Chapter 62
Laura swallowed hard, gazing at the sign. She had experienced many anxious moments in her life, but this new challenge was a first. Even her debut into society hadn't made her this uneasy.
She smoothed her hair, straightened her collar, and stepped inside.
The entrance led to a waiting room. It was bright with natural light, but the state of the furniture and wallpaper gave it a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. Long benches lined the walls, and several modestly dressed young ladies sat waiting their turn.
Laura approached the woman at the desk on one side of the waiting room, explaining that she was new and looking for employment. The woman quickly scanned her face and attire before telling her to take a seat.
Laura sat on one of the benches, her heart pounding. Her brown gloves grew damp with sweat. Soon, several names were called, and the ladies disappeared into the office beyond the desk.
She waited patiently. When no other ladies remained in the waiting room, her name was called.
"Miss Laura Sheldon."
Laura immediately rose and entered the office.
The office was much more presentable than the waiting room. The wallpaper and cabinets were clean and new, and the sturdy beech desk with a nameplate reading 'Anne Stopper' gave off a luxurious feel.
The office's owner, the middle-aged Miss Stopper, greeted her politely.
"Welcome, Miss Sheldon. I understand you're looking for a governess position?"
Laura gave an awkward smile.
"Yes."
"Have you any experience in this field?"
"No."
"Oh dear. Then I suppose you have no letters of recommendation either. Those are essential for securing a good position. Well, what can you teach?"
"Everything that is taught in a general school."
"Arithmetic, geography, literature, history, French, and German, I presume? With a little drawing and music on top?"
"And Latin and Greek."
Miss Stopper stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Latin and Greek?"
"Yes."
"If I may ask, to what extent?"
Laura opened a few notebooks she had brought in her bag. Miss Stopper scanned the densely written Latin and the complete New Testament translated beneath it. She flipped through the notebook with surprise before looking at another. The entire Greek epic, the Odyssey, was translated into English.
"Where did you learn all this?"
"At Grant Ladies' Academy, where I studied for seven years."
"Grant Ladies' Academy. You graduated from a prestigious school!"
Miss Stopper tugged at her earlobe for a moment, studying Laura.
"You're in mourning. Has a family member passed away?"
"Yes. My grandmother."
"Could that be related to your decision to become a governess? Even in the slightest?"
"I cannot deny it."
"Hmm..."
She crossed her arms and pondered.
"You graduated from a prestigious school, and at twenty-nine, you have no governess experience... Could it be that you are a noblewoman forced into the workforce due to financial difficulties?"
Laura shook her head with a blank expression. Miss Stopper stared at Laura's face before nodding.
"Whether that's true or not, continue to answer that way. No matter who asks. No one wants to hire a noblewoman as a governess. Now, shall we find a position for the capable Miss Laura Sheldon?"
She rummaged through her files.
"Hmm, you would be welcome in a household with both sons and daughters. However... frankly, there is a tendency to prefer male tutors for the education of sons. Even if it's the same Latin grammar, they seem to feel less confident if a female governess teaches it. But tutors are expensive. If they can learn Latin and Greek for the price of a governess, a family on a tight budget would welcome it with open arms. Hmm, the Rezin family is looking for a governess for seven children. A position with a salary of 50 pounds a year. What do you think?"
Laura shook her head. Fifty pounds was the standard salary for a governess. It was unreasonable for having to look after seven children.
Seeing her reluctance, Miss Stopper continued to search through the files.
"Hmm, here's a letter from the Deniz family, looking for a governess for two children. Both boys. They are looking for a tutor to help them with advanced studies before entering public school, and they would be willing to hire a governess who knows Latin and Greek. They are offering a salary of 60 pounds."
"That's 10 pounds higher than the market rate."
"Indeed. However, you must be careful with this family. Mr. Deniz is quite stingy. He might work you hard for a year and then try to fob you off with an old carpet or a strange vase when it comes time to pay. A governess was tricked like that a few years ago and threatened to sue, but she never got her money. Haha, can you believe such a person exists!"
Laura couldn't understand what she found so amusing. Miss Stopper laughed for a moment, then, noticing Laura's expression, resumed searching through the files.
