Five-and-thirty pounds a year, but I might take less if I were asked to do so.”
“Are you a member of the Church of England?”
“No.”
“To what religious body do you belong?”
“I am an Independent, but I would go to Church if my employers wished it.”