Rainy Days for the Harpers Girls

by Rosie Clarke

  Upstairs, it was divided into living rooms, a kitchen, hall and, on the top floor, four bedrooms and a bathroom, but all the internal walls could come down to open up for the various departments they had in mind. It would take steel lintels and special beams in the ceilings, Ben explained, to make it safe, but the potential was there.

  ‘It’s wonderful,’ Sally said and hugged him excitedly. ‘I’m so glad you managed to finance it. I think the extra departments are just what we need.’

  ‘Yes, I know. My uncle always had his eye on this building, but the owner wouldn’t sell to him then.’

  ‘Well, you did what he couldn’t.’ Sally leaned in to kiss him. ‘I’m so happy, Ben…’ she murmured and then her head started to spin. She fell against him and Ben caught her and held her to him, his strong arms saving her from a fall. ‘Oh dear… I feel a bit odd…’

  ‘You fainted,’ he said and bent to sweep her up in his arms, holding her safe against his chest. ‘I’m putting you in a taxi and taking you home, Mrs Harper – and then I’m calling the doctor. If my information is right, that is the second time you’ve swooned today.’

  ‘Traitors…’ Sally muttered, but she was feeling too weak to argue and it was rather nice having Ben look after her. She would let him call the doctor, but she had no intention of retiring to her bed until the birth…

  News of Sally’s illness, brought a visit from Mick, bearing a huge bunch of spring flowers and a large box of special cakes that his chef had made specially for her. He came on the following Sunday and Ben welcomed him in, inviting him to stay for lunch.

  ‘I’m cooking steak, jacket potatoes and salad, but you’re welcome to stay.’

  ‘Thank you, I should have enjoyed that, but I have a business lunch…’

  ‘Don’t you ever sit still?’ Sally challenged and he grinned at her.

  ‘Pot calling the kettle black?’ he said. ‘Sure, I might go back to Ireland for a few days in the summer to visit me cousins, but ask Ben – business comes first…’

  Ben laughed and shook his head. ‘I’m keeping out of it,’ he said.

  However, the two had sat and talked business. Sally made coffee and they all ate Mick’s delicious offerings and it was nearly twelve before he decided he had to dash.

  ‘Now, don’t you be overdoing it, Sally Harper,’ he warned before he left. ‘We don’t want to lose you…’

  Sally frowned and looked at Ben. ‘He’s nearly as bad as you…’

  Ben smiled oddly. ‘Mick thinks a lot of you – but I know he’s just a friend and I’m not jealous, but he is right. You should take notice of your friends, Sally. We all need you and you’ve got to rest more.’

  Sally made a rude face at him. Ben laughed and went off to prepare their lunch, leaving her to browse the latest fashion catalogues that Ben had brought home. She could see several lines for the autumn she rather liked and she pulled her pad towards her, beginning to make notes about the new sleeves and necklines that had caught her eye. A little dizziness wasn’t going to stop Sally doing her job if she could help it…

  9

  ‘How is Mrs Harper now?’ Rachel Craven asked Ben when he arrived at work the next Monday morning. ‘I hope she isn’t too cross with me for telling you, but when Miss Browning told me she’d fainted in the department, I thought it best to let you know. I’m very fond of Sally, but she tends to carry on even if she isn’t feeling too good.’

  ‘Thankfully, the doctor says it’s just a passing phase,’ Ben told her, showing his relief. ‘When she passed out on me the other day, I was terrified, but her doctor thinks it quite often happens at this stage. He says she’s as healthy as a mule – and as stubborn – and the best thing is to let her carry on. He advised that she should work mornings and then have a little rest at home in the afternoons and, eventually, Sally agreed.’ He grinned. ‘Her friend Mick called round and told her not to overdo it and I think that finally got through to her – I hope!’

  ‘Well, that is good news,’ Rachel said and looked genuinely happy.

  Ben thanked her. He knew she was one of Sally’s best friends and he wouldn’t dream of telling his wife who had passed on the news of her first faint. Rachel Craven had done it because she cared about Sally, but it would still annoy her, so the identity of the tell-tale would never pass his lips.

  Smiling to himself, he walked into the office he shared with Sally. She was having the morning off, not to rest, but to have her hair done. Ben had arranged for the stylist to come to the flat, making sure that his wife followed doctor’s orders and had at least a day at home before returning to work, albeit just in the mornings.

