The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  To Alice’s surprise, Shirley backed down. ‘I was only saying,’ she muttered sulkily.

  Alice turned to Joy; the expression on her sister’s face was so indignant it was almost comical. ‘When are you going to stop lying?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re on about,’ Joy said hurriedly, nudging Rose out of silence.

  ‘That’s right, it was a one-off, a bit of a dare,’ Rose said quickly.’

  ‘Don’t give me that. I saw that sleight-of-hand movement – it was no one-off. That was a move you’ve got Rose to perfect. Tell me, Rose, how many times have you really done it?’

  At the accusation Rose coloured. ‘A few,’ she admitted.

  ‘“A few”,’ Alice echoed in disbelief. ‘And you think that’s really friendship, do you? Someone who gets you to steal for them?’

  ‘It’s not like that,’ Joy said quickly. ‘Rose and I really are friends.’

  ‘That’s right.’ Rose’s voice was firm and she took a step towards Alice, who, to her surprise, found herself shrinking back. Rose was wearing an expression Alice had never seen before; she looked like a furious cat, ready to pounce on her prey. ‘You all think I’m so pathetic, don’t you?’ she began, her voice so low, Alice struggled to hear her.

  ‘Of course we don’t. What makes you say that?’

  Rose let out a bitter laugh. ‘Yes you do. You all do. Ever since I went blind you’ve all thought I’m this poor little terrified mite that needed looking after. Not one of you has ever seen me as Rose, a person capable of so much more. Joy saw that; she was the only one that did.’

  Alice had heard enough. ‘No, she didn’t, she used you.’

  ‘No. She gave me a chance to do something different with life, to have some fun.’

  ‘But stealing? You’ve never stolen anything in your life. Don’t you feel even slightly guilty?’

  A flicker of remorse passed across Rose’s face and Alice felt a flash of hope, only for it to turn to frustration as Rose’s features set in mutinous lines. ‘Let me tell you something, Alice. All you’ve done is moan about Luke. Some of us have real problems – I lost my sight, and it’s never coming back—’

  ‘You don’t know that,’ Alice said, cutting across her friend. ‘There’s still every chance—’

  ‘Oh come off it!’ Rose roared. ‘You don’t believe that any more than I do. And you know what, I don’t mind any more. I used to – until I met Joy, I felt like killing myself, I hated my life that much.’

  Alice’s expression softened. She had no idea her friend felt that way. Slowly she reached out a hand to comfort her but Rose pushed her away. ‘Rose love, I didn’t know. Why didn’t you talk to us? We could have helped.’

  ‘Helped?’ Rose scoffed. ‘How would you have helped exactly? None of you apart from Mary knew anything about first aid for a start. If you had, my sight might not be as bad as it is now. Mary did what she could but the rest of you stood there like lemons.’

  ‘Rose, no, it wasn’t like that,’ Alice exclaimed, only for Rose to cut her off.

  ‘It was exactly like that,’ she snarled. ‘I lost my sight, not my hearing. You were all standing there wondering what the hell to do; if it hadn’t been for Mary I might not have got even the very barest of sight back. You know what, Alice, I shouldn’t say this but I hate you all for not suffering like I did. What had I done to deserve this?’

  Alice felt a knot of fear begin to grow. How had she not known Rose felt like this? What could she do? After the accident, Rose had always talked about forgiveness, even when she confronted one of the men who was behind the hooch ring that had sent her blind in the first place. Now she was blaming her friends? This all felt like it had come from nowhere and Alice was about to say as much when Rose spoke again. ‘For months, Alice, while I sat in that little office in Liberty’s doing half the job I used to, learning braille, I saw no point to anything and I used to fantasise about the Jerries dropping another bomb on us. When you got caught that day in Bath, I felt jealous! Can you believe that? If only it had been me, I thought, if only I’d been killed in that blast. But Joy helped me realise I was still me, that I still had something to offer.’

  Alice clutched the sides of her head; she felt as if she were spinning. She glanced at Joy, who was standing there, her expression unreadable.

