"I know there are more people here than can fit comfortably, so and I do not wish for Joe and I to add to your plate. I will look for work as well. I am not beyond dirtying my hands." She snorted a little with that. Then she gazed at her mother in law, her eyes softening. "Thank you, Mrs. Blacke. Thank you for being kind."

"Oh don't be daft, dear. It's me job. Yer family now, and no girl under my roof will be treated wrong like."

It could be said Lottie had a weakness for daughters and girls. Natural really, she had been one once. Women had to stick together in this brutal modern age.

"That goes for me daughters, daughters-in-law, and young Anne too. The Lace Curtain Brigade of Osway Street can flap all they like."

"I like you very much, Mother Blacke." She smiled then. The girl was quite winsome when she smiled, it was a wonder Joe fawned all over her. And the kindness that shone in those big brown eyes of her set her above ladies of her ilk. She might have seemed impulsive, but she would make for a fine wife.

And a mother, unbeknownst to her at the moment since she didn't know yet that there would be a babe.

A sudden blush of youth hit Lottie's cheeks and crinkled the lines at the corners of her eyes. She lowered her head to hide it "Oh hush." she playfully batted at her. Her son may have been an implusive clot, but he'd snagged a fine one. Her soul appeared to be as polished as her exterior. "Well, as long as were being honest, I like ye too. You'll do us proud. Now, as yer mother-in-law. How can I help ye?"

She thought for a moment, and then she said, "Will you tell me about Joe when he was a child?" Her words were soft, curious even. The light in her eyes seemed a slight bit brighter at the mention of her new husband's name. She certainly did seem to love him despite just having a whirlwind relationship. "Tell me what he was like... Was he as kind as a boy as he is today? Or loving? Did you know it was all my fault this happened? I was crying at the train station and he merely offered me an ear and a handkerchief. None of the boys in my circle were as polite." She paused and tilted her head, "And then my brother came along and thought that Joe was touching me. I defended him. My father is a merchant, not a nobleman. The only difference between us, really, is that our family happens to have money. My father told me that he worked hard to become rich, we started out as poor." She smiled fondly at one of the few, good lessons her father had imparted.

"Joe?" So, she wanted details that only a mother could give.  The sought knowledge of her beloved from a time long before the young couple were known to each other as husband and wife.

"Well, as a tot, he was such fusspot; he always wanted to be picked up or put down soon after. Cried a lot. Thought I'd go mad, but he settled into a good lad." She considered the events of their first meeting.  Pearl's account matched how Joe had described the events.  "I'm not surprised he came to yer rescue. As a lad he was always playing umpire sortin' out teams fer games, lookin' out for little 'uns, makin' sure children who wanted ta play were included. He used ta get in trouble tryin' ta stop fights all the time. John thought 'im too. How those two fought..."

Lottie tilted her head as wandered through the mists of time.  Her journey took her back to the present and she considered her new daughter-in-law's pedigree. "I know yer family by reputation. I'm told they're in the paper alot, but I never learnt to read so I judge a person by what's on the inside, not how much money they 'ave down the bank. From where I sit, Looks like you're pretty shiny."

"I am only shiny because my father wanted better for our family than what he had," she paused and tilted her head, "But the lot of my sisters and brothers, and there are plenty, have soured it for him. Most of them are greedy and mean. I don't know why I am so different from them in that regard, Darius is the only exception I think because he's... odd, but he's never been mean. My mother... Father made it clear that he loved her once but she is very much about the money he made and not as much about our family. It's almost like she isn't my mother at all..." She gave again as this notion truly started to swirl within her head. "And sometimes, I wish it were true... That she wasn't really my mother. I know it's so very unkind of me to think that about one's mother. But I digress, this isn't about that. I just mean to say that we're only shiny in appearance, but we're not blue blooded."

The anguish other families could inflict on their members. Lottie silently shook her head at the whole mess. "Well, Pearl, us Blacke's may not 'ave a lot of money, but I've seen to it that we 'ave a lot of kindness ta give. Don't ye fret."

Just as she was about to open up some more to her mother in law, a knock came to the door. Pearl stood and made sure Lottie sat, "Let me get it. You deserve to sit for now. I will help you with supper. I know how to cook and bake, it's very unlady like but it makes me happy." She smiled a soft smile before moving to that door. A messenger asked if she was Pearl, for he had a missive for her eyes. She nodded, accepted the letter, which seemed to be weighty indeed. "Already been tipped, mum, have a lovely day," he said before tipping his hat and hopping on his bike to ride off.

Frowning, Pearl returned to the kitchen and sat down with the missive marked with her name in penmanship she did not recognize. It was sealed with a wax wafer and the name of an author she had read before. Frowning in confusion, she peeled it open and coins... at least enough to set her up in a cottage with Joe if she chose, fell into her lap.

She read the missive then, absently stacking the coins on the table. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at Lottie with shock. "I'm being offered a job and given money in advance... by an author who needs a companion. I've read her work, I didn't know she was... here in Whitby." She sounded giddy. "Hortencia Coggins is a very talented novelist and I don't... I don't know how she heard of me."

Lottie's eyes widened as coins spilled onto Pearl's lap. "Heavens! There must be nearly a year's wage fer a workin' man there. Who sent it?" Her question was answered from the letter Pearl devoured. The older woman's head twitched at this new development. "Well isn't that lucky? I don't read obviously, but why not go fer it."