“It’s all right. I know what she meant, and I heartily concur.” Alice went on to tell them about what had happened at the lecture hall, and how Archie’s behavior toward her had been worse after that day than at any time since she’d met him.
“A gentleman scorned,” Rose said, shaking her head. “I’m very sorry now that I encouraged you to play that joke on him. I had no idea it would turn out so badly.”
“None of us could have foreseen it,” Alice said sadly. “Least of all me, and I know him best.”
“Did you say Mr. Clapper thought you were developing a tendresse for Mr. Shaw?” Emma asked.
Alice nodded.
“Well, are you?” Emma’s wide eyes looked almost hopeful.
“No,” Alice insisted firmly. “No.”
But she hadn’t fooled either one of them. Emma smiled knowingly, and Rose murmured, “Heaven help us.”
Alice blushed furiously. “I won’t deny that I enjoy Douglas’s company. We have so many common interests.”
“Which trick from the spinster book did you try on him?” Rose asked.
“None of them! I was always completely honest. It was just so easy to talk to him. And after that lecture at Ally Pally, we ended up going to a dance.” She went on to describe how they got to the tea dance, and how she’d taught Douglas to waltz. “He was so elated that he kissed me. It was an impulsive act, I’m sure. He is courting another lady. The daughter of a banker.”
“Then he was toying with you—which is worse,” Rose said.
“No. He was always honest with me in return.”
“Was he?” Rose looked unconvinced. “Did he tell you about this other lady he’s pursuing?”
Alice dropped her gaze. “No. I learned of her from someone else.”
“And was he there when you were ruthlessly dismissed from your job?”
“No. He was in Liverpool on company business.”
Rose leaned back and crossed her arms. “What a coincidence.”
Alice lifted her head again. “No, wait. He was in Liverpool before the trouble started, but on the day I was sacked, he was on holiday in Glasgow.”
“How do you think he felt about it?” Emma asked. “I don’t suppose he’s tried to contact you since then? You said it has been two days.”
“No.”
“Now I see why they thought you would deliberately sabotage the company,” Rose said. “They think Douglas jilted you. Archie has laid the same blame on you that he is guilty of.”
Alice straightened. “It doesn’t matter. I do not fancy Douglas Shaw, and I certainly am not heartbroken in any way. I am simply out of work. Beginning tomorrow, I will search for new employment.”
“Will you look for another telegraphy position?” Emma asked.
“I don’t think I’ll have any luck with that, since I can’t expect Henley and Company to provide a letter of reference.”
“Miserable, horrible, awful men,” Rose murmured, glowering.
“There is also Mrs. Henley,” Alice said. “For some reason, she seemed to be leading the charge against me. I can’t fathom why, but she has not liked me from the beginning.”
“That’s despicable,” Rose said. “There is nothing worse than a woman trying to ruin the life of another woman. We should all be helping one another get ahead in life.”
“You could return to the Central Telegraph Office,” Emma suggested. “They know what a good worker you are, so you wouldn’t need a letter of reference. Everyone there was sorry to lose you.”
“Everyone except Mrs. Lipscomb,” Alice said ruefully. Mrs. Lipscomb was the supervisor of the women’s section. Her heavy-handed style of oversight was a big reason Alice had decided to seek work elsewhere. “I’m not especially enthralled with the idea of having to take orders from her again.”
“Didn’t you tell us you thought she disliked you because she was afraid you wanted to take her place?” Emma asked.
“Yes.” Alice grimaced. “Anytime I went to her with a suggestion for how something could be done better, she took it as a direct attack on her leadership. I went to her one day to discuss a particular issue and how I thought it could be handled, and she accused me of being ‘too solution-oriented’!”
“What?” Rose shook her head. “That makes no sense.”
“I know, but that’s exactly what she said. She informed me that I was to come to her only with the problem, and that it was her job to come up with the solution.” Alice could laugh about it now, but the memory still irritated her.
