The Gettins were well known in London and Luke quickly developed a life plan. He had been careful not to attract any scandal and there had been times when he had wanted to walk away, but his need to be part of their lifestyle kept him focussed. His charm had attracted Edward's daughter, Sarah. Her grandfather, Poppy, as she liked to call him, had over-indulged her and she had wanted for nothing. This had made courting her an expensive time, but he had been careful and found the money, through various means. No one appeared to question how his lifestyle was more extravagant than his earnings allowed for. He had fabricated a story about having money from his family and it was a notch in his belt that his plan had worked. With the maturity of an older person, meticulous perseverance and hard work, he eventually won her hand. The success brought perks into his life. Yes, he had four children with her, but more importantly, he loved the good life and the respect that came with being married to a Gettin.
‘Good morning, Mr Taylor.’ The concierge's voice echoed from behind the desk.
Luke stared blankly for a moment, before quickly gathering himself. He smiled before nodding his head. ‘Morning.’
The concierge pulled his shoulders back and straightened the bottom of his navy-blue jacket, before tipping his head with a smile.
Luke's black leather shoes made no sound on the tiled flooring as he headed towards the staircase. Without any acknowledgement, he stepped past the large portrait of King George V, which hung in pride of place on the back wall, facing the front door. Gasoliers hung from the centre of the high ceiling. Their flames had left distinctive round soot marks, although they had faded with scrubbing. It had been rumoured they might change to electricity; although expensive, it was becoming more popular. Luke feared it wouldn't be long before Sarah and his feisty daughter, Lily, would be asking for it indoors, now all the streets were lit by it. Alice wouldn't dream of making demands of him though. He allowed himself a smile. She was a good girl and, although the leaflet gave him cause for concern, she was easy to control. She would make someone a good wife one day. The same couldn't be said for Lily; his smile vanished as quickly as it arrived.
As he mounted the stairs, he barely glanced at the many portraits that filled the wall. Old and new members had achieved recognition from their peers and country for their endeavours. They hung proudly. He had been schooled by Sarah's family, particularly her cousin William, about the importance of trying to get your picture on the wall, but it didn't interest him. He didn't want anybody looking into his life.
A wide landing took him around to the left and into a large oak-panelled room. Leather armchairs were haphazardly placed, with small round tables nearby. He followed the staircase around to the coffee room. He stood in the doorway for a few moments, admiring the ornate curved ceiling with its hanging chandeliers. The round tables, covered with white tablecloths and the place settings of silver cutlery and crystal glassware added to the splendour of the room. It was a quiet morning with only a few occupants sitting down for breakfast. Despite the large open windows, framed with dark green curtains, cigar smoke hung in the air. He wrinkled his nose in distaste as he looked around, before walking over to a table in the corner.
‘Edward, on your own? I didn't realise you were here.’ Luke smiled at his father-in-law, dressed in casual black trousers and an open-necked white shirt.
Edward stood up and folded the newspaper he was reading. He held out his hand indicating his son-in-law should take the seat opposite him. ‘Hello, Luke, I haven't been here long myself. I thought I'd have a change of scenery.’ Edward sat down again. ‘Aren't you hot in that jacket and tie?’
Luke followed suit, sitting down on the soft leather chair. ‘One should always look smart. I'm surprised they let you in without a tie.’
Edward's lips lifted slightly at the corners. ‘Indeed, one must. Maybe the Gettin name lets me off such formalities, or perhaps it's because I’ve been coming here since my teenage years.’
Luke's hackles began to rise, but he forced a smile. He nodded towards the newspaper. ‘Any news in there?’
‘The Daily Mirror? Not really, the last couple of days have been either about the shooting of the Austrian and his wife, a terrible state of affairs, or the pending strikes.’
‘Hmm, so has The Times.’ Luke frowned as he peered over at Edward. ‘Robert is convinced we will be at war soon and is already talking about enlisting.’
‘He shouldn't rush into it. I'm not sure it’ll come to that, but it does make you wonder what the world is coming to.’ Edward lifted his coffee cup and sipped the steaming dark liquid before placing it back onto the table. ‘Are you eating or just drinking?’
