by Joan Jonker
‘Ah, here’s Mrs Stamford ready to set to on replying to the mound of correspondence in her arms. I’ll take you downstairs and you can be entertained by Father until I pick you up at twelve.’
‘Don’t forget your coat, Miss Charlotte.’ Wendy held the coat while Charlotte slipped her arms in. ‘You’ll need it when you go out, because it’s started to rain.’
‘Oh, I haven’t brought my umbrella. Aren’t I stupid?’
‘I have a huge brolly,’ Andrew told her. ‘Big enough to cover both of us. Besides, the rain may have stopped by then.’
Wendy watched Charlotte walking towards the door, and on impulse called, ‘It’s been nice meeting you, Miss Charlotte. I’ll be able to see you in my mind now, when Mr Andrew talks about you.’
‘And I shall be asking after you, Mrs Stamford. Who knows, I may pop in again sometime if my brother allows. Bye-bye for now, though. I have to go and surprise my father.’
George Wilkie-Brook looked up from his desk when he heard the rap on the door, and called, ‘Come in.’ When his son and daughter walked in, he looked blank for a few seconds, as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Then Charlotte giggled and he jumped to his feet. ‘My dear girl,’ he said, rounding his desk. ‘I couldn’t believe my eyes. What a pleasant surprise!’
Charlotte ran towards him, her arms outstretched. ‘Hello, Papa.’ She hadn’t called him Papa for years, and he was so moved he gathered her to him.
‘I thought it was my imagination at first, but it’s wonderful to see you.’
‘This is all Andrew’s doing, Papa. He wanted to surprise you.’
George looked over her shoulder to where Andrew was standing, a smile on his face. And the look in the eyes of father and son said the same, that this could be the start. ‘Why wasn’t I informed, or is this a spur of the moment visit?’
‘I invited Charlotte to come and see my place of work, as a birthday present to me. And she very kindly agreed. Mrs Stamford and the others were delighted to meet in person the sister I’m always talking about. And Charlotte, of course, wouldn’t come to my office and not to yours. She’s been on pins wanting to come down. So I’ve suggested she stays with you, to be shown around, while I attend to correspondence.’
‘Wonderful,’ George said. ‘It will be my pleasure to give my lovely daughter a tour of inspection.’
‘I’m taking Charlotte to lunch, Father, and we’d very much like you to join us. Twelve o’clock on the dot.’
The smile on George’s face faded. ‘Oh, I am so sorry, but I won’t be able to join you! I have a client coming here at half past twelve, and I can’t break the appointment because the client confirmed it just ten minutes ago. If only I had known yesterday, I could have made it another time. But it isn’t good business to cancel an appointment, especially with one of our biggest customers.’
‘Don’t worry, Father,’ Andrew told him. ‘We can make it another time. I’m sure Charlotte can find room in her diary to fit in a lunch with the two men in her life.’ He gave his sister a peck on the cheek. ‘Work awaits, my dear. I’ll call for you at twelve.’
‘Don’t forget to take your brolly, Mr Andrew.’ Wendy Stamford watched him putting his coat on. ‘It’s raining quite heavily at the moment.’
‘I won’t forget. I can’t let my sister get drowned on her first visit to my office. It would take all her enjoyment away.’
When he hesitated, and looked back at his desk, Wendy said, ‘I’ll make sure all the post goes out, Mr Andrew, and I’ll make a note of all incoming calls. If anyone important rings, I’ll ask them to ring back or they can leave a message with me. So go on your way with an easy mind, and have a very enjoyable lunch.’
Andrew took the large umbrella from the stand and placed the curved handle over his wrist. ‘At the risk of giving you a big head, Mrs Stamford, I have to say once again that secretaries don’t come any better than you.’ He bowed from the waist. ‘All being well I should be back, at the latest, by three o’clock. And now I bid you farewell.’
Feeling carefree, Andrew whistled as he ran down the steps to his father’s office. He was pleased to see Charlotte sitting on her father’s huge desk, swinging her legs and looking relaxed. ‘You look at home, Charlotte,’ he said. ‘All you need is a notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other. You’d make a very lovely secretary, and I’m sure business would increase if you were sitting within the view of clients.’
