Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop (The Foyles Girls)

by Elaine Roberts

  Daisy nodded, as she reached out and looked at the stamped addressed envelopes. She looked up at the pile of clothes. ‘I suddenly have a sense that we didn’t really know Ma or Pa. Perhaps we should read them.’

  ‘Maybe, or are you just being a policewoman, looking for a mystery where there isn’t one.’

  Daisy looked around the room; her eyes were drawn back to the blouse, and the letters she was holding. ‘Do you not feel the same?’

  Tension sat between them, as Victoria wrestled with her conscience. ‘I don’t want to invade their private lives.’ She paused. ‘But I suppose they won’t know any different, will they?’

  Daisy swung her arm around Victoria’s slender shoulders. ‘I don’t think Ma would have kept secrets, unless it was to protect us, and we’re no longer the children we were.’

  9

  Alice, Victoria and Molly stood in line, waiting to put their cards into the clocking in machine. Women in front of them chatted. Laughter could be heard further up the line, mingling with the ding of the clock, every time a card was inserted.

  Victoria groaned. ‘I don’t feel like this today, I reckon it’s going to be another hot one.’

  Alice smiled. ‘I know what you mean, but we’ll be all right once we get started.’

  ‘Mm.’ Victoria looked over her shoulder at Alice. ‘Daisy and I went through some more of my parents’ things last night and we found newspaper cuttings and photographs of our mother and father, with people we didn’t recognise. We couldn’t even decide where they were taken.’ Victoria placed her card in the slot and waited for the ding, before removing it.

  Alice followed suit. ‘Perhaps we should look at them, and then we might be able to work it out. Was there anything written on the back?’

  ‘There was on one, but I didn’t look at all of them.’ Victoria raised her eyebrows. ‘I clearly wasn’t thinking properly, because that would have been an obvious thing to do, wouldn’t it, especially as I looked at one of them.’

  Molly shuffled forward, placing her card into the machine, as the others stepped aside. ‘Don’t be hard on yourself; sometimes when you’re in a situation, you don’t think clearly, as I know only too well.’

  Victoria nodded. ‘I can’t go through things tonight, because I must go to Endell Street Hospital. I’ve only done a couple of shifts, so I have a bit of catching up to do.’

  Molly smiled. ‘Well, it’s voluntary work, so I don’t suppose it matters, and you’ve had a lot going on.’

  Victoria grimaced. ‘Yes, but it’s not very good. My pa used to say that you either do something whole-heartedly, or don’t bother. Anyway, I want to do more.’

  ‘Obviously that’s good, but don’t punish yourself.’

  ‘My problems are nothing compared to what others are going through. I’ve got to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get on with things, although it’s all rather confusing to me.’ Victoria led the way out into the shop. ‘I’ll see you both at lunchtime.’

  ‘Definitely,’ Alice and Molly chorused.

  The three girls went their separate ways.

  Victoria did a walk around the store, and then headed for the basement. She liked to check Albert was all right down there; she guessed he very rarely saw anyone during the day, until she’d started venturing down there. She gripped the handrail. The palms of her hands became damp. She could see the glow of the light filtering under the door. Come on, you can do this, and Albert will be pleased to see you. She slowly lowered herself on to the next step. ‘Albert, are you down here?’ She waited a moment, before venturing further and calling out again. ‘Albert?’ Panic began to rise in her throat. What if he’d had a fall or collapsed? Victoria ran down the remaining steps and, without ceremony, pushed open the door. The creaking echoed back off the walls. ‘Albert?’ The door thudded shut behind her.

  Albert looked up from the pile of books in front of him and gave a toothless smile. ‘Hello, Miss Appleton.’ His smile faded as he took in her worried expression. ‘Are yer all right?’ He pulled an old wooden chair forward. ‘Here, sit down a minute; yer don’t look at all well.’

  Victoria slumped down. ‘Sorry, I was calling you and when you didn’t answer, I thought something had happened.’

  Albert chuckled. ‘Nah, I’m just mutton, that’s all.’

  Victoria frowned. ‘What?’

