The Liberty Girls

by Fiona Ford

  ‘All right.’ Jean nodded nervously.

  ‘There’s no need to look so afraid.’ Alice smiled encouragingly at the youngster. ‘Trust me, you’re in safe hands, but you’ve a lot to learn.’

  Flo nodded in agreement. ‘Now, I want you to know everything about this department so you can thrive, but I need you to trust me.’

  ‘I’ll do anything, Mrs Canning.’

  ‘Good. In that case, we’ll start you in the stockroom, familiarising yourself with all the fabrics. Mary will show you.’

  Jean nodded. ‘Very good, Mrs Canning.’

  ‘Before you go, shall we just sort out tonight’s parade?’ Flo said.

  Alice checked her watch; there were five minutes to go before they opened. ‘I think everything is under control. Jean, did you arrange with the women that we would all meet them at the hotel?’

  Jean nodded. ‘That’s right, Mrs Milwood. I said I would meet them at six to set everything up before the event at seven.’

  Alice nodded her approval. ‘Excellent. I’ll bring spare buttons and threads, just in case.’

  ‘And I’ll go on ahead with Jean to sort everything out at the hotel,’ Mary said kindly. ‘That way you don’t have to spend any more time with Joy than you have to.’

  Confusion passed across Flo’s face. ‘What have I missed?’

  ‘I’ll tell you about it properly later,’ Alice replied. ‘Let’s just say Joy has been up to her old tricks and plenty more besides.’

  ‘Oh my days, Alice,’ Flo said sympathetically. ‘You do whatever you need to do then.’

  Alice smiled gratefully at her friend. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Now, is there anything else we need to organise? I take it Betty knows where she’s going tonight?’

  ‘Yes, I’ve confirmed everything with her, Mrs Canning,’ Jean explained. ‘She will meet Mr Button at the hotel, but there is just one more thing I wanted to tell you.’

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘I’ve agreed to see Mrs Claremont for a cuppa next week. There are a few bits she left in the staffroom and I offered to get them to her. I know she behaved dishonourably, and I don’t want you thinking I agree with what she did, but … well … this has all been a bit out of character for her.’

  Alice nodded in understanding. ‘That’s very good of you, Jean.’

  ‘Is she all right?’ Flo asked quietly. ‘Mrs Claremont, I mean?’

  ‘She’s all right. A bit shell-shocked, I think. It was well known in gifts how she hard she worked, and she expected the same from everyone else. A lot of the girls hated her for it, but I always felt sorry for her. I suppose that’s why she took me under her wing a bit, because I never took any of the things she said to heart.’

  ‘Why did you feel sorry for her though?’ Alice quizzed in hushed tones as the shop’s door was thrown open to the public.

  ‘Rumour was that she’d been shunned by her family and friends many years ago. Even her own kids didn’t want anything to do with her. Liberty’s was her life; she gave it everything she had,’ Jean said with a sigh. ‘I knew what it was like to want to create something of your own, so I suppose I cut her a lot of slack where some of the other girls couldn’t.’

  ‘That was kind of you,’ Flo said gently.

  ‘I don’t know about kind.’ Jean’s voice was sad. ‘I just felt that she was someone that would blossom if you gave her a bit of kindness. I knew she had the good of the store at heart. But when I moved across to fabrics I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – such cruelty. She was never so mean in gifts. The lies, the deception, the ambition in taking your job, Mrs Canning, and the way she always tried to do you down, Mrs Milwood. I had never seen her that way – it was like she was possessed. It was why I had to speak up, Mrs Milwood, you know, about the sales dockets she told me to get rid of. I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know what else to do.’

  ‘You did just the right thing,’ Flo said soothingly. ‘Don’t worry about it any more.’

  As Flo snapped her notebook shut and stuffed it into her pocket, the first thrum of shoppers shuffled through the store.

  ’Just one final thing,’ Flo called as Jean turned away.

  ‘Yes?’ Jean replied cautiously.

  ‘There’s no Miss or Mrs in this department. We’re all on first names here.’

  ‘All right, Flo,’ Jean replied hesitantly.

