‘And – I can assure you that nothing of the kind will ever happen again. It was – an aberration. I am very concerned that the good name of Packards should not be in any way compromised.’
Thomas ground his teeth in frustration. The boy had him there and he knew it. Far from publicly showing his displeasure, he was going to have to make moves to cover up what Edward had done. His own pride in what he and his business stood for demanded it.
‘I’m glad we understand each other on that point at least,’ he growled, ‘and should you ever come to forget it, bear this in mind: I am not dead yet, and even when I am, I shall leave a will behind me.’
He gained the scant satisfaction of seeing Edward seethe under this threat.
‘I am aware of that, sir.’
‘Good. And I have your word that nothing of this disgraceful nature will ever happen again?’
‘I said as much, sir.’
‘And you will of course act honourably by the girl’s family, if she has any, or if she has not, see to her having a dignified funeral?’
Edward looked genuinely startled at this. It did not seem to have crossed his mind that his responsibilities extended that far. But a stony look from Thomas brought the proper response.
‘Of course.’
A great weariness rolled over Thomas. He turned away and looked blindly out of the window.
‘Go,’ he said.
Edward began to say something, but Thomas cut him short.
‘Just go,’ he repeated.
Only when he heard the door shut did he move. He walked slowly over to the Pembroke table at one side of the room and poured himself a stiff whisky. Archer poked his head round the door.
‘Is there anything I can do, sir?’
‘No. Thank you.’
The secretary withdrew. Thomas sat down at his desk with a sigh. He had done all he could to keep Edward in line. Now he had to consider what was to be done to keep talk about this dreadful business to a minimum. It would come down to money, of course. Everyone had their price. He did not look forward to it, but if there was dirty work to be done, then he would do it himself. That had always been his way.
The inquest into the death of Isobel Jane Norton, also known as Isobel Brand, pronounced a verdict of death by suicide. Edward, Johnny and Daisy were all called as witnesses. Johnny and Daisy described how they had found her, Daisy said that Isobel had been terrified of what might happen when Edward found out she was pregnant, Edward maintained that she had nothing at all to be afraid of and that the last time he had seen her she had been quite normal. The fact that she was pregnant was explanation enough as far as the coroner was concerned. Pregnant women were known to be unstable. The case was closed.
‘He killed her, as sure as if he put a knife into her,’ Daisy declared loudly as they went out of the courtroom.
Several heads turned her way.
‘Yes, but proving it’s impossible,’ Johnny said. ‘The bastard’s got off scot-free.’
‘It’s so unfair!’ Daisy was close to tears. ‘She was terrified of him. She never wanted to live in that place. He made her. But they wouldn’t listen to me. I tried. You heard me, didn’t you? I tried, and they wouldn’t listen.’
‘It was your word against his, that’s why.’
‘Yeah, and they believed him. They thought as I was lying. I tell you something, I’m a hundred times more honest than what he is, any day.’
‘I know you are, Daise. But you’re never going to get that lot to think so. Come on. You’re doing no good here.’
He took her arm and began to lead her down the steps of the courthouse.
‘I tell you one thing we can do, and that’s make sure everyone at the store knows about it. Until I get the push, that is,’ he said. ‘It’s the talk of the place alreatly –’
He stopped short. There in front of them was Sir Thomas Packard himself.
‘I’d like to have a word with both of you. Would you kindly come this way?’ he said, and without waiting for a reply turned and led the way towards the Rolls-Royce motor car that was waiting at the kerbside, the chauffeur standing to attention by the open door.
Daisy and Johnny looked at each other.
‘You got nothing to lose and my job’s sure to go anyway, so we might as well,’ Johnny said.
Daisy nodded. There were one or two things she wanted to say to Sir Thomas. She would rather have said them to Mr Edward, but his grandfather would do.
If she had not been so distressed, she might have enjoyed the ride. It was the first time she had ever been in a motor car, and this was a particularly luxurious one. But as it was, she had so much grief and anger boiling inside her that she hardly noticed where she was.
