The Shop Girls of Harpers

by Rosie Clarke

  ‘’Cos my Sam told me not to,’ Mabel said and looked guiltily at her husband. ‘Me and my big mouth, Maggie. Sam told me not to tell yer…’

  Maggie raised her head proudly as she looked at Beth. ‘I don’t know if it’s true, Beth, but Muma didn’t tell me she’d got the compensation payment and I don’t think my father knew either…’

  ‘He must ’ave signed it for her to get the money,’ Mabel said and stood with her hands on her hips. ‘I saw her with a new coat and hat the day afore she went off. She made him sign it if you ask me – and that’s not all she did, I’m thinkin’…’

  Beth saw the pain and distress in Maggie’s face. ‘Are you all right here, Maggie? You could come and stay with me for a while…’

  Maggie’s face lit up, but then she shook her head. ‘Your aunt would never agree…’

  ‘I’ll take that risk,’ Beth said. ‘We can share my room and you can pay for your food…’

  ‘Perhaps in a few days…’ Maggie glanced towards her neighbour. ‘I ought to wait to see if my mother comes back…’

  Mabel sniffed but said nothing. Maggie looked so pale that Beth wished she could persuade her to come away with her then. It must be uncomfortable stopping with someone who talked about her mother like that.

  ‘Well, the offer is there,’ Beth said. ‘I shall be glad when you’re back to work, Maggie. We’ve had the junior from the dress department and she’s made mistakes. When I tell her, she sulks. I miss you.’

  Maggie smiled and gave her a quick hug. ‘I’ll come when I hear from my father’s brother. I’ve sent him a telegram and I hope he will come so that we can have the funeral. I’m not old enough to sign the forms and, with my mother missing, I can’t pay for…’ She gave a little sob of despair. ‘I don’t know what to do…’

  ‘You should get your things and come to us,’ Beth said, knowing she risked her aunt’s displeasure but willing to suffer it for Maggie’s sake. ‘You can’t go back there on your own after what happened.’

  Maggie shuddered. ‘I don’t want to…’ she said and lowered her voice. ‘Can I really come to you?’

  ‘Yes – now if you want…’

  ‘I’ll come in a few days if I can,’ Maggie said. ‘Mabel and Sam have been good to me, but Mabel can’t keep me forever, she’s got enough to do with her family…’

  ‘I’d ’ave yer, love,’ Mabel said, ‘but you’ll be better with yer friend…’

  Beth kissed her cheek. ‘I’ll share my room with you,’ she whispered. ‘I’ve got a good double bed. It’s better than staying here and you mustn’t try to live by yourself.’

  ‘Thank you, I shall come,’ Maggie said and hugged her. ‘As long as your aunt doesn’t mind…’

  Aunt Helen pulled a sour face when Beth told her where she’d been and what she’d told her friend.

  ‘You might have asked me first,’ she said in a complaining voice. ‘I hope you’re willing to pay extra for her food and the extra expense of a third person in the house?’

  ‘Maggie will pay for her food and anything she uses,’ Beth said. ‘If you don’t like her, she will find somewhere else to stay, but she is a lovely, polite girl, Aunt Helen. I think you will like her if you give her a chance.’

  ‘Well, I suppose… as long as she pays her way,’ Aunt Helen sniffed. ‘I suppose we can’t refuse the girl a place to stay for a while – especially if her mother has gone missing…’

  ‘Yes, things may change if Mrs Gibbs turns up. Maggie is anxious in case she has had an accident…’ Maggie hadn’t actually said anything of the kind, but Beth wouldn’t tell her aunt what Mabel Jones had implied. If the gossipy neighbour was to be believed, Mrs Gibbs had gone off with her husband’s compensation money and her lover. It sounded awful when said in that casual way, but Beth knew that it could be true. Maggie had told her that a thousand pounds had disappeared and no one had seen anything of her mother since she’d left the previous day.

  ‘My mother didn’t tell me she had the compensation money,’ Maggie had said. ‘She grumbled for ages that the firm hadn’t paid up, but when it came, she didn’t tell me – and I think she’d been drinking when I got home once or twice…’

  ‘You told me she was tired and worried,’ Beth had comforted. ‘Perhaps the money is in the bank and your mother might have gone to stay with relatives or something.’

