The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  ‘He only ever took money from the rich, those that could afford it,’ Joy fired back. ‘Shirley told me all about it. Alice, I know you don’t understand, but the one thing Dad did drum into me was loyalty. Shirley, well, she’s an old friend of Dad’s; out of respect for him I should help her.’

  Alice opened her mouth to protest but Joy held a hand up to silence her. ‘While she may not be getting her life together in a way you approve of, she is trying and I’m not going to let her down.’

  ‘But you would let me down,’ Alice said coldly.

  ‘That’s different! You know it’s not like that. Honestly, you drive me mad sometimes.’

  ‘Then perhaps we should agree that it’s best not to talk about Shirley!’ Alice forced herself to speak brightly, looking away from Joy and around the room itself. ‘Blimey! You’ve made it look just like Liberty’s in here.’

  Joy smiled. ‘That was the plan.’

  ‘And you did it all by yourself. I can’t believe it,’ Alice marvelled.

  ‘Well, not quite all by herself,’ a male voice boomed.

  Jumping up and whirling around she glimpsed Luke standing nervously in the doorway. Turning back to Joy, she stared at her thunderstruck. ‘What does he mean?’

  Joy toed the floor nervously. ‘When Luke found out what was happening he wanted to help.’

  ‘Why?’ Alice asked bluntly.

  ‘Because you needed help, Alice,’ he said, coming into the ballroom.

  She looked at him then and gasped in disbelief. The progress he had been making since he had been at home seemed to have disappeared. His face was lined and grey, and he had lost the weight that he had begun to put on.

  ‘I’m your husband, Alice,’ he said simply. ‘I know I haven’t made a very good job of it but I want you to be happy. I want to be the one that makes you happy.’

  Alice turned to Joy once more. ‘Is this down to you as well?

  ‘Well, I think you should talk. You are married and that counts for something. Whatever you decide to do next, Alice, I think you should hear Luke out. He does love you, in spite of everything.’

  Alice stared at her sister in disbelief. ‘Since when did you two become such good friends?’

  ‘We’re not,’ Luke said quietly. ‘But since Joy was kind enough to help me get lodgings at the hotel, we realised that although we may not like each other all that much, we do have one thing in common: you.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Joy chimed in. ‘Which is why I’m going to go now and leave you both to it.’

  With that she disappeared out of the room, leaving Alice unsure if she wanted to cuddle her or strangle her. Instead she sat down again and looked up at her husband expectantly. ‘Well?’

  Luke rushed to sit in the seat beside her. ‘I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. Time apart has shown me how important you are to me. I should never have lost my temper like that. I can see why that would have upset you. I know your father didn’t have the greatest control over his emotions and no doubt when you saw me lash out like that you thought I was like him. But I’m not your father, Alice.’

  ‘No, you’re a cheater ’n’ all,’ she said drily, folding her arms.

  Luke hung his head in shame. ‘There’s nothing I can say to that other than I’m sorry. I could tell you that I was afraid, I was lonely, I wasn’t sure if I would ever see you again.’

  Alice roared with laughter. ‘And you thought the best way of coping with missing me would be to jump straight into the arms of another woman. I’m sorry, Luke, but it’s all just too much to bear.’

  ‘Please, Alice,’ Luke tried again. ‘I know I have behaved so, so badly, but you’re my wife, Arthur is our child, we should be together.’

  ‘Should we?’ Alice asked in disbelief. ‘Because since you’ve got back you’ve done nothing to show me that you want to be a family and everything to show me that you want to be back with Hélène. Did she see your temper as well?’

  As Luke opened his mouth to speak, Alice held up her hand to stop him. ‘I don’t want the details, thank you. It’s just a shame you couldn’t have told me any of this yourself and I had to hear it from your brother.’

  ‘I know,’ Luke whispered. ‘I knew I should have told you, but the whole thing was tearing me apart. I had to confide in someone. Chris was devastated at what I had done, sickened in fact. I’m not surprised he told you. He called me cowardly for not doing it myself.’