“Well, then, here’s some good news,” Emma said. “Mrs. Lipscomb is no longer there. She’s gone over to the administrative side of things. She’s been overseeing the training school for about a month now.”
“Has she?” Rose said in surprise. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”
Emma shrugged. “It never occurred to me. I try not to think about work when I’m not there.” She picked up the teapot and refilled everyone’s cups. “It’s too bad you couldn’t have gotten that position at the training school, Alice. You’re very good at teaching telegraphy. If you can teach me, you can teach anyone.”
“Who is the new supervisor?” Rose asked.
“Miss Holloway. I like her well enough. You don’t know her, Alice, but I can put in a good word for you. So can all the other girls who work there.”
“It’s worth a try, I suppose,” Alice agreed. “To tell the truth, I was sadder about leaving telegraphy work than about all the rest of it. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I thought I might have to learn typewriting after all and wished I’d had a chance to get those lessons while Henley and Company was ready to pay for them.”
Emma smiled with empathy, if not with complete understanding. Alice knew she felt stifled working indoors with office equipment of any kind and only planned to keep the job until she could get married and leave work altogether.
“In any case, you can approach the superintendent, Mr. Powell, about employment,” Rose said. “He’ll remember you. I believe he liked you, and he’s the one who makes the hiring decisions.”
“Yes, he was always complimentary about my work.” Alice took a long sip of tea and smiled at her friends. She knew they would offer her just the help and support she needed. “I will go and talk to him tomorrow.”
“You cannot mean you have sacked Miss McNeil over this. It is unconscionable!”
Douglas had returned to London with the happy anticipation that things at the office, and in his life, were going to be even better than before, thanks to the events of his trip. Instead, Miss Waller had tearfully given him the news about Alice’s dismissal the moment he’d walked in the door. Meanwhile, Clapper had remained at his desk, looking happy as a clam. Douglas had immediately gone into Henley’s office to confront him about it.
“My actions are unconscionable?” Mr. Henley returned with equal fervor, rising from his desk and coming around to meet him. “It’s what she did that is truly despicable.” He picked up a file of papers from his desk and thrust it at Douglas. “Everything is here. Read it and you’ll see. She deliberately tried to ruin this company.”
Douglas looked through the documents as Henley explained what they were.
He shook his head, still unable to believe it. “Why would she do this? It makes no sense.”
Henley crossed his arms as he studied Douglas. “The fact that you are taking this so hard indicates there is truth in our supposition.”
“Which is?”
“There was some kind of relationship building between you and Miss McNeil—”
“No!” Douglas shot back. “We were work colleagues!”
“Don’t interrupt!” Henley bellowed. “Perhaps you saw nothing amiss. However, she must have been in love with you and was angered when you rejected her.” He gave Douglas a hard look. “You did reject her, did you not? Your intentions are still to keep courting Miss Rolland?”
“I did not have to reject Miss McNeil,” Douglas insisted. He sai
d nothing about Miss Rolland, hoping Henley wouldn’t press the issue. “All this information you’ve compiled against her is no more than malicious, unfounded gossip. I’ll wager it originated from certain other persons in this office.”
Douglas didn’t need to elaborate. Henley knew who he was referring to. The fact that Miss Waller had told him Mrs. Henley was in the office the day Alice was dismissed had confirmed it in Douglas’s mind. Clapper had cooked up these charges and fed them to his cousin, who in turn had poisoned her husband’s mind with them.
“Watch yourself, Shaw,” Henley warned. “You are important to this company, but you are not irreplaceable.”
This threat was meant to worry him, but it didn’t. He figured it would take a lot more than a few angry remarks to lose his position. He couldn’t be dismissed as easily as Alice had been. And in any case, just at the moment, he didn’t care.
Perhaps Henley read the defiance in Douglas’s face. His demeanor softened. “Look at it this way. In the end, her motives are not important. We have the proof right there that she committed this offense.” He pointed to the papers in Douglas’s hands. “She’s lucky merely to have been let go without notice or references. We might well have decided to pursue legal action against her.”
