Her father walked her back to the Pegg house the same evening, as soon as Alfred had left. He had left a large pouch on the table and judging from the shine on her father's face, she would have to assume that her family were fetching an unexpected and very large bride price for her. She had not expected it either, but she assumed this was just another side of the “helping” Alfred was so happy to do .
Gabrielle seemed to have waited for them to return and welcomed them as soon as they reached the fence around the property. She greeted Jan politely, but no longer as warmly as before, and took Catherine's hand to lead her inside. Catherine felt safer than she had the whole day, and tried to tell herself that the month she had left there would be much longer than a normal month.
It was not until a few days later when they were taking a walk by themselves that any of them rose the subject. Gabrielle had been more quiet than usual ever since Catherine's father had visited them and she now seemed to be lost in her thoughts, kicking a small rock along the grassy side of the road as they walked.
“I really don't want to get married,” said Catherine. Gabrielle did not look up.
“I know,” she said. “I wouldn't either. Not now.”
“He looks like he's really old. What if he doesn't ever allow me to do anything or if he is worse than Martha?” She had taken to calling her father's wife by her first name since the incident, something that seemed fitting and yet felt so very strange. No one had commented on it.
“We have to do something else. You can't just sit here and wait for them to come and take you away.”
“Don't be silly. Where would I go? Even marriage to Alfred is better than the street.”
“Oh, right, Alfred. I forgot his name. Was he nice to you at all?”
“I guess he was nice. But he was nice like you dad is nice. Like anyone is nice towards a child, not like he wanted me around.”
Gabrielle was quiet for a moment, picking at some straws, then allowing them to fall to the ground.
“If he's really old, isn't it nice that he isn't very … interested?”
“Yes, but-” Catherine found it difficult to explain her worries. “He's still going to be … He's still going to marry me, even though he doesn't like me. And he still expects a child at some point and he's never going to be home, not for more than a month or two during the year.”
“Is it really that bad? You have a whole house to yourself then. I'd love that!” Gabrielle began to sound excited, but Catherine shook her head and looked at her seriously.
“It is bad. If you'd seen him you'd understand it. I just don't know what else to do. It's all been arranged.”
“You'll just have to go somewhere else, then. What if we find someone who will let you work for them?”
Catherine paused in confusion, thinking it over.
“That might work! But who?”
“Plenty of people need help. We just need to find them. I guess if we walk to the city we might be able to find something.”
“You mean we just go from door to door and knock?” Catherine began feeling more scared than hopeful, but Gabrielle was apparently feeling very confident about her plan.
“I'm with you, we'll be able to find something. We could even go now. If we hurry we'd have two hours to look before we have to go back home.”
“Your mum will be really angry, we said we'd be right back,” Catherine protested. Gabrielle just shook her head.
“She'll be fine. If I tell her why we left she'll probably even be happy.”
Gabrielle turned around on the spot and started walking towards the city walls. Catherine bit her lip and thought about calling her back, but then decided against it and followed her without further protests. It looked more promising that what her father had come up with.
The excitement made theirs steps faster than usual and the walk to the city seemed short. But when they were surrounded by the large houses and mansions of the people who could afford them, they regretted walking so fast, or even walking at all. Gabrielle seemed to feel responsible for their project, and began walking towards a small street that went between two large houses. Catherine followed her with her heart in her chest.
They had to walk around for a while before they spotted a door in a fence that led to a kitchen entrance. The door turned out to be locked, and they could not find any means to get past it. There were no people around. Catherine suggested they turn back, but Gabrielle ignored her and went on. Their feet clapped against the cobblestones and the small street was eerily quiet. They were used to the streets close to the edge of the city, where there was never a quiet moment and salesmen and crowds made it difficult to get anywhere in a hurry. Catherine very rarely went this far towards the inner parts of the city. Even Martha's most wealthy customers lived much further out than this.
Gabrielle, who still walked several meters in front and seemed consumed with the idea of finding a job for Catherine, suddenly disappeared behind a row of bushes that obscured the rest of the road from view. Catherine ran to catch up with her and saw that she had found another gate. This time it opened into a small herb garden and a path that led to an unseemly door.
“This has to be a kitchen entrance,” Gabrielle said. “Come on, let's go knock.”
“Gabrielle, wait! What if they get angry with us for being here?”
“Then we leave and never see them again. Stop being so worried, it'll be fine.”
She hurried towards the door and knocked before Catherine could protest.
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