‘It’s a crying shame, that’s what it is,’ she cried. ‘Isobel’s dead, I lost my job and now I suppose you’re going to give Johnny the push and all, and all because of Mr Edward. It ain’t right!’
‘Daisy.’ Johnny put a restraining hand on her arm. ‘She’s upset,’ he explained to Sir Thomas.
‘I realise that. You have every reason to be upset, Miss Phipps. I believe Miss Brand was a friend of yours?’
‘Yes she was. A very dear friend. And I was the only friend she had in the world. Those men back in that court, they was talking like she was a tart. She wasn’t. She didn’t know nothing about life. Before she came to London, she never worked or nothing, she was a lady, she just done calls and that, and went everywhere with her mother. She was taken advantage of, that’s what, and now she’s dead.’
Once more she saw Isobel’s lifeless body lying on the grass. Scalding tears spilled down her cheeks. Johnny put his arms round her. It was a while before she heard what Sir Thomas was saying.
‘– back to life, but I can ensure that injustice is not done to you.’
He was holding something in his hand. Daisy realised that it was an open wallet.
‘I don’t want no blood money,’ she declared.
‘This is no such thing, Miss Phipps.’
‘Mrs Rutherford gave me five pounds and promised me a reference. I don’t want nothing else.’
If she had been calm enough to see it, she might have noticed that Sir Thomas looked impressed by this. But he still drew five white notes out of his wallet and placed them in her hand.
‘Nevertheless, I would like you to take this. It will make a nice dowry for you when the time comes.’
Daisy stared at the pieces of paper. She had handled sums like this in the store, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought of possessing so much herself. She was speechless.
‘And you, young man,’ Sir Thomas turned to Johnny. ‘You realise of course, that this unfortunate business means that you cannot be kept on at Packards. I am sorry, because I understand you have the makings of a good salesman. Indeed, both of you were loyal Packards people. But your staying on is out of the question, so I would like to make sure that you have something to tide you over until you can obtain new employment.’
Another twenty-five pounds was handed over. Sir Thomas picked up the speaking tube and told the chauffeur to stop.
‘I’ll let you out here,’ he said. ‘I hope you will both be able to put this affair behind you.’
Still stunned, Daisy and Johnny climbed out. Before they closed the door, Sir Thomas leant forward.
‘Of course, you will not speak to any members of the press about what you have seen, will you?’ he said.
The motor glided off. Daisy and Johnny were left standing on the pavement staring after it.
‘We’ve been bought off,’ Johnny said.
‘Yes.’ Indignation burned in Daisy’s heart. ‘As if I’d talk to the press. Poor Isobel would have hated having her name in the papers.’
‘Still –’ Slowly, Johnny folded the notes and tucked them into his inside pocket. ‘Put that stuff away safe, Daise, or someone’ll nick it.’
He took her arm. Daisy found herself being walked along, though she had no idea where she was or what direction she
was going. They went over and over everything that had happened until they both realised that they were exhausted and went into a teashop. Daisy sat and looked at the sugar bun she could not eat.
‘Daisy –’ Johnny began. He stopped, then went on in a rush. ‘Look, I know this ain’t the time or the place, but when you’re feeling up to it, like, will you come and help me look for a place to open a carpet shop?’
For the second time that day, Daisy could hardly believe what she was hearing. She gazed into his anxious eyes. The first smile since they found Isobel spread slowly across her face.
‘I’d love to, Johnny,’ she said.
42
‘I HAVE TO say, I am disappointed in Sylvia,’ Winifred said. ‘Hers is not at all the right attitude to take. Every married woman has to accept that her husband may have other interests, especially when she is in a certain condition.’
‘I think she’s quite right to be disgusted in him. So am I. Isobel Brand committed suicide because she was frightened of him,’ Amelie cried.