  ‘She doesn’t have any,’ Maggie had replied. ‘Poppa told me she was brought up in an orphanage and had a terrible time… I just wish she’d left me a note so I knew she was all right.’

  ‘She will come back,’ Beth had told her, though she didn’t quite believe it herself. Why had Mrs Gibbs gone off like that without a word to anyone? She’d kept the compensation a secret from her daughter and there was some mystery about how Mr Gibbs had died. ‘Keep your chin up, love, and come round to me if you’re miserable where you are.’

  Maggie had promised she would. Beth knew her friend wasn’t happy staying with her neighbours but needed to wait for her uncle to turn up and arrange the funeral. She was her father’s nearest relative if her mother was missing, but her uncle would sort all the details out for her – not least who would pay for the funeral. Maggie had no money and she thought there wasn’t much of value in the house. If the compensation money could not be found, Maggie’s uncle would have to pay, at least until his sister-in-law had been found and made to repay him.

  Beth could not understand how Mrs Gibbs could steal her husband’s compensation and run off with another man, if that was what she had in fact done. Surely, she owed a duty of care to both her husband and her daughter to use that money for their benefit.

  What kind of a woman would leave her husband to die in a cold house while she ran off with a thousand pounds of his money? The answer wasn’t pleasant and made Beth feel sorry for her friend’s hurt, because Maggie must have reached a similar conclusion.

  Lying sleepless in her bed, listening to the wind in the eaves and the rattle of some loose boarding somewhere, Beth puzzled over the problem. Maggie had no one to help her other than her father’s brother. Perhaps he would ask her to live with him and his family. Maggie hadn’t seemed to think it was likely and perhaps she didn’t want that anyway. It was no use; Beth couldn’t solve her friend’s problems. She’d offered a bed here and that was all she could do…

  24

  It was another two days before Maggie returned to her job in the department. She was looking tired and her eyes had shadows beneath them, but she gave Beth a wan smile when she walked in and hung up her jacket.

  ‘The police won’t let us have the funeral yet,’ she told Beth when they had a few minutes to talk. ‘My uncle has taken charge of it all and he said I could stay with him if I wanted… he lives out in the suburbs and it would be expensive travelling in every day.’ She hesitated and looked at Beth shyly. ‘May I stay at yours for a while, please? I’m not sure what I want to do, but I don’t much like my aunt or my cousins and my uncle was calling my mother bad names.’

  ‘Of course you can stay with us,’ Beth told her. ‘Aunt Helen is expecting you – she fusses sometimes, but we get on reasonably well. I think you’ll be happy enough once you settle down.’

  ‘Thank you so much,’ Maggie said. ‘I’ve packed my things into two bags I found in the cupboard under the stairs. Uncle Morris will let me know when we can have the funeral. He says Poppa had an insurance that will pay for it – but he says my mother owes me half of the compensation money because Poppa left half of what he owned to me…’

  ‘Your father must have made a will. Do you think your mother knew about it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Maggie replied with a shrug. ‘I don’t care about that money – it won’t bring him back, or her: it’s blood money!’

  ‘Have the police been able to trace her at all?’

  ‘No, they say there is no sign of her,’ Maggie said, ‘but we know that she cashed the cheque a week ago and walked away with all that money tucked into her handbag�
�’

  ‘Why didn’t she put it into a post office account?’ Beth said. ‘I have one. I only have a pound saved so far, but it’s safer than keeping it in your bag or under the bed.’

  ‘I think she was planning to leave,’ Beth said. ‘I asked Mr Jones and he told me it was true that my mother had a fancy man… He worked down the docks, same as my father. Mr Jones thinks she went off with Bill Rumble and that he planned the whole thing to get the money.’

  ‘Did he know how much your father was owed?’

  ‘He was in charge of the payout, because he was one of the men concerned with workers’ rights. He must have known exactly what Poppa had paid in and how much he would get for such crippling injuries.’

  ‘He couldn’t have planned the injury surely?’

