About this story
Sarah supplies a name, a distant cousin called Richard Arkwright, then admits by firelight that she once loved him and was kept from marrying him forty years ago, though what happened between them afterward she will not say. The advertisement goes out regardless, and by the next afternoon, Mr Cresswell's own daughter Sara arrives at the Park.
How it opens
Mr Cresswell spread the family papers across a table too large for two elderly sisters.
An heir-at-law can be misplaced for years, Miss Milly, but an estate usually finds him.
The Mortimer line appeared to end with you and Sarah unless an old Lancashire branch survived.
Sarah MortimerHis Christian name was Richard Arkwright, after the cotton-spinner.
Choose
Ask Mr Cresswell to record the name before questioning how she spoke it.
Go first to Sarah and ask whether speaking has hurt her.