The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  ‘And that’s why I’ve got to get back out there,’ Luke said. ‘I’ve got to talk to the medical officer and get him to let me start flying again.’

  Alice wrinkled her nose in concern as she took a bite of toast. ‘But love, your medical officer said last week you might have a way to go yet with your leg. Why not focus on the exercises you’ve been given – you’ll get back to war soon enough. ’

  Luke glowered at his wife. ‘Do you really think it’s that simple? That I can just do my exercises and forget about the others who are still fighting?’ He paused for a moment to take a deep breath before he spoke again. ‘Alice, men I served with, were friends with, have died. Why can’t you understand that I need to get back out there? It’s where I belong.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, feeling chastised. She was about to say something else, to try and find another way to reach him, when the sound of someone rapping at the door caught her attention. ‘I’ll go,’ she said.

  Opening the door her face broke into a broad smile at the sight of Chris.

  Chris nodded as he walked into the house. ‘Certainly is me. Tomorrow I’ll be back with the family.’

  ‘But we’ll still be seeing you later to say goodbye?’

  ‘Of course.’ Chris squeezed her shoulder. ‘I’m not going anywhere without a send-off.’

  ‘Hello, mate,’ Luke said brightly, all trace of his anger gone completely. ‘What shall we do today?’

  Chris nodded his thanks as Dot poured him a cup of tea. ‘How about we go for a walk up Regent’s Park and then call in the King’s Head for a pint – for old times’ sake?’

  ‘Good idea,’ Luke replied. ‘I’ll just get my coat.’

  Alice felt a surge of alarm. ‘But you said you’d look after Arthur this morning,’ she said. ‘I’ve got work and Dot’s going up the WVS.’

  Luke shrugged his shoulders. ‘Sorry, love.’

  ‘But you said you’d help,’ Alice replied impatiently, earning herself a look of reproach from Luke.

  ‘And I said I can’t,’ he hissed.

  ‘Come on, Luke,’ Chris said, laying a hand on his brother’s shoulder. ‘I help out with the kids all the time; it’s the way of things now.’

  ‘That might be so,’ Luke said, whirling round to face his brother, his face contorted with anger. ‘But I’ll look after him when I can, not when it suits my wife. I might have a gammy leg and not be fit enough to serve my country, but I’m still head of this family and what I say goes.’

  Turning back to Alice he shoved his hands in his pockets and stood up straight. ‘I’ll be back later.’

  With that he pushed past his brother, who mouthed an apologetic sorry before joining Luke. As the front door slammed shut, Alice whirled around in despair. ‘Am I going mad? He did say when Joy got her marching orders that he’d help out, didn’t he? He said he’d look after Arthur.’

  Dot gave a curt nod of her head as she began to clear away the breakfast things. ‘That he did, love. But I tell you now, there’s no sense arguing with a fella when they get like this. You’re better off waiting ’til later when he’s a bit calmer.’

  ‘But what the hell am I supposed to do in the meantime?’ Alice wailed. ‘I can’t miss work again, I’m walking a thin line as it is now I’ve been demoted.’

  ‘That might not be the case for too long, mind,’ Dot said. ‘Edwin heard all about what Princess Valentina said to you. She’s one of our best customers and old Beatrice was dragged over hot coals.’

  ‘I didn’t know that,’ Alice gasped in surprise. ‘What did he say?’

  Dot grinned and tapped her nose. ‘Can’t tell you. Loose lips and all that, even if Edwin is unofficially my other half. But what I will say is that you ain’t the only one on a tight rope. Now, how about I ask Doris next door if she’ll cover me down the WVS this morning and then I can take Arthur for you.’

  Relief flooded through Alice. ‘Would you really do that for me?’

  ‘’Course I would. There may be a war on, but half the battles in this country are waged on the home front with us women first in line for duty. Leave him with me, love, and get yourself ready.’

  Alice didn’t need telling twice. She got ready at breakneck speed, kissed Dot and then Arthur goodbye, and hurried to the Tube.

  It seemed fate was on her side for just as she stepped on to the platform a train thundered alongside her and she boarded immediately.