  Albert roared with laughter. ‘I don’t know, you youngsters are losing yer ’eritage.’ He took in her blank expression, before speaking again, slowly. ‘Mutt and Jeff is cockney rhyming slang for deaf init, but it gets shortened to mutton these days.’ He chuckled as she stared at him. ‘So for example, you’d say to young Molly, “You’ll ’ave to speak up, cos Albert’s a bit mutton.” One day, I’ll give yer a lesson in it.’ He watched her for a few seconds. ‘Are yer feeling better now?’

  ‘Yes, thank you.’

  ‘Good. Now what can I do for yer, Miss Appleton?’

  ‘Please call me Victoria.’ She hesitated for a minute. ‘I don’t really want anything; I just came down to see if you were all right.’

  ‘Ah, now that’s mighty kind of yer, and I frightened the living daylights out of yer. Next time, can yer bring a brew wiv yer, only it saves me climbing the apples and pears.’

  Victoria stared at him for a minute, repeating the words apples and pears under her breath a few times. ‘Stairs.’

  Albert chuckled. ‘Yer learning, well done.’

  Victoria beamed at the praise. ‘I’ll make sure I bring you a cuppa next time.’ She looked around the basement. There wasn’t a surface that didn’t have a pile of books on it, including the floor. ‘Don’t you get lonely down here?’

  ‘Nah, yer’ll be surprised ’ow many people come down to say ’ello, and that’s nice. I get to ’ear all the gossip too.’

  Victoria laughed. ‘There was I, thinking you probably got fed up down here.’

  ‘What, wiv all these books?’ Albert waved his arms around. ‘Yer kidding, right.’

  The basement door creaked open. ‘Albert, I’m just gonna leave me shopping down ’ere, so mind you don’t fall over it.’

  Victoria took a step towards the door, but only in time to see it slowly closing. She looked back at Albert with raised eyebrows.

  ‘They ain’t doing no ’arm.’ Albert shuffled from one foot to the other. ‘It’s always colder down ’ere, so it makes sense for the girls to leave their bits and pieces wiv me.’ He smiled. ‘No ’arm in it.’

  Victoria picked up the bag. ‘Does it happen every day?’

  Albert lowered his eyes. ‘No.’

  Victoria tilted her head to one side, trying hard to look like a manager who had discovered something of great importance.

  Albert looked at her, sheepishly. ‘All right, I’m not a grass yer know, and I don’t want them girls getting in to trouble, but it ’appens most days.’

  Victoria’s laughter bubbled to the surface. ‘You’re not in trouble, Albert, but just be careful you don’t fall over them.’ She looked around her. ‘Perhaps we need to find somewhere safe to put the shopping bags, so there are no accidents.’

  Albert busied himself, leafing through books, before dusting the covers. Particles floated up, as they were disturbed. He cleared his throat. Stale tobacco and smoke wafted around him, with the dust. He picked up the next book and studied the cover for a moment. ‘Someone’s gonna love this, come Christmas.’ He smiled, showing his pink gums where his teeth once stood, before turning the book to face Victoria.

  The cover showed Father Christmas, with his long grey beard and wearing his red, fur-trimmed coat and hat, hanging a small doll above the fireplace. Victoria took the book, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, from Albert. Her smile came readily to her face, as she looked at the little girl, asleep in her bed, oblivious of her visitor. ‘What a beautiful cover.’

  The old man grinned. ‘It’s very Christmassy, that’s for sure.’

  Victoria opened the cover and read the first few lines
of chapter one. ‘I might buy this myself, when we get paid.’ She flicked through the book, past something caught in the spine. She tried to turn the pages back but couldn’t find the right place. Perhaps it had been a trick of the light. She shook her head, before handing the book back to Albert.

  He picked up his duster and ran it over the cover. ‘Would you like me to hang onto it down here, so nobody else buys it?’ He didn’t look up as he shook the book and flicked the pages. What looked like a postcard, fell onto the table.

  ‘I thought I saw something tucked inside, but I couldn’t find it again.’ Victoria spoke with relief. ‘I thought I’d imagined it.’

