“Thank you for having me.”
He grinned at my words; anyone looking at him now would think becoming engaged to a woman he barely knew was a fortuitous happenstance. “I hope you’ve been well since we last saw one another.”
“I have. In fact, I visited with the Mortensens this morning.”
That made his smile grow even broader. “I trust that was pleasant.”
“It was very pleasant. They spoke highly of my new fiancé.”
“They tend to do that. Pay them no heed.”
“They spoke highly of me as well.”
“Ah.” He pulled me toward the windows and Julia. “Now, that you should listen to.”
“They said you thatched their roof.”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t know how to thatch roofs then. I simply ran about giving supplies to the thatcher while he worked. But that is when I developed a passion for it.”
His movements were precise and decisive as he motioned for Julia and me to sit.
After we obeyed, he unceremoniously handed Julia a portion of the pages he’d brought with him. “I’ve managed to gather several different papers and have brought in the advertisements.” He handed me a stack equal in size to Julia’s. “If we work together, we should be able to look through all of them and find some positions worth applying for.”
The papers he’d handed me were well organized, and some advertisements had been underlined already. Apparently our time for reminiscing was over. All the ones underlined were positions for women, and a few had a double line under them. Those, I soon discovered, included room and board. I glanced through a few of the pages and found two advertisements that were triple underlined.
“What do these three lines mean?” I asked him.
David glanced over at my paper. “Oh, those are within a half day’s carriage ride of Breckenridge.”
Why would it matter if I was near Breckenridge? I’d spent the last eight years away. I would like to visit with the Mortensens and the Prestons, but once I entered the working class, I wouldn’t have many days free for such things. I read the one I’d stopped on. It was a seamstress position in a town not far from here.
“A seamstress?” I nearly laughed. “Have you seen my stitches?”
David shook his head. “No, but it was nearby, so I wanted you to look at it, at least.” He glanced back down at his papers again, turning the page over on the one he had in his right hand.
I scanned some of the advertisements he hadn’t noted. One, I’d already written to a few days ago. I pointed to it. “What is wrong with this one?” I asked.
David leaned toward my paper, his shoulder touching mine, then he shook his head. “They want someone who can start right away. You don’t need to rush to leave Breckenridge.”
“I only have a week and a half. That seems fairly immediate.” I underlined the posting.
David lifted an eyebrow and looked at it again. “It is in London.”
“Many of the positions are.”
“Do you want to live in London?”
No. Even being there when we’d had the funds to live a life of ease in London, I hadn’t enjoyed it as much as I did the country. “I don’t think I have the luxury of being particular.”
“You should definitely be particular. This engagement should give you a few more weeks here in Breckenridge if you need it. No one will question us if I move into my friend James’s home while you and your mother stay here. We can set a wedding date for a long way off, and you would be able to stay for months if necessary.”
Beside me, Julia nodded. “Don’t settle for something if you know you won’t be happy doing it. David would become such a mope if he knew you were miserable.”
David scowled at his sister. “I try not to mope, as a general rule.” But then he tipped his head to one side. “However, in this case, you may be correct. I wouldn’t want my noble sacrifice to be in vain.”
I took a deep breath, the deepest I’d managed in years, it seemed. To have over a month to decide my future with Mama, all while under the protection of an engagement to David, would be a respite I’d never counted on. My eyes traveled around the beautiful drawing room. Mama would be delighted to live here. But if we did, she would be even more heartbroken when I cried off from the engagement. “It already is not in vain. Mr. Green is gone, isn’t he? And although I appreciate the offer of allowing me to live here, I think we need to try to find a location for us as soon as possible.”
David turned toward me and took the papers out of my hands. “I agree, and I promise I will continue to use whatever resources I have to find such a place. But I hope you will also be able to enjoy your time back in Breckenridge. There are many people here wholove you, many more tenants besides the Mortensens who continue to speak of you, and I think the best plan would be for us to look for a position for you but not dwell so much on how this engagement will be ending. Simply enjoy it. I’ve never been engaged before, and thus far, I think having a fiancée suits me.”