  As the train sped away, she leaned her head against the window and started to think about her life. It felt as though she was surrounded by problems and, much as she hated to admit it, Luke was one of the biggest. How funny, she thought, that just a few weeks ago she spent every waking moment dreaming of his return. But now he was here, there were times she wished he wasn’t. She hated to admit it but he had changed so much since he had been away at war and his moods were so erratic. More often than not she felt afraid to open her mouth as she fretted over how Luke might react. Look at how he had responded that morning when she had asked him to look after his own son while she went out to work – something he had promised to start doing.

  She wasn’t wholly unsympathetic, she could appreciate that it must be difficult for men returning from battle to adjust, especially when they were injured or had been held captive. But did that mean they had to be so difficult all the time? And why couldn’t they understand that those who had been left behind had endured just as tough a time, albeit in a different way? You only had to look at the bombed-out buildings that surrounded them to see that. Alice hated herself for thinking it but a part of her wished she could go back in time to when it was just her, Dot and Arthur – life had been so simple then.

  As the Tube pulled into Oxford Circus and she joined the throng of workers spilling out of the Underground into bright sunshine, Alice’s heart felt heavy. From the moment she met Luke she had known that he believed love should be like a fairy-tale. He always said his parents had never had a cross word and insisted he didn’t believe in rows either. Before war broke out and Luke left for the RAF they had enjoyed an idyllic relationship – Alice could count on one hand the number of cross words they had exchanged over the years. But since Luke had returned, it felt as if they were locked in a private battle of their own, and Alice was at her wits’ end trying to work out how to fix it.

  Feeling helpless, Alice pushed thoughts of her marriage from her mind. It seemed too big a problem to deal with at that moment, but was it possible she could do something to change the shape of her working life? Walking down the street she thought about Valentina’s words. The princess had been so disappointed with the department, and not because of the lack of fabric on offer but because of the way it was run. What if there was some way to incentivise Mrs Claremont? Alice knew she didn’t lust after the fabric the way she, Flo, Dot and Mary used to do, but there were other things that Mrs Claremont enjoyed, one of which was success. Could she persuade her boss to radiate enthusiasm in the way the department needed and in turn have customers cooing over fabric just as they used to? She remembered her plan to go to the Liberty library for inspiration: she had to try and come up with a winning idea to revolutionise the department’s fortunes and boost the sales of utility print and clothing and so far she was stumped.

  But later that morning, as she listened to Mrs Claremont and Jean talk about sales targets, she felt less than inspired.

  ‘Nobody knows more than I do,’ Mrs Claremont began, ‘that it’s not easy in these times of war to encourage people to part with their hard-earned money and rations, but we do need to make an effort, girls.’

  ‘I’ve been thinking, Mrs Claremont,’ Jean said nervously as she reached for the guest book that had been left on the counter. ‘The Liberty customer is different. They want beauty, a taste of the good life, and that’s what Liberty’s brings them.’

  Alice glanced at her in surprise. She may not know about sewing, Alice realised, but she did seem to understand the Liberty customer in a way Mrs Claremont did no
t, even though she was only young. Clearly Jean was determined.

  ‘What about it?’ Mrs Claremont barked. ‘We sell utility fabric now. That is not beautiful to customers, it’s functional.’

  Yet despite the rebuke in their boss’s tone, Jean refused to be put off. ‘I was thinking that there must be a way to try and tap into that.’

  Mrs Claremont rolled her eyes. ’How on earth do you suggest we do that? To me it’s simple: we push them to ensure they spend all of their coupons here and encourage them to tell their friends to do the same.’

  Alice thought for a moment, the kernel of an idea forming in her mind. ‘What if we showed the women just how inspirational utility fabric can be?’ she began. ‘What if we offered a prize for the most creative outfit made with Liberty fabric? You know, a leather handbag or something that we have plenty of in stock for the woman that can create the most attractive outfit?’

  Mrs Claremont shot Alice a withering stare. ‘I have never heard of anything so ridiculous, Mrs Milwood. How would customers make their utility outfits attractive? We may be selling our own prints but customers still can’t have pleats or turn-ups or even a collar that’s any more than half an inch. How would they make it attractive?’

