Young Peggy McBride found the first minutes of her new employment puzzling. Mr. Robert Blackenwell was a coal baron with a hard reputation in his West Virginia community. Yet here he was, personally showing Peggy around his brownstone mansion. Not the lead maid, or even his wife, but the great moustached tycoon in the flesh. They seemed to be all alone. “Come, come, my dear child!” He practically pushed her into hallways and great rooms, making no mention of how much she would be paid to dust and mop, no mention of her hours or which specific rooms to clean.

This content is available to subscribers and issue purchasers.

Buy this issue or