It had taken her longer than she would have liked to tie her sheets together, and when she fastened the one end to the bottom of her bed frame, she prayed in desperation that they would hold and she wouldn’t go falling to her death before the rest of her life even began.
She picked up her valise, in which she had thrown a few of her simpler gowns as well as a change of undergarments and a few other sentimental items she couldn’t part with, including her childhood rag doll and the comb set her grandmother had gifted her, and threw it out the window. It landed with a thud in the garden below, and she followed much more carefully, using the bricks jutting out from the wall as best she could while keeping a tight grip on the sheet.
She tugged at it while she was still able to keep a hand on the windowsill and was glad when the bed didn’t budge.
Perhaps this might work after all.
Her heart was in her throat as she slowly worked her way down the wall, and when she finally reached the ground, she had to stand for a minute, her hand on her chest, as she tried to refill her lungs with air.
“Minnie!”
She turned around at Tommy’s hiss of her name, as though he was trying to call to her without making any sound.
Tommy!” she said, nearly running into his arms, but stopping short when she remembered they didn’t have that type of relationship — at least, not yet. “I’m so sorry,” she said, her breath still coming in gasps. “I tried to leave a few times, but each time someone was walking in the hallway.”
“I appreciate the idea, Minnie, but I have to say, when I saw you hanging from that sheet, I nearly went out of my mind with worry.”
Minnie blinked. She hadn’t realized he cared so much.
“I thought you would appreciate my effort.”
“I did, but Minnie…” He rubbed at his forehead, appearing pained.
“You care,” she stated rather stupidly, and he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Of course I care. Is it not obvious?”
Before she could answer, however, he reached forward, and for a moment, she thought he was going to take her hand, but instead, he picked up the valise from the ground beside her.
“We’d best go, or we’ll miss the train.”
“Do we still have time?”
“I have a hack waiting to take us to the station. It’s only ten to fifteen minutes away, but it’s a busy place.”
Minnie nodded as she followed him, slipping into the street in front of her house. Her parents’ home was a grand Victorian, built when her father’s business grew in prosperity. It was at the opposite edge of Salford from the factories, far enough that it didn’t seem as working-class as most of the neighborhood, but close enough to the docks that her father wasn’t far from his work.
When they reached the end of the street, just as she was about to climb into the hack, she took one look back at the home that she had grown up in, where so many memories resided, taking a deep breath as she took the final step into the carriage, one which signified a new chapter.
When she turned to Tommy, she was surprised to find him watching her so intently that his green eyes were laced with concern.
“Are you all right?”he asked gruffly.
She bit her lip. “I think so,” she said. “It just hit me that I’m leaving home, likely forever.”
“Will you miss it?”
“I’ll miss some things about it, but I realize now that so many of the memories I held there are tainted, for the love I thought was there wasn’t true. How can my parents truly love me if my father is willing to sell me off, and my mother would just let it happen? I’ll miss the memories with my sister, but she’s already gone, married off, and living in Sheffield.”
She wiped away a tear that formed, one that was caused by missing her sister, yes, but mostly by what she knew was also a result of the rapid change in events.
Tommy reached out hesitantly, taking her hand in his.
“When we can, we’ll visit her. How does that sound?”
She nearly melted into his soft, understanding smile.
“That would be wonderful,” she said, her words emerging in a rush. She wasn’t sure if the warmth she felt toward him stemmed from gratitude or a growing affection she shouldn’t allow, given the good chance he might never return her feelings. She was worried about what she was beginning to feel for this man, for she wondered whether he would ever truly feel the same toward her.