  ‘By encouraging them to use what’s already in their wardrobes,’ Alice said triumphantly. ‘They may not be able to put pleats into a skirt, but once they’ve made a utility-pattern dress with one of our utility prints they can accessorise it with a bag, a hat, scarf or shoes already in their own collection. They’ll tell their friends about it and we’ll pick up more traffic through the doors that way, which will feed into other departments such as hats which aren’t reliant on ration coupons.’

  ‘Oh my days! That’s brilliant,’ squawked Jean, gazing at Alice in wonder.

  ‘We could even get on the back of the Make Do and Mend campaign,’ Alice continued, warming to her theme. ‘There are hundreds of groups springing up around the country teaching women how to sew; we could run a group like that here – a sort of community stitching night.’

  Jean clapped her hands together excitedly. ‘Everyone will be talking about the store. What do you think, Mrs Claremont?’

  The fabric manager walked back around the counter and shoved the guest book under the cash register. ‘I think that this idea is cheap and has no place in Liberty’s. Mrs Milwood, it strikes me that you need more time for reflection – the stockroom needs tidying again.’

  Alice opened her mouth to say something, but a sudden look of anguish that flashed across her boss’s features stopped her. Was all this bull and bluster a front? If so, why?

  Feeling wrong-footed, Alice wordlessly made her way to the basement. She was tempted to argue the point, but thought better of it. The moment she opened her mouth she should have known Mrs Claremont would find fault. Flicking on the light switch, she began to sort through the latest delivery. Oddly, though, Alice found she wasn’t put off by the fact Mrs Claremont had poured cold water all over her idea; if anything she was encouraged. Liberty’s was her very own home away from home; she would do all she could to save the place she loved no matter how many obstacles were placed in her way.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  At lunchtime Alice made her way up the stairs to the staffroom, and smiled as she saw Mary and Flo hunched over one of the tables, devouring their sandwiches.

  ‘You two are a sight for sore eyes.’ Alice flung herself into a chair next to Mary.

  ‘Tough morning?’ Flo sympathised.

  Alice rubbed her eyes. ‘Yes, you could say that.’

  ‘Anything you’d like to discuss?’ Mary asked, taking another bite of her paste sandwich. ‘A problem shared … ’

  ‘… is a problem I’d have to relive.’ Alice grimaced as she reached into her own bag for the slice of leftover vegetable pie she had brought in from last night’s supper. ‘Let’s talk about you two. How’s carpets, Mary?’

  Mary rolled her eyes. ‘Dreadful. I hardly know a thing about rugs, Persian or otherwise.’

  Flo sighed. ‘Well, Mr Button is going to call a meeting later on before we all go home. He wants everyone to put forward ideas for their departments to boost business. It was something they used to do at Bourne and Hollingsworth all the time apparently.’

  ‘Seems a good idea,’ Alice said, taking a bite of her pie. ‘I’ll have another think this afternoon in the stockroom, given Mrs Claremont shot down my first idea this morning to boost utility sales.’

  ‘What was it?’ Mary asked.

  Alice shrugged. ‘I just said we ought to encourage customers to get creative with utility fabric by holding a competition for the best dressed or something. You know, customers could become inventive with things they already own to accessorise and so on.’

  ‘We could hold a fashion parade to pick the winner!’ Mary said excitedly. ‘It would be such a draw.’

  ‘That is a good idea, girls.’ Flo grinned excitedly. ‘Make sure you’re first to raise your hands later on tonight.’

  ‘I will,’ Alice beamed. ‘How are you anyway, Flo? How’s the glamour of life upstairs?’

  Flo rolled her eyes. ‘Not brilliant. There’s a mistake with a Beath’s order and I’m going through a backlog of paperwork to try and fix it.’

  ‘Ouch,’ Alice said sympathetically.

  Flo brightened. ‘But I do have some good news.’

  ‘Go on,’ Mary coaxed, finishing her sandwich.

  Flo looked proudly at her friends. ‘I have been asked to sing regularly in the Lamb and Flag.’

  ‘What?’ Alice gasped. ‘The pub around the corner from yours where Aggie used to sing? That’s wonderful!’

