by Lyn Andrews
Gwen tutted and shook her head. ‘Shocking, that is, not giving the child a chance in life. Now, I’ll clear this lot away and you can write to your mam and I’ll put a note in too. I don’t write as often as I should.’
Rose smiled at her as she got out the cups. ‘And neither does Mam but you’re both so busy.’
Gwen sighed and shook her head. ‘But I don’t have the excuse of having a family to look after.’
Rose put her arms around her and hugged her. ‘Yes you do. You look after me and I couldn’t be happier.’
It had been a long, cold and tiring day, Kate thought as she closed up the shop and drew her coat more tightly to her. What bit of cheerfulness there had been around at Christmas had long since evaporated with the onset of the bitter February weather. Many of her neighbours lacked the money to buy either food or fuel with which to heat their homes adequately and had resorted to burning the skirting boards, banister rails and even floorboards. Water froze in the pipes and without hot food and warm clothing people were suffering badly, especially the very young and the old. Her shop and the loft above were packed to capacity and she prayed that when the days got longer and warmer things would improve for everyone.
Iris was already in the kitchen and had a good fire burning in the range. ‘Mam, you look frozen stiff. Sit down here while I get you a cup of tea. How’s business been today? I can’t say I’ve been rushed off my feet.’ She herself was only just beginning to feel warm: standing behind that counter in the cold shop all day had turned her feet to two blocks of ice.
‘Slow, luv. Very slow, there just isn’t the money to redeem things,’ Kate replied, easing herself down in the armchair for her back was aching badly. She seemed to be in constant pain these days but she put it down to the cold. ‘Is Florence coming tonight?’ she asked tiredly. The last thing she needed was a visit from her future daughter-in-law, who was always full of enthusiastic hopes and plans for her wedding – whenever that might be.
Iris nodded as she handed her mother a mug of hot tea. ‘And there’s a letter from our Rose.’
Kate sipped her tea gratefully as she took the envelope Iris handed her.
‘I wonder if they’ve had any more snow?’ Iris mused.
‘I should think our Rose has had enough snow to last her a lifetime, it wasn’t quite so “lovely” or “picturesque” when she couldn’t get back to Gwen’s,’ Kate commented as she scanned the lines.
‘That was only one night, Mam,’ Iris reminded her. ‘What’s she got to say?’
‘She’s still enjoying being there, says Gwen has enclosed a note – I really must write to her – and is looking forward to spring.’
‘Aren’t we all?’ Iris put in tersely.
‘Asks about you and Tom and our Charlie and Florence,’ Kate continued.
‘As she always does,’ Iris again interrupted.
‘And is hoping to finish Wuthering Heights and intends to start on Jane Austen’s books next,’ Kate read.
‘Well, I have to say her choice of reading matter has improved since they started to let her borrow their books.’
Kate looked thoughtful. ‘I wonder if it is in the hope of “improving” her?’
Iris laughed as she began to set the table. ‘Mam, anything would be an improvement on the stuff she used to read.’
When Charlie arrived home and Iris had served the meal Kate decided it was time she brought up the subject of his wedding although she wasn’t much looking forward to all the fuss that it would engender, especially on Ethel Taylor’s part. If that woman had her way this wedding would be a very grand affair indeed. However, Kate was more than aware that Florence was becoming increasingly impatient to set a date.
‘Charlie, I know I’ve asked this before but have you any idea in mind about a date for the wedding? It won’t exactly be cheap buying outfits and wedding gifts and I’d like to have some idea so I can budget accordingly,’ she asked.
Charlie nodded slowly; he’d known this conversation was in the offing. ‘I think that by next February I’ll have enough saved,’ he replied, ever cautious.
‘Next February!’ Iris exclaimed. ‘It’s not exactly the best time of the year to get married. It’s always freezing and there could be a foot of snow and then our Rose might not be able to get back home. Why not make it next spring or even this autumn?’ she asked, thinking that if he insisted on February she would have to buy not only a dress and accessories but a good winter coat as well, unless of course Florence asked her to be bridesmaid. And if she did in mid-winter she’d probably catch her death of cold in a dress of some unsuitable material.