  ‘Good morning, sir,’ Sally’s secretary greeted him. ‘How is Mrs Harper this morning, sir?’

  ‘Frustrated,’ he replied with a grin. ‘She wanted to come to work – but I’ll be taking her appointments today.’

  ‘Yes, sir, of course,’ Ruth Canning replied. ‘Mrs Harper was seeing the rep for leather bags at ten-thirty and Brown’s Clothing – ladies’ suits and coats for autumn – at eleven-fifteen…’

  ‘Ah…’ Ben wrinkled his brow. ‘I shall see the rep for leather bags, Miss Canning, but I think it may be best if you ask the clothing rep to send his catalogues over so I can take them home for Mrs Harper and reschedule his appointment for one morning next week.’

  ‘Yes, sir, that’s a very good idea. He can send the catalogues over with a lad – or leave them for you to take home. It will give Mrs Harper something to do rather than twizzling her thumbs.’

  ‘You know my wife very well,’ Ben said and laughed. ‘Do you think you could rustle up some coffee please – and I’ll have some biscuits, chocolate if you have them…?’

  ‘Yes, sir, of course.’

  Ben sat down behind the desk. It felt wrong to be here without Sally and he felt a cold chill down his spine. If anything happened to her… but it wouldn’t! He’d lost a girl he’d loved once, but that had been a young man’s calf love and his feelings for Sally were so much stronger, so deep and fundamental that sometimes they frightened him.

  ‘Mr Harper…’ Ruth Canning popped her head back round the door. ‘Someone is here… He asked to see Mrs Harper, but when I said she wasn’t here, he asked if you would see him…’

  ‘Does he have an appointment?’

  ‘No – but he says he’s a friend of Mrs Harper’s…’

  Ben frowned. ‘What is his name?’

  ‘Mr Michael O’Sullivan.’ She made a face. ‘He’s Irish.’

  ‘You mean Mick!’ Ben was on his feet immediately. ‘Ask him to come in and bring another cup.’ Ben walked round the desk as Mick entered and offered his hand. ‘I’m afraid Sally isn’t here today, Mick. The doctor said rest today and then just mornings at the office. You know my wife; nothing will make her give up entirely.’

  ‘It wouldn’t be Sally Harper if she did,’ Mick replied with his easy grin. ‘I shall come straight to the point, Ben. I was going to offer you both a chance to come in with me on a new hotel I’ve been told about. I intended to mention it yesterday, but somehow the time just flew and I had to dash.’

  ‘A hotel this time?’ Ben’s brows shot up. ‘Sally has told me that your chain of restaurants started with a horse your uncle left you?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mick laughed. ‘It won an important race and I sold it for a small fortune, so I did – and invested the proceeds wisely. All four restaurants are busy and earning money and I was offered this hotel, but I don’t have the funds to buy it alone, so I thought of you and Sally…’

  ‘Unfortunately, I’ve just sold my soul to the bank to extend Harpers,’ Ben said, feeling disappointed. Mick seemed to have hitched his fortunes to a star and he would have enjoyed being his business partner. ‘I’m sorry, but at the moment I can’t help you.’

  ‘That’s a shame,’ Mick replied. ‘I’ve no doubt I can find funding, but I should have liked to have you and Sally on board. Your wife has some very good ideas, Ben.’

  ‘That I k
now…’ Ben hesitated, then, ‘She’ll have a little time on her hands while she waits for the birth of our child – I am sure she would be only too delighted to view the place with you and give you the benefit of her opinion.’

  ‘And you wouldn’t mind?’ Mick’s eyes sought his inquiringly.

  ‘Providing you take good care of her and return her all in one piece,’ Ben said easily. He had no need to be jealous and Mick was a decent bloke when you got to know him.

  ‘Then I shall ask for Sally’s advice.’

  ‘Why don’t you come over for dinner one evening?’

  ‘I should enjoy that – if it won’t cause your wife too much trouble?’ Mick said. ‘And I hope you know that I’d like to return the hospitality at my latest restaurant when you have the time?’

  ‘We’ll do that when she’s feeling better. As for dinner at ours, I’ll order a meal in,’ Ben assured him. ‘We shall look forward to seeing you – say on Thursday?’