  There was a silence then. Sitting there, Alice felt as if she had been put through an emotional mangle. She was sick of worrying about her husband’s behaviour and whether he loved her and her son. She was sick of treading on eggshells whenever the subject of his health or his war work came up. But most of all she was sick of her marriage being a problem.

  ‘What do you want to do?’ she asked wearily.

  ‘I want to come home,’ he said earnestly. ‘I want to show you that I am the husband you married, that I can be again.’

  ‘But what if it’s too late? We’ve both changed. War has seen to that,’ she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

  ‘I’ll never stop trying to show you,’ he said hurriedly. ‘Alice, please.’

  Alice rested her head in her hands; she didn’t know what to do. Sometimes honesty was the best policy, she thought. ‘I need more time to think.’

  A flicker of anger crossed Luke’s face. ‘How much?’

  Alice lifted her head and shrugged. ‘I don’t know. This is about Arthur too. He has to come first. I’m not saying I don’t want our marriage to work – we made vows – but I need time to come to terms with everything that’s happened, the way you betrayed me.’

  ‘But I’ve said I’m sorry,’ Luke replied incredulously. ‘Why can’t you forgive me?’

  Alice fixed her gaze on her husband. She could see how much pain he was in and wanted to make it better, but she also knew that she couldn’t rush into something she wasn’t ready for. ‘More than anything I want to say yes and forget what happened. I just need time to get over it, to learn to trust you again if we’re going to make this marriage strong.’

  Alice saw that Luke was broken by her words. ‘You’re saying that you’ve given up, aren’t you? Just tell me honestly.’

  ‘No.’ Alice shook her head vehemently. ‘That isn’t it at all.’

  ‘Do you still love me?’ he asked in a small voice.

  ‘I . . ’ she began, thoughts of Jack flitting into her mind as she did her best to bat them away. ‘I want to love you, Luke.’

  ‘But you don’t love me now?’

  She shook her head again, feeling tears prick her eyes. ‘I don’t want to lie to you. Can you understand?’

  Nodding, Luke got to his feet. ‘I understand. I understand that you don’t love me any more.’

  With that he turned and walked out of the door, leaving Alice feeling as if her heart would break.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  The pub was packed to the rafters with people soaking up the long summer night. Everywhere Alice looked she could see people enjoying a glass of something with a loved one or sisters gossiping over the day’s events. It was the sunshine she decided; it put everyone in a good mood no matter what.

  After Luke left her in the ballroom Alice had felt bereft until Joy found her sitting in silence on the chair. Without a word she had pulled Alice to her feet and, with their earlier misunderstanding forgotten, together they had caught the bus back into town. Getting off at Oxford Street, the girls had walked down Argyll Street, along Carnaby Street before pausing at the French Pub. Once inside Joy got Alice a port and lemon and then promised she would be back in just a few minutes. Sure enough, Joy returned only this time she wasn’t alone: she brought reinforcements in the form of Flo, Mary, Jean and Rose.

  ‘Look who I found.’ Joy beamed, before going to the bar for a round of drinks.

  Alice smiled gratefully up at her friends. ‘You didn’t have to come here.’

  ‘Where else would we go?�
�� Mary said softly. ‘Joy said you’d had an argument with Luke.’

  ‘Not so much an argument, more a disagreement.’ Alice sighed. ‘He wants to come back and I’m not ready to let him.’

  ‘Has he apologised for losing his temper like that?’ Flo asked, taking the drink gratefully from Joy’s hands.

  ‘He has, but I said I wanted a bit more time to think,’ Alice replied slowly. ‘I know he means well but I don’t want things to go back to how they were.’

  ‘Not that simple with a kiddie though, is it,’ Jean muttered darkly. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to just make the best of it.’

  Alice frowned. Jean didn’t know the half of her situation, and she didn’t really know why the young girl was here. She was about to say as much when she caught sight of some bruising above the girl’s left temple. Their eyes met and Alice could tell Jean knew she had spotted the tell-tale mark. Silently she could feel the girl begging her not to say anything and Alice was more than happy to oblige. In fact she was more than happy to leave maudlin subjects such as the state of her marriage well alone and just enjoy a drink with her friends. She hadn’t told them half of what had gone on with Luke and as far as she knew Dot hadn’t revealed the truth either. Although she knew she was no victim, Alice didn’t particularly want to air her dirty drawers in public just yet .