  ‘Good. We’ll make a proper fabric girl out of you yet, Jean!’

  As Jean smiled, Alice felt a flush of pride. Her personal life might be in disarray, but now she was back in fabrics where she belonged with a new girl to nurture and train, she felt as if things were finally slotting back into place.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  As Alice got off the bus and walked along the road towards Mayfair House, she felt a sudden chill, despite the warmth of the evening and the flowers and shrubs out in full bloom. It wasn’t lost on her how she had walked up this road twenty-four hours ago, unaware her world was about to be obliterated.

  Now, with every step, the roar of her heartbeat became louder in her ears as she fretted over what she might find tonight if she saw Luke or Joy. Taking a deep breath, she told herself to calm down. After all, she had no idea if either of them would be there, although she imagined it was certainly possible given Luke was helping with odd jobs around the hotel and Joy was a waitress in the restaurant.

  Still, she thought, she had nothing to be ashamed of and she refused to be pushed into a corner because of the actions of others. As her heels clacked across the pavement, she found her thoughts straying to Jack. Since their kiss, Alice had done her best not to think about him, telling herself that no good would come from picturing his face or allowing herself to wonder what he might be doing with his days. He had no place in her life, she had told herself sternly. Her loyalties and her priorities had to lie with her husband. Yet despite what she had told herself, Alice had ached for him. She missed the way he understood everything she said without question, and the way he talked with such love about his life at home and of course his son. He was honest, Alice realised, honest and straightforward, and that had never seemed more attractive. In that moment she couldn’t resist bringing Jack to mind. With a sharp clarity, she realised that just the image of him gave her the strength to face whatever lay ahead.

  Alice was just allowing herself to wallow for the first time in weeks in memories of Jack when she became aware of a sharp, acrid smell filling her nostrils. Nearing the hotel, she looked upwards and was astonished to see plumes of thick grey smoke filling the air. She narrowed her eyes to try and make sense of it. For all the world it looked as though there had been a raid, but she hadn’t heard the tell-tale wail of Moaning Minnie, and strangely there were people everywhere. In fact, she suddenly noticed there seemed to be more people on the street than usual as they ran away from the smoke.

  Whirling around to try and ask someone what was going on, she suddenly saw Hilda from the sewing nights and hurried towards her. ‘Hilda!’ she shouted. ‘Are you all right? What’s going on?’

  ‘Oh Alice,’ Hilda replied breathlessly. ‘It’s terrible. The hotel’s on fire.’

  ‘What?’ Alice gasped. ‘When? Are you hurt? What’s happened?’

  ‘I don’t know any more than that,’ Hilda said shakily. ‘Mr Button told everyone to meet in the café on the corner of this road. He said we could do a head count there and try to work out what’s what.’

  ‘Is it bad?’

  Hilda nodded. ‘I ain’t seen nothing like it in any of the raids I’ve been in.’

  With that Hilda ran off, leaving Alice with the taste of fear in her mouth. What about Arthur? Dot had him. What if he was hurt? Quickly she pushed through the throngs of people coming towards her and turned into the road that led to the hotel. Reaching the end she gasped in horror, unable to believe what she was seeing. The once beautiful building was now a towering inferno with flames soaring from every window. Thick black smoke was everywhere, covering the ho
tel like a shroud, while all around her the sounds of screaming reverberated as people desperately tried to scramble for safety.

  Alice felt panic rise. Arthur would have been at the hotel with Dot. Frantically she looked around for anyone she recognised, her pulse racing. She couldn’t bear the thought of a world without her son in it. Just at the moment Alice thought she was about to collapse in shock, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Whirling round, she came face-to-face with a calm-looking Dot clutching a tear-streaked Arthur.

  ‘Oh my baby,’ she wept with relief as Dot pressed him into her arms. ‘I thought you were dead. Oh Arthur.’

  With that she squeezed her son so tight he started to cry again, which made Alice hug him ever tighter. ‘I thought I’d lost him,’ she sobbed.

  She felt Dot place an arm around them both. ‘The place was already on fire when me, Edwin and the girls arrived,’ Dot explained as she guided Alice back to safety on the other side of the road.

