Harpers Heroes

by Rosie Clarke

  ‘What shall we do this Sunday?’ Jack asked, changing the subject. ‘Would you like to ask friends here for lunch?’

  ‘I’ll ask Sally and Ben, if he’s back,’ Beth replied. ‘Rachel might come, though she often invites her late husband’s mother to lunch on Sundays. So, it will probably be us and Sally, Jenny and Ben, if he’s home, and Fred, of course, unless Tim gets leave again unexpectedly. I know Maggie won’t because she said her posting is for at least six months.’

  ‘I heard a lot of the nurses have to come home sooner because of the awful conditions and what they see out there – they just break down after a while,’ Jack said.

  ‘Maggie won’t,’ Beth said with conviction and sighed. ‘I wish I could stay here with you, Jack, but I have to go to work – but it’s my afternoon off today, so I’ll be home early.’

  ‘Good, we’ll go out to dinner this evening.’ He smiled at her. ‘See if you can get a few days off while I’m home, love. I know it isn’t easy – but I’d like to make the most of it while we can.’

  ‘I do have a few days holiday due so I’ll ask if I can take them off now,’ Beth replied and kissed him. She threw back the covers reluctantly, wishing she didn’t have to leave. Yet she would hate not to have her wonderful job at Harpers, because without it she would be lonely. She would speak to Rachel Bailey about taking a couple of days off and arrange it with Mr Stockbridge, and then draft in one of the other senior ladies to cover Beth’s position.

  Smiling, she avoided Jack’s arms and pulled on her dressing gown. She could hear Fred moving around downstairs already. He would have the kettle on, she knew, and more than likely her toast would be waiting by the time she got down. She needed to get to work and sort out her leave so that she could be with her husband while he was home…

  8

  Marion finished wrapping the small gifts she’d bought for Milly’s birthday and hid them in her wardrobe. She’d managed to save a little money and had a present from all of them, as well as one Reggie had bought when he was home last, and a little something extra just from her. Her little sister was excited about her birthday, due that weekend, and Mrs Jackson had promised to bake her a lovely sponge cake as well as knitting her a pretty yellow cardigan with pearl buttons.

  Reggie had been home for a short pass three weeks earlier and told Marion that he believed the next time he came home would be the last for a while.

  ‘Is it time?’ she’d asked and her heart had caught with fear, because the look in his eyes told her that Reggie was being sent overseas, even though he couldn’t – and wouldn’t – tell her. ‘Have you finished your training?’

  ‘Nearly,’ he’d said with a look of pride. ‘Captain Forest said we were one of the best new units he’d seen and that we were a credit to our friends and relatives.’ A lot of the young men joining up at the same time were being put into the same units with others from their town or village and called themselves the ‘Pals’ regiments, but as yet none of them had been sent overseas. The first to go had been the regulars and some of the men who’d been part-time soldiers before the war. The new recruits would all be posted overseas soon and Marion dreaded the day when Reggie would be one of them. However, she wouldn’t dream of telling him of her fear. She was proud of him, and like so many other sweethearts and wives, she would wave him goodbye with a smile.

  ‘That’s good,’ she’d said and kissed the man she loved on the cheek. ‘I’m real proud of you, Reggie. Where do you think you’ll be sent when the training is finally over?’

  ‘I don’t know, love, and I probably couldn’t tell yer if I did,’ he’d said with a grin. ‘Anyway, they’ll give us at least a twenty-four-hour pass when the time comes.’ He ruffled his dog’s fur. Marion smiled. She’d hated the beast for a start but in a way, it had been responsible for getting them together when it stole their sausages. ‘Some of the chaps have their dogs with them in training camp, but I don’t reckon that’s right – I couldn’t take my old fellow over there to get shot at. If I didn’t come back – you’d see he was all right, Marion? Ma might want to get rid of him.’

  ‘You will come back,’ she’d said fiercely, ‘but yes, I’d have him – he spends half his time here with Milly anyway.’

