This is a novel I am working on, in its very first, very rough draft. It is about two women in the late 1800’s in northern England who find out about themselves and their needs in the midst of cultural change.

Prologue

11 November 1869

     Sarah smiled up at her father, Phineas Bell, as he tousled her curly blonde hair playfully when he came in from work. She sat at the large wooden table just waiting for him to come home, as she had all her young life.

     “Hello, Papa. How was your day at the mine?”

     With a sigh, Phineas sat down heavily at the table next to his daughter. “Long, chick. But, it puts food on our table, doesn’t it, now?” He smiled and looked at her, realizing with a start that, at thirteen, she was beginning to show signs of becoming a young woman. Had it been so long? He remembered her birth as though it was only last season. Two years after Willie came along, he had a beautiful baby girl who had big green eyes like her mother’s and a ready smile. He cherished her to this day, and even though Rachel had given him two more daughters after her, Sarah remained closest to his heart. 

     Looking at her as she perused her bible, the only book allowed by Rachel in their home, he suddenly reached out and took her hand, drawn to the fact that she looked so much like mother, but her face remained open, curious, and happy, unlike Rachel’s perpetually pinched look of dissatisfaction.

     Sarah, startled by her father’s sudden grasp, said, “What is it, papa? Are you alright?”

     “Yes, lovie. But I want to tell you something, and I want you to hear me, and never forget what I’m going to say.”

     Sarah nodded with wide eyes, a bit frightened by his serious tone.

     “One day, you will be married. Now, you may find a lad you particularly like, or, your mother and I may find one we think well suited to you. But I want you to know one thing: I will never choose someone you’re opposed to, and I won’t let your mother do it either. Above all things, you must choose someone you can be happy with, someone you can love who gives you all the love you deserve in return. Never settle for less, love, because if you do, you will never be truly happy, no matter what anyone else tells you. Do you understand me?”

     Sarah, her head tilted slightly to one side, looked at him thoughtfully and said, “Yes, papa, I think so.”

     “Good. Now, let’s go help your mother with tea before she gets cross with us, shall we?”

     Sarah nodded and slipped her small hand into his large calloused one, thinking she probably had the best father in the world, with the feeling that something truly important had just happened. She just wasn’t sure what..

Got to Chapter one and two

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