Morning all. The coffee is brewing and this is going to be a busy one, so let’s not delay and just jump right into the morning prompt. Timers set for fifteen minutes and off we go.
I need to secure a time period for this story. I think I started in one and then shifted to another. I fell asleep reading a steampunk novel last night and I think my still sleepy brain just shifted from modern to pseudo Victorian while writing. If I do anything with this I would take the time to figure it out first.
Friday, March 7th: There was no reason to return.
There was no reason to return. She thought through it. She wasn’t welcomed and nothing she had of value was left behind. She knew that the items she did leave would have been gone through and evaluated. Anything that was of any interest to anyone would have been taken by now. She had no doubt the rest would have been disposed of.
She took a deep breath and felt the flash of anger burn through her. She let it go. Or tried to. It was unfair, but this wasn’t the first time she learned that life could be unfair. She turned her back and tried to think of the positives.
Before her father’s death she had taken all of her important papers and put them in a safe deposit box in a bank on the other side of town. She had added all of her jewelry as well and then transferred any money that was hers, from the bank the family used into an account in her name only also on the other side of town. She may not have inherited anything but she would not be destitute.
She thought of her uncle, informing her that he would be selling the family home and giving her the option of moving in with his family so she wouldn’t be on her own. She would be given a small room and would not only be required to help with chores around the house but be required to pay rent. Thinking over the details Samantha thought it sounded like she was paying to be allowed to be a housekeeper or maid.
She also knew her cousins would think of her that way. She had never been close with that side of the family. She declined the offer and went to see the lawyer, double checking everything. In the time she was gone, the locks were changed. She shook her head. As she walked she wondered if they would question where she went. She somehow doubted it.
Her steps took her across town to an older neighborhood. While still gentile, it was a little worn around the edges. The houses were still single owned but occasionally boarders were taken in. They were still a step above the rooming houses a few blocks over, but no longer grand mansions. Samantha inherited a house from her mother’s side of the family along with a small legacy. She used some of the legacy to repair and make the house ready for use once she saw that there would be no recovery from the illness.
She had her own small income from investments as well as her work to pay for her every day living. She would not live an extravagant lifestyle, but she would be fine. Samantha unlocked her front door and went inside. As she closed and locked it behind her. Samantha realized she was relieved. She had not enjoyed attending the glittering events that were required of her. The events themselves she enjoyed, but the people she found boring and often distasteful. She would much rather be in her workshop.
Still her father insisted and she complied. Now that he was gone and the world disposed of her, she was free to life as she pleased. There was a freedom in that she hadn’t expected. She was no longer expected to follow the strict set of rules laid out for women of her class.
Ten til Midnight 