  ‘Yes, she loves him.’ Reggie had thrown a look of affection at the little girl, who was playing happily with her doll.

  ‘You’ll come home before you leave for the Front, won’t you?’ Marion had asked.

  ‘Of course – and if you could get a few hours off while I’m home it would be great.’

  ‘I’ll ask Becky to swap her half day off with me or one of the others,’ Marion had promised. ‘Shirley won’t mind either, but you need to let me know when you’re coming so I can arrange it.’

  ‘I’ll send yer a postcard, love, when I can,’ he’d told her. ‘You keep sendin’ yer letters to the same address I gave yer, Marion. I’ll be lookin’ fer them, girl.’ He’d hugged her then and she’d felt the sting of tears, though she hadn’t let herself cry because that would only upset Reggie.

  Fortunately, the last few weeks had been really busy for her, because she’d been doing two jobs, which meant she hadn’t had time to mope over Reggie. She spent an hour each morning consulting Mrs Harper and the others on the window-dressing team, helping to decide on the new ideas, and, when the windows were changed, the whole day helping to arrange and display the goods and background pieces. She wasn’t sure the windows were quite as clever as they had been when Mr Marco was at Harpers, but they did their best and everyone seemed to admire them.

  Smiling, she crossed the day off on her calendar. Only four more days and Reggie would be home for his next leave, which was longer than he’d expected. They’d given them three days this time and she knew in her heart it was because he was being sent overseas. She couldn’t wait to see him walk in at the kitchen door, especially since she knew that after his embarkation leave, he would not be home for months on end.

  Mrs Burrows looked happy when Marion walked into the department that morning. She nodded to Marion as she took the dust covers off the hats and started to rearrange them. Shirley was already dusting counters and Becky was checking her stock of scarves and gloves, making notes in her stock book.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ Marion asked anxiously, because they’d had some stock go missing when a girl called Janice had worked in the department.

  ‘Yes, fine,’ Becky said. ‘I’ve got a box of new stock to unpack this morning so I’m just checking everything before I start.’

  ‘New stock – lucky you,’ Marion replied. ‘We had a box of hats last month, but I’m not sure when we’ll have more.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t think you need worry,’ Mrs Burrows told her, overhearing their conversation. ‘Hats are not going to be in short supply apparently, because we have plenty of the raw materials in the country.’

  ‘Really?’ Marion brightened. ‘Some of the customers were worried about that, I know.’ Women did like a new hat, especially in the spring and summer; it cheered them up when times were hard.

  The Government had mentioned the dreaded word rationing a few times lately and although no measures had been taken yet, everyone was expecting it might happen, because if too many ships went down, victims of German attacks, and their cargoes were lost, the country would soon experience shortages. The farmers had lost men and horses to the war, which meant that the work was harder, and that women and children were much in demand on the land. For the moment, those workers left were doing a heroic job and managing to feed the population, though sometimes there were long queues outside butchers and greengrocers. Home-produced products were already being unofficially rationed by manufacturers because they had to make sure everyone got a fair share and that was why the newspapers carried warnings of what might come. Things like sugar were sometimes in short supply and housewives tried to stock up whenever the shops had a delivery, but most shopkeepers only allowed a one-pound bag to each customer at a time and kept some un
der the counter for those special customers they favoured.

  ‘Well, I don’t think we need to worry too much,’ Mrs Burrows said with a smile. ‘We may not get everything we used to or as much as we’d like, but Mrs Harper usually manages to get her share or a bit more of whatever is going.’

  ‘She’s wonderful,’ Marion said and looked at her supervisor. ‘The way she looks after her baby and the shop – there aren’t many ladies who could do that.’

  Very few women ever had the chance to do such an important job and Sally Harper was held up to everyone as an example, and all the young women employed in the store admired her, because it showed them it was possible. Even though a few whispered that she’d only got the job because the boss fancied her from the start, most thought she deserved all she had.

