In the morning, Iris woke up early to start her chores.

With little money in the household, they could no longer afford to employ the one maid they had, so Iris took over the duties. Some of the work was tiring at first, but Iris adapted to it.

Iris gathered the blankets which needed to be washed and placed to dry in the sun.

"Did she buy the seeds I asked for?" Iris muttered, remembering the garden she wanted to start.

"What are you doing?" Agatha’s question stopped Iris in her tracks.

"Washing the blankets. Tomorrow, I will wash our clothing," Iris answered.

Agatha stormed over to where Iris stood to snatch the basket from her hands. "Are you mad? Doing work within the home is fine, but you cannot go outside for the neighbours to see you. It is bad enough that we had to let the maid go, but I will not have others see you working."

Agatha set down the basket and said, "We do not need blankets yet."

"Yes, we do. Nights are getting colder, and since they take forever to dry, we should wash them now and place them in the sun. It is about time you faced our reality. Everyone knows of our current plight," Iris said, stooping down for the basket. "Trying to keep up appearances will only harm you."

Agatha kicked the basket before Iris could touch it, scattering the blankets on the floor. "They can be washed at night when no one will see you doing it. You still need to find a husband, and I will not have word get out that you are working like a servant."

Iris sighed, annoyed that her mother was yet to face reality. "I thought we agreed to keep the house together and then go back to finding me a husband? Are you back to caring about appearances?"

"I put too much effort into you to let it be wasted on a low man who will pay little for you. Good men will ignore what is said and take you as a wife. We only need to dress you up and present you," Agatha said, eager to find Iris a wealthy husband.

"A good man? I fear any man you are thinking of won’t be a good man. We are better off focusing on working to pay off father’s debts," Iris suggested.

"No daughter of mine is going to work. You will soon find a husband who shall take care of all of this. Take care of us. There is a gentleman in need of a wife. He is a bit older and has two young ones, but he has good money. He doesn’t care about what your father did," Agatha shared.

"Older gentlemen who will be far too strict and raise their hands. Is that truly the kind of life you wish for me, Mother? Instead of working?" Iris asked, disappointed.

Iris accepted that she could not marry a man she loved since the responsibility of saving her family from debt was on her shoulders, but she wished her mother would not be this way. She wished her mother would be the one to push for love and find a way out of the debt.

"He won’t need to raise his hand if you behave. If you keep up with the behaviour you have been showing me of late, any man is bound to strike you, Iris. All men do it," Agatha said, believing there was no perfect man.

"Did my father try to hit you?" Iris asked, hoping it wasn’t the case. "I never saw him raise his hand to you."

"Your father never had reason to raise his hand to me since I knew my place. I knew my duties as his wife and a mother. It appears I failed to prepare you for this time, but don’t worry. I shall quickly make up for it. You are to raise his children," Agatha said, sealing Iris’s fate. "I will continue your lessons now."

"No," Iris said, defying her mother. "I will wash the blankets first. I will not go cold at night, all because you want to keep up appearances. We must work to keep this house standing. There is nothing wrong with doing chores around the home."

"You did not think to do work when your father was present. You enjoyed being carefree and wearing the fanciest dresses we could afford. I did what I could so you wouldn’t have to lift a finger. Do not act as though you are suited for this life," said Agatha. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Many times I questioned the need for us to have a maid. You and my father did not speak the truth to me about our finances. For years, I have overheard the neighbours mumbling about us having a maid," Iris said, recalling all the conversations.

"I thought others didn’t understand how fortunate we were that my father worked hard to afford it, and then my brother would send us money. The truth was that we could not afford it, and it was all to look good for others. It sickens me that I was so caught up to notice it," Iris said, angry with herself.

Now that Iris knew the truth, she looked around the home and realised that the reality of their finances was always before her.

"I must have looked so silly to others. Flaunting myself around, unaware of the troubles in my home. I thank you for giving me a good childhood, but I am at the age where you could have told me the truth. How can I be ready to have a husband and raise children, but not to know we were in debt?" Iris asked.

"I don’t have to explain my actions to you. If you do not like how I run my household, you are free to leave," Agatha said, walking by Iris.

Iris turned to watch her mother. She hesitated at first, but after a burst of courage, she said, "You say so because you know it is not easy for me to abandon you. I shouldn’t be so willing to accept an older gentleman to help you and this family, only to be treated this way."

"Mother, I have faced reality and want to do my part to keep this home together. You waste time thinking of the neighbours and marrying me off to the highest bidder," said Iris.

"It is time you repaid your father and me. It is your duty as our daughter to marry a man with money and take care of me. Your father is no longer here, so who else am I to depend on if not you?" Agatha asked, annoyed she even had to explain it. "I will set out a good dress for you. You will meet your future husband tomorrow."

Iris picked up the basket and blankets, no longer planning to wash them. ’No, I won’t,’ she thought.

Iris wasn’t as strong as she wanted to be to marry a man she did not love for the sake of the family. It was time her brother returned to share some of the responsibility.

Iris needed to be free.