Chapter One Hope Richardson pay attention I’m not here for my health the woman said Hope’s governess Hester Price stared at her with a look of impatience and annoyance Today she was to learn the art of conversation and she frankly couldn’t care less about any of it The point of today’s lesson is so that when your husband brings over his colleagues or potential business contacts you are able to entertain them with grace and eloquence Hope looked away so that Hester wouldn’t see her roll her eyes And if I wanted to entertain my own business contacts Hope asked Don’t be ridiculous Hester said A woman’s place is in the home and in support of her husband Women work because their 6
families are poor and because they have no choice You my dear have been born into privilege and one day you’ll marry into privilege Hope shook her head and sighed Will I be allowed visitors in my prison of privilege I see we’re getting nowhere today Very well then Hester said She rose from the plush armchair she’d placed in front of Hope and dusted off her skirt Your father asked that I take you by his work after your lessons Gather your things and we can head off A wide brilliant smile came across Hope’s face Going to her father’s watch factory was one of her most favorite things She’d sit in his office and listen in on his meetings talking with watch dealers or someone trying to sell him the latest and greatest in machinery that’d revolutionize the watchmaking process or so they’d say And when it was time to go over the ledgers deal with payroll or review the weekly reports he’d always involve her teaching her everything there was to know 7
about running a factory It made her feel alive Hope ran through the second floor of the brownstone she and her father shared in downtown New York collecting her belongings as she went Honestly Hope You mustn’t run Children run Ladies stroll Well then teach me how to stroll at that pace and I’ll stroll she said Hester well-meaning clod that she was had been hired by her father shortly after Hope’s mother passed away six years ago As a maternal figure she was laughable As an educator she was adequate that is if Hope was ever interested in what she was teaching Hope and her governess walked along the streets of downtown passing by the other brownstones that made up her neighborhood They eventually led to large cube-like buildings that had a lot less character on the outside And though they didn’t look nearly as vibrant on the outside Hope knew that they were teeming with life and activity on the inside 8
They were factories and to her they were their own kind of beautiful They walked up to a building that was somewhere in the middle in terms of size They walked through the front doors of Richardson Timepieces and Hester put her hand on Hope’s back Go straight to your father’s office and please try to practice some of what we learned today Eloquence The art of conversation Not wanting to argue in the lobby of her father’s factory Hope held back the eye roll that was threatening Of course Have a good day Hester she said as she ran up the stairs toward her father’s office Patrick Richardson owner and founder of Richardson Timepieces was a tall broad man who spoke at only one volume loud Hope always found it to be warm and familiar Many people found it to be intimidating and aggressive So when Hope rounded the hallway to his office she knew right away 9