Fastening the buttons on her warm, pure wool coat, Charlotte shook her head. ‘I’m not very good at spelling, and even worse at arithmetic, so shorthand would be impossible. Far from attracting new clients, I’d drive away the ones you have.’
‘Come along.’ Andrew offered her his arm. ‘I’ve ordered them to serve the meal at twelve thirty, and I’d like us to have a drink first. I’m sorry you won’t be joining us, Father, but we’ll arrange something in the near future.’
‘You two youngsters enjoy yourselves. It does my heart good to see you together.’ George held his cheek for his daughter’s kiss. ‘Make the most of being young. It doesn’t last for ever.’
‘We’ll take your advice, Father, but perhaps not today. A quiet lunch is as exciting as it’s likely to get. However, it will be an excellent lunch, in a select, comfortable and friendly atmosphere. What more can we ask for?’
After closing the office door behind them, Andrew and his sister stepped down on to the bottom step. ‘It’s raining very hard, Charlotte, really pelting down. As soon as I have the brolly up we’ll make a dash for it. So be ready, or your hair and clothes will be ruined.’
Andrew pointed the brolly to the ground while he felt for the lever to release the spring. Then he opened it up and held it out to protect his sister from the rain as they stepped down on to the pavement. To his dismay he felt the large, sturdy brolly push against someone, and then he heard a cry and the sound of items rolling on the pavement. He instinctively threw the brolly back into the entrance of the office block out of the way, then turned to see what damage he’d caused. To his horror, he saw a girl lying on the pavement, attempting to raise herself up by her elbows. Scattered around her on the wet pavement were letters of various sizes, and the contents of an open handbag.
‘Oh, I am so sorry. I was clumsy and thoughtless. It was my fault entirely, and you have my sincere apologies.’ He held out his hand. ‘Here, let me help you up.’
The girl ignored his hand. She seemed dazed at first, as she viewed the letters lying near her being drenched by the heavy rain. And to Andrew’s amazement she began to chuckle, as though finding humour in her predicament. Then for the first time she looked up at Andrew, and he found himself staring into a face that caused his heart to miss several beats. A wide, generous mouth, cupid’s-bow lips, hazel eyes bright with laughter, and white, perfect teeth. Framing this picture was a mass of curly golden hair. Andrew was mesmerized and couldn’t tear his eyes away, until the girl spoke.
‘As you put me down here, the least you can do is help me up.’
Charlotte had never encounted such a situation, and all she could think of doing to help the girl was to pick up her belongings from the pavement. She had them in her hands when she said, ‘Please help the poor girl, Andrew, she will be soaking wet. And her clothes must be ruined.’
By this time Andrew had pulled the girl to her feet, feeling shy and awkward. That wasn’t like him; he was usually very sure of himself, and never shy in the presence of females. But then again, he had never met a girl who had had this effect on him. He watched as she examined her white raincoat, and wasn’t surprised when she was angry at finding that it was filthy dirty, and had a big tear in the back.
Charlotte couldn’t understand why her brother was so quiet, when he really should be making a fuss over the girl after the trouble he’d caused. It was no joke being pushed over and having passers-by gawping at you. ‘I’ve collected the letters you dropped, my dear, but I’m afraid they’re wet and dirty. And really you must let Andrew p
ay for your clothes to be cleaned and repaired. It’s the least he can do.’
‘Of course I’ll reimburse you,’ Andrew said. ‘But would you like to come inside and clean yourself up while we discuss the trouble I’ve caused? If your coat is torn, then it would be only right that I should pay for a replacement.’
‘I am in working time, and those letters should have been delivered by now.’ The girl held her hand out to Charlotte. ‘I’ll take them off you now, and my bag and contents. And I’d like you to tell your boyfriend that in future he should look where he’s going. If I’d been an old lady, he could have caused me a lot of pain.’
As she began to walk away, wiping the letters with the sleeve of her coat, Andrew went with her. ‘Please let me make amends for my stupidity. As I have ruined your coat and made you late with your work, surely you’ll allow me to ease my conscience?’
