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…a cut above this one or that one, and two cuts above the people
who lived in the districts. In England not one of them would
have any social standing at all. She wondered what their reaction
would be if they knew that her father was a respected doctor in
the Midlands, and that she had mingled with the town’s leading
citizens before coming to Canada as a war bride. But she had no
intention of telling them. She preferred things the way they were,
and enjoyed her friendships with the other farmers’ wives. Most of
them, however, were older than Penny. She felt a tingle of anticipation
when she realized there would be a younger woman living in
the Colson district, only a mile away.
But then the anticipation gave way to doubt. What sort of woman
would marry the man of whom Penny knew so little from sight,
but so much by reputation? A reputation which painted a picture
of a man whom no self-respecting woman would consider as a husband.
Whether or not this reputation was deserved Penny did not
know. She knew only that it was not wise to get on the wrong side of
the town matrons, and Ben, apparently, had done just that.
Penny kissed her son’s forehead as she ascended the back steps
into the house. “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we, sweetheart?”
she said, and laughed as a giggling David reached up to grab
a handful of her hair.
Manolis Aligizakis 