Chapter Text
An Opportunity
"Audrey, I might have found a job for you," the vicar announced during tea. "Two brothers need a housekeeper for their veterinary practice. In Darrowby! A fresh start for you, love".
Audrey breathed in slowly and nodded. “Oh, how wonderful”, she managed to say, hoping her voice held a trace of gratitude. Audrey had always been resilient and had survived every challenge life gave her. But this time seemed different. She had never felt so hopeless. Honestly, she barely had the energy to get out of bed each day. Audrey wished she could just go to sleep and pretend that the last six months did not happen. She had been fired and Edward arrested. This had certainly been the darkest point in her life. Even now, sitting down with the vicar for tea and asking for his help was almost painful. She had been searching for weeks and made countless inquiries for work, but there was nothing. Nothing! What is going to happen to me if I can’t find another job? What will happen to Edward?
The vicar’s wife frowned, “ I had hoped we could find you a position working for lady. You’re much too pretty to be a housekeeper, Audrey. Perhaps a governess! Or a lady’s maid, I think! You have the look of a secretary, such a lovely face”.
“What nonsense! Too pretty, indeed! Hard work is always respectable,” The vicar exclaimed, rolling his eyes at his wife, exasperation in his voice. “Anyway, it’s a generous wage and pretty much a sure thing. The fellow desperately needs a housekeeper and doesn't mind about the lack of references. If you want the job, it's yours”.
“You’ll have to show him that you can work hard. No one wants a young housekeeper. Be sure to hide your figure and dress modestly, dear” the wife continued.
Audrey's face darkened and she forced a smile, fighting an urge to shout at this woman. Stay calm, she told herself.
Years ago, when Audrey left her husband for the final time (because she had tried to leave, oh how she tried, many times through the years), she turned to the vicar and his wife for help. They were old friends of her grandparents and Audrey had known them since she was a girl. She and Edward showed up on the doorstep of the parsonage one night, practically empty handed. I need a place to stay, until I can find work, she begged them. They reluctantly took her and Edward in, but didn't really ask questions. Not too many questions, that is. And there was no judgement… for the most part. A comment was made here and there about Eddie being a good Christian man and how a boy needs a firm hand. In the end, they found her a job with Mr. Grenville. She truly believed that she had been given another chance to make a happy life for herself and for Edward. I was wrong. Now here she was again, no money, no job, no home. And no Edward this time.
All that time spent with Mr. Grenville and nothing to show for it! Except a broken heart. Mr. Grenville seemed decent at first, a good employer. He was not particularly friendly, but he wasn’t unkind or rude. So when she confessed to him what happened and offered to resign, she never actually expected him to accept her resignation. How naïve I was , she thought with shame. The worst of it was that he pressed charges against Edward, who was still only a boy. Audrey was turned out of home immediately, on the streets. She went to Dorothy and stayed there for a few weeks and then stayed with two elderly ladies from church. But jobs were nonexistent and she had no references.
The vicar’s wife was still speaking. Her voice was high pitched, condescending. “It’s still not too late, you know. To go home to your husband”.
Well, Audrey thought. That’s not going to happen.
“Please tell Mr. Farnon that I can start right away, thank you”. Audrey said firmly, surprised at her own courage. I can recover from this. It's going to be okay.