The Teashop Girls

by Elaine Everest

  ‘I don’t, and you’re hurting me! Please let me go, George,’ she pleaded, more than a little frightened. The more she wriggled, the more he grunted as his hands pulled her skirt up around her waist.

  ‘Don’t, George, don’t – this isn’t right. Mum wouldn’t have liked you doing this to me.’

  ‘Your mother isn’t here. I’m a man and I demand my rights,’ he said as he pinned her arms to her sides with the strength of just one of his own, while pulling at her undergarments with the other.

  ‘Please, God, no,’ Lily prayed aloud as she felt the breath being forced from her body. She closed her eyes, trying to block out what was happening, whilst willing herself to think about how she could escape as George grunted and groaned. The stench of stale sweat and beer, coupled with the lingering smell in the kitchen, made her retch. Blood pulsed in her head, and she knew she was about to pass out. What would happen to her then?

  At that moment, George loosened his grip in order to reach for the buttons at the front of her dress. Lily felt the fabric of her best frock tear and froze as he leant over her shoulder to look at her exposed breasts. He panted close to her face, and again she heaved in disgust at the smell of his unclean body. She felt herself freeze as his body slammed into hers again and again before shaking and groaning, then slumping against her. Unable to control herself, Lily was violently sick in the sink.

  ‘You dirty cow,’ he snarled, pushing away from her in disgust. ‘No man will want you if you act like that.’ He did up his trousers and staggered back to his armchair.

  Lily took a few deep breaths, trying to regain her strength. The heavy poker lay beside the stove where she’d left it. She reached out; it would take just one hefty blow and she’d be free of George Jacobs forever. Try as she might, her legs could hardly hold her upright. Fortunately, in those few seconds as she reached for the poker, common sense prevailed. She would go down for God knows how long for his murder. It would ruin her life forever. She was better than that, she thought to herself, looking to where the man had collapsed into his armchair and was already starting to snore. Without thinking twice, she straightened her frock as best she could and set about clearing up the mess. She had to get away from this house – and soon. Before it was too late, and she did something she’d regret for the rest of her life.

  ‘Whatever is wrong with you? You look like something the cat dragged in,’ Rose said as she hung her coat in her locker. She’d never seen Lily in such a state: her eyes, puffy with dark shadows underneath, looked blankly back.

  ‘I didn’t sleep very well,’ she mumbled as she stepped into her black uniform dress.

  ‘Neither did I, with all the thoughts of Katie’s wedding running through my head. I do hope Jack agrees with the plans.’

  ‘He’s a man, isn’t he?’ Lily said bitterly.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Rose said, looking concerned for her friend.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ Lily snapped. ‘I just want to be left alone. Tell Miss Butterworth I’ll be out in a minute; I just need to finish changing into my uniform.’

  Rose placed a hand on her friend’s arm. ‘Are you sure you’re all right? Perhaps you should go home, if you’re feeling unwell?’

  Lily shuddered. Home was the last place she wanted to be. She had spent the night huddled under her bedclothes, afraid George would burst through the door and attack her even though she’d wedged a chair against the handle. When dawn broke she’d dressed as quietly as she could and, carrying her shoes, crept slowly downstairs, trying to avoid the steps she knew creaked and the loose floorboard in the hallway. Once the front door was open she’d fled as if her life depended on it, ignoring the freezing snow that had started to fall again. ‘I said I’ll be all right,’ she said to Rose, trying to muster a smile. ‘You go on. I won’t be long.’

  Rose nodded and left the room, although she looked back to where her friend was buttoning up her black dress. There was something wrong; she just knew it.

  Lily went to the small washbasin set in the corner of the room and ran her hands under the cold water before splashing her face. It felt good. Cupping her hands, she scooped up the water and drank thirstily before it ran through her fingers. She felt heaps better just for doing that. Digging into her handbag, she pulled out a comb and ran it through her hair before checking her face in the mirror above the basin. ‘You’ll do,’ she muttered to herself as she squared her shoulders and headed to where Miss Butterworth was giving the girls their daily orders.

  ‘. . . Please take care of the salt cellars; there were complaints yesterday that some were empty. Ladies, I don’t need to remind you that incidents like this lower the high standards in Lyons teashops and will cause customers to go elsewhere for their meals. There are plenty of other cafes and hotels our customers could give their patronage to.’

  Katie nudged Rose. They both knew it was a customer on Lily’s table who had made the complaint. ‘Yes, Miss Butterworth,’ they all chanted.

  Clarice Butterworth looked down at her notes. ‘It was also observed that one Nippy had not replaced her order book and was seen writing an order on the palm of her hand. Please ensure right now that you all have an order book that will last your complete shift. Remember, I know everything that goes on in this teashop and slips like this will not be tolerated.’