  ‘My word, you’ll be in ENSA next,’ Mary exclaimed. ‘What’s brought all this on? I thought you always refused Aggie’s requests to sing with her?’

  ‘Aggie’s death,’ Flo said sadly. ‘I miss her, girls. She was so much more than my aunt; she was like a mother to me. She would have loved me to have done this, and so I’m doing it for her.’

  Alice clasped her friend’s hand. ‘This is so wonderful. It’s nice to hear a bit of good news. So, when do you start?’

  ‘Yes, we’ll come and give you some support on your first night,’ Mary said excitedly. ‘We’ll bang on the tables, give you a standing ovation – that sort of thing.’

  Flo laughed at her friends’ enthusiasm. ‘Next Wednesday. Then if that goes well I said I’d sing regularly one or two nights a week.’

  ‘Well, you can count us in.’ Alice beamed. ‘Even if I have to bring Arthur, we’ll be there with bells on.’

  After lunch Alice returned to the fabric department and was delighted to find that Mrs Claremont didn’t want to send her back to the stockroom. Instead she was allowed to serve her regular and favourite customers with Jean, and she was pleased to find the younger girl was taking an interest in the fabrics they displayed.

  ‘I just want to say I thought your idea was ever so good earlier,’ Jean said shyly.

  ‘Thank you. I’ve worked in this department a long time now and like to think I know the customers better than I know myself.’

  ‘And that’s why, between you and me, I think it’s daft I’ve been promoted above you,’ Jean said in hushed tones as Mrs Claremont served another customer. ‘I don’t know nothing about fabrics.’

  Alice shrugged her shoulders. ‘That’s just the way it is for now. But I’ll help you. Didn’t you learn anything about fabric from your mother?’

  Jean shook her head. ‘My mum ain’t into things like that. To be honest, me and my sister Bessie left home at fifteen and came to London, so I didn’t learn much.’

  ‘And where do you and your sister live now?’

  ‘Me and Bess are in lodgings over Queen’s Park way. But my sister sometimes has her sweetheart round who I’m not that keen on so I try and stay out of their way as much as I can.’

  Shooting her a sideways glance Alice couldn’t miss the look of sadness that passed across the younger girl’s
face and felt a flash of pity for her.

  ‘Well, maybe you should come out with us Liberty girls one night,’ Alice said charitably. ‘Mrs Canning’s going to start singing in a pub near Islington. We said we’d go along and give her some encouragement on her first night next week.’

  ‘Really?’ Jean gasped, her green eyes alight with gratitude and surprise. ‘I’d like that, thank you.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’ Alice smiled, and then saw Mrs Claremont walking across the floor towards them. ‘Now back to work before we’re for it with Madam.’

  The rest of the afternoon passed without incident and by the time the store closed and everyone had assembled to hear Mr Button’s announcement, Alice felt a surge of excitement. Despite Mrs Claremont’s reluctance to encourage her idea, Alice was going to suggest it anyway.

  Everyone gathered under the atrium’s chandelier and there was a buzz of anticipation as Mr Button brought them all to order, with Flo standing ably beside him, arms full of notepaper as she took her rightful place. As Mr Button cleared his throat, Alice sneaked a sideways glance at Mrs Claremont and smirked. She looked furious that she was no longer standing beside Mr Button, and Alice couldn’t help feeling a glow of satisfaction that she no longer had Mr Button’s ear.

  ‘Evening, everyone,’ he said warmly. ‘Thank you so much for staying on an extra five minutes. I know you all want to get home and enjoy this lovely weather we’re having.’

  At that there was a murmur of appreciation. The weather had been particularly glorious in London of late, and the thought of outdoor walks in the fresh air without the worry of blackout appealed to everyone.

  ‘However, as you know, at Liberty’s we welcome your involvement, your thoughts and your ideas,’ Mr Button continued, rocking backwards and forwards on his heels as he always did when addressing the staff like this. ‘With this in mind, we want you to come up with some ideas for your own departments to really drive our customers through the door. We know there’s a war on, we know there’s not an awful lot of choice in stock—’