The Shop Girls of Harpers

by Rosie Clarke

  ‘When shall you tell Ralf?’ Beth asked.

  ‘On Sunday when we all meet in the park,’ Maggie replied, smiling. ‘It will be lovely, all of us together – you and Fred and perhaps his son and girl-friend. She is a little sulky, but he’s a nice young man.’

  ‘Yes, very polite and helpful,’ Beth said. ‘I hope the sun shines. It spoils the picnic if it rains and we have to run for shelter…’

  Beth lay wakeful for some time that night. She was glad for her aunt’s sake that she was to marry, and relieved that Maggie had somewhere she could be happy, but she knew she would not enjoy the experience of lodging with a stranger. It was the reason she’d accepted her aunt’s invitation to live with her, even though she’d known they didn’t really get on.

  31

  Sunday was a lovely day. They all met in the park as arranged and settled down to listen to the concert, enjoying the feeling of being on holiday that the brass band gave. During the interval, Beth and Maggie set out the picnic on rugs they’d brought and everyone sat down to eat. After a while, Ralf and Maggie went for a stroll around the park and, a few moments later, Tim and his girl followed.

  Beth saw Fred’s worried look as he watched his younger son. ‘Is something the matter?’

  ‘He was talking about joining the forces before Christmas. He’ll be old enough by then and it’s all he wants to do…’

  ‘I expect he thinks it will be fun,’ Beth said. ‘What does his young lady have to say about it?’

  ‘Dot is encouraging him to join up. I think she imagines he will marry her then and they’ll go somewhere more glamorous to live. She’s heard about married quarters abroad and it sounds exciting.’

  ‘Oh…’ Beth placed a sympathetic hand on his arm, because he worried about his sons. Fred looked at her with warm affection; they were good friends and he treated her like a daughter at times.

  A man was walking purposefully towards them and something made the back of her neck prickle. Fred turned his head to look at what had attracted her attention and then he was suddenly on his feet and gave a shout of pure joy before sprinting the last few yards to throw his arms about the young man. Beth rose more slowly to her feet, watching as the two men embraced and talked excitedly until Fred brought the stranger to meet her – and yet he wasn’t a stranger because she knew him without any introduction.

  ‘This is my Jack. I left a note at home to tell him where we’d be,’ Fred said and looked as if he might burst with pride. ‘The Americans gave him a medal for what he did when the Titanic went down – and he’s been offered money and a fine job out there if he will go…’

  ‘That is only deserved after what you did, sir,’ Beth said and offered her hand. ‘I believe you saved the life of a young boy – and I’ve been told he happens to be the son of a friend of my employer’s sister…’

  The man took Beth’s hand, his strong fingers curling round hers for a moment. His dark eyes were curious as he looked at her, but he didn’t smile. Beth allowed her arm to drop to her side as he let go. He seemed a little distant with her – and Beth didn’t know why.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Jack Burrows said. ‘My father called you Beth – but I don’t know who or what you are?’

  ‘Jack,’ Fred reprimanded, looking surprised. ‘That’s no way to speak to Miss Grey. She works for Harpers, same as me, and she has been a good friend to me…’

  ‘Miss Grey…’ Jack’s dark eyes narrowed in thought, as if he imagined she was more than his father’s friend. For some reason that made her laugh, because the very idea was just so ridiculous. ‘Did I say something amusing?’

  ‘No, of course not,’ Beth said and forced herself to be serious. ‘Your father and I are friends, Mr Burrows, that’s all…’

  Seeing Ralf and Maggie on their way back, Beth walked to meet them, giving father and son a chance to talk privately.

  Maggie smiled at her happily. ‘Ralf says I can move into his mother’s house on my half day,’ she-said and the delight was in her eyes. ‘It means I shall be able to see him more often and we’ll have more time to talk…’

  Beth nodded and smiled at her pleasure. Yet she could see there was more causing Maggie’s eyes to sparkle and then her friend shyly held out her left hand. On the third finger was a lovely cluster ring of garnets and pearls.

