Beatty sat down and looked around at them all. ‘My, there’s some serious faces here today. Right, get on with it. I’m busy.’
‘Tommy told me I only think of myself and I’ve made Fred sad. I want to know why,’ Ruby said and sat back in the chair with her arms folded.
‘I think Tommy is referring to when I said it saddened me that you haven’t reopened the shop.’
Tommy sat bolt upright. ‘You’re sad ’cos you ain’t got nuffin to mend no more. That’s why I bringed round the clock, so you could fix it and be ’appy,’ he said.
Ruby rocked in her chair, thinking. Fred sat with an embarrassed look on his face, and Beatty chased a crumb with her finger across the table.
‘I can see I’ve been the topic of conversation. Your faces say it all. Why hasn’t anyone spoken to me about all of this before? Did you know about the shop in Hill Street?’
Fred’s face reddened. ‘Tommy said something about getting you into a new shop. His uncle could fix it. I said it would never happen. You’d never leave.’
Ruby stared at him and then at Tommy. ‘Tommy, I think you need to go home. Leave the shop keys here, and tell your uncle I’ll bring them round tomorrow. Where does he live – are you all living together or, now your daddy’s home, do you have your own place?’
Tommy jumped down from his chair. ‘Ain’t none of your business. What you want ’em for anyways?’ he asked as he put the keys on the table.
‘I’m going to take Fred and Beatty to have a look. I’ve a lot to think about. Leave us to it and I’ll speak to you tomorrow. In the morning.’
After Tommy left, Ruby spoke with Fred and Beatty. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were missing the repair side of things? I’m sure we could have found space here for you to work. Beatty, if I’ve been selfish and not helped where I should, I’m sorry.’
Beatty pulled a face and slowly shook her head. ‘You’ve worked as hard as the rest of us around here. Don’t fret over a child having a tantrum. I don’t understand the boy – always hanging around here. I wonder if he’s always wanted a big sister. Oh, listen to me. I’m sorry, duck, I didn’t mean to upset you. Thoughtless.’
‘You haven’t upset me, Beatty. It’s fine. As for Tommy, that child has me worried. He’s latched onto me and I’m concerned his home life isn’t a happy one. What can we do for him?’
Ruby saw Fred smile. ‘What?’ she said.
‘You were worried about not thinking of others, and that’s all you do – fret over other folks. Listen, there’s nothing we can do for the boy; we just have to be around when he’s wanting a chat. He’s like you in a lot of ways.’
Ruby frowned at him. ‘What do you mean, like me?’
‘Thinks of others and likes the company of adults.’
Beatty got to her feet and rested her hands on the edge of the table. ‘Talking about adults. This business with the shop. It’s a bit odd his uncle didn’t come with the boy and explain himself. I understand he’d approve of your business – we all do; I miss having a nosey around and meeting others for a chinwag – but to leave it to a kiddy? Strange, if you ask me. What do you reckon, Fred?’
‘Same,’ said Fred.
‘Man of many words. Ruby, what do you know about the boy’s family … this uncle?’
Ruby shrugged. ‘As much as you two. Tommy seems to want to please him, and me, but is frightened of his auntie. They live with her, and whether this uncle is her husband, I don’t know. I thought I saw his mum this morning, with a man I assumed was his dad, but it appears it was his uncle. I wish I’d introduced myself now.’
‘Are you going to set up a new Shadwell’s?’
‘Come with me. Come and have a look. I got goose bumps when I saw it. It’s big. If you both think I ought to start again with Shadwell’s, then I’ll do it. I told Helen I wanted a factory job, but I know I’d be unhappy. She said I’ve money enough, and I think I should use it to set up something new. I want you to be part of it again – both of you.’
CHAPTER 17
10th July 1941
Unlocking the back door to the shop, Ruby stepped into the silence. Looking around and seeing the shelves stocked, waiting for another day of customers to decide whether to buy or sell, she enjoyed a moment of pride.
Tommy’s face had lit up when she’d refused to hand over the keys and teased him until telling of her plan to reopen the shop. He’d run home to tell his uncle, who’d sent details of when the rent was to be handed to Tommy, and a vague promise to visit when he was on leave again.