  Mick hesitated and then nodded, ‘Thursday it is.’ Mick’s strong fingers closed around Ben’s outstretched hand. ‘Thank you for seeing me, Ben. I appreciate it,’ he said, nodded and went to the door. There he looked back and said, ‘Take care of your wife, Ben. She’s very precious…’

  ‘That you can bet on…’

  Ben sat down after the other man left. He smiled in triumph. The foolish jealousy he’d still been harbouring against Michael O’Sullivan had truly gone. Mick was a man to watch as regards business, because he was clearly going to be successful, and Ben would certainly consider the idea of going into partnership with him in the future when the funds were available.

  Sally ate the salad and home-cooked ham that the restaurant had sent up with little new potatoes. It was delicious and the piquant dressing suited her taste because it was a little sweet and at the moment Sally craved sweet things. The doctor had told her that she ought to eat less of the iced biscuits and more fruit and salad, hence the meal she’d chosen, followed by fresh fruit salad and cream.

  She drank the orange juice with her meal, relishing its coldness as it slipped down. It was nice having a refrigerator of their own, something Sally had never had until she moved into Ben’s flat. It was a lovely big one, the professional size similar to those a restaurant would have, because Ben said he was used to a large cold box in the States. He didn’t often talk about America, except to celebrate the special holidays, like Independence Day on the fourth of July and Thanksgiving, but whenever he did mention his country, it was usually to comment how they did things bigger or better. Sally had thrown a cushion at him once and told him to stop bragging, but it wasn’t that – it was just the way things were. His sister Jenni had told her the same when she was over on a visit.

  ‘I love England, it’s so small and quaint,’ she’d said and she’d been so sincere. ‘I love London’s old buildings – and that funny bridge and the Houses of Parliament and the little cobbled lanes and how fresh and green it all is… but, oh, Sally, the drains can be awful when it’s hot and the plumbing is ancient…’

  Jenni had thought the plumbing terribly antiquated, even in the expensive hotel she liked to use. She complained it sometimes woke her in the night, gurgling and banging, and she said the average refrigerator was impossible.

  ‘How can you find room to keep things in that tiny little box,’ she’d complained when Ben first moved into his apartment, so he’d bought a huge commercial one, and Sally had to admit it was wonderful, because it kept fruit from spoiling too quickly.

  Finishing her lunch, she heard the doorbell ring and went to look through the spyhole at who was there. At first, she wasn’t sure who it was and then, as the woman turned towards her, she saw her face and gave a cry of surprise and pleasure. It was one of Mick’s business partners and the part-owner of a lovely old pub and restaurant.

  ‘Marlene!’ she cried as she opened the door. ‘Please come in – what on earth are you doing here? I’m glad you came but…’ She laughed at the lovely surprise of seeing her visitor.

  Marlene smiled at her and presented her with a small parcel wrapped in white tissue. ‘You look wonderful,’ she told Sally and kissed her cheek. ‘Mick sent me to see how you were. I made some baby things for you – and he practically forced me to come. I thought he might bring them, but he said I should…’

  ‘For me – how lovely!’ Sally exclaimed and took the soft parcel. She opened it carefully and saw the lacy shawl, little coat and bonnet and bootees all made in beautiful two-ply white wool. ‘These are gorgeous… did you really make them?’

  ‘I like to crochet,’ Marlene said, surprising Sally. ‘I never had my own children, though I had a stepson for a while… until his father ran off with a younger woman…’

  ‘Oh, Marlene, that is sad. I’m so sorry,’ Sally sympathised, because she could see it had hurt her friend.

  ‘I was devastated at the time, more for the loss of that kid than anything – but it was about then that I met Mick…’ Marlene smiled fondly. ‘He was kind to me when I needed a friend, Sally – and I never forgot it. I think he became all the sons I never had wrapped up in one and I’m very fond of him.’

  ‘Mick is a good friend,’ Sally agreed.

  Marlene smiled in agreement, but then her smile disappeared. ‘Speaking of Mick reminds me – that little tart Sylvia had the cheek to come and ask for her job back the other day. I said no, of course.’

  Sally nodded her understanding. Her one-time friend Sylvia had taken advantage and then let her down – there was something sly about her. A little cog clicked in Sally’s brain. She’d seen that kind of look in Janice Browning’s eyes when Sally had been unwell in the department and realised now that it was slyness. The thought made her frown as she understood why she’d instinctively felt distrust towards the girl, though at the time she’d had no reason for it. Something about Janice did not ring true.