“Surely not!”
“Look at those numbers! I shouldn’t have to spell out for you what kind of damage this has done to our reserves, as well as our credit. You know what cotton is selling for at present.”
Douglas did know. He sighed. He was not ready to give up his belief that Alice had been unjustly accused. However, Henley was correct that getting past this financial crisis was the most critical thing facing the company. Douglas would have to let the other matter rest—for now.
He took a breath and said evenly, “What are we doing to address the problem?”
“I’m glad you’re finally seeing reason.” Henley motioned for him to take the chair opposite his desk.
The two of them went through the numbers, discussing possible actions the company could take. Douglas was able to point out what a boon this deal with Carnegie would be for them. It couldn’t have come at a better time. His mind still simmered with agitation over what had happened to Alice, but he fought to remain calm, assuring himself he would get to the bottom of it.
Once they’d thoroughly reviewed everything and come up with a plan, Henley looked down at the notes they had made together. “It might work.”
“It appears that woman couldn’t even ruin the company properly, only damage it.” This remark came from Archie Clapper. Douglas turned to see him standing at the door to Henley’s office. Evidently he’d arrived in time to overhear Henley’s remark.
The mere sight of him raised Douglas’s hackles. He wanted nothing more than to throttle him. He shot Clapper a dark look. “I feel quite sure that Miss McNeil would be capable enough to thoroughly complete any task she set her mind to. Unlike some people with lesser ambitions.”
It was unwise to lob this insult when he’d only barely gotten back on Henley’s good side. Especially since it was a defense of Alice as well as an attack on Clapper.
Clapper drew up as if seriously offended. Addressing Henley, he said, “Sir, I really must object to this treatment—”
“What do you need, Mr. Clapper?” Henley asked in mild exasperation.
Clapper came forward and handed him a telegram. “I thought you’d want to see this right away.”
Henley read it and grunted. “It’s from the bank. Reasonably good news, as far as it goes.”
He handed it to Douglas to read. Their banker had been able to rearrange terms on several of their business loans, which would buy them some time.
“We’ll recover, won’t we, sir?” Clapper said in a tone that to Douglas’s ears sounded unusually ingratiating.
Despite Clapper’s family connection and the years he’d been working there, this was the first time Douglas had ever heard him use the word we in connection with the company. As though he had a personal stake in what happened to it. Which, of course, he did. Douglas could not imagine him getting another position as easily as Alice might—even if there was now a black mark placed unfairly against her. She was as capable as Clapper, if not more so, and a lot more personable. Clapper had always been obsequious to Henley and his wife, but he had never acted as though he had any greater interest in the company than his paycheck. For some reason, his pretentious remarks now rankled Douglas more than his toady manner ever had.
“Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?” Douglas growled.
“Why yes, Mr. Shaw, I believe you’re right. I have lots of work to do now—until Mr. Henley can hire a new man to assist me.” He gave Douglas a smirk before sauntering from the room.
A new man. The new hire would be a man, naturally. Clapper would pester Henley to ensure that happened. He was more than happy to be rid of the woman who had been a thorn in his side simply because she’d been intelligent and highly competent.
And beautiful.
The thought came unbidden, and it only ratcheted up Douglas’s frustrations.
He followed Clapper to the door and slammed it shut behind him.
Alice walked into the reception area for the superintendent of London’s Central Telegraph Office. When she’d left a few months ago, she’d been so full of hope for the future. She was going to break free of the telegram factory and use her talent and skill in a more rewarding position in the business world.
Now she was returning, hat in hand, to a restrictive workplace she thought she’d risen above. Her pride had certainly been taken down several notches. Perhaps a ten-story building’s worth. No one else would be likely to hire her without references. At least at the CTO she could point to her stellar work record, with few sick days and no unexcused absences.
Squaring her shoulders, she walked up to the reception desk. The male clerk was perusing some official-looking correspondence and frowning.