  ‘Mr Jones says he could have engineered the accident, and Bill Rumble has disappeared – he didn’t go to work the day my mother went off…’

  Beth looked at her in dismay. ‘That would mean he had planned your father’s death… and to run off with your mother…’

  Maggie nodded, her face pale. ‘Mabel says it’s murder and if the police catch them they will both hang…’

  ‘No!’ Beth cried and her hand went to her throat. ‘That can’t be true, surely?’

  Maggie’s eyes brimmed with tears she struggled to blink away. ‘I knew she didn’t love him and she didn’t want to look after him – but I can’t believe they planned it all right down to the accident.’ She caught back a sob. ‘It’s so awful, Beth. I can’t bear to think about it.’

  ‘Poor you,’ Beth said, feeling dreadful for her friend. ‘Let’s hope your mother has a good explanation for what she’s done…’

  ‘I wouldn’t press charges for my share of the money,’ Maggie said. ‘I’ve never wanted the money and I’d rather have my father back and without the pain – but if they planned to hurt him, they deserve to be punished. My uncle says they’ve conspired to diddle the insurance and Poppa’s firm, as well as him and me…’

  ‘That’s so upsetting for you…’

  ‘I couldn’t wait to be back with you and Mrs Craven…’

  ‘Well, I’m glad you’re back,’ she said and squeezed her hand.

  ‘I don’t know what I’d do without my friends here…’

  Beth nodded, but there was no time to say more because customers had entered the department, and for the rest of the day they were busy serving. At the end of the afternoon, they left together.

  Maggie looked pale and anxious, clearly nervous of her reception, as they boarded the tram to go home, but, to Beth’s surprise, Aunt Helen had tea almost ready and she’d put some flowers out of the garden into Beth’s room just in case Beth brought her friend home.

  ‘Come in, Maggie,’ she said when the girl hovered in the kitchen doorway. ‘Any friend of Beth’s is welcome – and I want you to stay for as long as you like.’

  ‘Thank you so much; it’s very kind of you to have me,’ Maggie said, then, ‘I’m not sure what to call you?’

  ‘Just call me Aunt Helen as Beth does,’ she smiled. ‘You look pale and cold – go closer to the fire and warm yourself through.’

  Beth gave her a grateful look. Aunt Helen nodded her head but didn’t say anything more, leaving Beth to see about supper while she poured from the large brown pot of tea brewing on the table.

  ‘I shall leave you two girls to eat and clear up,’ she said after she’d drunk a cup of tea with them. ‘I’m off to see a customer this evening and I’ll expect you two to be in bed by the time I get back…’

  ‘Will you be late, Aunt? Shall I leave the door on the latch?’ Beth asked.

  ‘No, I’ll take a front door key with me,’ her aunt said. ‘I know I can trust you to do all your chores, Beth.’

  She nodded to Maggie and went off to change her clothes. A little later, they heard the front door shut after her.

  ‘I have some baking to do,’ Beth said when they’d finished eating. ‘Can I leave washing up the supper things to you?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Maggie agreed. ‘I’m glad to have something to do. You must tell me what else needs to be done…’

  ‘There is a carpet sweeper under the stairs,’ Beth said. ‘You just push it and it picks up the bits of cotton in Aunt Helen’s room – but watch out for her needles. They are expensive and she grumbles if I break them…’

  ‘I’ll make sure I pick up anything as I see it,’ Maggie promised. She went to the cupboard in the hall and got the sweeper out and a few minutes later Beth heard her pushing the little machine back and forth.

  Beth cooked the pie for the following day and made some jam tarts. She made more than usual to allow for a third person in the house and then washed the pans she’d used. By the time Maggie returned, they were both ready to go up to bed.

  Maggie looked exhausted, but it was more mental than physical because neither of them had been overworked. Beth decided not to say anything to her friend. Maggie had to get used to her new life and nothing Beth did or said could ease the worries that lodged at the back of her mind; she would just have to live with them until her mother was found and the case was closed…

  Beth and Maggie had both been up early to prepare for work the next Monday morning and they had washed their breakfast plates before Aunt Helen rose and came downstairs.

  ‘The kettle is boiling,’ Maggie told her. ‘I’ve got time to make a pot of tea for you before we leave, if you wish?’

  ‘Get off with you the pair of you,’ Aunt Helen said but smiled at her. ‘You don’t want to be late – and, Maggie, if you’re in charge of a counter now, they should pay you the same wage as Beth gets. You want to speak up for yourself.’