  ‘You’re not feeling faint again?’ Marlene asked anxiously. ‘Your husband told Mick you’d been unwell…’

  ‘No, I’m fine,’ Sally promised her. ‘I was just remembering something… to do with Sylvia, but don’t let us think about her. How is the restaurant going?’

  ‘We’re always busy,’ Marlene told her. ‘Mick has an opportunity to invest in another place – a hotel this time. I just hope he doesn’t stretch himself too far. He needs extra funds and sometimes he can be reckless.’

  ‘Mick is confident in his own ability,’ Sally said. ‘If I had a thousand pounds in the bank, I would invest it in whatever he wants to do, but I don’t.’

  ‘I have some savings,’ Marlene said. ‘Mick doesn’t know, but my aunt died and left me five hundred pounds. I don’t know whether to hang on to it or invest it for when I retire.’

  ‘Mick will double it for you,’ Sally said and Marlene nodded.

  ‘Yes, I know that in my heart, but I’ve always been careful…’

  ‘Live for the moment,’ Sally said blithely. ‘No, actually, don’t do that – if you’re not comfortable, invest a part of it and keep the rest for a rainy day…’

  Marlene laughed. ‘That is my dilemma. I want to put the lot in so Mick can get what he needs, but supposing it all went wrong?’

  ‘Ben is putting all he has into Harpers,’ Sally told her. ‘He has even borrowed to take on the new premises – but you have to believe in the future. I would put all I had in, but you must make up your own mind…’

  ‘I think I’ll probably be brave,’ Marlene said. ‘I know that five hundred pounds would mean the world to Mick right now.’

  Sally nodded. ‘I think you’ve made up your mind – so shall we have a cup of tea and a slice of fresh cream sponge I have in the cold box?’ She thought for a moment, then, ‘I’ve saved fifty pounds from my wages since I’ve been working at Harpers – would you put it with yours and give the five hundred to Mick, please?’

  ‘I’ll invest the fifty pounds for you,’ Marlene agreed, looking pleased. ‘I can keep a little nest egg back for myself then and
still give him the five hundred he needs.’

  ‘Don’t tell him,’ Sally said. ‘It’s just between you and me.’

  Marlene smiled. ‘No wonder Mick thinks the world of you – you’re a lovely girl, Sally Harper. I shan’t forget what you’ve done.’

  The two women smiled at each other and their talk progressed to other things like fashions, Marlene’s friends and Sally’s pregnancy as they drank tea and ate slices of cake. The time flew and Marlene glanced at the clock on the mantle and laughed.

  ‘I have to go, Sally. I have a pub to open and masses to do…’

  ‘Of course. Thank you for coming. I’m always pleased to see you…’

  As Marlene got up to leave, the front door bell rang. Sally answered it and smiled as she saw who was standing outside her flat.

  ‘Mr Marco,’ she said as he thrust an enormous basket of flowers and fruit at her. ‘How lovely – and I’m so pleased to see you…’ She kissed Marlene’s cheek. ‘Come and see me whenever you have time,’ she said and Marlene promised she would. Sally closed the door behind her and beamed at Mr Marco. ‘Have you brought me the ideas for the new windows as you promised?’

  He nodded his eyes bright with amusement. ‘Ben thinks I just brought the flowers, but I smuggled them out so you have something to amuse yourself with and don’t get bored.’

  Sally laughed. ‘Thank goodness! I can’t sit here and twiddle my thumbs all day. Now I can look at your sketches and feel that I’m still part of Harpers.’

  10

  Rachel Craven dressed for her dinner date that evening with care. She wore a slim-fitting midnight-blue gown of soft velvet and a little white silk evening cape edged with ribbon, her shoes were silver, as was the little bag she clutched. It was an outfit she’d bought when Paul took her out for their fifth wedding anniversary and she hadn’t worn it since. Paul’s illness had shown itself just a few weeks after that evening and for a long time Rachel couldn’t even look at the dress, but it suited her and was as good as new. She’d debated for a long while before deciding to wear it, but it really was time to put the past behind her. The greys and blacks she habitually wore were fine for work and shopping, but for an occasion like this it would be wrong to be dressed in half-mourning. She needed to keep her engagement with an open mind and an open heart.