  Every Nippy without fail checked she was carrying an order book with plenty of clean pages. These hung from the waistband of their uniforms.

  ‘Finally, I wish to notify you all that I shall be leaving the Ramsgate branch once my replacement arrives. Miss Neville is also leaving to take over management of the Margate branch. We do have some vacancies at both teashops that we hope to fill before too long. In the meantime, I’m asking for a concerted effort to cover all tables so our customers are not inconvenienced by the shortage of staff.’ Miss Butterworth checked her watch. ‘Your shift is about to start. Do your best to maintain standards, ladies,’ she said as she dismissed them.

  ‘Blimey, old Butterworth could be a danger to us all if she worked for Hitler,’ Lily sniggered as she joined her friends. ‘She doesn’t miss a thing.’

  ‘You seem a bit brighter,’ Rose said, cheered by her friend’s jovial banter.

  ‘I’m all right,’ Lily assured her, making a mental note not to bring her troubles to work or have her friends be concerned for her. It would do no good, and she couldn’t stand the pitying looks. This was her lot, and until she could make changes in her life she would just have to be more careful.

  ‘I’m going to meet Jack this evening,’ Katie whispered to them as she hurried by with a tray of salt cellars and pepper pots. ‘Cross your fingers and hope that he agrees to the plans for the wedding.’

  Her friends both crossed their fingers and held them up to show their support.

  ‘I think she is fussing unduly,’ Rose smiled. ‘Jack loves her to bits and will agree to anything she wishes. By the way, do you fancy going dancing this evening? I’m not sure what band is playing.’

  Lily grimaced. She didn’t fancy having men bump into her or run their wandering hands all over her if she agreed to dance with them. ‘I don’t fancy that. How about going to the pictures?’

  ‘That’s fine with me. I’m so relieved the government decided to open the cinemas and dance halls again. The war is bad enough without us missing out on having a bit of fun! I’ll get a newspaper in my break and see what’s on, shall I?’

  Lily nodded her head. At least being out for the evening meant her stepfather would be dead to the world by the time she got home, and with luck she’d be able to avoid him. She blamed herself for what had happened the previous night; she should have had her wits about her. Hopefully it wouldn’t happen again. ‘That sounds good to me. Shall we go straight from work? That way we’ll see the B film as well. I hope it’s one of those spy movies with Johnny Johnson in the starring role.’

  Rose gave her friend a smile. ‘I look forward to it.’ She reached out and gave her friend’s arm a gentl
e squeeze. ‘I’m glad you’ve got a smile on your face again.’

  Lily smiled back, knowing her friend’s kind words could easily make her cry. ‘Best we get to work, or Butterworth will be on the warpath. You aren’t a manageress yet,’ she said.

  Rose checked that the tables in her workstation were ready and waiting for the first diners of the day. Table linen was clean, and cutlery laid out correctly at each place setting. After Miss Butterworth’s warning words, she’d made sure that every salt cellar and pepper pot was full. She remained deep in thought as she greeted customers and handed them the tariff card, chatting politely about the meals available that day while she carefully wrote orders down on the pad attached to the waistband of her apron.

  Rose smiled and was courteous, but her mind remained elsewhere. There was definitely something wrong with Lily today, she thought as she carried a tray containing plates of pie and mashed potato to one table, placing the food in front of her customers. Lily could be down at times, but Rose had always thought this was due to her mother having died so recently. Today, though, she seemed different. Rose also wondered about Ben. Would she see him again before she set off to London to train as a manageress? She felt close to him even after such a short time, and hoped desperately that he felt the same. He had such a calm and comfortable air about him considering he was an army captain. Although Rose knew little about the ranks in the army, she’d always thought that a captain was someone special. Surely he had to be someone important to be in charge of men, especially during wartime? To find him queuing in a chip shop seemed a little unexpected. And his interest in her – a waitress who served tea for Joe Lyons, and liked to sing when she had the chance – puzzled her, too. The thought that perhaps he was leading her on crossed her mind as she removed dirty plates from tables and presented her customers with their bills. How was she to know his true feelings?

  Rose’s tummy started to rumble, and she hoped it wasn’t too long before her meal break. She’d just decided to lay two empty tables ready for new diners when she noticed someone being shown to a table in her section. It was Ben, and he was alone. Her heart skipped a beat; a small tingle of excitement ran up her spine. He could have asked for a table anywhere in the tearoom, but he’d chosen one she was in charge of – that must mean something?

  ‘Good morning, sir; may I show you the meals we have today? I can recommend the sausages, or perhaps a teacake?’

  ‘Thank you,’ he said as he browsed the tariff card. Without looking up he added, ‘I just had to see you before you left for London. Have you made your travel plans yet?’