Luke indicated to the waiter. ‘Just a coffee please. Anything for you, Edward?’
Edward lifted his hand. ‘No, I'm fine thanks.’ He watched the waiter walk away before looking back at his son-in-law. ‘How is everything in the Taylor household?’
‘Fine, well as fine as it can be with a daughter like Lily.’
Edward laughed. ‘You sound just like my cousin, William, when he used to talk about his sister. He was always moaning about Emily and how she needed to be married, mainly because she didn't fit into the way they thought. But then William was always a bit strange.’
Luke waited until the waiter had left his coffee, before glancing across the table at Edward. ‘Well I can't pretend I haven't had similar thoughts myself.’
‘What?’ Edward raised his eyebrows. ‘You can't just marry Lily off because she has spirit.’ He stared at Luke; disdain crept across his face. ‘You mean it, don't you?’
‘Yes, I do.’ Luke sighed. ‘You know she was escorted home by a policeman the other evening because she had been demonstrating outside Parliament?’
Edward leant forward and slapped his knee as his laughter took hold.
‘I don't know why you are laughing so much. If Freddie hadn't been on duty, I would have been bailing her out of jail.’
Edward wiped his eyes as he gulped for breath. ‘Oh, bless her.’
Luke ran his hand through his hair. ‘Oh, bless her?’
‘My father would have enjoyed this moment, as indeed would his sisters; well maybe not the eldest.’ Edward paused as he looked at Luke. ‘My Aunt Elizabeth was always telling the girls in the family that they came from a long line of spirited women and they had to continue with it and not become downtrodden.’
Luke shook his head. ‘Wonderful! I am so glad she is not here to encourage Lily.’
Edward started laughing. ‘They had some stories to tell.’
‘Well, I'm looking out for a potential husband for Lily. She can be somebody else's problem.’
The smile vanished from Edward's face. ‘Does she know?’
‘No.’
Edward stared at Luke. ‘Does Sarah know?’
‘No, and I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything.’ Luke picked up his coffee cup and took a gulp of the hot black liquid.
‘That's not how I work, Luke. I don't believe in arranged marriages and Sarah's mother would never forgive me if I stood by and let that happen.’
Luke's eyes narrowed. ‘I don't recall Jane commenting either way.’
Edward took a sharp of breath as anger flitted across his face for a split second. ‘I'm not talking about Jane, I'm talking about Alexandra. She wanted me to protect Emily, so I’m quite certain she’d want me to protect our own grandchildren.’
*
The late evening sunshine cast shadows across the sitting room in Bloomsbury Street. Freddie scraped his hand through his short hair as he sat on the edge of the Queen Anne armchair. He peered through his lashes at Alice's father; his stomach churned as his nerves took over. He took a deep breath and wrinkled his nose as the lilies, sitting in a vase in front of the window, overpowered the aroma of beef coming from the kitchen.
Lily giggled as she stood in the hall and pressed her ear up against the closed sitting room door.
‘Shh, we’ll get caught.’ Alice grinned
at her sister as she crouched down and pressed her own ear to the door.
‘Do you think he’s going to ask father?’ Lily whispered, nervously looking around for her mother.
‘I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything to me, but why else would he want to talk to him.’ Alice peered up at Lily and also gave a quick look over her shoulder. ‘Unless it’s about you and your antics, of course.’
‘Freddie would never talk to father about me.’ Lily gave her sister a huge grin. ‘He loves me far too much.’
Alice groaned. ‘You keep your eyes off him.’ She laughed. ‘He’s mine.’
‘Eww, no, you can have him.’ Lily’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
Alice shook her head. ‘We’ll miss it if we don’t listen.’
They both turned their heads sideways and leant into the door.
‘Let’s hope we don’t get splinters.’ Lily giggled. ‘That would take some explaining.’
Alice attempted to stifle the laughter that was threatening to spill over. She took a couple of deep breaths and tried to concentrate on what was being said in the sitting room.