The girl turned her head and her eyes met his. ‘You have also made me ladder my stockings, so you can have that on your conscience as well. For under no circumstances would I take money off a total stranger. I’m sure my coat will clean up, and I can darn my stockings. I’m more concerned about the letters I was sent to deliver. It won’t do much for my reputation that I can’t even manage such a simple task.’ She eyed Andrew. ‘Still, I’ll live, so don’t waste any time worrying about me.’ She was a few yards away from him when she called over her shoulder, ‘Not that I think for one moment you’ll give me another thought.’
Charlotte walked up to her brother and linked his arm, and they stood close together and watched the girl walk up Castle Street with her head held high. She seemed not to feel the rain that was falling heavily.
‘That was most unfortunate, Andrew,’ Charlotte said. ‘But you didn’t do it on purpose, so don’t feel badly about it.’
Andrew wasn’t concerned about what had happened. All he could think of was that the unknown girl was walking away and he’d never see her again. Suddenly that was important to him. As he stood with his sister he didn’t question why he felt sad, he just did.
Charlotte pulled on his arm. ‘Andrew, I am getting very wet. Can we go now?’
Andrew seemed to come alive. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry, Charlotte. I’ve spoilt your day. I wanted everything to go well, so you would enjoy yourself. How could I have been stupid enough to knock someone over? I’ve never been so unthinking or careless in my life.’ He ran a hand through his hair, sending a trickle of rainwater down his neck. ‘And yours is not the only day I’ve ruined. What about the poor girl I knocked to the ground? Heaven knows what sort of man she’ll think I am. Her coat is ruined, and she wouldn’t even let me help her. I bet she’s cursing me right now.’
‘Andrew, I’m getting very wet right now,’ Charlotte reminded him. ‘Can we talk about this when you’ve retrieved the umbrella, and we’re on our way to this wonderful lunch you promised me?’
Andrew collected the brolly and took her arm. ‘I’ve never upset a young lady in my life, and today I’ve managed to upset two. What an achievement!’
‘Put it behind you, my dear brother. I’ll forgive you. And who knows, you may meet that young lady again and you’ll have the chance to make amends.’
‘I would think that is a very remote possibility.’ Andrew brought her to a halt and pointed to an opening which was quite dark, and the flight of stairs going down even darker. ‘Don’t be put off by the appearance, Charlotte. I can assure you that when you get down those steps you will be agreeably surprised. Trust me, I wouldn’t dream of bringing you anywhere I thought you wouldn’t be happy.’
Charlotte stared into the darkness. ‘It reminds me of a dungeon, a place where they put murderers and all sorts of unsavoury characters.’
To his own surprise, Andrew chortled. ‘For heaven’s sake don’t let André hear you say that, or I will be banished for ever. He is proud of their reputation as one of the finest restaurants in the city. His customers are envied by many who have been denied entrance because his list of regulars is full. The poor unfortunates have to wait until there’s a vacancy.’
Still not convinced, but not wanting to offend her brother, Charlotte suggested, ‘You walk down in front of me as you are familiar with the layout.’
It wasn’t until Charlotte’s eyes became accustomed to the dim lights that she began to believe her brother’s words. For the atmosphere alone was sufficient to tell her that this was indeed a place of excellence. The tables in the centre of the room were beautifully set with silver cutlery, heavy napkins, attractive crockery, a lit candle and a tiny crystal vase holding a single red rose. To one side of the restaurant there were four booths, for those who wanted privacy. Charlotte took all this in while waiting for a waiter to show them to a table. ‘You were right, brother dear, this looks very promising. What a pity Father couldn’t be with us.’
Her words lifted Andrew’s spirits, for although he was upset at knocking over a stranger, he was sad for a different reason. The girl had had an effect on his emotions, and that had never happened before. He sighed inwardly, knowing he would probably never have the chance to see that wonderful face again.
‘Mr Andrew, you are very welcome.’ The owner of the restaurant, André, shook Andrew’s hand while smiling at Charlotte. ‘And this lovely lady is the sister you were telling me about? How lucky you are to have such a charming sister, but why have you been hiding her?’
The accent was as attractive as the man, and Charlotte was delighted. ‘My brother has been keeping you a secret until now, which was very naughty of him.’
‘I can’t agree with you in his presence, for he is one of my valued customers. But you are welcome here any time, as long as you ring first. Now let me show you to your table, and Alphonso will relieve you of your coats.’
