Christmas at the Foyles Bookshop (The Foyles Girls)

by Elaine Roberts

  The nurse followed Victoria’s gaze. ‘It is.’ She looked back at Victoria. ‘The twigs are a good idea; it’s up to you whether you use them here, or at Foyles.’

  Victoria nodded and put the bag down. She loosened her scarf from around her neck and undid the buttons of her coat.

  The nurse looked down at some paperwork on the nearby desk, before looking back at Victoria. ‘Are you the one that’s been helping Corporal Marsden, in bed twenty-five?’

  Victoria nodded.

  ‘Well, you’ll be pleased to know, things appear to have moved forward for him.’

  Victoria took off her coat and hung it up. ‘Really.’

  The nurse smiled. ‘He’s had his bandages removed today, and it seems he has some vision there, so everyone was absolutely thrilled with that news.’

  Victoria was swamped with excitement, her face beaming, as she took in the news. ‘That’s wonderful.’ Anxiety immediately trampled on her excitement. She wrapped her arms around herself. ‘Do… do you know how much he can see?’

  The smile faded from the nurse’s face, as she studied Victoria. ‘Do you want to sit down? You look very pale and I don’t want you passing out.’

  Victoria shook her head, fidgeting from one foot to the other. ‘I’m fine; it’s just he was convinced he was never going to be able to see again, so it must have been a shock for him.’

  The nurse laughed. ‘I think it was a shock for him, but he’s very happy about it, and that’s putting it mildly.’

  Victoria forced a smile. ‘How much can he see? I mean, does he have his full sight back?’

  The nurse shook her head. ‘No, he doesn’t. He can only see blurred shapes and colours at the moment, but the doctors are convinced it’s a good sign. He could have full sight eventually, or as good as.’

  ‘That’s wonderful news.’ Victoria smiled, but fear ran down her spine. Shaking her head, she couldn’t help but wonder how she always managed to make a mess of things.

  ‘I’ll speak to you later.’ The nurse picked up a metal tray. ‘I have some dressings to change.’

  Victoria watched her march down the ward, but her mind was full of what she could do about Ted. What had she told Molly, when she was going through her own anxieties about Andrew? Be honest, ask the questions and stop running away from the love you feel. The urge to giggle hysterically bubbled inside her. Hah, she was no different to Molly, she owed her friend an apology. It was easier to say, than to do. Well, Victoria, it’s time to practise what you preach. She pulled back her shoulders and walked slowly down the ward.

  ‘Hello, beautiful.’ A soldier smiled as she came up to his bed.

  ‘Hello, sir, I suspect you’re feeling better today?’

  The soldier laughed, and with trepidation, Victoria carried on to bed twenty-five. She slowed down and watched Ted from a safe distance, sitting in his chair. He looked different without the bandages wrapped around his head. His face was more tanned and weatherworn than she had first realised, and his dark hair looked longer. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she knew she had to be honest with him. He looked deep in thought. Was he thinking about his future? Did it include her? Or was he thinking of all the soldiers that had been injured or killed beside him, on the front line. Her thoughts immediately went to Stephen. She shook her head; she would not let the devil into her mind. Her brother had to be alive; he just had to be. She stepped forward to bed twenty-five. ‘Hello, Corporal.’

  Ted smiled. ‘Hello, I recognise your voice. I’ve missed you telling me off.’

  Victoria laughed. ‘It was meant to encourage you to think positive and get out of bed.’ She patted down the edge of the bed. ‘Since I’ve been coming here, I’ve realised I wouldn’t make a very good nurse. Anyway, I hear it’s good news.’

  Ted smiled. ‘Yes, they think I’ll get my sight back, which means I can start thinking about the future again.’

  Victoria clenched her hands against her white overall. ‘Good, that probably means I need to move on to another unsuspecting soldier.’

  ‘No, wait.’ Ted reached out to touch Victoria’s arm, but missed it. He slammed his hand down on his leg.

  ‘Stop it, be patient. It will all come together, you’ll see.’ Victoria reached out and held Ted’s hand, giving it a squeeze. She moved to pull away, but he clasped it tight with his own.

  ‘I want you to do something for me.’

  Victoria leant forward. ‘What?’

