To See a Fine Lady — Norah Lofts

Araminta's heart told her that she was in love with Jan, the local laborer, a handsome man whose very touch made her pulse pound. Her head, however, told her that to marry Jan would consign her to a life similar to the one led by her mother. She envisioned a life of poverty, hardship, and baby making that would soon follow her initial rapture.

Determined to make something of herself, Araminta left her comfortable sinecure and Jan. She, instead, went to work at another dairy farm, hoping to put as much distance between herself and Jan as was possible. She was determined to fare better than her mother had fared. Araminta wanted a better life for herself and was determined not to let the weakness of the flesh get in her way of reaching her goals.

So, when the new dairy farm offered her wages about which she had only dreamt, she lost no time in accepting the post. Little did she know that the new post came with its own baggage, as the dairy farm was run by a Mrs. Stancy, a woman who had a streak of the devil in her. She tyrannically reigned over a household where she was feared by all. Still, when Araminta caught the eye of a handsome, young, egalitarian member of the gentry, her life would never be the same.