When they were seated, Charlotte voiced her pleasure. ‘This is a charming place, Andrew. Why have you not mentioned it before?’
‘I can answer your question with one of my own. Why have you never been to my office before? There was no reason for me to mention a restaurant to you when I didn’t think you would ever be down in this neck of the woods.’
A waiter came to the table then, and sister and brother took their time to choose from a menu where each dish sounded mouth-watering. ‘Oh, I can’t make up my mind,’ Charlotte said, ‘What are you having?’
‘I don’t eat much at lunch time,’ her brother told her. ‘If I did I wouldn’t be able to eat three courses again at home. I will skip the hors d’oeuvre, and the dessert, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have what you like. Everything will be excellent, so whatever your heart desires.’
Charlotte closed the heavily embossed menu. ‘I’ll have whatever you’re having. Frances would be upset if we were to refuse our dinners, and Jane too!’
Andrew handed the menus to the waiter. ‘Two fillet steak, medium rare, with all the trimmings. And would you ask the wine waiter for a bottle of his best red wine, please?’
While they were waiting, Charlotte asked, ‘Will you be telling Mother and Father about the unfortunate incident with that very pretty girl? Or would you rather put it behind you?’
Andrew took a few seconds to consider. ‘Oh, I think I should tell them. They’ll probably tell me the same as the young lady, that I should look where I’m going. But my shoulders are broad. I can take a ticking off.’ And as he spoke, that unforgettable face appeared in his mind’s eye, and his heart flipped.
Chapter Four
As Andrew was describing the events of the morning to his parents in their comfortable drawing room, the encounter was also the topic of conversation in another house on the opposite side of the city, far removed from the luxury of the Wilkie-Brooks’ mansion.
Poppy Meadows was standing in the middle of the living room, while her mother eyed the damage done to the back of her raincoat.
‘The dirt will wash out, that’s no problem. But the tear is jagged and won’t be easy to repair.’ Eva Meadows put her hand to her chin and let out a sigh. ‘I’ll
have a go, Poppy, and do my best.’
Her twenty-year-old son, David, was looking on. A handsome man, he was eighteen months older than his sister. He was very proud of her, and also very protective. ‘Why should Poppy suffer because some stupid bloke doesn’t look where he’s going and knocks her flying? He should fork out to pay for the damage he’s caused.’
‘He did offer,’ Poppy told him. ‘To be fair to the man, he did offer to buy me a new coat.’
‘You should have taken him up on it,’ David said. ‘It would teach him to be more careful in future. He could have seriously hurt you.’
‘Well, he didn’t hurt me. Except I’ve probably got a bruise on me bottom, but no one is going to see that. And me pride was hurt. I must have looked so stupid lying flat out on the ground, with me belongings strewn all over the pavement. The post I was carrying was in a right mess, but the clients were very nice about it and said accidents couldn’t be helped. In fact one client wanted me to sit down and they’d make me a cup of tea.’
‘Well I still think you should have let the bloke reimburse you,’ David said. ‘He’s probably got more money than you.’
‘I’m not taking money off a strange man.’ Poppy’s eyes flashed. ‘What do yer think I am?’ She was quite indignant. ‘He looked like a toff, and I wasn’t going to lower myself to him. He was with his girlfriend, and the coat she was wearing must have cost a fortune. They talked like toffs as well.’ Then Poppy had a vision of Charlotte, and added, ‘The girl was very nice, though, and very helpful. In fact they were both nice to me.’
Eva, a widow of forty-two, worked in a local factory as a seamstress. Her husband had died of TB when he was only thirty-five, leaving her to bring up eleven-year-old David and nine-year-old Poppy. Life was hard then, and she had little time to grieve for the husband she’d adored. Forced to take a full-time job, she had worked all the overtime she could get so they could stay in the six-roomed house that held so many memories of her beloved husband. Still, life was easier now, with her nineteen-year-old daughter bringing in a regular wage, and in a few weeks’ time David would finish his apprenticeship as an engineer and start earning a man’s wage. Her son was the spitting image of his father, and had the same mannerisms, the same crooked grin and the same sense of humour.
