by Rosie Clarke
‘Well, I certainly hope so, James. If only because I’d like to see some return on my investment.’
He grinned at me, then turned and walked out of the room. It took all my strength not to call him back.
Lizzy cried a little the next morning.
‘Are you sorry I let him go, darling?’
She lifted her head proudly. ‘I’m glad he has gone – but he will come back, won’t he?’
‘I’m sure he will, Lizzy. I set him a challenge. James always loves to prove me wrong. He will stay away for a year or two. He’s sure to be a success if he goes to Jack. Jack has influence with all kinds of people. I’m certain James will soon make a name for himself. Then he will come home to prove to me how wrong I was. By which time, he should have finally grown up enough to see that it was only fair you should have your chance, too.’
‘I shall miss him.’ She looked a little wistful.
‘So shall I, darling. But it’s for the best – isn’t it? We have to let him go and hope that he will come back to us when he’s ready.’
‘Yes.’ She lifted her chin. ‘Yes, it’s for the best – but it’s very hard to send the man you love away.’
‘Yes, I know,’ I said. ‘Very hard. I do know just how you feel. But you still have me, Lizzy. You still have me …’
Chapter 14
It was September and I was busy with the autumn collections for the main shop. We had several new suppliers this season, and their orders had to be carefully checked.
‘Telephone for you, Mrs Reece.’ The manageress of my dress department came up to me as I was frowning over an evening gown I did not like as much as I’d expected. Something wasn’t quite right but I wasn’t sure what. ‘It’s a Miss Gwen Robinson. She says it’s urgent or she would have rung you at home this evening.’
‘Oh, thank you, Annette. I’ll take it in your office if I may?’
‘Yes, of course.’
I went into the office and put the receiver to my ear.
‘Gwen – is something wrong? You’re not ill, are you?’
‘No, I’m fine. It’s just that I wanted to tell you first – in case someone else tries to contact you by phone, though they say they will be writing. I’ve had a man from a firm of London solicitors here, Emma. They want to buy your shops. They are acting on behalf of someone, but they won’t say who.’
‘We don’t want to sell – do we?’
‘That’s up to you.’
‘Whatever they offer will be half yours – if we want to sell?’
‘They’ve offered ten thousand pounds. It’s a lot of money.’
‘How do you feel about it, Gwen? Are you ready to retire?’
‘Not for a few years yet. I enjoy coming in every day. I should get bored sitting at home twiddling my fingers.’
‘I’ll turn the offer down then.’
‘Are you sure? It’s a reasonable price for property here. It doesn’t sell for the prices you get in London.’
‘It’s all right. Not exciting. No, I shan’t sell. Not until you tell me you want to give up. Now, tell me – what have you been doing recently? Have you been anywhere nice?’
‘Not really. Richard hardly stirs out of the house these days. I don’t see much of him unless I go round.’ She gave a dry laugh. ‘I get about when I can. Any chance of your coming down soon?’
‘Not at the moment. You don’t need me, do you?’
‘No – but I sometimes think we don’t see enough of each other these days. Perhaps I’ll come up to you one day.’
‘I wish you would. We’ll paint the town red.’
She chuckled. ‘I’ll think about it and let you know.’
I replaced the receiver and went back to checking the stock. The dress I had been concerned about was ballerina length made of satin and velvet with an overskirt of an embroidered net. The style was popular with my customers, and I had thought it would sell well – but I could see now that the hem of the underskirt was uneven and badly done.
‘The hem isn’t straight, Annette. It’s difficult to see at first, because of the overskirt – but if you look carefully you can see it is a quarter of an inch out at the side. Send it back and ask for a replacement. If they are difficult we shall cancel any further orders.’
‘Yes, Mrs Reece. I was wondering what was wrong with it. You have a very good eye for detail.’
‘It comes from working at the wholesale end for years. You get used to checking for faults in the material and the workmanship.’