‘Mr Leybourne.’ Luke coughed to clear his throat. ‘I want to thank you for your discretion the other night when the constable brought my wayward daughter home.’
Freddie rubbed his palms down the legs of his trousers. ‘That's all right, Mr Taylor.’
‘I can assure you it is far from all right.’ Luke removed the stopper from the crystal glass decanter and poured himself a whisky before turning to Freddie. ‘Can I get you one?’
‘No, no thanks.’ Freddie laughed but the noise was alien to him. He raised his eyebrows and looked around his feet, wondering if he’d trodden on a cat's tail. He shook his head; the Taylors didn't have any pets. ‘I don't drink much these days. I suppose I’m basically never off duty.’ He forced a smile to his thin lips.
Luke swallowed the golden liquid, emptying the glass. His lips tightened into a thin straight line as the heat from the alcohol warmed his chest. He placed the glass back onto the silver tray before moving to the large window, which looked out onto the street.
‘What are you two girls up to?’
Lily and Alice jumped at the sound of their mother’s voice. They both stepped away from the door and looked round, guilt written all over their faces.
Sarah scowled at them, standing inches away from them, with her hands on her hips. ‘Whatever you’re up to, you look guilty. Eavesdropping, I’d guess.’
Alice lowered her eyes and bit on her lower lip. ‘Sorry, I know it’s rude to listen in on people’s conversations.’
Lily laughed at her sister’s pitiful expression. ‘Stop it, will you.’ Her guilt had been quickly replaced by excitement as she looked at her mother. ‘We think Freddie is going to ask if he can marry your perfect child.’ She grinned as her gaze bounced between her mother and sister, knowing they would immediately want to defend her statement.
Alice held her head high. ‘I don’t think…’
Sarah shook her head before she took a step nearer to the door. ‘Don’t, Alice, you should know your sister by now…’
Lily’s laughter echoed around the hall.
‘You can’t stay now, your father would have heard you,’ Sarah whispered, pulling them both away. ‘Come on, you two, before your father comes to see what the noise is about. Anyway, they say eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves.’
The laughter from the hall filtered into the sitting room. Luke looked round from the window and settled his gaze on the closed door before turning back to the window. ‘I find I am drinking more, that is unless someone else in the house is helping themselves.’ He pushed the sash window up further, allowing the cool evening air into the room. ‘Sarah does like to keep these windows almost shut.’
The chatter and laughter of people walking by seemed to fill the room, momentarily easing the tension that had wrapped itself around Freddie. He looked at the man standing in front of him and fidgeted in his seat, before taking a deep breath. ‘Mr Taylor, I wanted to talk to you about Alice's future.’
Luke lifted one eyebrow as he crossed the room and sat on a matching armchair. ‘Go on.’
Freddie stood up and began pacing, his hands clenched together in front of him. He glanced under his eyelashes at Luke, wishing he’d never started this conversation. He took another deep breath. ‘Well, I was—’
‘You were what, Mr Leybourne? Please sit down. I don't expect to have to follow you around my sitting room.’ Luke stood up and poured himself another whisky. ‘You know the talk at the club swings between the general strike and how it's going to bring the country to its knees, and going to war, which could well end up being the better option of the two.’ He sighed as he sat down on the chair he had just vacated. ‘Did Alice tell you her brother has already signed up?’
‘No, sir, she didn't.’
‘Yes, it was a proud moment when Robert came in and said he had enlisted.’ Luke smiled for the first time that evening. ‘His mother wasn't impressed, mind. Robert is convinced it is only a matter of time before we go to war, but I don't know.’ He eyed Freddie for a moment. ‘Are you going to enlist?’ He lifted his glass to his lips.
‘To be honest, sir, I hadn't thought about it…’
Luke lowered his glass and raised his eyebrows. ‘Well maybe you should, because if it does come to fighting for your country, you will be judged if you stay behind.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Freddie looked down at the carpet. ‘Surely there's no reason to think it’ll come to that, is there?’
Luke stared long and hard at Freddie. ‘Who knows? The papers are full of what the Germans are up to. It's probably about time we stood up and be counted; this country hasn't done that for a long time.’