Winifred brushed this aside. ‘Oh, the girl. She must have been hysterical. That sort often are.’
‘She wasn’t “that sort”, Mother. She wasn’t a street girl.’
‘She was a shopgirl. They’re practically as bad.’
‘She was the daughter of a provincial solicitor. We know that now. She had an extremely respectable upbringing before she fell on hard times.’
‘My dear, the bourgeoisie are the worst of all. It’s common knowledge. Beneath that middle-class respectability it’s all hypocrisy.’
‘Mother!’ Amelie was shocked. ‘Don’t you care at all about what happened to her?’
‘My dear girl, nothing happened to her. She killed herself. Self-murder. That is a heinous crime. I really don’t think she deserves any sympathy at all. Far from it. It was a very wicked thing to do and it has not done our name any good, though fortunately most of Society is sensible enough to see it as the storm in a teacup that it is. Which brings me back to Sylvia. She should be supporting Edward, not condemning him.’
‘Well I’m very glad she’s condemning him. She seems to be the only one who is. He’s behaved appallingly and everyone seems to be sympathetic to him because he was found out. I think it’s shocking,’ Amelie declared.
‘Then you are being as silly and naïve as Sylvia. I think both of you have a good deal to learn,’ Winifred told her.
Amelia got up. She could not bear to be in the same room as her mother any longer. ‘I shall see you at the meeting,’ she said.
‘Oh, the meeting. Another of your grandfather’s strange ideas. As if I have any interest in how the store is administered. But I suppose I shall have to go,’ Winifred sighed.
‘You know very well that you will go, since it will be in your interest to do so.’ Amelie said.
For once she had the satisfaction of seeing her mother look put out. That was the only pleasure she could extract from the prospect of the coming meeting. Everything else about it filled her with dismay. It was obvious that her grandfather was going to announce his retirement and Edward’s taking over the running of the store. It was also obvious that she was not going to have any significant part to play. Her grandfather had gone along with her ever since she had come back from America, but she had to face the fact that he had only thought she was playing at shopkeepers until she got married. A few weeks ago, when she was still happily ignorant of Hugo’s real motive in marrying her, she would not have minded so much. All she had wanted was to be married to him. Now it was different. Now she was bound for life to a man who wanted her to breed a race of supermen, and all her old ambitions for a place of real responsibility in the store were rekindled. But with Edward in charge, she had no chance at all.
The family assembled the next day in Thomas’ office for the meeting. The big mahogany desk had been pushed back and a table and chairs put in the middle of the room, set with pens, ink and notepads. All of them were early, even Perry, who had put off his trip to America yet again when he was informed that his presence was required. Their spouses were not invited. This was for blood relatives only, so Winifred and her three offspring stood about like guests at a particularly stiff party. Amelie, boiling at the thought of what was about to be revealed, could not resist an attempt at pricking Edward’s air of complacency.
‘You must be glad that I managed to find poor Isobel Brand’s relatives. It was lucky that I kept that card of hers, wasn’t it? Especially since her records disappeared from the staffing office files.’
‘Most fortunate,’ Edward agreed, his smooth confidence seemingly undented.
‘Really, Amelie, I hardly think that this is the time or the place to discuss such matters,’ Winifred interposed.
‘Don’t you? I do. What else should one discuss at Packards but Packards’ business? Yes, it was most fortunate, as you put it, Edward. If they had not come forward, you would have had to arrange the burial, and I’m sure Sylvia would not have liked that.’
‘We all have to do things we don’t like sometimes, Mel.’ he said, but his annoyance showed in his eyes.
‘I wonder how long this meeting’s going to take? Does anyone know? Only I’ve arranged to meet some chaps at my club this afternoon,’ Perry said, conspicuously changing the subject.
Amelie glared at him. Trust Perry. He could always be relied on to suck up to whoever was likely to be the most useful to him.
‘Not too long, I trust. I have calls to make,’ Winifred said.
