Wandering bears and more.

How to keep them away when they won't go? Port Alberni, a town on northern Vancouver Island has a certain allure for a certain mother bear and her cubs. She appeared with her cubs to feast on garbage and apples, both on and off the tree. The conservation officer was called in to do something. Don't get between a mother bear and her cubs or she'll attack. But she was invading back yards! So, she and her cubs were tranquilized and moved a long distance away from Port Alberni.Two weeks later she was back with cubs. They had wandered over two watersheds and vast forested land to reach the apple feast. What to do? The conservation officer did not want to kill them and was apprehensive about tranquilizing them again. Where could he send them? And that's where I leave you because I don't know how this story ends. When I do, I will let you know. In the meantime ...

Now for something dear to my heart. The hero and heroine of my historical romance, A Very Difficult Man. When my heroine, Catherine Thurston, was nineteen her life changed completly from one of privilege to one of counting pennies. In the year before he died her father descended into a kind of madness and gambled away the family fortune. The country house was sold and the stable of fine horses auctioned. Catherine's brother, with no prospects in England, sailed for America. Her mother, Lady Jane Thurston, relied on Catherine to manage the small house she rented in London. Two long time servants, devoted to Lady Jane and Catherine stayed with them.
Before long the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker and the coal merchant were demanding payments of overdue accounts. Desperate for funds Catherine answered an advertisement in The Times seeking a companion for a young person injured in a riding accident. (I'll post the advertisement on my next blog) Catherine was over the moon when a soliciter Mr. Knightley contacted her with an offer. Three months wages in advance! Catherine agreed with the terms; moving to Abbeyleigh, a two hour train journey south of London.
Lady Jane was horrified. No young lady of quality ever sought employment. Catherine would be ruined forever. There'd be no offers of marriage. There'd be no parties in the countryside with opportunites to meet eligible young men. But Catherine insisted on accepting employment. She used most of the advanced wages to pay the overdue accounts and left money for her mother to cover her daily expenses.
Three months in the country. Springtime. Away from smokey London. Away from cholera plaguing parts of the city. What could be better? What could be worse? Catherine found out soon enough. Have I whetted your appetite? Check my web site for an excerpt. My books are available from Cerridwen Press.

Anita
www.anitabirt.com