The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  ‘Yes, but Mr Button here has been extremely supportive,’ Rose began, only for the echo of Mrs Claremont’s footsteps to drown out the rest of what she was saying.

  ‘What’s all this?’ she asked briskly.

  ‘As Mrs Harper was just saying, Mrs Claremont,’ Mr Button explained, ‘she has some rather exciting news.’

  Alice turned to Rose and realised the colour in her cheeks was down to excitement. ‘Go on,’ she coaxed.

  ‘We’re going to open the crypt up after hours so we can offer first-aid events to the public,’ Rose said. ‘I’m going to be running them. We’re going to explain to people what to do in an emergency, how to do mouth to mouth, how to dress a wound – that sort of thing.’

  ‘That’s wonderful!’ Alice clapped her hands in delight. ‘That will be so good for the community.’

  ‘What a marvellous idea,’ Mary agreed. ‘I know the Red Cross will be thrilled. How can we help?’

  Rose beamed at them. ‘I hoped you would all help me out. There’s only so much I can do being virtually blind, but I spoke to the Red Cross this afternoon, and you’re right, Mary, they all think it’s a marvellous idea and have offered to come and run talks so the theme is a bit different each time we do it. I’ve got another appointment at Guy’s Hospital next week and thought I would see if some of the staff that helped me after my accident would like to be involved.’

  ‘Well, we would love to be part of it,’ Alice said immediately, thinking the idea was inspired.

  ‘Of course we would,’ Mary echoed warmly. ‘And what a wonderful idea to invite staff from Guy’s too. I bet if I spoke to David about this he might have some more ideas on what we should include for these evenings. Do we need training?’

  Rose nodded. ‘The Red Cross and the St John’s Ambulance all offer training courses so they will be coming to help. All we need to do now is spread the word.’

  At that the girls smiled with excitement; only Mrs Claremont remained stony-faced. ‘Are we sure this is such a good idea?’

  Everyone turned and looked at her in surprise. ‘Why ever not?’

  ‘Do we really want all and sundry traipsing through our glorious store after hours?’ Mrs Claremont said tightly. ‘Don’t misunderstand me, I think the initiative is marvellous, but is this what our dear founder Arthur Lasenby Liberty would want for his precious store? And what about our customers? They expect a certain standard when they shop in Liberty’s. They don’t want to hobnob with the great unwashed. Don’t forget profit really should be at the heart of all we do, especially when we are struggling to make money and survive in these uncertain times, like every other store.’

  Alice’s jaw dropped in shock. Was this really what the new fabric manager thought? She glanced across at Rose and saw the younger girl’s face had fallen like a stone. Alice knew Rose loved nothing more than helping people and to see her idea trampled on so cruelly was devastating.

  Seemingly reading her mind, Mr Button stepped in to protest. ‘As you quite rightly say, Mrs Claremont, there is a war on,’ he began, his tone gentle yet firm. ‘And I am also sure I don’t need to remind you that it is vital we, the British people, pull together.’

  ‘Well, quite, but I don’t see—’ she began only for Mr Button to cut her off.

  ‘And I think you’ll find that Arthur Liberty was rather supportive of collaborations. Teamwork, Mrs Claremont, is at the very heart of all we do at Liberty’s and I think you would do well to remember that. Now, I think Mrs Harper’s idea is a marvellous one and I expect you all to support her. Not only is it good for the morale of staff but it also means we can help others in our community too. With Mr Hitler and now Japan gunning firmly for our blood it’s vital we are all as informed as possible, wouldn’t you agree, Mrs Claremont?’

  Alice sneaked a glance at her boss and was delighted to see the older woman had the good grace to look a little ashamed. Her usual tidy bun was slightly ruffled and an embarrassed flush had crept up her neck.

  ‘Yes of course, Mr Button,’ she replied, quickly recovering her composure. ‘Do let us know how we can assist. When are you hoping to hold the first event, Mrs Harper?’

  ‘Wednesday next week, after my appointment at the hospital,’ Rose replied eagerly. ‘I’ve already got someone from the St John’s Ambulance coming. In the meantime I’ve got to go through all our first-aid kits and ensure they’re all up to scratch and then tell as many people as possible.’