  ‘Ralf asked me to be engaged and I said yes,’ Maggie’s voice was breathy with excitement. ‘We still can’t marry for a year or perhaps two, but at least we’ll be engaged and we’ll see each other every night and morning. We’ll be able to travel in together on the trams.’

  ‘Yes, that will be lovely for you both,’ Beth said. As an engaged couple they would no longer need her as their chaperone and Beth knew she would miss the visits to the tea shops and the ice cream parlour. ‘Congratulations, both of you. Ralf, you are a very lucky man.’

  ‘I know I am,’ he said, ‘and I owe much of it to you. Had you not helped us, I should have had to keep buying gloves and scarves to see Maggie just for a few minutes.’

  ‘Yes, we both wanted to thank you,’ Maggie said. ‘We’re going to have a little party to celebrate and you must come as our special guest, Beth – do say you will.’

  ‘Of course I shall,’ Beth said and kissed her cheek. She offered her hand to Ralf, but instead he kissed her cheek. ‘You’re still my best friend, Maggie, and I expect to be a bridesmaid at your wedding.’

  Maggie promised that she would be and the three of them walked back to join Fred and his elder son. Jack Burrows looked a little chastened and the glance he threw at Beth was slightly embarrassed.

  Timmy Burrows and Dot returned just as the concert was about to start again. Beth and Maggie had packed the remnants of their picnic into the basket and they retook their chairs. Jack Burrows was seated right on the end of the row and Beth studiously kept her gaze on the band and away from him.

  Afterwards, Ralf suggested ice creams, but Dot said she wanted to go home and Timmy left with her, giving the others an apologetic shrug of his broad shoulders.

  ‘I think I’ll leave you younger ones to it,’ Fred said. ‘Jack – why don’t you go? Miss Beth doesn’t want to play gooseberry. If she has you to talk to, she doesn’t have to…’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ he said. ‘I’ll see you at home later, Dad – and I’m sorry.’

  ‘That’s all right, son,’ Fred said and smiled to Beth. ‘I’m just glad to have you home – but you might owe an apology to someone else…’

  Jack frowned but didn’t say anything as he offered his arm to Beth. She hesitated and then took it, deciding it would be childish to refuse.

  ‘We’re having strange weather this summer, aren’t we?’ she offered as a truce and he grinned, suddenly looking rather handsome. ‘Blazing sun one day and then torrents of rain…’

  ‘Are your friends engaged?’ Jack asked as they followed behind Maggie and Ralf, who were laughing and talking excitedly.

  ‘Yes, just this afternoon. Maggie is going to be living with his mother from next week and I suppose Ralf thought he might as well make it official. I believe he is very much in love with her.’

  ‘She is a pretty girl,’ he acknowledged, still frowning. He cleared his throat. ‘If I jumped to conclusions earlier, I apologise.’

  Beth turned to look at him. ‘Mr Burrows is a very kind and thoughtful man. I count him as a good friend – so when he believed you lost, I went out of my way to be of help.’

  ‘He told me as much and far more bluntly, Miss Grey. I can only say I’m sorry. It was a stupid way to behave…’

  ‘Not really.’ Beth lifted her gaze to meet his brooding dark eyes. ‘You thought I was some sort of harpy trying to take advantage of an older man and wanted to protect him…’

  ‘I should’ve known you were not that sort of a girl…’

  Beth laughed. ‘I’m really not an ogress, Mr Burrows. If you’re going to buy us all ice creams, then you should stop looking like a scalded cat. I shan’t sink my claws into you.
’

  ‘I shall willingly buy the ice creams and tea if that will earn your forgiveness…’

  ‘I think it might,’ Beth said, giving him a naughty look. ‘I think we should all have the knickerbocker glory today to celebrate Ralf and Maggie’s engagement.’

  Jack accepted her decree with good grace and went off to order the ice creams and drinks, refusing Ralf’s offer to pay. He joined them at their table, a waitress carrying the loaded tray soon after.

  ‘Was it very awful when the Titanic went down?’ Maggie asked in a sympathetic tone. ‘I know how brave you were…’

  Beth noticed a nerve flicking at Jack’s temple as he answered in a calm tone.