Adjusting to Tommy’s strange family ways of working, Ruby chose to stop nagging Tommy for details of his home life. He filled a gap for Ruby, and when she found a boxed game of Ludo and Snakes and Ladders she put it to one side with a promise they’d play a game on a rainy day.
Her new skirt fitted her petite waist, and she wore it with a white blouse. Beatty complimented her eye for style. This gave Ruby an idea for the second room, and Fred created a small cubicle with a curtain for privacy. Second-hand clothes were displayed on the rails now fixed into place around the room. The clothes rationing regulations of June made this room a popular one from the moment they’d opened the doors five days previously. Beatty worked on a pile of repairs in exchange for coins or goods, and Fred worked his magic with mechanical repairs. Between them, they kept an eye on the shop floor when Ruby walked the streets in search of abandoned items. She reinstated her agreement with the rag man, and Ruby knew Tommy’s outburst was the best thing to have happened. She felt useful once more.
Today, she planned to work in the office. Fred had rubbed down and stained the table, using the dregs of the teapot. A rub of beeswax brought the wood back to life. Beatty had re-padded and covered the chair and old curtains from the cottage draped the window, which faced south, and made the room a cheerful place to work. Ruby placed the new ledgers and pens on the desk and smiled at the pile of scrap paper notes left for her by her friends. She had a busy day of book-keeping ahead and looked forward to meeting Tommy’s uncle; according to Tommy, he was going to pay a visit when he’d finished some important business. Tommy, in the meantime, had errands to run for his uncle, but promised to return to sweep the floors at the end of the day. From the day the doors opened, Tommy lost his sour attitude and his bubbly personality returned.
Fred and Beatty worked with the customers and Ruby loved to hear the natural banter between the two. She stretched her arms above her head and went out into the shop to see how business was doing.
Whilst rearranging a row of china cups she noticed a man about to enter the shop. He stood out from the regular customers. His suit, a blue serge pinstripe, was smart, as was the wide-brimmed navy hat on his head. Ruby looked at his shoes, highly polished black brogues. He smoked a cigarette and tossed the last of it into the gutter. When he stepped inside the shop his eyes darted from one shelf to another before he settled his stare on Beatty.
Ruby watched from the far side of the shop. Tommy’s uncle – it had to be him. The man was of average height and build but his face was lean, with a jutting jaw; he sported a thin black moustache across his top lip. He pushed out his chest and held himself tall – Ruby would say peacockish, if there was such a word – as he approached Beatty, behind the counter.
‘You must be Ruby – the one the kid goes on about,’ the man said to Beatty as she looked up to face him. His voice held the hint of an accent, but not the same as Tommy’s.
‘And you are?’ Beatty asked.
‘Not important. I’m here to say I’ll be leaving soon, and the boy will be my mouthpiece. As I said in my message, he’ll collect the rent and take it to my sister. She’s been a customer of yours, and will be again. The boy helps us out.’
Ruby listened as Tommy’s uncle spoke in a rasping voice. His words were clipped, and he didn’t come across as the patient type.
Ruby gave a polite cough and stepped forward, holding out her hand. ‘Actually, that’s Beatty. I’m Ruby Shadwell. I’m pleased
to meet you at last, Mr – I’m sorry, Tommy never told us your name.’
‘He’s no need to tell it, but if you have to have a name, it’s Earl. I take it you heard what I’ve just said. Bit young to run a business, aren’t you?’
Ruby doubted Earl was his real name. His eyes were a steel grey and unfriendly, and he showed no intention of shaking her hand so she put it into her skirt pocket. It surprised her to think he’d negotiated a deal on the property, just on Tommy’s word and for a stranger. He came across as a man who’d have enjoyed lording it over a female, much as he did now.
‘The war makes some of us grow up faster than we’d like, Earl. I look younger than I am, and a lady never gives her age,’ she said, adding a hint of theatrical attitude.
‘Spiky. You speak your mind. Good. You need guts in business. You gave a good price when the boy traded with you, I’ll give you that. Honesty earns respect. I repay honesty. The war has ruined some, and others have clawed back to shake things up a bit. We’re the shakers, me and you,’ Earl replied, waving a freshly lit cigarette at her.
