Page 23 - Julie Thorley Nine Lives book

5. A Touch of Sea Air
A young Edwardian woman expounds on life and love.
Well, I’ve been at Shrimpton-on-Sea for three days now. It’s taken me this long to nd my feet after the awful railway journey. It was extremely bumpy and I fear the smoke and steam may have aggravated my cough, but nevertheless I am happy to report that I arrived safely. My aunt met me at the station, and she has done her best to make me feel welcome. The house is – how, can I put it – simple, but at least it is on the sea front, in the middle of things.
Cousin Ada is very pretty, but friendly, too. I thought she might be resentful of having to share her bedroom with an interloper from such a big town as ours, but she has kindly made space in one of her drawers for me to put my things. I also have a chair at my bedside on which I may place the few personal belongs I have brought with me.
Aunt Anna insists that Cousin Ada accompany me each day on a walk along the promenade. She seems to know everyone we meet. The gentlemen in particular are most attentive to her, though she seems to hold them in scant regard.
Yesterday Miss Faulkner joined us on our walk. She is a music teacher who uses a room in Aunt Anna’s home for giving private lessons. The house is quite large and Miss Faulkner quite small, so it is an arrangement that suits everyone well. Her students are mostly the children of the important families in the area – though she is scarcely more than a child herself. I know little of her background, but she is personable enough, if a little reticent. She plays very nicely and we often hear her practising
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