  ‘I didn’t stop to think about it,’ he replied and Beth realised he’d been asked that question many times before. ‘When the boy and his mother fell into that icy water, I just went in after them. I rescued as many as I could, though the mother seemed to have disappeared. I think she must have hit her head and gone down immediately.’

  Beth shivered, remembering her dream when she’d seemed to be amongst those in the icy waters. It wasn’t the first time she’d had odd dreams that seemed to come true, even if not in quite the way she dreamed them.

  ‘It must have been terrifying for the passengers, especially when they realised there were not enough lifeboats for everyone.’

  ‘The owners thought they would never be needed,’ Jack said. ‘It was designed to resist the worst of weathers, but when it hit that iceberg its construction worked against it somehow. There was a flaw in the design that no one had even thought of… and it resulted in far more loss of life than was necessary. Had we more boats, there might have been less panic in the launching…’ His expression was grim. ‘Some of the boats went off half empty. Many other lives could have been saved if they’d gone back to pick up the people in the water, but they were afraid of being sucked under when the ship went down…’ His hand was shaking and his spoon clattered on to the table. He got up abruptly and left the table, going outside into the sunshine.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Maggie apologised. ‘I shouldn’t have asked such a foolish question.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault. He must still be upset,’ Beth said. She got up and followed Jack outside.

  He had only walked a few steps and was lighting a cigarette. He looked at her and blew out his match, returning the cigarette to his jacket pocket.

  ‘Maggie didn’t mean to upset you…’

  ‘She didn’t – everyone has questions.’ Jack grimaced. ‘Mostly the same questions. Sometimes I can talk about it – at others it all comes back and I remember just what it was like. The screaming and the crying – and the look on the faces of the men who knew they were going to die. Only strong swimmers like me were able to reach the boats. I begged them to go back for others, but they wouldn’t…’

  A shiver went down her spine as she pictured the terror and the chaos of that dark night. ‘It must haunt you – but you did what you could…’

  ‘For a child and a few women,’ Jack said bitterly. ‘The water was filled with desperate men. I would have just drifted away, because the boats couldn’t take us all but someone hauled me into a boat and rowed away. Someone hit me on the back of the head because I was shouting, fighting to make them try to pick up more survivors, and I knew no more until I woke on the Carpathia…’

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Beth said. ‘It must have been terrifying for everyone.’

  ‘You have no idea. Everyone says they’re sorry, but they don’t understand…’ His eyes were dark with the horror of the memory.

  ‘I know it hurts to lose those you care about. I can’t know what it was like that night, but I do have some imagination…’

  He stared at her as if he would deny her, but then the anger seemed to drain out of him. ‘Of course you do. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take my anger out on you – it’s the stupid fools who sent us to sea unprepared that are to blame.’

  ‘Unfortunately, nothing the law can do will bring back those who lost their lives.’

  ‘No, and I have to accept that I was lucky and not give way to guilt.’ Jack smiled oddly. ‘Shall we join your friends? I promise to behave…’

  ‘I really don’t feel like eating ice cream,’ Beth said. ‘I’ll tell Maggie we’re leaving and you can see me home – if you would like to?’

  He looked at her seriously. ‘Yes, Miss Beth Grey. I should like that very much. The only thing is – I have a motorcycle and sidecar. Do you have the courage and will you trust me to drive you home in it?’

  Beth stared at him for a long moment and then gave a little giggle, feeling reckless. ‘Yes, why not?’

  It seemed very formal to shake hands after what had seemed a death defying ride through the streets in Jack’s sidecar. He’d given her a leather helmet and goggles to wear and she’d had to remove her Sunday hat. The wind had blown into her face, almost taking her breath away, and yet Beth found the experience both exciting and satisfying. She’d never done anything as daring in her life, but somehow after the talk about the Titanic it had seemed to be the right thing to do.

  ‘That was fun,’ she said and offered her hand. Jack took it but instead of shaking it, he bowed over it and then kissed the back. ‘Thank you so much…’

  ‘You’re as lovely as Dad said you were,’ Jack said and grinned at her.

  Suddenly, Beth felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her. She smiled back a little tentatively.

