"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."

"There's no shame in workin' hard dear. I've done it fer years.Though as the keeper of the purse, money is always helpful. Provided it isn't spent away down the pub."

"Perhaps we should wait until da is home as well is Joe." The way his name rolled off her tongue left no doubt of her love and devotion for him. "I need to tell Joe about the baby too. I know it happened so fast but I feel... Elated and frightened at the same time."

"Well," Lottie said with a growing smile "When I told Bill, Mister Blacke, about bein' in the way with.. uh I think it was Joe, he'd just come back from the pub... he turned white as a ghost and ran back to the pub! Ha, So Joe might take after his da.. but 500 pounds to the bank might change his tune.. or cause him to faint dead away like one of those old dears with an attack of the vapours."

"I don't know if I want it," she said softly. "Why did somebody just randomly give me money with little explaination." She gave a frown, "There has to be a catch, ma."