  Albert picked it up and studied the seaside scene, before passing it to Victoria. She turned it over, but there was nothing written on the back, indicating who it might belong to. ‘This must have been a keepsake, because it hasn’t been written on.’ She turned it back over. The black and white picture was of a pier with a pavilion. It could have been anywhere, yet it looked familiar to her. She held out the postcard for Albert to take.

  ‘I don’t want it; it’ll just go in the bin. It’s only the books I’m interested in, nuffing else.’

  Victoria frowned as she looked down at it. ‘I might hold on to it, then.’

  Albert nodded. ‘And the book?’ He held the book up, for her to see.

  ‘Oh yes, sorry, I’ll definitely get that at the end of the week.’ Victoria smiled at Albert. ‘I couldn’t do your job; I’d want to buy everything, or I’d sit here reading all day.’ She chuckled to herself. ‘They’ve chosen the right person for the job.’

  Albert beamed at Victoria. ‘Thank you, miss.’

  Victoria blushed and quickly turned away. ‘I suppose I should go back upstairs and do some work, before Mr Leadbetter comes looking for me.’

  Albert had already moved on to dusting his next book. ‘Very well, but don’t forget the brew next time yer visit, and I’ll save yer book for you.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Victoria took the couple of steps to the basement door. A smile came readily as she noticed a couple more shopping bags had been placed just inside the doorway, though she didn’t recall hearing anyone. The door was ajar and Victoria pulled at it. The light from the basement lit the stairs. She ran up them, as quickly as she could, trying to remember to look ladylike in the process. Her breathing was heavy when she pushed open the door at the top, into the staff area.

  Startled, Alice looked round. ‘Thank goodness, I’ve been looking for you.’

  Victoria’s eyes widened, fear immediately gripping her, tying her stomach into knots. Her heart was pounding in her ears.

  Alice shook her head. ‘Sorry, it’s a work thing, not family.’

  ‘What is it?’ The fear left Victoria, as quickly as it had taken hold. ‘Has something happened? You never leave your counter, unless it’s to go to lunch.’ She looked around her, but there was no one to be seen, except them. She frowned. ‘Is it Mr Leadbetter?’

  ‘No, although I don’t know where he is. One of the new ladies has been upset, this morning.’ Alice paused. ‘I don’t want to get her into trouble, which is why I was looking for you, but she keeps leaving her station. If Mr Leadbetter finds out, she could end up losing her job, and from what I’ve heard, she needs the money.’

  Victoria nodded; that was a worry she could most definitely relate to. ‘Who is it?’

  ‘Edith, the small dark-haired girl who works near Molly. It was her who told me, because she’s covering for her every time she goes missing.’ Alice paused. ‘I hope she’s all right.’

  Victoria ran her damp hands down the sides of her black skirt and took a deep breath. ‘I’ll go and find her; wish me luck.’

  Alice nodded. ‘You don’t need luck; you’ll be fine. I’d better get back to work, before I end up in trouble.’

  Victoria laughed. ‘I’ve never heard of anything less likely to happen.’

  The girls walked out of the staff area together, into the busy bookshop.

  Victoria eyed a young red-eyed assistant walking towards them. She touched Alice’s arm and gave a slight nod.

  Alice followed Victoria’s gaze and nodded back, before pacing back to her counter.

  ‘Edith,’ Victoria called out, waving to the young girl, who didn’t look any older than Daisy.

  Edith stopped in her tracks for a second.

  Victoria beckoned her to come forward, forcing her best smile, to try and reassure the young girl.

  Edith walked slowly towards her.

  Victoria turned around and headed back to the staff area, peering over her shoulder to make sure Edith was following her. She pulled out two chairs. She looked round and Edith was close to tears. ‘Come and take a seat. I don’t wish to pry.’ She paused, her mind jumping from one thing to another. ‘But I can see you’re upset and at Foyles we care for our staff, so if there is anything we… I can do, then I’m here for you.’

  Tears flowed down Edith’s face. An unladylike sniff filled the space between them.

  Victoria placed her hand on Edith’s. ‘You… you haven’t lost a loved one, have you?’

  Edith shook her head vigorously, her brown curls swaying with the movement.