‘Iris’s right, Charlie. Why not leave it until the spring? I’m certain Florence would be happier to have it then rather than in the depths of winter, to say nothing of her mother. Have you mentioned a date to Florence at all?’ Kate asked.
Charlie could see the sense in their arguments. Delaying would mean he had more money in the bank for he intended to find a place in a decent neighbourhood for them to live and that wasn’t going to be easy. ‘She keeps hinting but I’ve said nothing definite. Maybe you’re right about spring.’
‘Well, for heaven’s sake put the girl out of her misery and suggest it,’ Kate urged. ‘Tell her when she comes tonight and then she and her mam can start making definite plans. I know it’s a good while off yet but these things take—’ Kate suddenly groaned.
‘Mam, is your back playing up?’ Iris asked, concerned.
‘It’s just the weather, luv. I’ll take a hot-water bottle up to bed with me,’ Kate replied grimly.
‘Florence’s Dad hasn’t been feeling too well lately either,’ Charlie informed them.
‘What’s up with him?’ Iris asked distractedly. She was still concerned about her mother. If Mam’s back didn’t improve soon she intended to insist she go and see Dr Mackenzie.
‘Just working too hard, so Florence said. He’s been told to take things easier but he says how can he? This is one of the busiest times of the year for him,’ Charlie replied. He could see the man’s point of view; a business was a business and wouldn’t run itself. He’d been mulling over in his mind the possibility of suggesting that he give Edward Taylor a hand with the paperwork at weekends. It would be a chance to get to know the ropes, he’d thought.
Kate nodded. ‘None of us are getting any younger and when you work for yourself you can’t afford to be ill,’ she said, thinking that now both she and Edward Taylor had the additional worry and expense of a wedding in a little over a year’s time. But she was glad Charlie wasn’t sticking out for a winter wedding.
Chapter Seventeen
FLORENCE WASN’T EXACTLY DELIGHTED when Charlie informed her later that evening that he felt they should set a date in April the following year for their wedding.
‘I had been hoping that, well, maybe it would be sooner, Charlie. October is lovely. All the leaves on the trees turning to gold and red and russet. I could take that as a sort of theme, have the flowers and bridesmaids’ dresses in autumnal colours and St Mary’s-on-the-Hill has lovely grounds with lots of trees that would look great in photographs.’ Florence had been looking forward to her wedding so much she really didn’t want to wait so long.
‘I’d originally thought about next February but Mam and Iris seemed to think—’
‘Oh, not a winter wedding, Charlie! The weather could be awful. I mean if we lived in a pretty village in the countryside and there was snow or ice it could be quite picturesque but in a city …’
Charlie nodded, ignoring her hints about October. He wasn’t going to be rushed and he wanted some money behind him. ‘Mam said it would be too cold so we’ll set a date in April. That will give everyone plenty of time to get organised and for us to find a nice house in a good area.’
Reluctantly Florence agreed. ‘There will be a lot to do,’ she mused and then brightened. A spring wedding would be just as pretty with the new leaves and blossom on the trees and all the flowers emerging. ‘We’ll ha
ve to go and see the vicar first of course and see what he has in his diary and then we’ll need to decide where we are going to have the reception. Goodness, there are so many things to think about but I’m so happy we’ve finally decided on a date, Charlie!’
Charlie nodded. There was a lot to organise and that would keep her happy and occupied. ‘We’ll go and see the vicar soon, Florence,’ he promised although he couldn’t see that there was any great rush, he doubted the vicar’s dairy would be that full so far in advance.
‘And I’ll start to make a guest list with my mother and see where she thinks would be suitable for the reception,’ Florence added. ‘Of course I’ll have Iris and Rose as my bridesmaids,’ she continued.
‘I don’t know how that will work, Florence, with our Rose living so far away,’ Charlie reminded her.
