The Silk Merchant's Convenient Wife by Elisabeth Hobbes

Author:Elisabeth Hobbes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-06-04T19:27:13+00:00

* * *

Jonathan was waiting for her at the gate as he had promised. He was speaking to a tall man, but when he saw her he shook the man’s hand, clasped him on the shoulder and came over to admit Aurelia. She walked through the gate and into the small yard set with large cobbles. A group of four boys, all dressed in identical grey shirts and breeches, were busily heaving crates on to a flat wagon.

‘They are heading for the canal at Manchester,’ Jonathan explained. ‘From there to London. Let’s go down to the riverside. I’ll just fetch my coat. Are you warm enough?’

Aurelia pulled her fur-trimmed cape closer around herself and adjusted her hat. The rain had stayed away, but so had the sun and the frost had not yet melted off the railings and walls. She was a little chilly, though the crisp air had helped her to stop feeling nauseous.

Jonathan dashed inside one of the doors, presumably the office he shared with Edward. Aurelia gazed around her at the high walls of the mill which she had only seen from a distance. Even from outside the thick brick building she could hear the clattering and thrumming of machinery. Inside it must be deafening and she had no wish to go any closer.

‘Don’t you find it makes your head ache?’ she asked Jonathan when he returned.

Jonathan shrugged. ‘I’m so used to it that I barely remember it was ever different. Shall we go?’

Arm in arm they walked together to the furthest end of the factory and through a small gateway. Before long they came to the clearing where trees had once stood. It was only a fortnight ago that Aurelia had been standing on the other side of the river calling Caesar back and already she could see the progress that had been made. The flow had been diverted, cutting off the horseshoe of what had once been her father’s land.

‘This is where I’m going to build the apprentice house,’ Jonathan said. He strode out, leaving Aurelia standing at the edge of the clearing, and waved his arms at the imaginary building.

‘They’ll have a schoolroom, a bedroom to share and a kitchen to eat in. I think a garden would be nice where they can grow their own food. Perhaps even some chickens.’

Aurelia smiled to see her husband’s enthusiasm. ‘It sounds wonderful,’ she agreed, crossing the frozen ground to stand at his side.

His eyes took on a faraway look and Aurelia wondered if he was even aware that he had slipped his hand into hers.

‘The boys will be happier and better cared for here than if they stayed in the workhouse. I want to take care of my workers, you see. I want to see them educated. I should have gone to a fine school, but that chance was taken from me when we moved to Macclesfield. I was fortunate that my mother and Edward encouraged me to study, but it was hard. My boys will have a rudimentary education and a better future than they would otherwise.

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