Throughout Tilley Quentin's unhappy childhood her only true companion was her maid Dorcas On her wedding in September 1855, Tilley thought everything would change, but marriage to Frank Quentin was not what she hoped, and when Frank and her father died within a short time she was left in severe financial straits All she had was her mother's house in Brompton, west of London, and against the rigid social code of the day against ladies engaging in trade she decided to turn it into lodgings