  ‘I agree with you,’ Mrs Burrows said now to Marion. ‘Mrs Harper is a marvel – but that’s why Mr Harper put her in charge of the buying in the first place. She has made a lot of friends in the trade over the past couple of years and she’ll keep us going somehow.’

  ‘It would be awful if Harpers closed down because of the war,’ Marion said, feeling worried. ‘Whatever would we all do?’

  ‘Mrs Harper won’t let that happen. Besides, the Government will make sure we all get enough to live on, because people have to live and have clothes to wear – but luxuries may be in short supply. That’s where Mrs Harper’s expertise at sourcing things and her charm at getting the representatives on her side come in,’ Mrs Burrows assured her. ‘In her way, Sally Harper is as much a hero as the men fighting out there.’

  ‘Yes, she is,’ Marion agreed. She hesitated, then, ‘I wondered if I could have all day off next Monday please, Mrs Burrows. I’ve had a telegram to say Reggie is coming home on Friday night and he’ll be home until lunchtime on Monday.’

  Beth Burrows thought for a moment, then, ‘Could you come in in the afternoon – after he leaves?’

  ‘Yes, I wouldn’t mind that at all – and I’d work this Friday afternoon to make up for it.’

  ‘Then that would suit me,’ Beth told her with a smile. ‘My husband is home too, and I’m trying to take a few hours off here and there. I’ll have to speak to Mrs Bailey, of course – but I can take Friday afternoon off and come in on Monday morning. I can put Shirley on your counter but oversee her.’

  Marion smiled in delight. ‘That’s ever so good of you, Mrs Burrows. I really appreciate it – only it’s probably his last leave before he gets posted over there…’

  ‘Then of course you must have time off – and don’t worry if you’re late in,’ Mrs Burrows said quickly. ‘We all have to help each other in times like these, Marion.’

  Marion saw a customer enter the department and head for her counter. She nodded to her supervisor and went to greet the young woman.

  ‘How may I help you, miss?’

  ‘I’m looking for a hat,’ the young woman replied a little uncertainly. ‘It is for my wedding. We’re having it at the Registry Office, because my Terry is being posted overseas soon, and I’m wearing a cream and navy suit.’

  ‘Oh, I have some lovely hats that would go with an outfit like that,’ Marion said and smiled at her. ‘You’ll want something pretty and special for your wedding.’

  ‘Yes please,’ her customer responded eagerly. ‘We should have had a white wedding this summer, but Terry has two weeks’ leave and he wants us to be married before he goes.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure he does,’ Marion said, sympathy in her voice. She knew just what the young woman was thinking, because it was in her mind too, only there was no possibility of a wedding for her before Reggie went away, because they had to think of Milly, Kathy and Dickon. Marion, as the eldest, was responsible for them until her brother, Dan, came home – and because he worked in the Merchant Navy and was in danger, she didn’t know when, if ever, he would return.

  A little frown touched her brow as she recalled his last visit, when her mother had died of a brutal beating at the hands of their father. Marion didn’t want Pa to come home ever, but her mother’s death made her responsible for the children and so she couldn’t just get married to suit herself. She would have to wait until Dan returned for good, or Reggie did, and moved in to help take care of them.

  ‘Do you think this suits me?’ the young woman asked, trying on a cream straw hat with a big navy ribbon bow. ‘Or is this better?’ She removed the straw hat and put on a navy silk creation with a big red silk rose at the front.

  Marion studied her and then gave her opinion. ‘I think the navy hat with the splash of red is very pretty on you.’ She looked round for inspiration. ‘Or this one.’ She produced a cream silk hat trimmed with a spray of pink roses and tulle. ‘This one is really special and wonderful for a wedding – but it is nearly three pounds…’

  ‘Oh, that doesn’t matter. I’ve been saving for ages,’ the young woman said and tried it on. ‘Yes, that is lovely and will make it special – just what I wanted. I’d like that navy straw one as well, because that will do for everyday.’

  ‘That is four pounds and ten shillings altogether,’ Marion said, and the customer smiled.

