The Black Velvet Gown

Plot

In 1830s northern England, a widowed working-class woman named Riah Millican takes a job at the home of Percival Miller, a former schoolteacher. Riah thinks Percival might be courting her, but she later learns he is a pederast with an interest in her son. Even so, she stays on in his employment. Over the years, Percival educates Riah’s daughter, Biddy, hoping she will marry above her class. When Percival dies, Biddy becomes a maid at the Gullmington estate, where she and Laurence Gullmington fall in love. Madame Gullmington, Laurence’s grandmother, makes Biddy her lady’s maid after learning Biddy can read. Laurence’s cruel sister, Lucy, becomes pregnant, and Biddy goes with her to France. There, Laurence declares his love, but Biddy turns him down, fearing he only wants to seduce and leave her. He insists his intentions are honorable, and she believes him. After Lucy dies in childbirth, Laurence and Biddy return to England with the baby, horrifying the elder Madame Gullmington. They decide to marry and raise Lucy’s child as their own, with Laurence working as a teacher. Back home, Biddy learns that her mother, Riah, plans to marry Tol Briston. This means Moor House will become Biddy’s property. She tells Laurence they will turn it into a school—for boys and girls, with equal numbers, equal subjects, and equality in everything.