  ‘What was it she made you realise you could do?’ Alice said evenly as she lowered her hands to her sides. ‘That you could have a career thieving? What do you think Malcolm or Tommy would say?’

  At that mention of her father and husband Rose hesitated, but only for a moment. ‘I don’t care. Because no doubt they would see me as the rest of you do, as some poor little girl to be pitied. Joy has shown me how to have fun and I like it.’

  ‘And how long do you think you can keep that up for?’ Alice quizzed, ignoring Rose’s self-pitying tone.

  ‘When will you realise I couldn’t care less?’ she spat. ‘From now on I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago and that’s look out for myself.’

  With that Rose stepped back looking satisfied. Alice decided to try another tack.

  ‘You know how many times Joy here’s been cautioned by the police? It’s a wonder she wasn’t doing time with Shirley.’ Alice cast a glance at the older woman, who remained silent, still smoking her cigarette. ‘You want the same for yourself, Rose? You think that you hated your life before Joy came along, imagine what it would be like behind bars? Or better yet go and see Mrs Matravers, the woman – unlike me and the friends that care about you – who actually did send you blind.’

  As Rose went to speak, Shirley stubbed out her cigarette and let out a tiny, sneering laugh. ‘Oh, you’re so self-righteous, Alice. Your father hated that about you, did you know? In fact he hated you full-stop; ashamed of you, he was, and he had every right to be. Little goody two shoes – you made him sick.’

  ‘I’m glad,’ Alice fired, Shirley’s words having no impact at all. ‘I’d have been worried if I’d done something to make him proud. You always were too worried about what Jimmy Harris thought of you – I s’pose that’s why you never amounted to much in his organisation. You were too busy saying yes to whatever was asked to think for yourself. Still, you’ve always been as dense as the National Loaf, Shirley, so it’s probably just as well.’

  As Alice finished, Shirley rushed towards her, ready to strike. Sensing what was coming, Alice stepped neatly out of the way and couldn’t help laughing as Shirley ran straight into the wall behind her, the collision causing her to fall in a heap on the ground.

  ‘You stupid cow,’ Joy snarled, rushing to Shirley’s side. ‘How could you do that? Where’s your respect? Shirley should have crowned you – it’s no more than you deserve. Not to mention the fact you’ve made a fool out of me. How could you?’

  ‘Joy,’ Alice began wearily, ‘I’ve begged you, I’ve pleaded with you, I’ve even threatened to cut you out of my life, but none of it has any effect because you still can’t see the damage you’re causing. So from this moment I’m choosing not to care what you do. You can nick off whoever you like, just don’t involve me in any of it, because you know what? You’re dead to me now.’

  ‘You don’t mean that,’ Joy scoffed, still crouching beside a woozy Shirley. ‘You’ll be back to bail me out. You always are.’

  ‘Will I?’ Alice said with an air of finality in her voice. ‘I’m done. I can’t take any more and roping my friend into your tawdry games is a step too far. So from now on, I never want to see you again, do you understand?’

  ‘Until you change your mind!’ Joy tried again.

  ‘Rest assured: I won’t change my mind.’ Alice shook her head in disbelief at the scene before her. There was Rose standing loyally beside Joy who was trying to haul Shirley to her feet. ‘I’ve been kidding myself all this time that you would eventually grow up and become the woman I know you’re capable of becoming, but I know you won’t. And I can’t have you in my life any more. I need to protect myself and
my son, so this is it, Joy.’

  As Alice fell silent, Joy locked eyes with her, but she said nothing. In that moment, Alice was filled with sadness as she realised there was nothing else left to say. In one night she had lost a husband, a sister and a friend. She had never felt so empty or alone in her life.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  The rain thundered down as Alice arrived at work the next morning. Once again, following the drama of last night, she had barely slept, with thoughts of Rose and Joy swirling around her head all night.

  Arthur had picked up on her misery and grumbled all night long, and so by the time she donned her brown overalls ready to start work she was already exhausted.

  Thankfully, Percy Wilmington, the elderly storesman who ran deliveries like clockwork, was a gentleman. Though he had no problem with women working for him while his men were off fighting, he did think that young women raising babies deserved to be cut a bit of slack, especially when they arrived with bags as black as coal under their eyes. So he arranged for Alice to sit in the office and go through a backlog of paperwork while he furnished her with several cups of tea, much to her surprise and delight.

