"Oh tosh, we can get the time off work easy enough. And it's not like you have to go after any men Ruth, just come out and have a bit of fun." Betsy says as she reaches over to pat her friend's hand. The young woman was misreading the reason for Ruth's hesitation but she was eager to have more of a social life.

"And I'll find us something soon. Might even meet someone who is proper posh. Sometimes we get young wealthy men visiting from London and they attend parties with us common folk." Or so Betsy had been told. Tales of young lords having a secret dalliance with a commoner's daughter at such events were common gossip, usually romanticized to have the young girl swept away to a life of leisure.