The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said eventually. ‘It was a one-off.’

  ‘Whose was the cash?’ Alice asked. ‘And the watch? And this time no more lies Jey.’

  ‘A customer’s,’ Joy replied quietly, her gaze fixed to the parquet floor. ‘Her bag was hanging on the back of the chair while I was waiting on her at dinner a few weeks ago. She’d left it open and I know how rich she is. I knew she wouldn’t miss what I took, but to me it was life-changing. I mean that’s how I treated you all to afternoon tea – we all benefited.’

  Although Alice had suspected this was what had happened, hearing the truth out loud made her wince with horror. ‘We’ve all benefited? We’ve all benefited from you being a thief? Is that really what you’re trying to say?’

  ‘No, sorry,’ Joy said, backtracking immediately. ‘I just meant that I didn’t want to keep it all for me. I wanted you all to have a nice time as a thank you.’

  ‘The invitation was nice enough! Us girls were happy to pay our way, you know that – we always have. You said you could get us a healthy staff discount and that was enough for us. You had no need to go thieving, Joy, but you’ve never had a need, you do it because you like it, because you think it makes you closer to Jimmy.’

  There was a pause then as Joy seemed to think before she spoke. ‘You’re right,’ she said in a small voice, ‘I’ve just been finding it hard lately. I miss him. Dad wrote to me recently.’

  Alice stared at her sister in surprise. She hadn’t had a letter from their father in years and assumed that although Joy and her father were closer than she and Jimmy had ever been, their father had abandoned her too.

  ‘What did he want?’ Alice’s tone was unrelenting.

  ‘Not much. I wrote to him after I lost my job up Claridge’s; he told me that I had natural talents and I could be Queen of South London if I wanted. He said I should forget the hotel work and concentrate on what I’m good at. I suppose his words stuck.’

  Alice rolled her eyes in disgust. Their father had always known how to pull Joy’s strings. ‘Offer to introduce you to some people that could help you, did he?’ she snapped, folding her arms as she stared knowingly at her sister. ‘Then suggest he receive a finder’s fee?’

  Joy’s face flushed. ‘Something like that,’ she mumbled. ‘He was just trying to help me. I know you don’t approve of him but I don’t know why you always have to see only the bad in him.’

  ‘Because he is bad through and through,’ Alice hissed. ‘When will you get it into your thick skull that our father is best left well alone? You’ll never change. I knew I shouldn’t have given you a second chance.’

  Joy was on her feet now. ‘Please don’t throw me out. Please give me another chance,’ she begged.

  ‘It’s just more lies,’ Alice said, shaking her head. ‘Look, I understand why you want to keep in touch with Jimmy – just because I want nothing more to do with him doesn’t mean you shouldn’t if that’s what you want. But it’s the lies I can’t cope with, especially now I’ve got a son to think about.’

  ‘But honestly, really I mean it this time. I was stupid – I regretted it the moment I did it. Please don’t throw me out – I’ve nowhere else to go.’ As Joy fell silent Alice looked at her sister and caught something in her eyes that immediately transported her back to their childhood. In an instant she remembered the way her father had suddenly disappeared and how she had been left to raise Joy all alone. That first night, Joy hadn’t stopped sobbing; she had adored their father and wanted him to come back. Then on the second night, when Joy realised her father was never coming back, she had sobbed that she was going to end up all alone, that her mother was dead, their father had gone, and it had taken Alice several hours of promising that she wasn’t going to leave as well before she could get Joy to calm down. With a sigh, Alice realised that she couldn’t abandon her sister to fend for herself now any more than she could have done when she was a child. Her sister had her faults but Alice wasn’t going to turn her back on her in the way their father had done. She would always do her best to set Joy on the right path, no matter what.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The following morning Alice was surprised to find that Joy seemed to have found a new resolve. Not only had she set about making a pot of tea for everyone rather than just herself, but she had ironed Alice’s work clothes and even swept the hearth.