  ‘Would you allow me to take you out for tea next Sunday – I could call for you, and I promise not to bring the motorcycle…’

  ‘Why not?’ she said, finding it hard to speak. ‘But I do hope you will take me for another ride one day?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Jack said and his smile deepened. ‘I think I can guarantee that, Miss Grey. I shall call for you at two next week – take care of yourself…’

  Beth nodded, watching as he returned to the bike and went roaring off down the road. Several of the lace curtains opposite her aunt’s house were twitching and a couple of neighbours had actually poked their heads out of their doors. Beth felt like shouting out loud that her escort was Mr Jack Burrows, a hero from the wreck of the Titanic, but instead she just smiled to herself and went into the house. After all, she wouldn’t be living here much longer so what did it matter what the neighbours thought?

  Aunt Helen had just come in herself and was putting the kettle on. She looked beyond Beth for Maggie.

  ‘Maggie is still eating ice cream with Ralf,’ Beth said. ‘They became engaged today, Aunt, and she will be moving in with his mother on Monday afternoon…’

  ‘We shall miss her smile and her chatter.’ Aunt Helen sighed. ‘Oh well, it was bound to come.’ She looked speculatively at Beth. ‘You will need some new clothes for my wedding, Beth. I would offer to make something for you – but if I gave you five pounds, you could buy something for yourself.’

  ‘I can’t expect you to pay for my clothes, Aunt. I’ll wear my best blue dress and the hat that matches…’

  ‘No – I insist,’ Aunt Helen said and opened her bag. ‘I always insisted you pay your way, Beth – and I didn’t really need the money you gave me. Take this five pound note and make sure you buy something nice…’

  Beth stared at the money, reluctant to accept it. She’d always thought her aunt needed her contribution.

  Aunt Helen gave a sigh of exasperation and put the note on the kitchen table. ‘It’s yours. I expect you to buy something nice to wear at my wedding – perhaps a fine wool suit and a pretty hat in blue. Blue always looks nice on you, Beth. Perhaps it will help you to find a young man.’

  Beth held her temper. She picked up the money and put it into her skirt pocket. ‘Thank you, Aunt. That is very kind of you. I have seen a nice outfit at Harpers. I’ll take a look in my lunch hour…’

  32

  Mondays were their official half day closing, though some of the staff stayed on after one to help with stocktaking if it was necessary. Sall
y visited the department and told Beth that she would be checking stock in her department that afternoon.

  ‘Because you are by far the busiest department, I want to go through everything we’ve sold from the beginning and see what is left from the original stock – and what is turning over all the time. I’m going to need help. I wondered if you would stay behind for a few hours and help me.’

  ‘Yes, of course I will,’ Beth said, a little anxious. ‘Do you think things have gone missing?’

  ‘No, not at all,’ Sally said and smiled at her. ‘You’re all so careful in this department. No, it’s more a way of finding out just what is successful and what isn’t, Mr Harper wrote me a letter and asked me to send all the information I could, because he is stuck in America for longer than he’d hoped.’

  ‘Ah, I see.’ Beth nodded her understanding. ‘It’s important that you send him full facts and figures.’

  Sally frowned. ‘I had thought he might return sooner.’

  ‘I do hope he won’t sell the store,’ Beth said. ‘It isn’t easy to find somewhere to live even with a regular wage coming in. I’ve no idea what I’ll do if I lose my job.’

  ‘I thought you lived with your aunt?’

  ‘Aunt Helen has suddenly decided to get married – in early August. I’ve got a few weeks to search for a room, but I can only look after work or on my afternoon off.’

  ‘And I’ve asked you to work…’ Sally looked thoughtful. ‘I have two single beds in my room. I’m sure Mrs Craven won’t mind if you stay with us – at least while you look for something else…’

  ‘If you’d had a third bedroom, I would have asked.’ Beth smiled. ‘Thank you, Sally. At least I know I shan’t be on the streets – and I really don’t want to take just anything. Aunt Helen isn’t the easiest person to live with, but her house is nicer than most of the others in our lane. If I could find somewhere closer to Oxford Street, it would save on the fares.’