Betty, a stout, sturdy woman was at her clothes lines stretched from
posts on a patch of drying ground in front of her cottage. She opened
wide her round blue eyes as Lavinia approached her.
"Are you Betty Higgins?" asked Lavinia.
"Aye, that's me sure enough; an' who may you be, young woman?"
"I'm Lavinia Fenton, a friend of your Cousin Hannah, who works for my
mother at the coffee house in the Old Bailey."
"So you're the young miss as she told me of! Why, that be months an'
months agone. An' you never comed. It put me about, it did."
"I'm very sorry. I never thought of that. But so many things I didn't
expect prevented me coming."
"Have you seen Hannah? She's been a-grievin' about you, thinkin' as you
might ha' come to harm."
"No, I haven't been near the Old Bailey," said Lavinia hesitatingly.
"Perhaps you'll guess why. I dare say Hannah's told you about me and my
mother."
"Oh, to be sure she has. May be you don't know then that your mother's
got another husband?"
"I'm glad of it. She won't bother any more about me now."
"May be not. But what d'ye want?"
"I'd like to know if you can let me have a lodging. It'll suit me to
live at Hampstead for a while."
"But s'posing as it don't suit me to have you?"
"Then I must go somewhere else. I think Hannah would be glad if I was
with you."
"Aye, but you've been away from her goodness knows how long.
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