  The effect wasn’t lost on Dot, who raised an eyebrow but knew better than to ask questions – and Alice knew better than to offer any answers. If Joy really had turned over a new leaf then it would take more than a pot of tea to prove it, but in the meantime, it was a treat to see she had made an effort.

  Alice herself had a long day ahead of her. Not only did she have a full day on the shop floor but she also desperately needed to think of some ideas to showcase Liberty’s commitment to utility clothing and fabric. She thought back to the recent article she had read in Vogue. The magazine had promoted this new movement, and declared it unfashionable to be fashionable, instead insisting everyone get behind the government’s Make Do and Mend campaign.

  She wondered if she could go to the Liberty library and find inspiration on one of her afternoons off. And if she couldn’t, well, being surrounded by the history of the store she loved was a nice way to pass the time.

  Arriving at work, Alice resolved to ask Mr Button or Flo when she might be granted access and made her way deftly towards fabrics. With the scent of the polished floorboards filling her nostrils, Alice breathed in deeply; she loved this time in the morning when it was just her, the staff and their beautiful shop. Only, nearing the department, she was alarmed to hear the sounds of raised voices. Pausing underneath the chandelier that hung from the atrium, she could make out the sounds of Mrs Claremont and Mary arguing about something.

  She wondered if she ought to stay where she was or go straight to her department, but checking her watch she saw that the doors would be flung open to the customers in a matter of moments. If either Mrs Claremont or Mary were caught carrying on like that while customers were on the shop floor they would both be for the high jump and Alice knew she would have to intervene.

  Hurrying towards fabrics she soon saw the culprits. Leaning over the cash register, red-cheeked and angry, the two women looked as if they were spoiling for a fight rather than an opportunity to help customers with patterns.

  ‘All I’m saying is, there’s a good way of dealing with people,’ Mary was saying impatiently, ‘and the way you spoke to my customer yesterday was not the best way of dealing with the situation.’

  Mrs Claremont drew herself up to her full height. ‘Your customer?’ she replied indignantly. ‘Your customer? I am head of this department, Miss Holmes-Fotherington, and as such every customer is my customer. If I feel they need to be directed in a different fashion, it is my duty to do what you cannot.’

  ‘Your duty!’ Mary gasped loudly, her hands shaking with rage by her sides. ‘Your duty will see us lose customers rather than keep them.’

  Alice had heard enough. Rather than the argument petering out, Alice thought it looked as if it was about to become a full-scale brawl.

  ‘Ladies,’ she hissed. ‘The shop is about to open. Whatever is all this about?’

  At the sound of Alice’s voice Mary and Mrs Claremont fell silent, instead continuing their row by looking daggers at one another.

  ‘Miss Holmes-Fotherington here believes it’s perfectly acceptable to devote hours, and I do mean hours, to one customer,’ Mrs Claremont said eventually, her voice dangerously low.

  Alice looked at the woman. It was hard to find any sympathy for Mrs Claremont’s argument simply because she looked so furious. And the fact was Alice agreed with Mary entirely – indeed, would have done even if Mary weren’t her friend. One of the things that made Liberty’s so special was the fact that they devoted such time to their customers, encouraging them to browse, look around, enjoy the beauty of the wares on offer without hurrying them along. Mrs Claremont had wo
rked at Liberty’s long enough to know that, so why she was being so difficult with Mary?

  ‘I think you’ve both said enough,’ Alice snapped as she heard the sound of the doors opening. ‘We have worked hard to build up a good reputation in this department and I won’t have it ruined by you two because you don’t know how to behave on the shop floor.’

  ‘Excuse me, madam,’ Mrs Claremont blurted, ‘I rather think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.’

  ‘And I rather think you’ve forgotten where you are,’ Alice replied coldly. ‘Now enough, both of you. What on earth would Mr Button say, or indeed Mr Liberty himself if he could see you both now?’

  With that Alice turned away from the women and focused her attention on what she was good at: serving. As the rest of the day passed, Alice found her nerves becoming increasingly frazzled. Mrs Claremont and Mary barely spoke to one another all day and the atmosphere wasn’t lost on their usual customers, who didn’t linger and chat as they usually did.

