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Chapter 10
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Moss on the Old Stone Steps Chapter 10
On the third day after the mason opened up the flue, the house was covered in soot. Mrs. Mercer and I carried the table and chairs out to the yard and draped old cloths over the trunks.Her brother had come to make trouble, as expected. He stood outside the gate and said the house would be sold sooner or later; I was wasting my effort on repairs.Mrs. Mercer hurried over from the east end of the high street with the lease in hand and showed the neighbors its plainly written three-year term. Her brother cursed her for airing the family's affairs in public, but in the end he left.After the crowd dispersed, Mrs. Mercer sat on the stone steps to catch her breath. "I'm sorry you had to see that.""I rented the cottage. It was right for me to stand with you and have this out."She looked at me and suddenly laughed. "The reason I agreed to let the place to you was that you could pay three years' rent in one go. I was afraid you'd run off, and afraid my brother would force me to sell.""And n
Moss on the Old Stone Steps Chapter 9
Early the next morning, more than a dozen people were already waiting outside the solicitor's office.Arthur arrived before the appointed time, carrying a lidded food tin that was still warm when he handed it to me. "A cookshop on the high street makes vermicelli soup. I remembered you don't eat onion, so I asked them to leave it out."I did not refuse. There were many people ahead of us. No sense in waiting hungry.The vermicelli was overcooked, but the egg was done better than his own attempts used to be. Arthur sat on the stone bench beside me and watched me eat.When our turn came, the solicitor first examined the marriage certificate and the marriage settlement, then asked the reason for the separation."Marital discord," I said.The solicitor turned to Arthur. "Does the husband consent to sign the deed of separation and the settlement for independent property, and withdraw his objection to his wife's living apart?"Arthur said nothing.The people waiting behind us began to grow r
Moss on the Old Stone Steps Chapter 8
Arthur arrived in Lyme on the day the crabapple tree put out its first new leaf.I was hanging bedding in the yard when three knocks sounded at the gate. That was his old habit. Whether he was coming home to his own house or entering my room, he always knocked three times before pushing the door open.I used to tease him for being overly polite. He said it was not politeness; he was afraid of startling me.After the third knock, I did not open the gate.Arthur waited, then knocked again. "Eleanor, I know you're in there."A corner of the coverlet had blown to the ground and picked up a smear of mud. I bent to retrieve it, brushed it clean, and only then went to open the gate.He wore the old traveling cloak he had worn on the journey, mud caked along the edge of his boots. His face was thinner than before, but he was not carrying the deed of separation."How did you find me?""The lease counterfoil had the agency's stamp."I took half a step aside and let him into the yard.Arthur's ga
Moss on the Old Stone Steps Chapter 7
The day I arrived in Lyme, the first thing I bought at the dock was a set of bedding.Tom, the boy Mrs. Mercer had sent to meet me, helped carry my trunks. When he saw me trying to walk with the bedding in my arms, he suggested I hire a cab. "The lane isn't far, but the cobbles are slick and your trunks are heavy."I hired the cab.The cottage was tucked behind the seafront high street, its front narrower than the lease drawing had shown. I pushed open the gate and saw the crabapple tree, not yet in bloom.Mrs. Mercer stood beneath it, waiting. She was in her mid-forties; her dress was neat and her manner brisk. "You've seen the drawing, but that was done in summer. The west room gets no sun in winter. I want to be clear about that.""It doesn't matter.""The kitchen flue is old. It smokes if you burn damp wood.""I'll bear it in mind."She walked me through every room and saved the last detail for the end: the neighbors on the other side of the wall kept three chickens that started sq
Moss on the Old Stone Steps Chapter 6
Lydia was sitting in the drawing room, crying.Her paints could not tolerate damp. Left in the sealed house for even a few days, they would be ruined. Mr. Harrow slapped the municipal notice on the table and demanded to know why Arthur had let his wife behave so recklessly."The old house was sold to the railway company a fortnight ago. She knew that and still agreed to sign the deed of gift. She meant to humiliate Lydia."Arthur did not move to comfort her the way he usually did. "That house was part of her separate estate before our marriage. Why did she sell it?"Mr. Harrow's expression darkened. "It was hers. If she wanted to sell, she sold. How would we know?""Before the sale, did she come here to discuss it?"The drawing room fell quiet for a moment.Lydia dabbed at her tears. "She did come back once, but Mother was taking me to choose fabrics that day and didn't have time to see her."Mrs. Harrow cut in sharply, "What good will any of that do now? Bring her back and sort this o
Moss on the Old Stone Steps Chapter 5
"Has she gone to the old house?""Hobbs says she took her trunks and her papers."Arthur turned toward the gate. "When will she be back?"The maid lowered her head. "She didn't say."He still did not connect those words with leaving. He sent men to the inns outside the city. "It's cold. She won't have gone far."Hobbs arrived in haste, holding the key booklet I had left behind. "Sir, there is no need to search the inns.""What do you mean?""She asked me to give you these this afternoon. She said if I handed them over too early, you would stop her."Arthur snatched the booklet.Tucked inside the front cover was the deed of separation that Hobbs had delivered on my behalf. Only my signature was on it. The following pages listed the household stores, the servants' wages, and several purchases coming due. The final line noted that his old clothes were in the south storeroom and asked him to dispose of them as he saw fit.Beyond that, not a single word was left for him."Where has she gone
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