Florence frowned, seeing the first obstacle to her plans. Rose wouldn’t be available for choosing colours and materials, or for dress fittings. ‘I’ll ask Iris what she thinks. I don’t want Rose to feel left out but it could be a problem. Maybe if she were to give the people she works for some sort of advance notice that she will need time off to come to Liverpool …’
‘Florence, luv, you can’t expect the likes of them to be giving our Rose days off by the minutes. She’s a servant and lucky to have the job; she’s at their beck and call, not the other way around,’ Charlie reminded her.
Florence bit her lip and nodded.
‘And, Florence, don’t go bothering your dad too much with wedding plans just yet. He’s got enough on his plate. How is he feeling?’
Florence looked anxious. ‘Mother is trying to make him rest more but it’s not easy. The doctor is thinking about prescribing some tablets. It’s his heart, he thinks, and too much stress and work.’
Charlie nodded sympathetically. ‘When I see him next, Florence, I’m going to offer to help with the paperwork at weekends. He’s running quite a big business you know and it can be very taxing.’ If his future father-in-law’s health continued to deteriorate then Ethel just might succeed in persuading him to retire and he wanted to be ready to step in and take up the reins. The best way to gain the necessary experience and Edward Taylor’s trust was to have familiarised himself thoroughly with the business.
She nodded. ‘That’s good of you, Charlie, I’m sure he will appreciate the offer,’ she replied but already her thoughts were returning to the arrangements for her wedding.
His opportunity came the following Friday evening when he arrived at the house in Cedar Grove to find Florence closeted with her mother in the dining room and her father about to go into his study. He had to admit that the man looked tired and rather drawn.
‘Ethel has instructed that I sit in the living room and read the paper but I’ve a few things to attend to that won’t wait. They’re both engrossed in all the lists they’re making and Ethel has been talking about the Imperial and the Adelphi Hotels as possibilities for a reception. I shudder to even think what those places charge for a bottle of wine let alone a meal; between them I think they intend to bankrupt me. If you can’t face all that palaver, Charlie, go and sit in the living room. I’ll join you when I’ve finished.’
‘If you don’t mind I’d like to join you in the study, I’ve a proposition to put to you,’ Charlie said.
‘If it’s anything that will help to curb the excesses Ethel has in mind, you’re welcome, lad.’
Charlie looked quickly around the small room he’d only been in once before and noted that it was far more untidy than it had been on that occasion.
‘Things are in a bit of a mess,’ Edward explained, sitting down and running his hands through his thinning hair.
‘That’s only to be expected,’ Charlie replied, thinking this was just the opening he needed. ‘I know you’ve been told to take things more gently and I also know that that’s easier said than done in business, so I hope you won’t take offence but I’d be more than willing to help you out with the paperwork at weekends. It can’t be all that different to the stuff I deal with at work.’
Edward looked up. ‘You’d be willing to give up your free time at weekends to help sort this out?’ He indicated the piles of invoices and bills scattered on the desk and the half-open ledgers.
‘I would, if it meant you wouldn’t have as much to do and could take a bit of time off. I’ve also told Florence not to be mithering you with all these plans for the wedding. I’m sure she and Mrs Taylor are more than capable of organising everything,’ Charlie said firmly.
Edward nodded slowly; it would certainly be a help. He indicated that Charlie sit down. ‘I’d be glad of some help, lad. There’s quite a bit to do though.’
Charlie took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and sat down. ‘I’m a fast learner and don’t forget I’ve reorganised Mam’s way of working. Now, if you can show me your systems of ordering, distribution, expenses and payments – both in and out – I can make a start first thing tomorrow morning.’
Edward Taylor smiled. ‘I have to say our Florence certainly did well when she picked you, Charlie. It will be a load off my mind to get this lot sorted.’