  By closing time Alice was more than ready to go home, and felt that a night with a screaming Arthur, who was still teething, would be preferable to a day spent with her boss and her friend.

  ‘We’ve had a busy day’s takings, haven’t we?’ Alice said, doing her best to strike up a conversation between the warring women as she reached for the sales books and leafed through the figures.

  ‘Indeed, Mrs Milwood,’ Mrs Claremont replied in a pompous tone, ‘notwithstanding the fact that a few of us have had our differences today.’

  Mary glanced up from the packets of needles she was tidying and looked Mrs Claremont straight in the eye. ‘I don’t have any differences.’

  ‘And I certainly don’t,’ Mrs Claremont said in a pompous tone. ‘Because I’ve settled them – with Mr Button’s help of course.’

  Unable to help herself, Alice exchanged a nervous glance with Mary before she spoke. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I mean it’s high time this department started performing as I wish,’ Mrs Claremont said, plucking an imaginary piece of fluff from her jacket. ‘I’ve spoken to Mr Button at great length this afternoon about my concerns. I’ve said that I feel the friendship within this group may be challenging the future of fabrics and that it should remain off the shop floor rather than on it.’

  Mary took a step towards her boss. ‘Mrs Claremont, you know that my prime concern has always been this department—’

  ‘I know that,’ Mrs Claremont snapped, cutting Mary off. ‘But Mr Button and I agree it might be best for everyone if there were some changes. That’s why, Miss Holmes-Fotherington, you will be working in carpets. It’ll be good for you to experience life in other departments. You start tomorrow.’

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The moment Alice stepped into the infamous Rainbow Corner one lunchtime the following week, she felt a flutter of excitement, all thoughts of the problems at her workplace temporarily forgotten. She had of course heard the rumours that the renowned GI Club on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue, provided by the American Red Cross for servicemen serving far from home, was a den of iniquity designed to corrupt British society, but to Alice it seemed more like a fairy-tale.

  Open twenty-four hours a day, not only was there a barber’s, laundry and doughnut stand in the basement, there were also rooms where servicemen could enjoy an hour’s sleep before heading back on the train to wherever they were being posted.

  Glancing up at Jack, Alice saw him smile and clap his fellow soldiers on the back as they weaved their way through the crowds. As they walked over to the other side of the club, Alice looked around and saw people eating what looked to be giant sandwiches filled with some kind of meat and cheese, grease dribbling down their chins as they tucked in. The scent of fried food filled the air and Alice’s stomach rumbled appreciatively – what was this place?

  ‘Here we go.’ Jack smiled, pushing her gently towards what looked like a giant piece of machinery.

  She turned to him perplexed. ‘What is this?’

  Jack roared with laughter. ‘Honey, this is a soda fountain and let me tell you it doesn’t get better than this.’

  Reaching for a glass he filled it to the brim with a fizzing brown liquid and handed it to her expectantly.

  Peering at it in concern, Alice took a sniff. It smelled unexpectedly sweet and it looked revolting. Looking back at Jack she could see the excitement in his eyes as he encouraged her to take a sip.

  Reluctantly Alice held the glass to her lips and swallowed. As the sparkling liquid travelled down her throat it was all she could do not to gag. It was so sweet, so sickly, and what was that taste?

  ‘What is that?’ she asked, grimacing.

  ‘That is Coca-Cola,’ he said triumphantly.

  ‘And you drink this?’ she asked incredulously.

  ‘All the time.’ He sighed. ‘It’s a real taste of home.’

  Alice peered at the glass again, holding it aloft as if it contained all the mysteries of the world. ‘I think I’d rather have a port and lemon.’

  Jack took the glass from her and laughed again. ‘You’re a real tonic, Alice Milwood, you know that, right?’

  ‘I could do with a gin and tonic after the morning I’ve had,’ she muttered under her breath.

  ‘That bad, hey?’ Jack asked as he steered her towards a leather booth and invited her to take a seat.

