Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We haven’t seen you around Cooper’s Inn before. Where are you from?
I’m Sara O’Connor, the new laundress. I’ve always lived here in Toronto, but this town has changed so much. When I was a child, people called it “muddy York”. The buildings were rough and the streets nearly impassable after a rain.
It’s 1837 now, and Toronto is a city. New settlers come through every day. Farms are springing up in the wilderness that used to surround the city. Cooper’s Inn is a busy place. I suppose that’s why Mrs. Cooper hired me.
I thought I saw a little girl here a moment ago. Is she your daughter?
Oh, heavens, no. That was Evie. She takes lessons with the Cooper girls, but they exclude her every chance they get. She visits me instead, and I’m happy to see a friendly face. We have to be careful, though. Mrs. Cooper saw me talking to her and gave me a warning. Doesn’t want a girl from a fine family mixing with the riffraff from Irishtown like me, I suppose.
Evie’s father has it out for me, too. He’s forbidden her from speaking to me. Can you imagine? What does he think I’ll do, force her to do my work? I’m the one friend she has here, and he wants to take that away.
He’s a lawyer, so I shouldn’t be surprised. He lives by the rules and doesn’t understand a young girl’s heart. I’d like to go right up to him and make him open his eyes, but I can’t risk losing my position.
Still, I won’t push Evie away. I guess I see in her the little girl I once was. We neither of us knew our mothers. We even love the same books. Have you read Ivanhoe?
No, I can’t say that I have. I don’t mean to offend, but how does a laundress come to read Ivanhoe? You don’t sound like you’re from Irishtown, either.
Well, the truth is, I didn’t always live in Irishtown. In fact, I might have more in common with Evie than anyone realizes.
I could earn more money as a lady’s maid or even a governess, but I have my reasons for working as a laundress. There are people I’d rather not see again, people who let me down when I needed them. I wouldn’t go back to that world, even if I could.
That’s why I keep to myself here at Cooper’s Inn. Or, at least, I did until Evie came along. Now I’m not sure what to do. Someone has to make her father understand her, but it can’t be me. I have too much at stake.
You see, I need to money to take care of Granny. She was a laundress, too. She taught me the trade and gave me a home when I had nothing. Now, it’s my turn to take care of her. She’s all I have left.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Before we go, any idea what’s happening in the common room? It’s full to the brim, and those men sound angry.
Meetings like this are happening all over the colony. No surprise, I say. Hundreds of newcomers arrive here, hoping for a better life, but the same systems that held them back in Britain exist here. A few wealthy families hold all the power and run our colonial government. The elected assembly can do very little to sway the Queen’s appointed governor. They’re frustrated.
So you’re a rebel, then?
No! I’m just a laundress who lives among the poor. I see how they struggle. You won’t repeat anything I’ve said, will you?
Your secret is safe with us, Sara. It sounds like you have some big decisions ahead of you. Good luck!
Christine Hill Suntz knew she wanted to write novels the day she finished Anne of Green Gables, and she’s been lost in her imagination ever since. Her love of language led her to study French and German and pursue a graduate degree in Comparative Literature before finding a home teaching high school French. Her work has won numerous prizes, including the 2022 ACFW Genesis competition.
Christine lives in Ontario on a hobby farm with her family, a flock of chickens, one attack rooster, and a herd of entitled goats. When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys trying out historical recipes on her (mostly) willing family.
Instagram: @christinehillsuntz Facebook: Christine Hill Suntz Author
https://www.tyndale.com/p/the-lawyer-and-the-laundress/9798400507755
Novel PASTimes 