Emma Becomes a Ruthless Charmer in ‘A Woman of Substance’
... everything I’ve ever done has been for my family. (Emma Harte)
When Jerry Sloane (Tyrone Huntley), Emma Harte’s right-hand man, strolls into her office in this week’s A Woman of Substance to announce that her daughter, the Countess, is here, he’s not just being ironic. Edwina (Rosie Cavaliero) has gone up in the world, marrying into the aristocracy to become the Countess of Dunvale. Now she has arrived, bearing a huge bunch of lilies, to commiserate with her poor mother, whose hard-won business empire is about to go down the drain. But Emma is way ahead of her. A few seconds into her daughter’s announcement, she plays the cassette tape in which Edwina and her siblings betray her and plan to grab her fortune.
Back to Edwardian Yorkshire: Over six months have passed since Emma ran away from her home in the dead of night to spare her family the shame of a child born out of wedlock, heartbroken that her aristocratic lover Edwin has not stood by her. Emma’s father Jack, who now works for the Fairleys’ mill, reports to Edwin that he hasn’t heard from his daughter, although she sends money. The envelopes are postmarked from Leeds, but she never writes or shares her address. Jack congratulates Edwin on his engagement to Priya Chandra (Hiftu Quasem).
As the episode titles roll, the camera follows a woman in a maid’s uniform into a haberdasher’s shop in Leeds, owned by Joe Lowther (Philip Hill-Pearson). Emma is working there, and in her element – Joe tells her she’s the best assistant he’s ever had. But he’s concerned that she’s in a late stage of pregnancy and working too hard with her (entirely imaginary) husband at sea. Emma has a set of accounts for her expenses after the baby is born, when she plans to take two months off work and hire a nurse. She’s saved money, but her numbers come up short. Worse, she’s plagued by distracting memories of Edwin.
