Nothing But Time (5 page)

London, England

Two Days Later

It seemed
Kate
had no marketable skills. 
It
was
quite lowering for a woman who had spent the better part of her life educating herself. 

David
had given her money for a hackney and an address where he thought he recalled an employment agency being located.  At eight
o’clock on Monday
morning, Kate rolled along in the back of the creaky old hack
southeast
in the direction of London’s center
.  If the thickening population of church spires had not provided direction,
a
smoggy haze
clearly marked
that more populated area
. 
Upon arriving at
a
busy
business district, i
t hadn’t taken much asking around to find
an
employment agency within walking distance
.  Kate
had to sit on a hard wooden chair
in the offices for over an hour
before she had been called in
.  That long period had provided her ample time for reflection and also
an
opportunity to
wallow in a little self-pity and grieve for her future and family
. 

L
ate last night,
the
cruel
realism
of her
circumstances
had descended upon her.  Though
David
worked daily on the
cabling
for the machine, his reluctance to actually return home
had been obvious
.  Did that mean he would stretch the project out for as long as possible in hopes of winning her over?  Keeping her as his captive audience?  She very much feared that it was exactly what he was doing.

Without a more
motivated quantum physicist on her side, h
er life was in
1876
London
for the foreseeable future. 
Kate had thought so the night of her arrival, but had been lulled into a
false
sense of confidence after seeing
David
hard at work.  Now that truth was reasserting itself more forcibly in her mind. 
David
might never get them home.  All the wishing and optimism in the world wasn’t going to change that. 
She couldn’t
see herself
sit
ting
around for the next twenty years with hope as her only savior. 

Lacking the skills to fix the problem herself, she could at least take the reins of what remained of her destiny.
 
S
he would simply have to accept it and try to make some kind of life for herself here. 
A life that did not involve becoming someone’s little woman. 

That resolve was at odds with her grief over losing her family.

Like any girl with a problem to be solved, Kate just wanted her daddy.

She was pulled out of her despair when the clerk finally called her back to meet with one of the
agency’s officials
.  It didn’t take more than ten minutes time
in Mr. Lowry’s company
to discover that the
re
were few
jobs for her…a woman like her, that was.

David
, damn him, had been right.

She was uniquely
unqualified
for any post available. 
Despite her
distinguished
twenty-first
century degrees,
it seemed that
Kate
simply
did not
have what it took
t
o cut it in London’s job market
in
1876. 
There were some more menial tasks available but excessive pride prompted Kate’s automatic rejection
,
sure that t
here was something better. 
However,
t
here was no professional position she was considered qualified for. 

Largely, because she had breasts.

She couldn’t teach
.  S
he was too female for a public teaching position or for a position as a private tutor – that just ate at her as she pictured
David
warping little Bertie Well
s
’
mind
– a
nd
despite her
excellent
education
,
she
was just too unladylike to be a governess
as she lacked
other refined
qualitie
s required for the education of a ‘lady’
. 
Kate
was
even
t
oo female to be a secretary
in this time
.

It seemed that the only thing she had going for her was a distinct lack of a Cockney accent. 
Her long-voweled Minnesotan
accent was apparently rated
slightly
above the other.  But her voice alone wasn’t enough to grant her entr
y
into a
ny
position traditionally reserved for men. 

There were any number of things that
Kate
was urged to call the portly little man who looked down at her merely because of her
sex
.
  Welcome to a world before the concept of gender equality!

There was nothing
else
for her,
Mr. Lowry, the job placement agent
said. 
Kate
could see now why
David
had told her she was lucky that he had gotten there before her.  She could easily imagine what a woman might be reduced to doing if she were hungry enough and unable to find work.  I
f she truly intended to have a job to save her sanity, i
t
simply
would
have to be one of the factory positions that
the agent
had already
suggested
… though
the very thought of working in a manufacturing plant in the years prior to labor unions and safety standards
had Kate cringing
.

The only bright side had been that a Social Security numb
er wasn’t required to get the job.

Tapping her foot,
Kate
dithered
trying to make a decision.  Was it to be hard labor or a return to
David
’s house as a failure?  A failure who was doomed to nothing more than tedium and boredom
.  A failure
with nothing greater to occupy her mind than nightmares of her future? 

