The clock hand crawled to eleven o’clock, then carriage wheels groaned up the hill and rolled to a stop. Maria flew out of her seat, disappearing into the foyer while I followed […]
“Your father is busy,” she replied after a clipped silence. “You may blame his absence on the Emperor Napoleon.” There was a short pause. “You know who he is, don’t you child?” […]
Mr. Clayton nodded briefly, but his blue eyes hardened as he stared at his wife.Suddenly, he caught sight of me. There was something about his smile I did not care for. Nevertheless, […]
“Ten thousand pounds, Clayton. That’s my price.” “I haven’t got the money.” “Come now! I hear you’re to marry an heiress with thirty thousand.” “Why should I pay? Your daughter is a […]
The front door banged open, and suddenly I’d had enough. Spencer wouldn’t be around for the next few days, so now was time to act. In two strides I was in the […]
“Mary, dear.” Laura Mollington’s voice jolted me from my reverie. “I was wondering if you would mind helping us to settle a dispute. Lucy’s daughter is to marry an American and he […]
I turned to her. “Jessie, dear, you did what you could. Now, I think you should go upstairs, change your clothes and try to get warm. We’ll be having supper presently.” I […]
That was the end of piano lessons, as Miss Richardson informed me she was not going to continue trying to teach a band of unruly girls. Spencer, amused, had said that Stephanie […]
“Well then.” Spencer smiled at me. “They’re nice people, perfectly respectable.” I turned to her. “Have you been going out with any young men?” A faint flush crawled up her neck as […]
I slowly descended the stairs and entered the empty parlor, going to the window to gaze out. I could feel cold tendrils of air coming in under the gaps in the sash […]
Fourteen-year-old Jessica was already proficient with her needle, and had persuaded me to buy one of those new-fangled Singer sewing machines to make our sewing go more quickly. How fortunate I was […]
I hung my head, and in that moment I knew I’d lost them. Well-bred ladies never shouted, whatever the provocation. What was wrong with me? I knew better than to show a […]
When Papa quit farming and became a manure salesman, my family thrived. It was the secret to our wealth. We were finally able to leave New Hampshire and make a better life […]
“I work as a clerk in the local bank, and make a decent income, enough to keep a wife and family. At least, I’m a cut above the laborers, carpenters, butchers, longshoremen, […]
GOOD EVENING MRS CRAVEN by Mollie Panter-Downes is a series of wartime stories set in Britain during the Second World War. Like most British people, Ms. Panter-Downes writes fluently and well, and […]
My scribe sighed as she sat in one of those moon-backed chairs. “It’s not so simple.” She stroked Pandora’s orange fur as if she were a real cat. We have to think […]
I wasn’t at all sure that I wanted to help that irritating cat, not to mention those platter-shaped beings, but my husband Richard had fought hard for the people’s rights in the […]
I seethed, like a pot on the boil, anger making me forget my fear. Just at that moment, Roomba careened into the long velvet train of my plum-colored court gown and growled. […]
