"Five hundred," she said after a moment. "It's still a lot." She bit her lip then and said after a long moment, "I haven't even seen her yet. A lawyer approached me. Her name is Mrs Hortencia Coggins. An author like I had wanted to be..." She trailed off for a moment before wolfing down her snack.

"Too right it is," Lottie answered with continuous nodding. A slurp of tea.. What this family could do with 500 pounds. But the question still remained: 'why'. Strangers did not give that sort of coin away.

Coggins, Coggins... it wasn't a local name with deep roots that Lottie could recognise from her past. The older woman folded her calloused hands into her lap.

"Ye've got to see this woman and find out what's what, I would."

She gave a thoughtful nod. "I'm not sure if I'm interested in knowing, but I also don't want to laugh at that kind of money. The idea is to give you and do more space but not be involved with something else like that which could possibly end up in scandal sheets. I've had quite enough of Mister Garreth Scott and his greed. He wants his cake and to eat it too." And then she froze.

She tapped her lips and gave a slight smirk. "I have a grand idea on getting revenge on him, by the by... But he is not the issue," her polished words were precise and she would definitely have made a rather great Governess if she didn't make a match with a good man. "I think I will simply return the money. After the baby is born, perhaps I should look for work. I'm not above doing laundry or cooking for others. I had more sense of peace in the kitchen where I was usually not allowed."