‘Thank you, but I’m not a shaker. I’ve no intention of shaking things up. I want a quiet life with a thriving business,’ Ruby said.
‘Ah, but you’ve already joined the club, Ruby. You’ve shaken up the buyers and sellers – I know – I sell. I hear rumours of unrest.’ Earl’s voice was menacing and his face serious, but suddenly he burst out laughing. ‘Gullible. Look at the pair of you. I don’t listen to, or hear, rumours. I start them. You are my rumour this week. I’ve spread the word you’re back in business. Brace yourself, Ruby Shadwell. Good luck.’
Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and left the shop. Ruby and Beatty stared at his back and then faced each other in disbelief.
‘Did that really just happen?’ Ruby asked.
Beatty made a whooshing sound and waved her hand high. ‘There he was, gone.’
They both laughed at the ridiculous way he’d behaved. Ruby stepped around the shop, mimicking his strutting walk.
‘As for that chin –’ Beatty said and stuck out her jaw.
Ruby gasped through her laugh. ‘Call me Earl. I don’t listen to rumours, I start them. What an arrogant man,’ Ruby said when she caught her breath.
Fred came from the back room.
‘You missed a treat, Fred. Tommy’s uncle, home on leave – Earl,’ Ruby said.
Beatty put her hand to her forehead. ‘Fools. He’s not in the forces – no uniform. Government office worker. Pinstripe suit.’
‘Spy, I bet. He was so cagey about his name.’
‘Earl what?’ Fred asked.
‘He didn’t give a surname,’ Ruby replied.
‘There’s your answer. He’s an earl of somewhere. Like Beatty said, government man in a pinstripe.’
With a loud tut, Ruby put her hands up as if in protest. ‘Have you seen the state of Tommy? How can he be the nephew of an earl? The man’s a dreamer. Probably bottom of the pack in his unit, and gets a kick out of playacting the tough man when he’s on leave.’
Beatty grunted her approval at Ruby’s statement. ‘And I still can’t work out why he’s keen to give Tommy what he wants for a friend but doesn’t look after the child’s needs. Still, we can’t judge what we don’t understand. They must do things different in the capital,’ she said with a sniff of indifference, and lifted a flask from a basket behind the counter.
‘Beatty, there’s a kitchen upstairs; you don’t have to bring tea from home,’ Ruby said with a giggle.
‘I am not climbing stairs to put the kettle on and then bringing cups down. No, thank you. I’ll save my breath and bring a flask. If my friends drop in, I could be up and down those stairs all day. Want one, Fred?’
Ruby left Beatty fussing over Fred and went into her office, where the sunshine flowed through the window. She sat at the desk and pondered over Beatty’s comments about the kitchen upstairs. Thanks to Beatty’s loveable nature, she’d drawn in a few local women and in the past two days the shop became a meeting place. They chatted and knitted together, age no barrier.
‘That’s it!’ Ruby shouted.
‘Problem?’ Fred called out.
‘No. Stay there. I’ve an idea.’
Ruby returned to the shop, smiled at her friends, looked inside the room with clothes and back into the main area again. ‘Back in a mo,’ she said and ran upstairs.
An idea had formed and she ran back to her friends. Breathless with excitement, she waved her hand in a random fashion until she’d calmed enough to speak. ‘I want to create a meeting room. Out the back. In the office.’
Beatty laid down her knitting. ‘Pardon me?’
‘We could bring the kitchen downstairs and you can brew up down here. Somewhere for your friends to stay for a knit and chat, and the office can go upstairs. We can make a storeroom and repair workshop for Fred.’
Beatty picked up her knitting again and cast on a stitch. ‘I can’t charge friends for a cup of tea,’ she said.
‘Encourage them to bring a twist of tea so our rations don’t run dry, and maybe you can sell some of the things you all make. Raise money for the troops. Set up a group. Someone might be a bit lonely and like the idea of sitting in the company of others,’ Ruby said.
Fred laughed. ‘Do you really want to alter this place around?’
Beatty’s needles clacked in the background, then she laid the project down again. ‘It would be useful, having the kitchen down here. And Ruby’s right – I see women wandering around in a daze every day. Some are in temporary lodgings. A place where they can drop in, chat and be of use, doing something for our troops – yes, I think it’s a grand idea, duck.’