Charlie smiled back. ‘And once we’ve got things under control again I can make sure they stay that way. It should only take a few hours a week then and give you peace of mind.’ Organising the wedding would keep Florence content and occupied, he thought, for he certainly didn’t want to spend his weekends being dragged around hotels and churches and the like, or to spend hours discussing the merits of roast beef over roast lamb or what flowers would be appropriate. Not when he had the opportunity of learning the ropes of her father’s business and of being able to ascertain at the same time approximately how much Edward Taylor was worth.
When he announced to Florence that from now on his weekends would be spent helping her father to allow him to rest more she hadn’t been too perturbed, remarking that as he would be here in the house he would be on hand to help make decisions. He’d concurred but he still did not intend to become too involved; such matters could be dealt with by the women.
When he’d announced casually to Kate the following week his intention to spend his time at Cedar Grove on Saturdays and Sundays sorting out his future father-in-law’s paperwork he’d received a searching look from his sister.
‘You’re getting your feet under the table there all right, Charlie,’ Iris had remarked.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he demanded.
‘Just that you seldom do anything if there isn’t something in it for you, some sort of … reward,’ she shot back.
Charlie turned his attention to his mother. ‘Do you have any objections to me helping him out, Mam? He’s supposed to rest more.’
Kate shook her head. ‘No, lad, I’ve no objection.’
‘You could help Mam out on Saturdays, take over in the shop so she could rest,’ Iris persisted, suspecting that he was only doing this to further his own ends but also realising that even if Mam were to have Saturdays off she would still find work to do in the house.
Charlie ignored her. ‘And it’s to stop Florence bothering him with all the wedding fuss and performance.’
This time Kate nodded: that she could understand. Florence was bound to be excited about her wedding, wanting everything to be perfect, but she could be over-enthusiastic about things at times and abetted by her mother they would try the patience of a saint. ‘Even so I doubt he’ll escape it entirely. I’ve already had her on at me wondering about our Rose being a bridesmaid and the nearer it gets the worse the fussing will become.’
Iris had to agree with her. Florence had broached the subject with her too, wondering if the Rhys-Pritchards might be persuaded to give Rose extra time off, which she thought was highly unlikely. In fact, in her opinion, it was downright fatuous of Florence to even think they would.
‘No, lad. You go and give the poor man a hand and leave Florence and her mam to our Iris and me,’ Kate said firmly.
‘That’s good of him
but I have to say your Charlie seems to have an eye to the main chance, Iris,’ Tom remarked as he manhandled the last sack of potatoes into place. The shop wasn’t open yet, which had given Iris the time to inform him of Charlie’s latest plans. He was going to the football match that afternoon but had insisted on staying behind to help her in the shop after he’d delivered the produce.
‘Far too much so. I’m certain he’s determined to get his hands on her da’s business one way or another, so he’s sticking his oar in now,’ she confided, shaking the loose soil off a bunch of carrots.
Tom grinned at her. ‘By making himself indispensable?’
She nodded. ‘He did say though that he’ll be there to stop Florence from mithering her da too much and she’s already started. Honestly, Tom, she and her mam seem determined to make this wedding into some kind of “Society” do. She’s even mentioned the Imperial for the reception. I can’t see what’s wrong with a community hall myself. You can do them up to look really nice.’
He put his arms around her. ‘Do I detect the green-eyed monster raising its head?’
She laughed and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Not a bit of it! I’d hate all that fuss and palaver and it’s a shocking waste of money. When we’ve saved up enough to get married, a nice costume and hat, a quiet service and a cup of tea or a drink and a few sandwiches back here will suit me just fine. It’s hard enough to put money by as it is without wasting it on a big, fancy wedding. It will be bad enough having to wear some kind of frilly bridesmaid’s dress for Florence. Mam will have to be done up to the nines too.’ She frowned as an image of Kate holding her back in pain flashed into her mind.
‘Now what’s the matter?’ Tom asked looking anxious.
‘Mam’s not at all well, Tom. It’s her back but she is insisting it’s due to the cold and damp. I want her to go to see the doctor – it’s gone on too long – but I’ll have the devil’s own job to persuade her. Will you help me?’