1890s: Fired!

So another week has passed and this one was world changing for Abigail. Monday started like every other day, Abigail went to work, tended her chickens and her garden, and hoped Matthew would call on her or send her a letter. Not that she worried when he didn't, after all, it's very early yet. Then Tuesday came around, and left Abigail in turmoil. At first, she tried a new method of teaching that proved very successful on the students, but very unpopular with the school board. As a result, Abigail was mercilessly fired! 

 

In the 1890s it was extremely easy to be fired, and there was no job security to speak of. As a teacher, Abigails home is also tied to her work. If she is no longer a teacher, someone else will move into the house and she will need to vacate the property more or less immediately. What to do! Abigail has no family to fall back on, finding a new teaching position when you've been fired from one is next to impossible. She'd be destitute and left on the streets! The first thing Abigail did was cry:

Once she'd cried she tried to figure out a way to salvage the situation. What are her options? Well marriage, and Matthew has publicly declared his love for her. Surely? If she pushed? Perhaps? Or at least help her to some new employment? She sent him a missive asking for a meeting. it was bold, perhaps too bold, because Matthew responded by turning her down!

The embarrassment!!! And now what? She's out of a job and home, and the one man she hoped could help her won't even see her. Was it too much? Was it one thing to be flirting with a working middleclass teacher, and another to be associated with an unemployed nobody? Was his mother involved? So many questions, and yet Abigail had no time to think about any of them. She's now desperate. She decided to turn to the reverend. Most country schools at this time was owned and run by the parish. Perhaps the reverend could help her out and persuade the school board to give her her job back? But the reverend wanted to do no such thing. Instead he preached to her about facing the consequences of her actions and finding acceptance.

At a complete loss for what to do, Abigail went to the park, walking around aimlessly trying to think of a way out of her predicament. That's when she ran into Joseph. Heartbroken and hurt, she confides her problems to her friend, and finally she finds someone who sympathises with her plight:

More so, Joseph has a solution to all her problems:

With two young children at home, one of which is about to transition from a toddler to a boy, a governess is needed. So far they've been raised by their father and the house maids, and a teacher is greatly needed. A mother figure with their best interest at heart. A position as governess was a common job for middle class women, and while it is not Abigail's first choice, it is her only choice and the best one she has. She moves in the very same day. The first meeting with the children goes well and she finds her place in the household:

Matthew keeps acting strange, however. He comes over on her first night, but doesn't speak to her at all. Then he sends her a strange missive about some dream he's had:

Abigail is now wondering if something is seriously wrong with him. Is he ill? Insane? Or just strange? On Thursday it was time for Thanksgiving, and Joseph had invited the neighbors. This time dinner was a much nicer affair (mostly because Ophelia wasn't there), the only loved declared came from a husband to his wife, and no one made a fuss over Abigail's dress being more simple than the others. After dinner, Abigail stayed at the table with the women:

While the men pulled away into the drawing room, as was the custom at the time:

On Saturday it was Frank's birthday. Birthdays were a relatively new thing to celebrate in the Victorian era, prior to the 19th century no one really cared about birthdays, but in the mid-19th century, the wealthy started throwing lavish birthday parties for their children. Abigail insists that Frank gets a party and invites the neighborhood children. There is cake, an entertainer playing the piano, games and a puppet show, and gifts of course. It's a huge success:

On Sunday, Abigail is nervous about going to church. It will be the first time all week she'll have the chance to speak to Matthew. Will he be his normal flirty self, ready to declare his love for her, or his more recent distant self? It turns out to be the latter. After being insulted by Ophelia, Abigail boldly walks up to Matthew, who greets her, says a few words, then leaves to talk to others. He could not be more distant if he tried.

Joseph is more willing to talk, and opens up about his grief for his lost wife, and suddenly the two are sitting very close in the sofa. Is it love in the air? Or is Joseph just lonely? Time will tell.