Fred struggled from his chair. Ruby had a sneaking feeling he was trying to prove a point. ‘Not sure how much I can do nowadays. Garden’s enough for these knees and this back, but I’ll have a go.’
Ruby put her hands on his shoulders and gave a gentle press downwards. ‘Sit down. I’ll get someone to do it for us. One of the customers is bound to have a family member in the trade. I’ve earned enough to pay and, besides, it’s lovely having you around, Beatty. You’re good for business. I’ll share the chores at home and free you up to work here on a more regular basis.’
‘I scare them off, I suppose. I’m happy – it will mean I’ll be free to do the repairs in peace,’ said Fred, teasing.
By the end of the day plans were scribbled down and a builder promised for evening work, after his main task of restoring private properties for bomb victims.
As she climbed into bed Ruby’s thoughts and dreams drifted into happier times.
CHAPTER 18
3rd September 1941
The summer flew by and soon the days settled into cooler and darker evenings. The war entered its third year, and people spoke of nothing else. Precious sleep continued to be disturbed by nightly sirens, and Coventarians wanted revenge. News of war took over their lives, and no one dared predict the end for fear of disappointment.
For Ruby and her new family, life still continued along an even path as they strengthened their emotional links into something more solid in order to cope. Financially they were stable.
Thankful for a hardworking builder, Ruby stood back and admired the pretty room she and Beatty had finished creating that morning. The ugliness of outside could not touch the delicate pastels inside Ruby and Beatty’s Meeting Place. Fred had created the wooden sign now hanging on a hook beside the door of the newly decorated room. Both women clapped as soon as he showed them. Eager to involve Beatty in the project, Ruby had agreed to Beatty’s favourite colours, green and pink, and the calm shades gave a feminine feel to the room. As she’d told Fred, men were welcome, but Ruby knew the visitors would predominantly be women.
Tommy arrived to inspect the finished work, and whistled his approval. As he strolled around the room, looking very much out of place, Ruby smiled inwardly. He copied his uncle in most things. Having met Earl, Ruby understood the influenc
e he’d have over a boy of Tommy’s age. It still irked her that he kept his nephew looking on the shabby side. Probably a lesson for Tommy’s mother, who Ruby desperately wanted to meet.
‘Tommy, bring your mum for a treat with Beatty and me one afternoon. We’d love to meet her.’
Tommy picked a petal from a rose in one of the four vases on each table in the room.
‘She’s busy,’ he said.
‘Always? Surely she must have a few hours to spend with you, Tommy.’
‘Nah,’ he said and moved out of the room into the shop.
Ruby followed. ‘Well, mention it, at least,’ she said, no longer willing to force the subject on a disinterested child.
‘Yeah, but don’t think she’ll bovva. Here. I’ve got somethin’ from me auntie,’ he replied, and held out his hand.
A shiver of impatience ran through Ruby, but she held back from saying anything and took the small box from his hand. ‘That’s lovely. Oh, it’s a tiny painting.’
Ruby beckoned Beatty as she walked into the shop, laden with a basket of her freshly baked pies, and wrinkled her nose with approval. ‘They smell good. Tommy can have one for lunch. Look at what his aunt has sent today.’ Ruby held out the box.
‘Was your aunt a lady or someone rich, Tommy? She has perfect things, and they look expensive,’ Beatty asked him as she guided him to a seat before handing him a pie. ‘Sit there and don’t make a mess.’
Tommy’s mouth was full before he could reply to her question, and Ruby got the impression he had no intention of answering. The question was a valid one. Beatty was right; his aunt’s things were nice. It crossed Ruby’s mind that Earl and his wife might have seen better days, and the war had brought them harder times, hence the selling of their goods. When they’d first met, Tommy had mentioned rent and a landlord. Maybe they’d fallen from grace and sold a grand house.
As her imagination ran away with her, women ventured into the shop and she sat back, allowing Beatty to usher them into the new meeting room. Gasps of pleasure and excitement rewarded both of them, and Ruby gave herself a virtual pat on the back. Everything was falling into place. A good place.
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