  ‘If I haven’t said this before,’ she said, smiling as Percy pressed her third cup of tea into her hands, ‘you’d make someone a lovely wife.’

  Percy threw his head back and roared with laughter. ‘That your way of asking me, Alice Milwood?’

  Alice chuckled. ‘I don’t think the present Mrs Percy Wilmington would thank me for that.’

  ‘Maybe not. Mind you, she does have her moments when I shine my boots and leave polish all over her clean floor.’

  ‘I can see why she might be tempted to trade you in,’ she agreed, taking a sip of her tea and allowing the warm liquid to soothe her soul. ‘Thanks for letting me sit in the office today.’

  Percy smiled. ‘No problem, love. You look done in – if you don’t mind me saying.’

  ‘I don’t mind you saying,’ Alice replied. ‘Let’s just say I’ve a bit on my mind.’

  ‘I can see that.’ He patted her hand. ‘But you’re doing me a favour sorting through this lot. I hate paperwork, always have; it’s not something I’ve ever been any good at. More of a hands-on fella, if you know what I mean?’

  Alice nodded as she set her tea down on the only spot on the desk that wasn’t covered with paper. ‘Only too well. How many months you been sitting on all this?’

  A flush of guilt passed over Percy’s lined face. ‘About three,’ he mumbled.

  Raising an eyebrow, Alice said nothing. She knew how important it was to Liberty’s that they kept good records; if the board got wind of Percy’s poor admin skills he’d be strung up.

  ‘What did you do before you got me to do it?’ she asked, reaching for another box, which to her delight was marked fabrics.

  He sighed wistfully. ‘Before war broke out my right-hand man Reg Lake did ’em. Now, Mrs Claremont helps out on occasion when she can see we’re in a muddle. Otherwise my missus has a go when we’re really stuck. ’

  Alice laughed. Although she could see Percy was struggling she knew he meant well. ‘Leave all this to me. Paperwork’s my speciality, especially when it’s marked fabrics. I’ll have it shipshape for you in no time.’

  Percy smiled gratefully at Alice. ‘You’re a lifesaver, love.’

  As Percy returned to the loading bay, Alice dutifully returned to the box of papers. She knew that deliveries kept copies of all the orders, packing notes and delivery slips and each had to marry up with a copy of the sales order that would have been filled out by the relevant sales assistant. In theory it sounded easy but there were so many loose bits of paper in no particular order Alice had a feeling she would have her work cut out.

  Still, she thought with a sigh as she got started, it was something to take her mind off her troubles. She had always believed in the power of hard work, and this task was no different. When she had got up that morning, Dot had tried asking her what was wrong but Alice hadn’t felt like talking and had instead suggested that she bring Arthur to the final stitch night that evening and she would talk about it then. She realised she was banking on Rose not turning up; after all she seemed to have lost interest in Liberty’s and in fact anything that didn’t revolve around Joy.

  If she hadn’t caught Rose pickpocketing the night before, Alice would have felt sorry for her. Alice also knew that this version of Rose, this disgruntled, fed-up and angry version of the Liberty girl she had known for years, didn’t marry up with the girl she knew of old. Alice was sure that if she and the rest of the Liberty girls could find a way to help Rose then she would return to her old self and together they could help her rebuild her life into one that made her happy.

  However, that all seemed like a pipe dream after the way Joy had manipulated Rose. Just the thought of her sister made Alice’s blood boil. Joy had gone too far this time, and Alice wasn’t sure if they would ever find a way back to one another. All she could do was hope that in time Joy might genuinely learn a lesson and they could perhaps be reunited. That day, however, seemed a long way off and for now sifting through these papers seemed less complicated.

