I sat at the scrubbed pine table in the kitchen staring at the ledger book that held all the household expenses. I’d learned that morning was the best time for me to sit with the bills. Before the neighborhood came alive with newsboys shouting out the latest headlines. Before the streets teemed with horse-drawn carriages clattering by on the cobblestones outside. Just me and Winnie, my faithful terrier, resting at my feet while the rest of the house still slumbered. I’d dressed in the dark before dawn, making sure that my gray serge dress was neatly pressed before I buttoned