We checked the rest of that particular order with extra care. Nothing else was faulty, but I was less than satisfied with the firm. They should never have sent that dress out. Sol would have been furious if something like that had been put out on his rails – and this was supposed to be the better end of the market! If they did it again, I would cross them off my list of suppliers.
I glanced through the teenage range before leaving the floor. A few years back no one would have thought of stocking styles for that particular market: young women that chose and wore the same kind of clothes as their mothers, but things had changed rapidly throughout the fifties. The change was mainly due to the arrival of people like Mary Quant, who had opened her shop on the King’s Road a year or so back. It was called the Bazaar and her inexpensive, very distinctive styles for young women were an instant success.
Francine had designed a similar range for us, bright, exciting clothes that seemed to appeal to the younger clients, and they looked to be selling well. We had simplified the label since the early days, and the young range was now called Just Francine. There were lots of pretty dresses for day and evening, mostly full skirts which could be made to stand out by the addition of net petticoats that swished as you walked. We also had a large selection of casual wear, including some mohair separates that came from Italy.
Satisfied that we were keeping up with the demand of an ever-growing market, I got into the lift that would take me up to the next floor and my own office. A small pile of letters was waiting for me. Some were invoices, others requests from a charity for help or money – one was from the solicitors Gwen had told me about.
I frowned over the letter. If it were not for Gwen, I might have taken the offer. The money would be better invested in London – or I could buy that house in France.
But I could do that anyway, if I wanted. And I had given my word to Gwen. I slipped the letter into my bag to take home. I wanted to show it to Sol later. ‘Why do you think they want to buy them all?’ I asked as he read the letter.’ It seems a bit odd, don’t you think?’
‘It’s probably a firm like the Home and Colonial,’ Sol said. ‘They may want to open a big grocery store. Knock all the buildings into one.’
‘No …’ I shook my head. ‘Two of them are next door to each other – but my father’s shop is two doors away from Madge Henty’s dress shop. They can’t want all that space, surely?’
‘Turn them down,’ Sol advised. ‘If they want the property badly enough, they will come up with a better offer.’
‘I don’t think I want to sell anyway. Gwen isn’t ready to retire.’
‘Then write and say so.’ He laid the letter down, losing interest. ‘Lizzy telephoned this afternoon. She will be home later this evening – about eight she thinks.’
‘But she has only just gone back to school …’ I was puzzled. ‘Did she say why she was coming home?’
‘No. She just asked if I would tell you. She sounded a bit upset.’
I nodded, wondering what could be on Lizzy’s mind. She had seemed happy enough when she left for her boarding school a few days earlier. I’d thought she had made up her mind that she wanted to stay on and take her exams. Now she was coming home … an unpleasant suspicion crossed my mind. No, please don’t let it be that! Not that! Don’t let it happen to Lizzy. She was so young.
Yet I could not help feeling uneasy. It was possible, more than possible. I had suspected that Lizzy and James had been lovers when we were in Franc
e. She could be expecting his child. No, surely not! Poor Lizzy … she was only seventeen and had her whole life in front of her. This would spoil her chances of going ahead with the career she had set her mind to, at least for a while.
Surely James would not have been so careless? There was an easy way to protect her. Young people were supposed to be so sophisticated today. James ought to have taken more care! But I was jumping to conclusions. Lizzy might have decided to come home for quite another reason.
Perhaps she had simply forgotten something?
As soon as I saw Lizzy’s face, I knew I had guessed right. She looked frightened and ashamed. My heart ached for her, and I held out my arms to her.
‘Lizzy darling,’ I said. ‘I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have let James go.’
‘I wanted him to go,’ she replied, catching back a sob of despair. ‘He can’t do anything, can he? We never expected … it only happened a few times, Emmie. I didn’t think it could happen so quickly.’
‘It was just the same for me when I fell for James.’
Lizzy blinked away her tears. ‘I feel so foolish. Sheila warned me to be careful last year. She said to make sure we used something … you know, those horrible things. She meant with Terry Moon, of course. I wasn’t interested then, but …’
‘You fell in love with James. He was your playmate and your friend – then suddenly it was different.’ I smiled at her ‘You grew up, Lizzy. It was to be expected.’