  ‘So everyone is safe?

  Dot nodded. ‘Look,’ she said, gesturing to Flo, Mary, Jean, Mr Button and Betty Fawcett, who were talking to the civil defence teams to try and work out how they could help.

  Another wave of relief swept across Alice as she realised how much worse this could have been, but then a nasty thought jolted her from within – not everyone was accounted for.

  ‘Where’s Luke? And what about Joy and Rose?’ she demanded.

  Dot clamped her arm firmly around Alice’s shoulders. ‘Rose is with Malcolm over by the first-aiders,’ she said, gesturing to the twosome in the corner. ‘But as for Luke and Joy, I have to admit I haven’t seen them.’

  Helplessness exploded inside Alice. She had to do something. ‘Can you hold Arthur?’ she begged.

  ‘Why?’ Dot asked, perplexed, as Alice bundled her son back into Dot’s arms.

  ‘Because I need to find Luke and Joy.’

  ‘Alice, don’t be so daft!’ Dot called after her, but Alice drowned out the sound of her landlady’s pleas. She had to find out where her sister and husband were. No matter what had gone on between them, they were a part of her life, her family and her history – she had to know.

  Once again she pushed through the crowds fleeing the hotel. As she neared the entrance, the heat from the flames soaked her face with sweat. She saw a team of volunteers frantically working to put out the blaze with stirrup pumps, yet the water they were throwing over the flames seemed to be having little effect.

  ‘Scuse me, miss,’ a voice boomed in her ear. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

  ‘I need to find my family!’

  ‘You’re going nowhere, love,’ the fireman said firmly. ‘Now I need you to get back to the other side of the street please.’

  ‘No – just wait a minute,’ Alice wailed, but the fireman wasn’t interested; he was shoving her back across the road.

  Just then she felt a tug on her sleeve. Turning round she came face-to-face with Luke, smeared with soot and with a torn jacket. She flung her arms around him. ‘Thank God. You’re all right. Have you seen Joy?’

  ‘No,’ Luke replied stiffly as he pulled away.

  The feelings of relief Alice had been enjoying just seconds earlier evaporated as quickly as the puffs of smoke emanating from the hotel. ‘What, not today? Not at all? When, Luke?’

  Luke shrugged, looking uncomfortable. ‘I don’t know Alice. Not since last night.’

  ‘Well, haven’t you tried to look for her?’ Alice spluttered in disbelief. ‘She’s your sister-in-law and someone you’re quite fond of if last night’s anything to go by!’

  A flicker of what looked like guilt passed across his face. Looking down at his feet she saw his kit bag, which appeared to be stuffed full.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she asked crisply.

  ‘Nothing,’ Luke said, hoisting his bag on to his shoulder. ‘Look, Alice, I’m sorry but I’ve got to go.’

  ‘Without helping?’ Alice cried. ‘There’s a fire ripping through the hotel! You’re a serviceman, Luke. It’s your duty to go in there and help.’

  ‘I’m not going back in there,’ Luke scoffed, ‘I’ve only just got out.’

  ‘But what about Joy?’ Alice begged again. ‘Luke, you’ve got to help me find her.’

  But to her amazement Luke shook his head, his caramel eyes failing to meet her blue ones. ‘I can’t, Alice. I can’t climb the stairs to help – my leg … I’m useless.’

  With that he turned on his heel and pushed his way through the crowds. Alice stared at his retreating back in disbelief. If ever she needed more confirmation that the man she had married was long since gone it was there in every step he took away from her.

  As he disappeared she felt a wash of sadness pass over her. The man she had married would have fought his way through the flames, regardless of the state of his health. The man walking away from her now was nothing more than a stranger.

  Regardless of what had happened between her and Joy, she had a duty to find her; Joy was her sister, her family, and that meant something. Glancing up at the building, she shuddered with horror. The blaze was continuing to rip out the heart and lungs from the hotel and she knew it was a fool’s errand to go in there now. Every inch was covered in flames, and debris was flying through the air with all the speed of a fighter aircraft. The best thing to do would be to properly check the crowds. Joy was like a cat with nine lives; there was every chance she was out here somewhere or even in the pub.