  ‘We can help with that,’ Mary said quickly. ‘We’ll alert all our customers and ask them to tell their friends and family too.’

  ‘Oh, would you?’ Rose asked brightly. ‘That would be wonderful.’

  ‘And I’ll make sure the other departments down here know as well,’ Alice added.

  ‘Thank you, ladies,’ Mr Button said. ‘I know that this promises to be a great Liberty’s initiative.’

  With that the duo slipped off across the floor, Mr Button guiding Rose gently back up the stairs towards the office.

  ‘What a thoroughly ridiculous idea,’ Mrs Claremont snapped the moment they were out of earshot. ‘We should be concentrating on building up the business, not giving in to sentimentality. When I was in gifts we never would have had time to get involved in something so ludicrous.’

  Alice felt a flash of fury and was about to open her mouth and roar at Mrs Claremont when she felt Mary lay a gentle hand on her forearm. Mary gave her a shake of the head as if urging caution. ‘Oh look, Mrs Perkins is back,’ she said cheerily. ‘Alice, I bet she wants to talk to you about how to make baby clothes again. You know you’re the master at that sort of thing.’

  Knowing Mary was doing her best to distract her, Alice smiled gratefully at her friend and made her way to greet her customer. As she observed Mrs Claremont rifling through paperwork out of the corner of her eye, Alice bit back her frustration. Why was her new manager going out of her way to be difficult?

  Chapter Nine

  Over the course of the next week Alice found, much to her surprise, that she was enjoying having her sister around. Not only did Joy appear to be toeing the line and respecting her and Dot’s wishes but she was working hard, helping to look after Arthur and had even offered to show Alice’s friends some support by joining her tonight for the first of Rose’s St John’s Ambulance training nights. Alice wasn’t sure how long Joy could keep this change of character up, but Alice was determined to make the most of it.

  Together with Mary, Dot and Flo, they had worked tirelessly to ensure that Rose’s event that night was a success, and she was keeping her fingers and toes crossed this would be the start of greater things to come for her friend after all the hardships she had endured. Only as she hurried down to the crypt she felt a wave of horror as she saw Rose sitting forlornly in a chair by the fireplace all alone, head in her hands.

  ‘Rose, what’s wrong?’ Alice asked, hurrying to her side.

  ‘It’s just a bit pointless, isn’t it?’ Rose replied, lifting her head and looking through her friend.

  ‘What’s pointless, sweetheart?’ Alice asked, clasping her friend’s hands.

  ‘All this.’ Rose shrugged, gesturing in the direction of the rows of chairs and various medical kits that had been set up on a table at the front of the room. ‘You can try and prepare as much as you like for disaster but if something bad’s going to happen there’s nothing you can do about it.’

  Alice tried to ignore the alarm spreading through her as fast as butter melted on hot toast. Rose was usually so optimistic; there had to be a reason for her downturn in mood. ‘Has something happened to Tommy? Is that why you’re feeling so low?’

  At the mention of her husband, Rose shook her head. ‘No, as far as I know Tommy’s fine. Or at least he was the last time I heard from him a couple of weeks ago.’

  ‘You know what it’s like,’ Alice tried encouragingly. ‘Sometimes it’s impossible for them to get a letter out to us, but you know he’s thinking of you all the time. Look at how he tried to get c
ompassionate leave last year after you became ill.’

  ‘Poisoned, you mean,’ Rose snapped, her blue eyes suddenly alive with fury.

  Alice sprang back in surprise; she had never heard Rose talk like this before. ‘Darlin’, I thought you’d forgiven Mrs M. for that and were moving on. Besides, some of your eyesight’s coming back now. Who knows when you’ll get the rest of it back?’

  ‘If I get the rest of it back,’ Rose corrected. Her gaze had returned to the floor. ‘I went to Guy’s today. Doctors say it’s unlikely I’ll ever see properly again.’

  ‘What?’ Alice gasped, fear thudding through her body. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘The doctors say this has gone on too long now for me to get my sight back,’ Rose snapped angrily. ‘Methanol poisoning is usually temporary and passes quickly, if it’s going to pass at all.’

