‘Please send her my felicitations,’ Norma replied, trying her hardest not to weep.
‘I will need to bring an agent around to have a look at the place, but don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t sell quickly given I have taken good care of it. Of course, I am afraid that you are going to have to find yourselves somewhere else to live. I doubt the new owner will want to rent it, eh?’ Mr Lauden announced, clutching his lapels in a most officious manner and gazing proprietorially around the room. ‘A month, I think, should do it. This is, after all, prime real estate. We are going to leave in the next few weeks. Just as soon as it can be arranged.’
‘Tea?’ Sissy asked weakly for want of anything else to say.
When she handed Alicia a cup her hand shook so much that Sissy looked at the woman to issue her an apology only to see sad sympathy in the older woman’s eyes. Offering her a brief smile, Sissy quickly turned away and looked at Mr Lauden. He shook his head and continued to clutch his waistcoat.
‘Where will you move to?’ she asked.
‘Oh, my wife has a cousin near Burnham. We are going to move down south where the climate is more suitable given her condition,’ Mr Lauden replied. ‘Naturally, we cannot come back here so we are going to sell everything before we go. The agent has already said that he can see no reason why this property should not sell. He is going to come around and take particulars later.’ Mr Lauden remained where he was for several moments as if expecting Alicia to engage him in conversation. When she didn’t he seemed to realise that he was intruding on the ladies’ tea and sucked in a breath. ‘Well, I shall be on my way then. Good day to you all.’
Sissy saw him out and stared blankly at the door before her when he had gone.
‘Oh dear.’ Norma began to dab at her eyes. ‘Whatever shall we do? Sissy?’
‘Don’t fret,’ Sissy urged her gently. ‘We will find somewhere. There will be other properties nearby. We will be fine.’
‘But a month isn’t very long to find somewhere. What do we do? How are we going to move all of this?’ Norma began to snivel into her handkerchief.
Sissy had no answers. She struggled to quell her own panic. When she realised that Alicia was doing her best to pretend that she wasn’t there, Sissy threw their guest an apologetic look.
‘Please excuse us. This has all come as a bit of a shock.’ She busied herself by pouring two more cups of tea and handed her aunt one, liberally laced with several spoons of sugar.
Tea and sugar were very expensive, but neither Sissy nor Norma could give them up. They were the only luxuries they afforded themselves and consequently, because of the cost, used them sparingly, or when they had guests. This, though, was an emergency.
‘Here, drink this. Try not to worry, Aunt Norma. We moved here; we can move somewhere else. It isn’t unheard of. At least we get to have a look at some of the other houses in the area, eh?’
Norma nodded but then looked sadly at her. ‘But you and I both know that there are no properties empty in this village. Why, the only house I know of that is empty is the old cottage on the moor. We cannot live all the way out there.’
‘Well, we will just have to live somewhere else then, won’t we?’ Sissy said firmly.
Deep inside, she was as worried as her aunt but refused to allow Alicia to see it. Right now, she was struggling to contemplate just how easily her entire life had just been swept out from under her boots. There were no answers.
‘At least we have a few weeks to get everything packed and moved,’ she added softly, more to reassure herself than anyone else. It was then that she realised neither her nor her aunt had replied to Alicia’s dinner invitation. ‘I do apologise,’ Sissy continued. ‘But I think it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to accept any invitations at present. As I am sure you will realise that we have a lot to do now.’
Alicia nodded. ‘Of course, my dear. I understand. Is there anything I can do to help? Would you like me to have a word with Morgan?’
Sissy stared at her a little nonplussed. ‘How could Morgan help with this?’
‘I really don’t know, but I am sure he would want to know,’ Alicia replied, and knew that Morgan would be livid if she didn’t tell him. She carefully ignored just how easily Sissy had used Morgan’s first name but it felt
right that she should do so.
‘He cannot help us,’ Sissy declared firmly. ‘This is our problem. We just need to find another house to rent, that is all.’
‘But I like this one,’ Norma whispered mournfully. ‘This has been home for many years now. How could we live somewhere else?’
‘There is no point wailing and weeping over it,’ Sissy huffed. ‘Mr Lauden has made his mind up. This house has to be sold. We have to move. That is the end of it.’
She picked up her teacup and took a sip for want of something to do with her hands. They shook so much it was a miracle that she didn’t spill tea all over herself. She tried to think of some desultory conversation she could engage Alicia in. It was humiliating that this titled, wealthy woman had witnessed their complete humiliation. It was embarrassing that she was likely to gossip with her friends about what had happened to that poor Sissy and her aunt.
It is embarrassing that she will tell Morgan what has happened. God only knows where we are going to end up.
She knew, even without looking at the financial ledger they kept tucked away in the dresser, that they didn’t have the money to pay for the hire of the carts they would need to move. They lived hand to mouth and survived on the basics as it was. Even living basically, they didn’t have enough for many extras and moving was most definitely an additional expense they couldn’t afford.
‘You mustn’t concern yourself, dear,’ Alicia soothed a still fraught Norma. ‘I am sure that a solution will come about in time. Would you like me to come with you to view properties? I don’t mind. The carriage is right outside.’
‘No. No, I don’t think I am up to it today,’ Norma replied. She dabbed at her eyes and offered the elder woman a kindly smile, but it didn’t remove the panic in her gaze, which flew around the room in search of a solution, or a way out of the new mess that had presented itself. ‘All in good time. I really must lie down.’ Norma stood up and shuffled toward the stairs, oblivious to how rude she had just been to abandon Alicia.