  ‘So tomorrow it’s our final community stitch night before the big parade,’ she said brightly, changing the subject.

  Jean nodded. ‘Mr Button says he’s thrilled. Thinks the board will be sorry we couldn’t hold it at Liberty’s.’

  ‘Well, at least this way Mayfair House gets a bit of publicity, for helping us out,’ Rose said sagely. ‘But of course it’s all down to Joy, she’s saved the day.’

  ‘Couldn’t agree more.’ Alice held her glass aloft. ‘I think we should raise a glass to my sister – to Joy.’

  As everyone clinked their glasses together, Alice was surprised to see her sister flush with embarrassment. ‘Thanks, everyone, but I was just happy to assist.’

  ‘And you’ve been wonderful,’ Rose said loyally. ‘I think we can all agree that we’d have been lost without you.’ She grimaced in the direction of Alice.

  At the glance, Alice felt stung. She wasn’t sure what she had done to fall into Rose’s bad books today but she clearly had a bee in her bonnet about something.

  ‘So how is life in fabrics?’ she asked, looking away from Rose.

  ‘Don’t ask me,’ Mary groaned. ‘I’m still in carpets steering customers down the wrong path. Honestly, girls, why Mr B. agreed I would be a good fit for carpets I really don’t know.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s because you spent time in Ceylon,’ Rose said innocently. ‘Maybe he thought you would have a bit of extra knowledge.’

  ‘Rose!’ Flo snapped. ‘What did you bring Ceylon up for? You know Mary doesn’t like talking about her time there.’

  Mary laid a hand on Flo’s forearm. ‘It’s fine,’ she said softly before addressing Rose. ‘Perhaps you’re right,’ she went on crisply. ‘But as I spent most of my time there on my sister’s tea plantation I didn’t get to find out a lot about carpets.’

  There was silence then as Rose looked away, embarrassed. Joy patted her arm reassuringly. ‘Why don’t we pop to the bar, get some more drinks?’

  ‘But you just got a round?’

  ‘Well, you can never have too many.’ Joy chuckled. ‘Come on, Rose.’

  With that the two girls went to the bar, leaving Mary, Flo, Jean and Alice looking at one another bemused.

  ‘What on earth was all that about?’ Flo asked, aghast.

  Alice shook her head. ‘I don’t know what’s got into Rose. Sometimes I feel as if I don’t know her at all. She would never have spoken to us like that six months ago.’

  Mary nodded. ‘She’s the same at home. I know Malcolm’s worried about her. I’ll try and talk to her – in fact I could probably do it while I’m at work and nobody would notice. At least it would give me something to do.’

  Alice smiled sympathetically. ‘I’d like to say that it’s the same in the stores, but I’m rushed off my feet. I’m getting muscles on my muscles too.’ With that Alice flexed her bicep, leaving the girls in stitches.

  ‘We miss you in fabrics,’ Jean said shyly.

  ‘We certainly do,’ Flo agreed. ‘You and Mary are wasted in other departments. When we were all together we had such a wonderful time.’

  ‘And that reflected on to the customers,’ Mary agreed. ‘I’m sure sales were up when we were there.’

  ‘They were.’ Flo sighed. ‘But with the fashion parade, sales have shot up anyway, even though customers aren’t happy. Mrs Claremont doesn’t let them loiter like we always used to.’

  A sad silence fell as the girls finished their drinks.

  ‘How’s the singing been going?’ Mary asked eventually, turning to Flo.

  ‘Good thanks. But I’m thinking about giving it up. It’s making Neil so unhappy. Every letter I’ve had from him these past two weeks is full of how he doesn’t think it’s right for me.’

  There was a chorus of disappointment from the girls but Flo waved their concerns away. ‘I haven’t made my mind up yet. I know I’m angry with Neil for telling me what to do, and I know I love singing and honouring Aggie and all she meant to me by doing it. Yet I also know for the sake of my marriage I can’t keep doing something that’s making Neil so unhappy. He’s suggested I turn Aggie’s house into a guest house instead.’

