Love Lost and Found Again

Sir Daniel sees Anna of safely and the goes to the telegraph office. He has them send a telegraph to his London townhome, telling his butler to expect Mrs. Cooper. Daniel instructs the butler to have a hansom cab meet her at the station, treat her as a guest and to make available his museum and library subsciptions to her.

It is entirely possible his London butler may think something immoral is happening. But inscrutable discretion is the key to any good butlers employment. Besides the thought of having an affair with Anna is hardly a terrible one. Any man would be proud to have a girl like Anna.

From the station he journeys to his friends office. Early as it is and being a Saturday, he still finds him at work. What he obtains from his friend is two discreet men to watch Sam Cooper. Daniel explains it as he suspects the man of theft but as he is married to a girl in service on the estate he is unwilling to just fire him without sufficient cause. Even if he is well within his rights to do just that. He gives a description of Sam but the men should be able to pick him up at the estate cottage. Daniel arranges that the two men can say they are part of Sir Daniel's project to improve the water supply to the estate and village. That should give them an excuse to be seen in the district.

Daniel buys several newspapers to read for the trip back to the estate. He is just finished reading the last one when his carriage pulls up outside the house of his estate steward. The position of steward is that of a professional and pays well enough for a nice two floor home with a cook and a maid. Sir Daniel's steward is quite surprised to find Daniel at his front door. For a moment he looks worried thinking their may be an estate emergency. When he finds out that Sir Daniel has come to complain about the way Sam Cooper has kept up his acreage, he is somewhat relieved and yet angered that Sam should be the reason for himself or Sir Daniel to be inconvenienced on a Saturday morning. He informs Daniel he will deal with Sam Cooper immediately.

Daniel thanks him, bids him good day and continues on home.

Sam Cooper has gone back to bed after a couple of glasses of gin. And so it takes a good deal of pounding on the cottage door and calling out for the estate steward, Sam's boss, to awaken him. The look and smell of Sam is enough to send the steward into a rage. If Anna was not Sir Daniel's private secretary, the steward yells, Sam would be looking for another job. He harangues Sam as a drunkard and an incompetent.

This day is getting worse and worse, Sam thinks. His days are not supposed to be spent being scolded by his boss and being told he is a drunk. Beat the wife, have a few drinks and then off to the village for a good few more drinks. With any luck certain local farmers will show up meaning their wives are home alone. Or he might come upon some of the looser girls in the district eager for a kind word, a kiss or a coin. Now he is being told he must pull up all the weeds on the two acres he lives on. That will takes days and days. Some of the weeds have assumed bush status and will have to be dug out by their roots.

Only when Sam produces a spade and begins to do some actual work does the steward leave. It is half-heartedly working and full heartedly bemoaning his state that Sam digs and hacks at the overgrown weeds.

Anna quickly becomes completely lost in her thoughts on the train ride. So much so she forgets all about the lunch that was packed for her. She starts trying to imagine her new life without Sam. It doesn't take long before she realizes she has no idea what will happen to her. Where will she live? Will she continue to be Daniel's secretary? Will he want her around? The thought of leaving Daniel terrifies her. She needs him.

Suddenly Anna is brought back to reality as the train stops. She quickly gathers up her things and exits. She smiles seeing the carriage waiting for her. Quietly she steps in as someone loads her bags.

When she finally arrives at the house she insists on taking care of her own things. Anna liked to be self sufficient, relaying on others was something she wasn't used to. She thinks about possibly going and visiting one of the museums but instead decides on a quiet evening. She knows Daniel has a few books lying around. Reading will keep her mind occupied.

Sam is too tired and too sore to do anything but collapse on the bed when the sun finally goes down. He has never had to work like that in his life. Of course he made time to pour some gin down his throat and even had to stop and fry up a meal for himself. When he drifts off to sleep it with the image of Anna cowering before him. He is sure all of this is her fault.

Daniel has a bit of a cramp in his writing hand when he falls asleep. It has been a few years since he wrote his own letters. The penny postage stamp introduced ten years ago initiated letter writing on a massive scale. Everybody, those who are literate anyways, write letters to friends near and far. Many of the poor could read and write to some degree due to Sunday school or parish church sponsored classes.

The next day being Sunday is started with morning church service. After breakfast, Sir Daniel and his entire household staff enter carriages and wagons to attend services at the village parish church. Normally Sam would ride in a carriage with Anna, the butler and the housekeeper. But Daniel has him relegated to an open wagon with the stable boys, grooms and gardeners.

In church, Sir Daniels household takes the right side pews with all seated as per rank. Again Sam is relegated to one of the last pews. He hasn't been able to put on his charming self amid the lower ranked male servants where he would by rights normally be. The left side is taken by villagers. Again seated by social rank. From the back of the church, Sam is unable to exchange flirtatious winks and looks with several farmer's daughters, wives or tradesman's wives.

After church, Daniel goes to visit Lucy's grave where he tells her all about Anna. He has to hurry back to the manor, where he changes into riding attire. It is his intention to spend the afternoon riding the bounds of the estate with one stop in mind.

That stop is at a farmhouse where there lives a young girl of the parish and estate has just been married. Daniel presents the bride and groom with train vouchers and a couple of pounds money that they may travel to the south and honeymoon in Cornwall. The girl's father is a respectable farmer in the district and Daniel has met the groom once before. He wants to size up the young man again. With any luck he will need a new gate keeper soon.

Daniel enjoys a couple of sandwiches and a glass of beer with the couple and her father before he sets off for a relaxing ride.

Anna spends the night with her nose but tied in various books, absorbing every word she takes in. The next morning she finds hers leg still clutching a book. Putting it aside she gets up and goes to her room to make herself presentable.

After a quick breakfast she heads out into the streets determined to enjoy her time at a museum or two. She decides to stop at one only a short walk from the house. The mus in was full of oil paintings, engravings, and sculpture. Anna really hadn't seen much art, other then what was in Sur Daniels home. It was fascinating. She didn't know what to look at first. Before she even knew it the museum was closing and she hadn't even seen half of what it had to offer.