  ‘Thank you, I’ll take them.’ She paused and looked at the scarf counter. ‘I should also like some cream lace gloves, do you think your colleague has any?’

  ‘I believe so,’ Marion said and beckoned to Shirley, telling her what the customer wanted. Shirley fetched two pairs to show her while Becky served another customer with silk scarves.

  ‘Lovely.’ The young woman looked delighted with the gloves she was shown. ‘It’s so nice to find just what you want in one department without having to go all the way to the other end of Oxford Street. I work in an office just a few yards from here and I’ve been looking at your windows every day.’

  ‘What do you think of them?’ Marion asked, mentally crossing her fingers. ‘We lost our window dresser at the start of the war – he’s in the Army – but we’re doing the best we can.’

  ‘I loved that display of a country scene with the beehives and the slogan about us all working as hard as the bees for the war effort last week,’ the young woman said. ‘But one of the best ever was that magical underwater grove you had the other year – it looked just as if it was under the sea.’

  ‘That was the lapis lazuli window,’ Marion confirmed. ‘It was Mrs Harper’s idea and I loved that too.’ She packed the hats in their boxes and Shirley brought the lace gloves in another pretty black and gold bag.

  The customer paid her money, received her change and beamed at Marion. ‘You make it a pleasure to shop here,’ she said. ‘Terry bought me a lovely necklace from that window I mentioned and I shall certainly shop here again.’

  She picked up her purchases and walked out, looking pleased with herself.

  Mrs Burrows came up to Marion afterwards. ‘That was nicely done, Marion. The cream silk was one of our most expensive hats.’

  ‘Yes, but it was for her wedding. She’s having it at the Registry Office, because her fiancé has to leave for the Front.’ Despite herself, Marion knew there was a tinge of envy in her voice, because she would have loved it if she could have married Reggie before he left to serve in the Army.

  ‘Ah, I see,’ Mrs Burrows nodded. ‘Well done anyway. It’s nice to see our customers happy and our girls working together.’

  9

  Rachel Bailey finished her tour of the ground floor, her keen gaze lighting on a cardboard box lying where it shouldn’t be and a junior was immediately sent scurrying with it to the basement where it belonged. Fred Burrows was a little short-handed because of the war, but, all the same, the box should not have been left lying about. Rachel enjoyed her job as the floor walker, or supervisor, going from floor to floor keeping her eye on things. It was she who told Mr Stockbridge, the manager, if any of the staff were away ill or not doing their jobs properly, and she made certain that all the counters were presented as they should be, advising on any she considered looked untidy or not up to stand
ard.

  Satisfied that the ground floor was both busy and smart, she went up to the department she still liked to think of as her own, though Beth Burrows was in charge there now, as it was her first job at Harpers.

  The department was busy as always and Beth was selling a gentleman a silver bracelet. He’d chosen one of the most expensive and also asked to see one of the more elegant of their leather bags. At the start, they’d stocked a few expensive crocodile and snakeskin bags, but Sally Harper hadn’t replaced that stock recently, sticking to leather bags instead. Skin products had to come in from America or overseas somewhere and she said the ships were better employed bringing in food and other more essential goods. She was trying to purchase as much British produce as she could these days.

  Letting her practised eye move around the department, Rachel thought how well everything was kept here. If every department was as tidy and well run, she would hardly be needed. However, she waited until Beth Burrows was free, and her customer had left, because she enjoyed having a few minutes to talk to her.

  ‘You’ve been busy this morning?’

  ‘Miss Kaye has sold several hats,’ Mrs Burrows told her. ‘They’ve also been busy with scarves and gloves – but that was my first sale this morning. It was a birthday present for the customer’s wife and he was very generous – spent over ten pounds.’

  ‘We could do with more customers like him,’ Rachel said and smiled. ‘I understand Jack is home – if you need cover for a few days, let me know and I’ll arrange it with Mr Stockbridge. Mrs Stockbridge wouldn’t mind helping out, I know. She’s very sensible and could easily do the scarves or hats.’