‘Yes, I’ve been reading about it all but, to be honest, I didn't think it would affect us. It's not our fight and I assumed, as a police officer, I’d still be needed at home.’
Luke took a sip of his drink. ‘Hmm, I expect so, we can't have anarchy, can we?’ A smile formed on his lips. ‘I'm not sure what the future holds for any of us right now, never mind Alice.’ He gulped down the whisky until his glass was empty again.
Freddie swallowed hard, trying to remove the lump that was forming. ‘Mr Taylor, I’d like your permission to marry Alice.’ His words tumbled over each other, in their rush to escape.
Luke gave a hearty laugh. ‘It has taken you long enough to ask. You are lucky she is still available, because I had considered finding her a husband.’ He stared into his empty glass for a moment, before looking up at Freddie. ‘She will make someone a good wife, unlike Lily.’
Freddie's feet systematically tapped up and down. His knuckles were white as one hand clutched the other. ‘Yes, sir. I’ve taken my time, but wanted to make sure I could give Alice a good life. My job is secure, with prospects, and my love for her is not in doubt.’
‘Love, huh, well, I don't see why not. She could do much worse than a police sergeant, and it means there will be one less woman in this house to drive me mad.’ Luke paused for a moment. ‘Actually, she is the least of my worries; can't you marry Lily instead?’
‘No disrespect to Lily, but I’d rather marry Alice.’
‘Wise man.’
There was a light knock on the sitting room door just before it opened and Alice stood in the doorway. ‘Mother asked me to let you know dinner is ready.’
Freddie's face lit up and he jumped to his feet. He sniffed the air. ‘Let me guess.’ He paused while he sniffed a couple of more times. ‘I reckon it's roast beef.’
Alice grinned at Freddie. ‘I believe so.’
He beamed as he reached for Alice's hand, forgetting Luke was still in the room. ‘Lovely, Mrs Headley is a great cook.’
Alice laughed at his enthusiasm. ‘You and your food.’ She smiled at him. ‘We are definitely lucky to have her. From what I’ve heard from the family, good help is hard to find. One of my great aunt's infamous quotes was that �
�it was easier to find a husband than a good butler”’. Alice laughed.
Freddie laughed with her. ‘She sounds like a character.’
‘By all accounts, they all were. I should get Aunt Emily to tell you a few stories about them. They were strong, spirited women.’
Luke cleared his throat behind them.
Freddie jerked round. ‘Thank you, sir.’
Luke had his back to the room as he lifted the whisky decanter, concentrating on pouring another drink. ‘Yes, well we don't need to make the aunts into something they probably weren't. After all, they were probably bitter spinsters, and Lily certainly doesn't need any encouragement in that direction.’
Alice immediately dropped her head. ‘No, Father.’
Freddie squeezed her hand and gave it a reassuring shake.
Luke moved sideways to walk past them. ‘Anyway, with all this talk of war, your mother might need to learn to cook, in case we lose Mrs Headley.’
Alice looked up at her father. ‘Why would we lose her?’
‘Who knows? But you just don't know what's coming.’
Alice stared after her father as he left the sitting room. She wondered if he knew something, or whether he was just scaremongering.
Freddie shook her hand again. ‘Are you all right?’
Alice turned her head to look up at him.
‘You look sad now; don't let your father get to you.’
‘I'm fine.’ Alice forced a smile to her lips. ‘You know, when Grandma Jane married Grandpa, and a few years later the cook retired, she decided to have a go at doing her own cooking. Apparently she liked it and now believes every man and woman should be self-sufficient. Consequently, I think mother is going to ask her to teach her all she knows.’
‘But the most important question of all is will your mother pass on all that important information?’ Freddie laughed as his stomach made a gurgling noise.
Alice's laughter filled the room. ‘Don't worry, you won't starve.’
*
‘Don't you love the summer evenings, Freddie?’ Alice smiled as they walked towards Trafalgar Square. ‘Doesn't the sunshine lift your heart?’
The Foyles Bookshop Girls Page 5