  Worry surged through Alice and she took a closer look at her friend’s face. Gone was Rose’s girlish hope and youthful air of naivety. Worry lines had deepened across her forehead and a few strands of grey had suddenly appeared in her auburn hair. Alice didn’t know what to do or say to make her friend feel better. It was so unfair. All she could do was pull Rose into her arms. Sometimes words weren’t the best medicine, it was a simple action that was required.

  ‘Come on, we’ve got people coming for this event,’ Alice said eventually, releasing her friend. ‘They’ll be expecting a show and you don’t want to let Liberty’s or yourself down. This first-aid night is a brilliant idea – you’ve got a real chance to show other people what to do in a crisis.’

  Nodding, Rose got to her feet and reached for the long white cane she always carried. ‘Yes, I suppose we must carry on,’ she said listlessly.

  Just then Mary and Flo walked through the doors of the crypt armed with boxes.

  ‘Rose, where shall we put all this lot?’ Flo asked. Only the top of her head was visible above the box of bandages.

  ‘Here, let me help.’ Alice rushed to relieve the girls of some of their load.

  ‘Oooh, thank you,’ Flo sighed with relief as she followed Alice towards the front of the room and laid everything down there. ‘What’s all this anyway?’

  ‘Just equipment the St John’s Ambulance has let us borrow,’ Rose said in a monotonous tone.

  ‘Blimey!’ Alice raised an eyebrow. ‘We’ll all be trained nurses after tonight then!’

  Rose shrugged her shoulders and turned away, causing Mary and Flo to exchange puzzled looks with Alice.

  Just as Flo was about to say something, Alice heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. ‘Oh, look, ladies, the first of our visitors have arrived. Flo, can you give me a hand to show them to their seats?’

  Once the visitors had been settled and the guests from the St John’s Ambulance had been welcomed, Rose, aided by Mary, walked to the front and beamed at everyone. It was a good turnout, Alice thought, as she waited for Rose to begin. Including the volunteers they made for about twenty-five, and Alice was delighted to see that as well as Malcolm and her sister, Aggie had turned up to lend her support and was sitting quietly at the back next to Joy.

  ‘Hello, everyone, and welcome to this very first Liberty’s emergency first-aid training evening,’ Rose began hesitantly, clutching her white cane for all it was worth. ‘It’s a pleasure to have you all here and I hope you’ll all learn something worthwhile.’

  As Rose paused there was a round of applause, and Alice felt the room rooting for her friend.

  ‘As you can see from this white stick, I’m almost completely blind,’ Rose began in earnest, her gaze now lifting from the floor towards the small crowd. ‘I’m very passionate about this project because I believe that if I had been surrounded by people who had been familiar with basic first-aid knowledge, my sight could have been saved. And so, without further ado,’ she continued, ‘I will now hand you over to our very capable volunteers.’

  With that, Rose took a step back with the help of Mary, and the volunteers from the St John’s Ambulance began their talk.

  ‘Did you hear that? Flo gasped incredulously as she rounded on Alice. ‘She blames us!’

  ‘No, she doesn’t. She had some bad news from the doctors at Guy’s today. They say it’s unlikely she’ll get her sight back now and I think the truth of the situation must have hit her hard.’

  Flo said in a quiet voice, ‘Maybe this news has made her think about her blindness differently now she knows it’s not temporary.’

  Alice thought for a moment. The way Rose had spoken moments earlier had thrown her.

  ‘Do you honestly think so?’ she asked eventually.

  ‘You heard her: she believes that if she had been surrounded by people who knew basic first aid she could have had her eyesight saved,’ Flo replied evenly. ‘We were the ones who were with her when she went blind.’

  There was a brief round of applause then as the volunteers started handing out apparatus and encouraging people to get into groups. As Mary, Malcolm, Aggie and Joy joined Alice and Flo to make up a group of their own, Alice pounced. ‘Do you think Rose blames us for losing her eyesight?’

  ‘Hey come on now, love,’ Malcolm said, laying a hand on Alice’s forearm consolingly. ‘She would never think that. She loves the bones of you girls.’

  ‘Yes,’ Mary added in a clipped tone. ‘Whatever gave you that idea?’

  ‘I don’t know. I just feel so wretched about it all.’

  ‘But not as wretched as Rose will be,’ Mary said. ‘We need to help her.’