‘We didn’t mean it to happen. I wanted to wait. James …’ She stopped and bit her lip. ‘He didn’t force me, but … I wanted to and yet I didn’t …’
‘You don’t have to explain, darling. I know what it’s like to be in love – and I also know my son. He can be very persuasive.’
I knew only too well what it had been like for Lizzy. I had experienced the same thing with Paul all those years ago.
‘Are you angry? I know it was wrong.’
‘It was more foolish than wrong, Lizzy. It means you either have to take a break from your schooling – or have an abortion. We might be able to get it done abroad, if that’s what you want?’
She looked horrified. ‘I couldn’t! I know I’ve ruined everything. But I don’t want to kill the baby.’
‘Good. I would have been sad if you had. So that means you will have to continue your studies at home for a few months. I can arrange to get the course work you need. It’s best if your school doesn’t know you are pregnant. I think I’ll tell them we have been advised you should travel this winter for a health problem.’
‘But they will know afterwards. Everyone will.’
‘No one has to know – at least, not here in England. We’ll go to France, Lizzy. I’ve been thinking of buying a house there. We’ll stay there together for as long as we need to – then, when we come home, I’ll let everyone believe the baby is mine. You can go back to school and take your exams. I shall bring the baby up until you want him – or her – back.’
She stared at me in silence for several minutes.
‘That isn’t fair on you, Emmie.’
‘Would you rather I asked James to come home? I expect Jack knows where he is, even though he hasn’t written to either of us.’ I looked into her lovely, expressive eyes. ‘It’s your choice, Lizzy. I shan’t blame you either way.’
Tears gathered and spilled over, trickling down her cheeks.
‘I was so frightened on the train coming home. I thought you would be angry because I’d let you down – now you’re giving me another chance.’ She smothered a sob. ‘Why are you so kind to me? I don’t deserve it.’
‘Don’t be silly! Of course you deserve to be loved. I just want to do whatever makes you happy, darling. I can leave Sol in charge of the business … No, I may have a better idea about that. I shall have to talk to Gwen, but whatever happens, I’m going to be with you, Lizzy. I’m going to take you away and look after you – and when we come back, you can go to college just as you planned …’
‘Take charge of the London shops?’ Gwen squeaked with excitement when I telephoned later. ‘Would I like to – just give me the chance! Are you sure you trust me, Emma?’
‘Of course.’ I laughed. ‘It means we can sell the shops down there. I can’t imagine why anyone wants those shops in March – unless Sol is right and some large chain of grocers wants to open a huge store.’
‘It’s the coming thing so I’ve heard.’
‘In London and the big towns perhaps – but in a small country market town? Oh well, that’s their business.’ I hesitated, then, ‘It means you will have to live in London. There is a small flat over the first shop I ever bought. For several years it was let to a tenant, but recently I’ve decided to have it refurbished so it is empty. It does need doing up. Shall I see to that or leave it to you?’
‘I’ll see to that when I get there. I like things my own way.’
‘Yes, I know. You will have a free hand, Gwen. There’s only one thing – what about your friend?’
‘Oh, I seldom see Richard these days. All he wants to do is stay home and sit by the fire. I’ve got too much energy to do that. I’ll soon make new friends, Emma. Don’t worry about me. After Mother died, I didn’t know where to start, but I see things differently these days. I’m looking forward to a new challenge.’
‘You can stay here while the flat is being redecorated. I’m sure Sol won’t mind.’
‘Well, that’s settled then. As long as Sol doesn’t object …’
When I told him, he wasn’t actually too pleased at the idea. He frowned at me, not speaking for a few moments.
‘I don’t suppose it matters – providing she doesn’t stay for years. Your aunt isn’t exactly my cup of tea, Emma.’
‘I’m sorry. I should have asked first. I can find somewhere else for her to stay until the flat is ready.’