She
was trying to gather the gumption
to accept the previously offered
factory
position when
Lowry’s
secretary –
male secretary
– came in and offered the agent a
note card similar to the other
s the man had been rifling through. 
Lowry
,
with his long walrus mustache and tiny spectacles
,
looked at the card and back at her in a considering fashion that had
Kate
s
itting up straighter and plaster
ing
an eager smile on her face.

“Well, I guess this might do you for you, missy, though you seem disinclined to ‘work’ for your bread.”  The old fart really hadn’t appreciated her quick dismissal of the factory work
, had he?
  “It’s a position for a maid
but
, I’ll warn you, they might
not take you without reference
.  However, with
being the height of the Season
and all, I’ll give you a chance at it
as they need someone today
.”

“A maid?” 
Kate
’s heart sunk quickly.

“Don’t be sniffing at it now with your uppity way, miss,” he warned her
sternly
.  “
The p
osition
is a good one in
one of London’s best neighborhoods,
comes with room and board
as well
so you won’t need to rely on your brother any longer.
”

Kate winced. 
She had made up the simple tale of being new in town.  Given her age, he had i
nferr
ed her status as a spinster when she denied
being
married.  It was easy enough to stumble her way
from that
through a tale that had both of her parents dead and a brother who was refusing to take his only sister in to live with him and his young family in their small cottage in Didcot. 
She supposed she should be thankful that
had gotten her any pity from this man.

However,
those simple lies had led to this!  Room and board!
 
This
was ev
en better than she had hoped
.  She could live under her own support. 
No more being dependant on
David
for every morsel she ate
.  She’d have a roof over her head with no obligations greater than serving the person who owned it in a thoroughly professional manner.  As grateful as she was to
David
for all he’d provided, she knew those comforts came with unspoken expectations.  She’d heard enough from
David
in the evenings these past two weeks while they played cards to know what he wanted from her even if his declaration of love that first night hadn’t been enough.  She’d managed to ignore it, but it was still there.

A live-in job was just the thing to put some distance between them. 
“I’ll take it!”  She jumped readily at the position.  So what if she had a
master’s degree
? 
If
there was a possibility she might spend the rest of her life here, she needed a job and a place to live.  A degree
wasn’t going to feed her and give her a place to
sleep.  This job would.
Kate stood and stuck out her hand at the employment agent.  “You’re a good man Mr. Lowry.  Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

Lowry took her hand lightly and handed her the card.  “Here’s the address
, Miss Kallastad
.  You’ll want to speak with
the housekeeper,
Mrs.
Andrew
s
,
when you get there.  I’ll let her know that you’ll be there
this afternoon
.  Er, do you think your
brother will
be able to provide transportation
into town
?”

“I’m sure he will,” Kate said cheerily.  “He’ll just be so glad I was able to get a job.”

*
**

“You got a job?”
David
repeated in amazement as they s
at across from each other at lunch an hour later
.

“Didn’t think I could do it, did you?” Kate grinned as she shoveled another forkful of potatoes into her mouth.

With his head shaking automatically as if he had no control over it,
David
answered honestly.  “No, I did not.  What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to work in some big house in town.  Mr. Lowry said it’s a nice safe neighborhood so you don’t need to worry about that,” Kate answered evasively.  “
However
, the position
requires that I live there, so I’m sorry,
David
but I’ll be moving out
…
for now
.”

“What?”
David
’s fork clattered to the plate as he stared at her in surprise.  “But I…  This house…”

Not able to fight the guilt, Kate swallowed deeply.  “I know,
David
. 
It’s a beautiful house.  Truly. 
But I’m not ready for that…yet.  Despite our current circumstances, we’ve only been on one real date and I think that this whole leaping into living together thing is just moving too fast for me.  I just need some space.  Can you understand that?  Please?”

“But you don’t even need to have a job,” he continued.  “I can support you…”

“I know you can,” Kate assured him, “but I don’t want to be supported,
David
.  Can you understand that?  I wasn’t made for this life.  I need a purpose, even if it isn’t necessarily a noble one.”