  Weaving her way through the throng Alice searched for any sign of her sister. Desperately she checked with other members of staff but nobody knew where she was. Alice refused to give up, but when she turned back to face the hotel Alice felt the knot of fear in her stomach grow ever larger. Survivors were still pouring out of the building as fire officers and volunteers braved the flames to bring people out alive.

  Suddenly she spotted a shock of blonde hair that looked familiar and she rushed towards the woman. ‘Joy!’ she screamed. ‘Joy! It’s me.’

  But as the woman whirled around it was clear that it wasn’t her sister. ‘Sorry,’ she muttered, ‘I thought you were someone else.’

  As she continued her search Alice couldn’t ignore the panic that was now rising within her. Where was Joy?

  Just then Alice saw a woman stumble out of what was left of the hotel entrance, covered in black soot, clothes torn and ir singed at the ends. The woman looked exhausted as she careered all over the road carrying a lifeless body blindly in her arms. Unable to tear her eyes away from the scene playing out in front of her, Alice’s heart was in her mouth as she recognised the flame-red hair and glasses, one of the lenses cracked and broken.

  ‘Rose,’ she screamed, ‘Rose! What are you doing?’

  But Rose paid her no heed as two firemen took pity on the blind girl and took the body from her arms. As the figure was set down on the pavement, Alice ran towards her friend, then gasped in shock as she realised that the person Rose had rescued from the blaze was none other than Joy.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Alice flew towards the motionless body lying on the crowded pavement. Pushing her way through the throngs of people she eventually reached Rose and Joy’s side and crouched down by them.

  She could tell Joy needed help fast. Her clothes and skin were badly burnt and her once blonde hair was now the colour of a chimney sweep.

  ‘Joy,’ she said, pressing her face close to her sister and listening for the sounds of breathing, only to find there was none. ‘Joy!’ she tried again, but still her sister remained still.

  Cold fear gripped her heart as she stole a glance at Rose. She could see Rose, bruised, with cuts on her face and a dress that was badly ripped, needed medical help.

  ‘Rose, are you all right?’ she asked quietly, but Rose didn’t answer. Instead she took the broken glasses from her nose, wiped the soot from her mouth and shouldered Alice out of the way. Bending over Joy, Rose began the resuscitation procedure they had all been taught at the first-aid nights. />
  In that moment Alice adored her friend for all she had done for her sister, recognising that it had been pure love that had powered Rose through the flames to try and save Joy. Yet Alice could also see that her heroic attempts had left Rose with barely any strength, she needed medical attention herself and it was time for someone else to help Joy.

  ‘Let me,’ she said, laying a hand gently on her forearm.

  Alice expected Rose to resist but she didn’t; instead she let Alice perform the vital mouth to mouth. As Alice’s breath flowed from her mouth into her sister’s she prayed that no matter what had gone on between them she could give Joy the life force she so badly needed. Despite their differences they were connected through blood and history, and Alice wasn’t ready to say goodbye – not yet.

  Yet no matter how hard Alice breathed or how hard she pumped Rose’s chest, she could see that her efforts were useless.

  ‘Come on, Joy,’ she urged as she pounded her sister’s chest again. ‘Come on!’

  ‘Alice, I think it’s too late,’ Rose said quietly. ‘She wasn’t breathing when I found her.’

  But Alice refused to give up. ‘No!’ she screamed. ‘No! My sister will not die here in this fire.’

  Pressing her lips to her sister’s face again, this time Alice didn’t just blow all the oxygen she could into her sister’s mouth. Now she made sure the heady concoction was filled with love. Letting out a deep exhalation, the life they had shared together flashed before her eyes. The way their mother had died as Joy arrived. Then later the way they had played Knock Down Ginger together and the way their father left, leaving Alice to fill the gap of both parents, the way she had done her best to pour the love they couldn’t straight into her sister’s soul.

  As Alice let the last of the breath out she leaned back, tears spilling down her cheeks, and looked at Joy’s face, willing her to wake up. But she continued to lie still and Alice knew she had failed her sister yet again.