  Beth looked at her as they left the house together and walked to the next street where they could catch a tram that would take them all the way to Oxford Street. It was quicker than the omnibus that Beth sometimes caught in the evenings so they would be in nice and early.

  They were actually some of the first to arrive and Fred was just unlocking the staff entrance. He smiled at them and stopped to chat for a while, telling them he’d had a telegram from his son confirming that he was alive and well.

  ‘Jack is going to stay in America for a few weeks,’ he said happily, ‘and then he’ll work his passage home.’

  ‘It’s wonderful news,’ Maggie said. ‘I’m so pleased for you.’

  The two girls left him to his work and went up to their department, arriving just as Sally came in.

  She hesitated and then approached Maggie, kissing her cheek. ‘I heard about your father, Maggie, I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?’

  ‘I’m staying with Beth’s aunt for the moment,’ Maggie said, ‘and my uncle has taken charge of… everything…’

  ‘Well, I’m here if you need me,’ Sally smiled at them both. ‘You two are early this morning,’ she said. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Beth. You can tell me what you think of the new silver stock – is it as popular as the bangles Miss Harper bought?’

  ‘It depends on the customer,’ Beth replied honestly. ‘I think the older, smarter women prefer the new stock, but some of the younger women like the Mexican silver best.’

  ‘Yes, that makes sense to me – the Mexican bangles were thicker and looked more for your money, but the new ones are finer and the stones are beautifully cut.’ She nodded thoughtfully. ‘I bought some different lines from a new supplier yesterday. Some of the bangles have pink or green enamelling and I’m trying a gate-link bracelet in gold. I’ve only bought half a dozen rose-gold bracelets, but they’re rather lovely.’

  ‘Do you think we shall sell gold here?’ Beth asked, frowning. ‘Might it not be a step too far for our customers?’

  ‘Perhaps – that’s why I’ve only bought a few to try. I got a good deal on the whole package, but I’m not going to sell them cheaply. People will think they’re not real gold if I do that, so I’ll put the full price on them and see what happens.’

  She cr
ossed over to the cabinet and checked the bags. Three of the most expensive skin bags were still there, though the department sold at least one good leather bag most days.

  ‘I think we’ll send the skin bags back to America next time Miss Harper visits,’ Sally said. ‘I don’t think these three will ever sell…’

  ‘I almost sold one the other day,’ Beth said. ‘The customer really wanted it but she couldn’t afford it. She asked if she could leave a deposit and pay so much a week, but I told her we were not allowed to do that, so she said she would come back for it sometime.’

  ‘Well, it’s likely to be a while before Miss Harper returns, so she’ll get her chance.’ Sally smiled at them. ‘They look wonderful on display, but I shall stick to medium-priced leather bags as the bulk of the stock.’

  ‘We have a steady turnover of those,’ Beth agreed and looked at her with interest. ‘Do you enjoy your new job, Miss Ross?’

  ‘You can still call me Sally when we’re alone; I shan’t charge you sixpence to know me,’ Sally said with a cheeky grin. ‘Yes, I do enjoy my job, Beth, the women’s clothing and this department is special to me.’

  Beth nodded. ‘Have you found your new flat yet?’

  ‘Unfortunately not…’ Sally shook her head. ‘Mrs Craven and I are viewing one this evening. It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a sitting room and a bathroom. The first one we saw was much bigger, but they let it to a family rather than two women alone – thought we might not be able to pay the rent.’ She sighed. ‘I have a meeting with Mr Marco in five minutes, so I’d better go…’

  ‘I spoke to him yesterday,’ Beth said. ‘He came up to the department to look at our stock, asked us what we thought we would like to see in one of his windows and he asked for some of the new hats, which he thought were attractive…’ She smiled. ‘He said if we had anything we were stuck with, he could use it and then write it off as shop soiled to help us out… Maggie and I were laughing and even Mrs Craven smiled…’

  ‘Yes, he can be quite a character,’ Sally agreed. ‘But he has a point there because I know some of the window display stock does get damaged. So far, anything like that has been marked up cheaply and offered to staff… which seems to please everyone.’