  ‘I want you to contact someone for me; her name’s Victoria.’ Ted let go of Victoria’s hand and felt his way to a drawer in his bedside table. ‘She’s the love of my life, but I’ve never been there for her.’ He opened the drawer and pulled out several letters.

  Victoria recognised her handwriting.

  Ted tried to grab some more, but dropped a couple on the floor. ‘I’ve tried to keep all her letters.’ He waved them around, as evidence. ‘I messed up once, several years ago, and when I say messed up, I mean really messed up, but I can’t do it again.’ He paused and pulled the envelopes up to his nose. ‘I swear I can still smell her on these.’ He dropped his arms, allowing the letters to fall onto his lap. ‘Please help me find her. I should have done it before, instead of being a coward.’

  Victoria felt the tears pricking her eyes. ‘You weren’t a coward. You were just frightened, which was understandable.’

  Ted shook his head. ‘She lives in Percy Street; will you tell Victoria I’m here?’

  Now. Now. A voice shouted in her head. Come clean tell him you’ve been through this journey with him, and love him more than ever, but her voice stayed silent.

  ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you.’

  Tension sat between them for a few minutes. Victoria wrung her hands on her lap. Ted was older than she remembered, but then it was seven years ago. They had all been through tough times, albeit in different ways.

  Victoria took a deep breath. ‘Look, there’s something I need to tell you.’

  *

  Molly stood outside Foyles Bookshop in Charing Cross Road, staring at the Christmas display she and Victoria had put together the previous day, oblivious to the cars spluttering along the road and the cartwheels squelching along the street. There had been a light flurry of snow overnight, which the wheels had turned to slush, but it sat untouched on the window ledge, framing the window display. They had kept to the traditional Christmas colours, with baubles hanging from every available space, glinting in the lights hanging from the ceiling. Some hung, rather precariously, from the paper chains loop. The window display was at odds with the dull grey day.

  ‘You and Miss Appleton did a good job; it was probably time we updated some of the decorations.’

  Molly looked over her shoulder and smiled. ‘Thank you, Mr Leadbetter; you did wonders, getting hold of the Christmas tree. It does give the window that extra special feel, and you can smell the pine inside the shop. It was most enjoyable decorating it, and we tried to make the best of what we had.’

  ‘I like the books under the tree, tied with red and green ribbons. The idea of giving books for Christmas has to be a good thing. The candles remind everyone it’s a religious festival, but we just need to remember not to light them, otherwise we’ll all go up in smoke.’

  Molly giggled, as she scanned the display for improvements. ‘I’m sure no one would be that silly, Mr Leadbetter, not even me. I noticed, when we were looking at the Christmas decorations, that there was a Father Christmas outfit in the cupboard.’

  ‘If you’re going to ask me to dress up as Father Christmas, then I’m afraid the answer is no.’ Mr Leadbetter chuckled. ‘I haven’t done that for a few years; in fact, I forgot that outfit was in there.’

  ‘Well, it looked in very good condition.’ She paused and bit her bottom lip, before looking up at her manager. ‘If you have no desire to do it, can I ask my husband, Andrew? He could set up in the children’s section, and we could give each child the gift of reading a good book.’


  Mr Leadbetter thought for a moment. ‘Why not? I’m sure the owners will agree to it.’ He chuckled. ‘After all, we have more books than we could sell, even if we were here for a hundred years.’

  Molly beamed up at him, flinging her arms around him.

  ‘I’m sorry I’m late, Mr Leadbetter.’ Victoria rushed forward, almost colliding with Molly, as she stepped back.

  Molly and Mr Leadbetter swung round at the same time and eyed her flushed face, on this cold morning. ‘Is everything all right?’ They spoke as one.

  Mr Leadbetter glanced from Victoria to Molly.

  Molly looked sheepishly at Mr Leadbetter, before lowering her eyes, to scan the snow-covered pavement. ‘Sorry, sir.’

  He returned his attention back to Victoria. ‘Are you all right?’

  Victoria gasped; thick grey clouds of her breath filled the air between them. ‘Alice, Mrs Leybourne, has gone into labour, sir.’

  Molly jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hands. ‘Oh goodness, it won’t be long then, before we know whether little Arthur has a brother or a sister.’