Soon, positions for 60 pounds, 55 pounds, and 45 pounds were listed one after another. But all of them involved looking after too many children or had employers with terrible reputations.
Laura stood there, despondent, watching the dark clouds gathering over her job prospects.
Finally, she was introduced to a position teaching eight children for 65 pounds at the Roland residence. Amusingly, they were looking for a governess who was also skilled in cooking, cleaning, and caring for infants. It was clearly a job for a governess, cook, nanny, and maid all in one.
Mrs. Stopper, embarrassed by the meager positions, kept tugging at her earlobe and rummaging through the files that had already been exhausted. Laura said she would visit again next week and left the employment agency.
In a gloomy mood, Laura hailed a cab on West End Avenue and headed straight for the Waterloo Station area. Reaching New Cut Street, bustling with street vendors, she immediately got out of the carriage.
After squeezing through the crowd of dozens of hawkers and shoppers, she turned into a corner. There was an alley lined with seven jewelers. She visited them one by one, showing them the pouch of jewelry she had brought.
Although the accessories had never been criticized at balls or tea times, none of them were willing to pay more than 80 pounds for the jewels. She pleaded and persuaded the owner who seemed the most kind for several hours, and finally handed over all her jewelry for 83 pounds.
She didn't take a cab, but walked slowly to the bank. And she deposited all the money she received for the jewelry.
As a result, her current assets were 583 pounds. Apart from a one-pound note and a few coins in her wallet. And it didn't seem likely that this deposit would increase suddenly in the future. Labor worth between 50 and 65 pounds a year. That was her current value.
She felt anew the life she had to adapt to. This life was not one where she spent dozens of pounds on a single dress, or hundreds of pounds to hire a good cook. It was a labor market where she had to mortgage her year for between 50 and 65 pounds.
And in the labor market, she was not a very valuable commodity. The scholarship she had cultivated was nothing more than a slightly wider range of mediocre options.
She walked slowly to the inn where she was staying. It was more than an hour's walk, but after knowing her market value, she was reluctant to even take a cab for a few pence.
She moved slowly, resting her legs whenever a bench or an empty residential staircase appeared.
She was exhausted by the time she arrived at the inn. She had never walked so long before. It was still early afternoon and she hadn't even had lunch, but she was very tired.
She took off her clothes, hung them neatly, and lay down on the bed. She noticed the cracked part of the roughly plastered ceiling. She blinked and thought. Market price 50 pounds. 500 pounds if you work for 10 years. 1,000 pounds if you work for 20 years.
It would be impossible to make 3,000 pounds by the age of 50 if she worked at the market price.
Laura chuckled. Perhaps her uncle knew how useful the five thousand pounds her grandmother had left her would be. That's why he took it, even at the cost of a great loss.
'He would be quite pleased if he knew I was struggling with money right now.'
She recalled how enraged he had been just before leaving Pendleton Estate. Mr. Price's recovery of the investment and her grandmother's will. He poured all his anger on her.
He didn't seem to want to admit to himself that all of this was the result of his own misjudgment and callousness.
Miss Pendleton shook her head. The five thousand pound inheritance and her uncle were no longer relevant to her. They were already gone. She erased the past from her mind and decided not to think about it in the future. There was no point in dwelling on the past anyway.
But she wasn't suffering from amnesia, so she couldn't completely forget the life she had lived as Miss Pendleton. There were many precious and important things she had left behind.
The most haunting of these was her grandmother's funeral. She closed her eyes. The image of her grandmother lying in the coffin. Mourners dressed in black. Her uncle standing with a cold expression. Even Charles standing with a bored expression.
'By now, people will be gathered to hold a funeral under the direction of the pastor. Or maybe the burial has already been completed in the cemetery.'
Miss Pendleton imagined the lid closing on her grandmother's coffin. The coffin going into a deep pit. The dirt being sprinkled on top of it.
'I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to protect my grandmother's last moments.'
Her heart was constricted. She quickly got up again and sat at her desk.
She had not been able to attend the funeral, which would arouse interesting curiosity among the people of society.