  So far it wasn’t as bad as she expected. Despite the cavalier fashion in which everything had been thrown into the box, things were tallying together, yet she was stuck on this one particular piece of paperwork for an order for Beath’s. It was for the two-hundred rolls of utility fabric that had seemingly been placed by Flo and had caused all the trouble. Alice could see straightaway that Flo had in fact ordered the two-hundred rolls despite her intention to only order twenty. But what was strange was that on the receipt and invoice, only twenty had been paid for. Perplexed, Alice rooted through the box trying to find the carbon copies of the sales-book order that would have been kept by the Counting House, along with any other notes that might explain the discrepancy, but she could find nothing.

  ‘Percy,’ Alice called, heading out to the bay. ‘Can you come in and help me with something?’

  Peering over from some boxes he was busy packing into a crate, he issued an instruction to one of the girls and came straight over. He laughed, seeing Alice’s bemused face. ‘That paperwork getting you down?’

  ‘It’s this,’ she said, pulling out the Beath’s slip. ‘I can see that Flo took down an order for two hundred rolls of fabric for Beath’s but it seems they only ever paid for twenty. Where is the invoice and refund for the remaining one-hundred and eighty they sent back? I’m struggling to get everything to match up and I can’t file the paperwork properly without everything in order. Would you have any idea where they might have gone? Would there be another box of fabric paperwork, do you think?’

  Taking the slip from Alice’s hand, Percy scratched his chin thoughtfully before his face broke out into a broad smile. ‘Ah, that’s that hush-hush rush job Mrs Claremont wanted sorting. She might know something about the paperwork on this if you can’t find it.’

  Alice frowned. ‘What job?’

  ‘Beath’s,’ he said emphatically. ‘Mrs C. said there had been a mistake over at the Counting House. Flo had taken an order for two-hundred rolls and, regardless of the money that had been taken, we had to send them and settle the rest later. She said we weren’t to bother Flo, what with her having a hard time with her aunt.’

  ‘So will the refund slip for the one-hundred-and-eighty they returned be over at the Counting House then?’

  Percy shook his head. ‘No, all the paperwork from them is here ready to marry up. Stores is the last piece of the jigsaw if you like – that’s why we get everyone else’s paperwork. Put it to one side if you can’t find it now. In my experience this sort of thing always turns up.’

  ‘All right,’ Alice sighed, grateful not to have to tear her hair out looking for something that could be anywhere.

  ‘It was a funny old do, though, this order,’ Percy said as he handed her back the paperwork. ‘Mrs Claremont came down all of a dither and said that Beath’s was an important custome
r and we had to get these two hundred rolls all sent down the same day.’

  ‘The same day?’ Alice exclaimed. ‘How on earth did she think you were going to do that?’

  Percy laughed. ‘Well, I dunno how we did, but we did. I did say I was worried about doing it without seeing the paperwork for such a large order, never mind the receipt showing payment, which our drivers – as you know – always carry so the order can be checked when it’s delivered. But Mrs Claremont insisted that this was a very special order. So we got ’em down there, only for Beath’s to say that wasn’t what they’d ordered and they’d actually ordered the twenty that they had paid for.’

  ‘What did Mrs Claremont say?’ Alice asked quietly, her heart beginning to pound.

  ‘She said there had been a terrible mix-up; she would talk to Mr Button and to Beath’s. She begged us not to say anything about it. She reckoned that poor old Flo hadn’t filled the forms in properly but that she would sort it all out and we weren’t to worry. She said what was important was the Liberty’s and Beath’s relationship as it was fragile and it would be no good if we started shouting the odds saying they had got it wrong and they had ordered the two hundred rolls.’

  Alice thought for a moment. She remembered how Flo had come to her in a state, unable to understand how she had got an order so wrong.

  ‘So what did you do?’ she asked.

  ‘We arranged to take back a hundred and eighty and leave ’em with the twenty they’d paid for.’ Percy sighed. ‘This sort of thing happens very rarely though. Usually we would have a carbon copy of the order form, receipt and invoice for every order, which then go next to our delivery slips and get filed in our red book. But this time, we’ve only the delivery slips.’

  With that Percy pulled out a huge red file that showed the deliveries and cancellations that had been made, along with copies of any monies repaid.

  ‘That is strange,’ Alice said. ‘So there are no sales dockets at all for this order?’