He looked at me oddly. ‘No, no, I’m out of sorts today. I dare say I can put up with it for a while. The house often seems empty these days. It wasn’t so bad when Greta was alive but with her gone and now you going away … I’m going to miss you and Lizzy.’
‘Yes, I know. I’m sorry to desert you, Sol. I shall miss you, but you will always be welcome to come and stay with us in France. In fact I hope you will, providing you keep our secret – neither Jack nor my son is to know about this. Not until we are ready to tell them.’
‘I shan’t let you down, but I think you are wrong, Emma. James has a right to know about the baby – but he won’t hear it from me.’
‘It’s Lizzy’s secret, not ours. She will tell him when she’s ready.’
Sol frowned. ‘It’s a generous thing to do, Emma – taking on the child. It won’t be just for a few months. If Lizzy goes on with her training, you’ll be tied down with a small child for years. I have a feeling it might get you into bother one way or another.’
‘I’m just trying to protect Lizzy. Having a child out of wedlock isn’t the social crime it was when I was her age, but quite a lot of people still see it as a stigma. Lizzy will have more chance of getting a place in a good teaching hospital if they don’t know she has a child.’
‘How are you going to explain it away? Or doesn’t your own reputation matter?’
‘I’m not sure I have one left,’ I said and smiled ruefully. ‘I’ve lived the way I wanted, Sol, and I’m not going to change now. Let people think what they like. I shan’t tell anyone anything unless I’m forced. When Lizzy has finished her training … well, James might be home by then. We’ll cross our bridges when we have to. Stop worrying, Sol. It’s all going to work out fine.’
‘I might as well not say anything, because you will go your own way the same as always.’
He sounded a bit put out, which wasn’t really like him. I smiled and kissed his cheek.
‘Dearest Sol! I don’t know what I would do without you. Never stop being my friend – will you?’
He shook his head at me once more, but gave up trying to persuade me to think again.
It was October before Lizzy and I left for France. I had turned down the first offer on my shops in March. To my surprise, they came up with a better one. I finally settled on twelve thousand pounds.
I gave half of it to Gwen and arranged to have the rest paid into a London bank in Sheila’s name. In return, she made the same amount available to me in Paris.
‘Exchange is no robbery,’ she said. ‘And if it makes things easier your end …’
Sheila had had to be told the truth, of course. She had immediately offered us the chance to live with her.
‘You have too many friends,’ I said. ‘This has to be kept a secret – for Lizzy’s sake. She doesn’t want James to know, in case he feels he has to come home and marry her. And she still wants to go to medical school after the baby is born.’
‘Well, I shall visit you in your secret place,’ she said. ‘Where are you thinking of buying a house?’
‘I’m not sure. Jon always said the Loire Valley was beautiful. Perhaps there. We shall look for something we like, something we want to go back to year after year.’
‘And no one is to know about the baby – not James, not Jack?’
‘Not yet. Lizzy is going to wear a wedding ring, and she hardly shows at all yet. It’s just until she can go to medical school and find a job, later on she will probably want the baby back. Especially if she gets married.’
‘Well, if it’s what she wants …’
‘It is for the time being.’
‘Then that’s how it will be …’
Lizzy and I had a wonderful time looking for our new home. It was so exciting, touring the region of the Loire with its beautiful scenery and wealth of old chateaux. It was truly the heart of France, an unmarked dividing line between north and south, between the heat of the south and the cooler climes of the north, the differing tastes in wine and food.
The weather was good, not hot but warmer than at home and comfortable, and Lizzy was blooming. Her skin, hair and eyes seemed to have a glow of their own.
We settled at last on the region where the valley bends westward at the Sancerre vineyards, the land so green and pleasant, flowing along what is known as the royal route of chateaux from Chambord to Angers. In the books we bought to help us in our search, it said there were more than three hundred chateaux in the area of Touraine, but it was just south-east of Orleans that we found our own fairytale palace.