CHAPTER FOUR
Staying with your cousins Agnes and Flora was a good idea. As it happens, they keep house for the Sommerville family, who are well off and very involved with charitable work. You accompany them one day as they distribute warm clothing to the poor — someone has to carry the heavy clothes!
Apparently, acts of charity are quite “the thing” among the ladies. You whisper to Agnes, “Moving in fashionable circles, are we?”
“How do you mean?”
“All these hoop skirts!”
She swats you. A few feet away, their friend Edith hides a smile. You give her a roguish wink and she blushes. Interesting.
“So what now, Hugh?” Flora asks. “Are you looking for new employment?”
“It’s just so difficult …”
She nods. “Some of our friends are unionists. They’re trying to make it so that workers have better hours and pay. Maybe you should talk to them. Or else, we’re attending a public dance next week with Edith. We could make you some connections.”
You like the idea of fighting for workers’ rights, but unions aren’t technically recognized, legally. Do you want to get mixed up in that? Or should you try to make connections at this dance, even though you don’t exactly look like a gentleman?
Make your choice!