“Excuse me,” Alice said.
He looked up. “Yes?”
“I’d like to speak to Mr. Powell. My name is Alice McNeil. I don’t have an appointment, and I’m aware that Mr. Powell is very busy, but I used to work at the CTO, and he knows me, so I’m hoping he will forgive my rudeness in coming here without prior notice.”
The clerk gave her a critical look. She smiled, hoping to soften his demeanor.
He set the papers aside. “Mr. Powell is not here.”
“When will he return? I can wait.”
“He had a stroke and is incapacitated. He is not expected to recover.”
“How awful!” This was shocking to hear. She did not think Mr. Powell was much above fifty years old.
“Mrs. Lipscomb is acting in his stead for now.”
“Mrs. Lipscomb!” Alice repeated in surprise.
“If you would like to speak to her, I can see if she is available. We are very busy, as you can understand.”
Alice nodded. “I promise I won’t take much of her time.”
He rose and went into the adjoining office.
Alice waited nervously. Of all the people to be in this position right now, it had to be Mrs. Lipscomb. The woman who didn’t like Alice and had been affronted that she’d left the CTO for greener pastures. On the other hand, perhaps being a woman, she would be able to sympathize with Alice’s plight. Alice prayed fervently that the door would open for her to return to work.
The clerk reappeared. “Follow me, please.”
Relieved, Alice followed him into the office.
Mrs. Lipscomb remained seated behind the large desk as she greeted Alice. “Why, Miss McNeil! I could hardly believe my ears when my clerk told me you were in the waiting room. What brings you here today?”
Her words were friendly enough, but underneath them Alice could hear a note of condescension. She had probably already guessed the reason for Alice’s visit.
“I came to see Mr. Powell,” Alice explained. “I’m terribly sorry to hear of the calamity that has befalle
n him.”
“It is terrible. He is not expected to live. A reminder that we must all make the most of our time, for we never know when it may be up.” Sitting back in her chair, Mrs. Lipscomb studied Alice, who still stood in the center of the room, since she had not been offered a seat. “But I don’t suppose you came to pay him a social call?”
“No. The truth is, I was coming to see if there were any openings at the CTO.”
“But what about your other job?”
“It didn’t work out.” Alice said this with as much dignity as she could muster. Mrs. Lipscomb seemed determined to make her feel inferior.
“Were they dissatisfied with your work?”
“I believe I was unfairly treated and unjustly accused of wrongdoing. You know my record. You know I worked at CTO for seven years with an excellent attendance record. I am a diligent and conscientious worker.”
“And yet somehow your performance at the other company was insufficient.” Mrs. Lipscomb was eyeing her with suspicion now.
“You of all people should know how the scale can be weighted against women advancing in the workplace,” Alice pointed out. She didn’t say it aloud, but she doubted Mrs. Lipscomb would be in this present position of acting superintendent if the emergency with Mr. Powell had not arisen.
Mrs. Lipscomb frowned. “Thank you for your interest, Miss McNeil, but there are no openings at present. Our most recent crop of graduates has proven to be very capable. They are also well-mannered and graciously accept direction.”
This was a barb aimed directly at Alice. They’d had their run-ins while Alice worked at the CTO, and now Mrs. Lipscomb was getting her revenge.
How ironic that this woman, who had gotten where she was by being anything but docile, wanted only to hire sheep to work under her. But then, it was in her best interest to keep staff who would not challenge her authority.
Mrs. Lipscomb rose from her chair, signaling that the interview was over. “Miss McNeil, I’m sorry we haven’t a position to offer you. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.”
Alice left the building, quickly wiping away the weak, foolish tears that tried to form, and questioning every decision she’d made over these past few months. Perhaps even the past several years. Had she been wrong to want the things she did? She couldn’t believe it. And yet, it seemed to be true. Everything she’d thought had set her on a trajectory to success had turned out to be a gamble. And she had lost.
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