‘How terrible for you both to have to give up an hour or so to the store. I do hope it won’t stop you from spending the profits,’ Amelie said, with heavy sarcasm.
Perry just laughed. ‘Nothing stops me from spending. Just think, if nobody spent, there would be no customers for the store, would there?’
The fact that there was a grain of truth in this made Amelie crosser than ever. At that moment, she hated all her family, even her beloved grandfather.
‘Don’t you ever get tired of being so frivolous, Perry?’ she asked.
‘No, never,’ Perry said, quite unmoved.
‘I really think you should stop being so childish, Mel,’ Edward said.
‘Yes, you’re a married woman now. You should start to behave like one,’ Winifred agreed.
At three o’clock on the dot, Thomas entered the room to complete the family gathering.
‘Well, well, here you all are. Good and prompt, I see,’ he said, apparently oblivious to the seething atmosphere. ‘Sit down, sit down. Archer will bring in the tea.’
He took his place at the head of the table, and Archer served tea with his usual quiet efficiency.
‘Now then,’ Thomas said, when they were all sipping in silence, ‘I expect you all have some idea as to why I’ve asked you to come here today.’
He paused, and there were nods and murmurs of agreement round the table.
‘So I shan’t waste any time in telling you that as from the end of this month, I intend to retire from active participation in the running of the store.’
This time he did not allow any comment.
‘It’s a move I’ve been contemplating for some time now, but it not something that can be done without a great deal of thought and planning. Before relinquishing the reins, I have to ensure that the store will continue not just to flourish, but to keep the principles on which I built it.’ He glanced at Edward as he said this, then went on. ‘So a certain amount of change is needed in the structure of the firm.’
Perry shifted in his seat, clearly bored already. Thomas shot him a look of barely suppressed irritation.
‘As you all know, up till now I have run everything myself. Several of my colleagues, especially those whose stores are now public companies, think that this is a quite ridiculous way to run an organisation as large as Packards. My reply was always that it worked, so there was no point in altering it. However, we must change with the times. From now on executive power will pass to a board of directors.’
> Amelie sat up straight. So, Edward would not have total control. She looked across the table at him, but his expression was carefully neutral.
‘The directors will be drawn from the senior managers, namely the head of finance, the head of staffing and the chief buyer. They will be answerable to the managing director, who will have the overall responsibility for the running of the store. This managing director needs to be a member of the family – Edward.’
So that was it. Effectively, Edward was in charge. This time it was Amelie who had to try hard to keep her face impassive, as she saw Edward’s smile. Not a big grin of triumph, just a small smug tugging at the corners of his mouth, to show that he knew all along that he was going to get his way. Amelie felt like hitting him.
‘Thank you, Grandfather. I very much appreciate your trust in me. I can assure you that I will put every effort into maintaining the high standards for which you have made Packards famous,’ he said.
‘Congratulations, old chap,’ Perry said, shaking his hand. ‘I’m sure you’ll make a jolly good job of it.’
Toady, Amelie thought.
‘An excellent decision, Father,’ Winifred declared. ‘We all agree that Edward will be a worthy successor to you.’
‘I don’t.’
There was a moment’s stunned silence as everyone stared at Amelie. For a second or so, she was almost as astonished as they were at her outburst. She had not meant to speak her thoughts out loud. Then everyone spoke at once.
‘I say, old girl –’
‘Really, Amelie, this is hardly the time nor the place to be –’
‘I rather think you might want to withdraw that statement.’
Thomas cut through them all.
‘Let the girl speak.’
Amelie took a deep breath. There was a very dangerous look in Edward’s eyes. The wisest course was to take his advice and back down. But if she did so, then she would always regret it.
‘We all know what I’m talking about,’ she said. She looked round the table at them all. Her grandfather nodded faintly, a forbidding expression settling round his mouth, Winifred looked disapproving, Edward furious, Perry – she came back to Perry, for she could have sworn there was sadness in his face. But there was no time now to think about it.
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