  Mr Leadbetter smiled. ‘I can see I’m not going to get much out of you two today.’ He pulled out his fob watch and pressed the small gold button on the side, to allow the lid to flip open. ‘I take it Mrs Leybourne isn’t on her own.’

  Victoria shook her head. ‘No, sir, she has all her family with her this time, and of course Mrs Headley, the housekeeper, who is a godsend and part of the family.’

  Mr Leadbetter shut the lid of his watch and tucked it back into his waistcoat pocket. ‘Well, if we’re not too busy today, you can both go at lunchtime, but first, I need to see how things go.’

  Molly grabbed Victoria’s hand and squeezed it. ‘It’s a shame Alice couldn’t have hung on for a couple of weeks; it would have been a Christmas baby. I wonder what they’ll call it.’

  Victoria laughed, doing her best to ignore the wanting she had, to be married with children. ‘We’ll know soon enough.’ She pulled open a shopping bag. ‘I picked up some twigs to help decorate the hospital, but they have no need for them, so I wondered if we could use them; perhaps tie some ribbon around a few branches.’

  Molly turned back to the window display. ‘That’s an excellent idea. Don’t they decorate the hospital, then?’

  Victoria raised her eyebrows. ‘The wards look magnificent, so beautiful, and they had carol singers singing my favourite hymn, “Silent Night”.’

  Mr Leadbetter smiled, as he turned his back on the girls. ‘Come on you two, otherwise you’ll be going home before you’ve even started.’ He peered over his shoulder at them. ‘I wouldn’t like to say which was my favourite carol. I do like “Once in Royal David’s City” and “O Come All Ye Faithful”, oh and mustn’t forget “Hark The Herald Angels Sing”.’ He chuckled. ‘As I said, I would find it hard to pick just one.’

  Victoria and Molly followed Mr Leadbetter into the shop, each stamping the snow off their shoes.

  ‘Mr Leadbetter, sir,’ Victoria bit down on her bottom lip, for a second, ‘I wondered whether it would be possible to donate some of the books as presents to the soldiers, either on the front line or at some of the London hospitals.’ Her words jumped over themselves, to escape. ‘Only, some of the men have nothing, and it might lift their spirits a little.’

  Mr Leadbetter roared with laughter. ‘You two have been busy thinking up ways to spread good cheer.’ He shook his head, as his laughter gradually subsided. ‘It’s a lovely idea; I think the hospitals will be easier for us to do, at this late stage. I’ll speak to the owners, but I feel sure they will agree to it.’

  Victoria beamed. ‘Thank you, sir. I feel sure it will make a difference to them.’

  Molly nodded. ‘That’s a great idea. Shall we start gathering some books together, and maybe after work, we could wrap them, ready for delivery.’

  Mr Leadbetter replied, ‘I admire your enthusiasm, but I think there will be too many to wrap.’

  Victoria was thankful that, in the excitement, Molly hadn’t noticed how tired she looked, or asked why she had gone round to Alice’s home, before work. Victoria had tossed and turned all night, going over her conversation with Ted the previous evening. She groaned. It took two to have a conversation, but he had been silent the whole time she had been confessing to not saying who she was from the beginning. Even when she had tried to explain that she was there to help him, still he remained silent, and if he’d known it was her, she felt sure he would have had her removed. Exhaustion came over her in waves, and she still had the day to get through.

  ‘Miss Appleton?’ A small, thin lady marched over to Victoria.

  Victoria turned and forced her best customer smile to her lips. ‘Yes, can I help you?’

  ‘Thank goodness.’ The lady took a breath. ‘I just wanted to come in and thank you, admittedly a little late, for talking some sense into my Edith.’

  ‘Ahh, you’re Edith’s mother. How is she?’

  The lady beamed. ‘Well, that’s why I’m here; she’s now a mother, and I’m a grandmother to a beautiful little girl.’

  Without thinking, Victoria wrapped her arms around the woman and squeezed her tight. ‘That’s wonderful news. Is Edith all right?’

  Edith’s mother smiled. ‘She’s a natural. I’m so proud of her, although I don’t know how we’ll manage with another mouth to feed, but we don’t need to worry about that, just yet.’