  Alice sighed and leaned back. When Jack had called in earlier to see if she was free at lunchtime she had been only too happy to say yes. It had been a week since Mary’s move to carpets and to say the atmosphere was tense in the fabric department was an understatement.

  Since Mary’s departure Mrs Claremont had been even worse, bossing staff about and issuing demands such as even earlier start and finish times so they could all have extra staff training. It was a problem Alice was not only desperate to understand but desperate to solve too. She had been tempted to talk to Mr Button, but she knew that he had enough to cope with as they were shockingly understaffed. She didn’t want to trouble him unless she had to, but there seemed to be some new problem every day.

  Only this morning Mrs Claremont had said that the way the department’s files were stacked needed attention, and insisted that Alice, as the department’s deputy, was the one to run a training session. That, coupled with the fact that Alice really missed her friend, made her working life a very miserable experience indeed.

  ‘You could say that,’ she sighed. ‘It’s just everything at work is changing, and not necessarily for the better.’

  ‘You know, I think what you all need is a day out to ease your troubles.’

  Alice looked at him blankly. ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘Well, it sounds like you girls are all having a tough time at the moment. What about a day out or something – take your mind off things?’

  ‘We can’t have a day out!’ Alice spluttered. ‘There’s a war on, and I’m a mother for a start.’

  ‘So?’ Jack shrugged, gulping down a mouthful of Coke. ‘That mean you can’t have any fun?’

  ‘Well, no,’ Alice began, ‘but it’s not possible.’

  ‘I don’t see why not. What about a Sunday in some park that you know of? One not too far away? The weather’s getting warmer – it might cheer you all up, and if Arthur’s anything like Jack Junior, I bet he’d love the chance to play in the park.’

  As he finished speaking, Alice glanced at her watch. ‘I’d better be getting back, but thank you, Jack. I’ll have a think about your idea.’

  ‘I’ll walk you out,’ he replied as Alice got to her feet.

  Alice slipped on her coat. ‘If you’re sure it’s no trouble.’

  ‘It’s not a trouble, it’s a pleasure,’ he said warmly as they walked out of the club and on to the sunshine-filled street.

  ‘What else do you have planned for the day?’ she asked.

  ‘I’ve got a meeting with my CO,’ Jack replied as they strolled along Haymarket and up towards Soho. ‘There’s a chance I might
be moving out of London.’

  Alice stopped abruptly. The shock of his announcement rocked her. ‘I thought you were here permanently?’

  Jack shrugged. ‘I thought so too. But it’s possible they’ll move me elsewhere. Nothing’s definite yet,’ he finished before his smile turned playful. ‘Why, you gonna miss me?’

  Alice felt a flush creep up her cheeks at being caught out. ‘And the rest, Jack Capewell,’ she said quickly, picking up the pace as she walked along the street. ‘I’m too busy with a son and a job to miss you.’

  ‘Well, I’ll miss you,’ he said, hurrying alongside her. ‘Your friendship has become very important to me.’

  At the confession Alice felt herself bristle. She couldn’t have feelings for men who weren’t her husband; it wasn’t right. But then the thought of a world without Jack in it hit her as hard. Though she could never admit it, like Jack, their friendship had come to mean a lot to her.

  Rounding the corner and reaching the top of Argyll Street, she was suddenly aware of Jack pulling her towards him. At the feel of his strong arms wrapped firmly around her, she allowed herself just for a second to breathe in the rich, heady scent of his cologne and rest her head on his shoulder. ‘I mean it, Alice,’ he whispered softly in her ear, just loudly enough for her to hear above the roar of London street life. ‘I know I shouldn’t say it, I know it’s complicated, but you mean the world to me.’

  The heartfelt honesty of his words shocked her. Jack shouldn’t feel like this. And though she wanted to tell him that she felt the same way, she just couldn’t. Reluctantly wrenching herself free from his embrace, she fixed her gaze on him. ‘Where you come from it might be all right to accost women in the street,’ she said half-teasingly, ‘but in England it’s not what we do.’

  Jack took a step back and dipped his head by way of apology. ‘Sorry, ma’am, forgot where I was for just a second there.’