  Victoria squeezed Edith’s hand, wondering what it could be that would get her into such a state. ‘Surely, whatever it is can’t be that bad, can it?’ Aware lunchtime was looming, she looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody was coming in. ‘Is it something you can talk to your mother about?’

  Edith gulped for air. ‘No, she’d kill me.’

  Realisation dawned on Victoria. How many times had she asked Molly, but did she dare to ask this young girl? She shook her head and took a deep breath. ‘Are you pregnant?’

  Edith nodded. ‘I think so.’ She swiped her fingers across her face. ‘I don’t know for sure, but I keep being sick.’

  Victoria felt helpless to deal with this situation. ‘Have you told the father?’

  Edith shook her head and a fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks. ‘He’s away fighting somewhere; I don’t even know if he’ll come back.’

  Victoria wrapped her arms around Edith. Her shoulders shuddered under the embrace. ‘You need to tell your mother; if you are pregnant, it’s going to be obvious pretty soon, so you might as well get it over and done with.’ She pulled back from Edith. ‘Is there anyone who can be with you, when you tell her?’

  No words came, just a shake of her head.

  ‘Your mother may take the news better than you think.’ Victoria paused. ‘I could come with you, but it might make matters worse.’

  Edith looked up. For a moment, hope was shining bright in her eyes, before her tears washed it away. ‘I’m not giving my baby up, I’m not.’

  Victoria pulled Edith in tight, trying to give her comfort. ‘I think you need to go home and talk it out with your family.’ She pulled away from the frail girl. ‘We’ll still be here tomorrow, and I promise I will not tell a soul, until you want me to.’

  Edith nodded, once again wiping away the tear trails with her fingers.

  Laughter erupted from the doorway. Victoria and Edith both sat in silence as they looked over, but no one was there.

  ‘The staff will be coming in for lunch shortly.’ Victoria glanced back to the doorway, before returning her attention back to Edith. ‘Go on, get yourself home and we’ll speak tomorrow, if you want to.’

  Edith stood up. ‘Thank you.’

  *

  It had been a busy day at Foyles, and Victoria wasn’t sure her legs would hold her upright as she pushed a wooden trolley along Mary Ward at Endell Street Hospital. Her brows knitted together as she tried to remember when she’d last had a letter from Ted; the last one was worn from being taken out of the envelope so many times. Her daily letters weren’t being returned to her, so that gave her hope everything was all right. She couldn’t help wondering if he had changed his mind about her. The trolley wheels gave intermittent squeaks as they turned, bringing her mind back to the ta
sk at hand. Every available windowsill had a vase of flowers sitting on it. The colours brightened the ward, while the perfume mingled with disinfectant and antiseptic. There wasn’t an empty bed to be had. She wondered how to approach the men lying so still in their beds, their white sheets still crisp, as though they hadn’t moved all day. She heard groans from the far end of the ward. Could she get them interested in a newspaper or a book? The evening light was beginning to fade and lamps were slowly being switched on, casting shadows on the green walls. Nurses and doctors stopped at beds, examining the patients, giving words of encouragement to them, but mumbling to each other as they walked away. Victoria watched, in awe of what they were doing.

  ‘Is everything all right here?’

  Victoria jumped at the sister’s voice, booming in her ears. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Gripping the trolley, she pushed it forward, stopping at the foot of the next bed. Victoria cleared her throat and pushed her damp palms down the sides of her black skirt. When she finally found her voice, it was no more than a whisper. ‘Can I interest you in a book or newspaper?’

  The man in the bed turned his head to face her but said nothing.

  She couldn’t help staring at his short dark hair and pale unshaven features, against the white pillows.

  ‘I know you’re staring at me; have you never seen an injured man before?’ He attempted to lift his arm but couldn’t. ‘Damn it.’

  Opposite, a group of men cheered as they played cards, causing others to gather around the bed. The springs of the mattresses joined in, as the men bounced up and down in their excitement.

  Their laughter gave Victoria courage. ‘I…’ She pulled back her shoulders and lifted her chin. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare, and I just wanted to know whether you would like something to read.’

  The man in the bed frowned. ‘Are you talking to me?’

  Victoria’s lips tightened for a moment. ‘Yes, I am, and I’m sure there’s no reason to be so rude.’