“You’re nobody here, and your little brat isn’t either!” – snapped her husband’s sister

So, let me tell you about Sarah she got married pretty young, you know? Her dad arranged it all for her when she turned eighteen. Their familys well-off big house, old money, the lot and in their part of the English countryside, that’s just what people expect, isnt it? The wedding was something else; I mean, the entire village came to celebrate, bunting everywhere, tables groaning with roast beef and trifle. But as for Sarah and her new husband, you could see they didn’t quite feel like they belonged in the picture.

Sarah was fond enough of her husband, really, though they might as well have been strangers. Her sister Fiona, on the other hand, had drawn the short straw. She was older, and everyone whispered shed be a spinster. Still, their dad found her a match a chap from the next village who was twice her age if he was a day and sent her off with a fair dowry in pounds.

Sarah moved in with William, her husband, at his familys cottage. Not much room, but at least it was their own place. Williams father announced that as soon as they blessed him with grandchildren, they’d just extend the house build another room or two, you know.

Surprisingly, Sarahs mother-in-law wasnt one to nitpick or make life difficult. She took Sarah under her wing, showed her where everything was, how to settle in and mind the household very kind, really. But Williams older sister, Harriet, was a different story. Harriet still lived with their parents even though shed tried marriage once herself, but her husband had sent her packing back home about a year in. Honestly, she could be a real piece of work. She shirked all the chores, wanted nothing to do with running the household or starting a family herself, and just sort of hung around, being sour.

Theres this old tradition, see, that a daughter-in-law doesn’t truly take charge of the house until she’s had her first son. Until then, shes just supposed to keep her head down. So, naturally, every girl who married into a family tried to have a baby as soon as she could.

Sarah played by those rules. Until she was pregnant, Harriet made her slog through the worst jobs laundry in winter, scrubbing floors, all that purely for her own amusement. Not that it was necessary; the family had help in the house, but Harriet enjoyed tormenting her.

Once William found out Sarah was expecting, you’d have thought he’d won the lottery! He could hardly keep the smile off his face, and the whole family was beside themselves with delight. That very day, the in-laws went off to the builder’s merchant to start getting bricks and timber for the new house extension. But Harriet? She looked absolutely devastated. She knew it meant shed be stuck sharing with her parents for good now, with no chance of marriage or her own house on the horizon.

Six months later, Sarah was resting when someone started banging at the door it was Harriet.

What are you doing lying about? Have you finished everything? she barked.

Sarah replied, Indoors, yes, but William told me not to go outside.

Oh, is that right? Youre just lazy! Harriet huffed.

What is it you want? Sarah asked.

Who do you think youre talking to? Are you practising ordering me about? Dont forget you havent had a child yet youre no one until then!

Thats not what I meant at all Sarah sighed.

Youre nothing here, and your brat will be nothing too! Got it? Harriet yelled.

Harriet then went completely off the rails, started chucking things and making a right scene, screaming bloody murder. Sarahs father-in-law rushed in, grabbed his raging daughter, and pulled her away.

Sarah just sat quietly, stroking her bump, taking deep breaths. She thought, everything’s going to be alright. It just has to be.