  Victoria shook her head. ‘I wouldn’t let worry spoil what you have, right now; something will turn up. Tell Edith to come and see us when she’s ready to return to work; we might be able to find something for her. I can’t make any promises, but you never know, things have a habit of working themselves out, sometimes.’

  The lady gave a little smile. ‘Edith wanted me to come in and let you know what she had, and to thank you for all your kindness. She told me she was in a right old state, when you calmed her down.’

  Victoria nodded. ‘Things are never as bad as we think they are, when we’re in the moment. I’m absolutely thrilled it all worked out for you both.’

  ‘I know this is a cheeky question, but Edith asked me to find out what your Christian name is.’ The woman leant in slightly. ‘I think she wants to name the baby after you.’

  Victoria’s cheeks immediately flushed. ‘Oh no, please don’t do that.’

  The woman raised her eyebrows, as she waited for an explanation.

  ‘My name is Victoria. My mother always said I was named after our great queen, because she was a symbol for all women, but sometimes I get called Vic or Vicky, and I hate it.’

  Edith’s mother chuckled. ‘Well, that’s not so bad; I wondered what you were going to say. I’ll pass on the shortened names, as well as the full name, and I’ll let Edith decide. I have to say though, I quite like the idea of the little one being named after such a great queen, and a wonderfully kind person, like yourself.’

  Guilt flooded Victoria’s veins. She wasn’t a nice person; look what she had done to Ted and her grandfather. She forced a smile. ‘Please give Edith our love and, when she’s able to, tell her to bring the baby in to see us.’

  *

  Molly and Victoria walked up and down the aisles, in between the shelving, stacked high with books. Molly looked from side to side. ‘Where do we start?’

  Victoria shrugged. ‘I’m trying to decide whether we should take the books from the basement, or the shop itself.’

  Molly reached up to move a book, and dust particles burst into the air. ‘These don’t look like they’ve been dusted in a while. Old Leadbetter would go mad, if he saw this.’

  ‘Old Leadbetter would go mad if he saw what?’ The familiar deep voice came from behind Molly.

  Molly shook her head. ‘It’s about time I learnt, Mr Leadbetter. You’re always close by, when I’m saying or doing something wrong.’

  ‘It’s about time you learnt to behave yourself then, but I suppose you wouldn’t be the person you are, if that was the
case.’

  Molly turned around to face him. ‘That’s true, but I’m not a child anymore either.’ She peered back over her shoulder, at the books on the shelves. ‘It doesn’t look they have been dusted for some time.’

  Mr Leadbetter followed her lead. ‘It’s not good, but not surprising really. We are so short staffed these days; we can’t compete with the wages that the factories pay. Anyway, I came to ask you to take up Mrs Leybourne’s position today, or at least until I find someone I can trust, to do it permanently.’

  Molly nodded. ‘What about my counter in the children’s section?’

  Mr Leadbetter’s lips tweaked at the corners. ‘Mrs Leybourne’s position is important, because most of the time she can see the door, and down some of the aisles. It’s also the busiest counter in the shop, excluding the payment booth. You are only in the children’s section because you expressed a desire to bring books into their lives, which is to be rewarded, but you are capable of so much more.’

  Colour flooded Molly’s cheeks. ‘Thank you, Mr Leadbetter. I’m not sure I deserve your kind words, but I love it at Foyles and I will always work hard for you and the Foyle family.’

  Mr Leadbetter nodded, before turning to see Victoria pulling books off the shelves, running a rag over them as she went, and dropping them into a box. ‘Miss Appleton, are these books for the hospitals?’

  Victoria jumped at the sound of her name. She stopped what she was doing and wondered if she was about to get into trouble, for starting before permission had been given. Victoria looked round at his grave face, as he bent to pick up a paperback. ‘Yes sir, I know it hasn’t been agreed yet but it won’t be a five-minute job, so I thought I’d make a start.’

  Mr Leadbetter nodded. ‘Hmm, James Joyce.’ He dropped it back into the box and picked up another one. ‘D. H. Lawrence.’ He gazed down into the box, and at the books haphazardly placed in it. ‘Remember to mix it up a little; not all of the patients will be strong readers, and we don’t want to put them off all together. Perhaps look for books that are aimed at older children, and maybe women. Remember, reading is about escaping from our own worries, to another time and place, so try not to put in any war books.’