  Alice raised an eyebrow in surprise. ‘A guest house along with a full-time job! Blimey, would you cope?’

  Flo shrugged. ‘It’ll be company for me which is what I really need, along with more money, which we’ll need when we have children.’

  ‘You’re not expecting already, are you?’ Mary exclaimed gesturing to Flo’s flat stomach.

  Flo laughed. ‘No, not yet. But I won’t want to waste any time when Neil next comes back from shore leave.’

  Alice whistled. ‘You’re not letting the grass grow.’

  ‘What’s the point? Who knows what or where we’ll be in five years’ time? Might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re here. That said’ – Flo looked at her watch – ‘I need to go. I’m singing tonight and they’re usually good tippers on a Thursday.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Mary said. ‘I need to get back and check on Malcolm.’

  ‘And I need to get back too.’ Jean sighed. ‘My sister will be cross if I’m too late.’

  ‘I’ll wait for Joy,’ Alice said, gesturing to the bar where her sister and Rose were deep in conversation.

  ‘All right.’ Flo smiled. ‘See you tomorrow.’

  As the girls waved goodbye and walked out of the pub, Alice stood up to chivvy her sister along. Crossing the floor towards the bar area, she saw Joy whisper something to Rose, then quickly flee from the pub.

  Frowning, Alice was about to chase after her, when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.

  Whirling back to look at Rose, she watched in disbelief as her friend leant against the wooden bar, then casually slipped her hand into the coat pocket of the man beside her.

  Immediately Alice recognised the sleight-of-hand movement as her sister’s signature scam and her blood boiled. Quickly she glanced around to see if anyone else had seen what she had, but she knew already that nobody had. Joy was a master when it came to pickpocketing and it looked as though she had trained Rose well.

  Alice had to hand it to her. Joy had always been skilled at training the young and defenceless and she knew that what many saw as Rose’s disability Joy would recognise as an advantage. With breathtaking clarity Alice realised precisely why her sister had befriended Rose all this time and it wasn’t because she liked Rose or wanted to help her, it was because she knew nobody would expect a partially blind girl to be a thief.

  Alice watched in disbelief as Rose slipped the wallet into her own pocket before turning and walking directly out of the pub, white stick fi
rmly in hand. Anger flooded through her as she realised that the reason Joy had suggested they come to this pub for a drink wasn’t so Alice could see her friends but so Rose could easily pickpocket in a pub she knew.

  As the wooden door of the pub swung back and forth Alice was rooted to the spot, unable to believe what she had just seen. But then she galvanised herself and rushed out. She knew now she would never be able to save her sister, but there was perhaps a chance she could help Rose.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  It didn’t take long for Alice to find her friend and sister. Joy would have trained Rose to walk directly around the corner and, sure enough, as Alice hurried along the pavement and turned right, she saw Rose and Joy huddled together down a dark, narrow alleyway. Getting closer Alice could see another woman had joined them, tall with thick black hair and a raucous laugh that echoed down the passage; Alice felt her blood boil at the sight of her dad’s old mate: Shirley Allbright.

  ‘Oi!’ she shouted, no longer able to help herself. ‘What the hell do you think you lot are doing?’

  At the sound of her voice, the girls jumped and Alice didn’t miss the flicker of fear that passed across Rose’s face. Joy, naturally more brazen, merely rolled her eyes as Alice approached, exchanging a knowing glance with Shirley.

  ‘Well, come on, what are the excuses this time, Joy?’ Alice said with a sneer. ‘You got Rose to nick stuff for you as a one-off?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Joy said evenly. ‘I told you: I just wanted to help Shirley out. She needed a friend but that’s it now.’

  ‘Yes, she was just helping me out,’ Shirley echoed, lighting a cigarette, the amber glow giving her heavily made-up face an almost clown-like quality. ‘Now run along, Alice, before I make you.’

  Alice laughed at the threat. ‘Oh Shirley, sweetheart,’ she said with a shake of her head. ‘I’ve been seeing women like you off since I was in nappies. My old man might have been a right sod but he taught me a thing or two and don’t you forget it. So do me a favour and don’t make idle threats at me. They won’t wash.’