  ‘If she does blame us, she may not want our help,’ Flo said in an exasperated tone. ‘What does Tommy say? Has he been in touch?’

  Malcolm nodded. ‘He has. He keeps offering to try and come back on compassionate leave but Rose still won’t have it. Her mother keeps writing ’n’ all, offering to see if the ATS will let her come home for a bit, but Rose refuses.’

  Alice shook her head in disbelief. ‘Silly girl. It would give her a lift to see her loved ones – and you too, Malcolm.’

  Rose’s father smiled kindly at Alice, and subconsciously rubbed the leg that had been badly injured during the last war and caused him to limp. ‘That’s as may be, but it’s Rose’s decision. All I can do is hope she changes her mind.’

  ‘Maybe she will now her situation has changed,’ Flo mused.

  Joy shrugged. ‘Or maybe she needs to stop being treated like an invalid you’re all worried about.’

  As everyone’s eyes swivelled towards Joy, Alice saw that far from being sarcastic, Joy was being serious. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I just mean that Rose is still Rose. All right, she doesn’t have her eyesight and, don’t get me wrong, that’s terrible. But she is still your friend. Maybe if you take the kid gloves off, she might not feel like she was so different.’

  There was a pause as everyone digested what Joy had said. Alice had to admit her sister had a point, and was just about to say as much when Malcolm spoke. ‘Perhaps. I think it would help if she felt she had more support at work though, Flo. It didn’t help that your new fabric manager told her last week that she wouldn’t get behind these events.’

  At the mention of her direct supervisor Alice glowered. ‘I see she isn’t here tonight, despite what Mr Button said.’

  Flo sighed, frustration written across her face. ‘I encouraged her to come but she said that being a member of the WVS she was more than familiar with first-aid procedures and there would be no benefit to her being in the store after closing time.’

  ‘She has some very strange ideas,’ Alice hissed.

  ‘I think we can all agree that although Mrs Claremont is a fan of hard work, teamwork is not a theory she subscribes to,’ Mary added.

  ‘No, it isn’t.’ Flo assented. ‘It never has been; she’s always worked hard but puts her own needs above those of anyone else. I had hoped that when she replaced me in fabrics that would change; the department has always been built on camaraderie but that seems to have fallen by the wayside.
I saw you girls weren’t even allowed to talk the other day on the shop floor in between serving customers.’

  Alice made a face. ‘She says it looks bad if we’re gossiping.’

  Flo roared with laughter. ‘It’s what makes the department special! Customers feel as though they’re with friends rather than in some nameless store. I wish she would understand that.’

  ‘My word,’ Joy exclaimed, ‘that was heartfelt, Flo. You sound like my supervisor at Mayfair House. She says she’s always so swamped with paperwork she never gets to see any part of the hotel other than her office.’

  ‘I know the feeling,’ Flo said glumly. ‘And it doesn’t help when jobsworths like Mrs Claremont make my life harder by not filling in their own paperwork.’

  ‘Why not?’ Alice quizzed. ‘She gave me a lecture recently about how we had to be better than men and show we were more than capable as women of doing their jobs, how we had to be self-reliant. How does not doing her job properly prove that?’

  Flo sighed. ‘She says that men wouldn’t be asked to do the things we are asking her to do – especially when they aren’t technically the manager of that department.’

  Alice frowned. ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘I probably shouldn’t say this, but Mrs Claremont’s position isn’t permanent at the moment,’ Flo admitted in hushed tones. ‘Mr Button knows she’s a hard worker but he’s giving her a trial.’

  ‘So that means the position of fabric manager is up for grabs?’ Alice asked excitedly.

  ‘Well, yes,’ Flo replied doubtfully, ‘but, Alice, we need someone in that role full-time – unless they’re exceptional.’

  ‘Then I’ll be exceptional!’ Alice said determinedly. ‘I’m going to show you what I can do when I go to Bath next Saturday.’

  Flo frowned. ‘There’s no need to go overboard, Alice. You have enough to do; we can sort things out with Mrs Claremont in time.’

  ‘Well, I hope you can, Flo,’ said Mary. ‘That woman is making our lives a misery on the shop floor. I was half thinking of going to the war office and asking for another job alongside Liberty’s and my Red Cross work so I only have to be in the department part-time.’