A New Dream, Maggie Ford [books to read romance txt] 📗

go to bed and attempt to find some sleep while I’m able. It’s quite bad enough with the smell of cooking drifting into the living room from that kitchen. It’s enough to turn a body’s stomach before the meal’s ever eaten. It lingers even in the bedrooms. I never dreamed that cooking smells could linger so.’

There were many things Victoria had never dreamed of, Julia found herself thinking; cooking and washing up afterwards to name but two. Most likely it had never before occurred to her to imagine the work involved in preparing meals, and in washing and stacking away the dishes afterwards.

Even now her daughters did the cooking and housework, the washing, ironing and bed-making, with Julia doing the shopping. Eventually though Victoria was going to have to turn a hand and do something, if only to keep herself from fretting. So far all she’d done had been a little dusting and some ironing, which she soon said made her back ache; she pronounced herself too old for this sort of thing. Julia refused to accept this; she’d seen women around here far older than her mother on their hands and knees cleaning doorsteps!

The trouble was that so far housework had usually led to squabbles about who should do this and who should do that. James stayed quietly in his room while this was going on, apparently believing that, as the only male in the family, housework was not his responsibility. Young Virginia was willing enough to turn her hand to anything but Stephanie saw herself as being put upon and often failed to do her fair share of chores, leaving more for her sister to do. Virginia naturally resented this and quarrels would break out. To save their mother being harassed by it all, Julia frequently found herself doing most of the work while her sisters sat apart from each other, petulant and hostile.

The time had come for a family gathering. She had to make them all see that this was their life from now on and they must all pull their weight. What she had to say would stun them but first she must prepare her mother before springing this new shock on the family.

She found her opportunity a day or two later. ‘I know this has all been hard, Mummy,’ she said, ‘but it will get better, I promise.’

Her mother looked unconvinced. ‘I doubt I shall ever get used to this. I’m not as young as I once was and I feel so tired all the time.’

We’re all tired, Julia wanted to say, but held her tongue.

‘Nor do I think I can stand much more of this bickering,’ Victoria continued. ‘There was never a cross word in our old home. But here…’

This was Julia’s chance. ‘We need to have a family chat, all together.’

She saw her mother watching her hopefully. More and more, she realized, Victoria was looking to her for guidance, expecting her to take charge, trusting her to make all the right decisions. And if a decision turned out to be wrong, she would be the one to be instantly blamed; no one would stop to weigh against it all the good decisions she had made. The thought brought a brief feeling of resentment, causing her to say a little too decisively, ‘Tomorrow morning then.’

Tomorrow was Sunday; nine days since they’d left the comfort of their old home, hardly a fortnight since suffering the sudden loss of their father. What was she expecting of this family? How could she think they could knuckle down to this new, strange life after such a grievous shock?

‘Will you tell them then?’ her mother was saying, with such timidity that Julia felt for her.

As the remaining parent of this family Victoria should have been taking up the reins herself but was only too grateful to hand them over to one of her children. It wasn’t her fault; she couldn’t help being what she was.

‘Yes, I’ll tell them,’ Julia said gently and patted her mother’s arm in an effort to give solace.

‘This is silly!’ Stephanie glared at Julia across the table. ‘You can’t expect us to go looking for work. None of us has ever had to work.’

‘You will now,’ Julia said harshly.

‘What do you mean, I will now?’ Stephanie snapped back. ‘You mean I’m to turn into some menial? We once used to pay staff to do the sort of jobs you’re suggesting.’

‘Once, yes,’ Julia reminded, trying to keep her temper while her mother, James and Virginia looked on, all three seeing Stephanie as their spokeswoman. ‘We’ve no money now for staff. We’re going to have to go out ourselves to earn money, all of us. And as none of us has any skills, yes, we will have to knuckle down as best we can and do menial jobs, as you call them. How else are we going to survive?’

‘You don’t mean Mother as well?’ Stephanie’s question was meant sarcastically, but their mother gasped.

‘Oh, darling, I couldn’t!’

‘Of course you couldn’t,’ Julia soothed, glaring at her insensitive sister. ‘I’m talking about the rest of us.’

‘Not Virginia, dear, she is just a child, hardly out of school.’ Her mother’s arm went about the girl’s shoulders in a gesture of protection. ‘In better times she would be going on to a college for young ladies, just as you and Stephanie did. It’s too bad! I never dreamed we would all come down to this.’

Julia held her ground ‘Lots of youngsters leave school at thirteen or fourteen to start work, Mummy. It won’t kill her. It might even do her good.’

‘That’s if any of us can find work,’ Stephanie put in sourly. ‘With unemployment growing again, how do you think we can find jobs with no idea what to do?’

‘We’ll have to keep looking until we find something,’ Julia said firmly. ‘We’ve got to bring in money somehow. What little we have in savings isn’t going to go far.’

‘I don’t want to have to go out and work,’ Virginia bleated. ‘I’ll