  Rose poised with her pen over the order pad, aware that Miss Butterworth never missed a thing. ‘I should know this afternoon, when our area manager visits. I thought he might have been here this morning, but he’s been delayed by the weather. Why do you ask?’

  ‘I’ll be in London myself this coming week, before . . . before we are shipped out.’

  ‘Oh . . .’ was all Rose could say. She’d not given a thought to the handsome army captain leaving Thanet.

  ‘What time do you finish work? Would it be possible for me to take you to dinner?’ he asked, before adding, ‘I’ll have the rarebit, thank you, Miss.’

  Rose wrote down the order with trembling fingers. To think she’d been dreaming only minutes earlier of never seeing him again, and here he was asking to take her to dinner. ‘I’m afraid I promised to go to the pictures with my friend this evening,’ she whispered disappointedly. ‘Could we meet tomorrow evening?’

  ‘I’m afraid tomorrow evening is too late for me,’ he said, looking up into her eyes.

  It took only a moment for Rose to make up her mind. ‘I can go out another time with my friend. I’d love to dine with you, thank you.’ As she took his order to the counter to hand it over, Rose spotted Lily working on her station at the back of the teashop. However would she explain that she wouldn’t be able to accompany her this evening? Something wasn’t right with her friend, and here she was letting her down. Rose felt terrible. What could she do?

  Lily couldn’t wait for one o’clock and her meal break. She’d had the morning from hell. Already she’d had to change her apron after a young child had spilt soup over the tablecloth as well as herself and Lily. She’d had to dig deep to not only keep calm, but to smile sweetly and assure the harassed mother it wasn’t a problem. If the child had been hers she’d have beaten him soundly and taken him home to his bed, she grimaced as she cleared up the mess. If she had her way she’d never marry, let alone have a child if they were all like that one.

  ‘Are you having a bad day, Miss?’ a man’s voice said from behind her as she returned to her workstation, wearing her clean apron and having washed the sticky soup from her hands.

  Lily jumped before realizing it was the new salesman, Mr White. ‘You could say that, sir,’ she replied, doing her utmost to be polite. One never knew how friendly these men might be with the management. The few times she’d seen him before, he’d been with the area manager. He looked extremely smart with a sharp crease in the trousers of his pin-striped suit, his fair hair slicked back from his high forehead, and a thin moustache covering his top lip. Lily thought him very much like the Hollywood actors she’d seen at the pictures, and had caught him watching her a few times from across the shop floor when he’d been in the teashop with Mr Grant. They could be related for all she knew, so best not to blot her copybook. ‘A Nippy is prepared for anything,’ she smiled, continuing to walk towards her workstation, where she could see a couple of diners being seated.

  ‘I wonder, Miss Douglas, if you could advise me?’

  ‘I’ll do my best, sir,’ she replied, keeping an eye out for Miss Butterworth, who would no doubt give her a telling off for chatting when she should be working.

  ‘I’m staying in the area for a couple of days while I familiarize myself with the local teashops. The food in my hotel is awful. I wondered if you could recommend somewhere for dinner, and perhaps some entertainment afterwards?’

  Lily raised her eyebrows. ‘Why, there’s nowhere better to eat than here,’ she said, wondering if this was a way for management to catch out the Nippies if they recommended other establishments. ‘As for entertainment – I’m not quite sure what you mean?’ She blushed, aware that the conversation might not sound as innocent as it should.

  ‘My God, I’m doing this all wrong,’ he blustered, turning a delicate shade of pink. ‘What I mean is – would you care to have dinner with me, and perhaps dancing afterwards? I assume there is somewhere in Ramsgate to dance, now that the government has lifted restrictions?’

  Lily laughed out loud before clamping a hand to her mouth and checking to see if Miss Butterworth had heard. ‘I happen to know there is a dance at the Coronation Ballroom this evening. There are plenty of places to eat nearby.’

  ‘Does that mean you’ll join me?’ he asked tentatively.

  Lily thought for a moment; he seemed a decent sort. ‘I’d love to,’ she replied with a gentle smile, and they quickly made arrangements before she hurried to her workstation. As she served her customers Lily had a bounce to her step and felt quite cheered. He looked like a gentleman who could be trusted – and he had a good job. He could be the ideal person to fit in with her plans to get away from George. It was only as she headed to the staff quarters for her meal that she remembered she’d promised to go to the pictures with Rose. Whatever could she do? She hated to let her friend down. Deep in thought, she didn’t notice Tom White watching her thoughtfully from the open door of the office as he ran a finger across his moustache and smiled to himself.

  Collecting a plate of stew and a cup of tea, she went to the table where Katie was already seated eating egg on toast.

  ‘There you are, Lily. It’s not like you to be late for your food. I only have fifteen minutes left. Rose hasn’t arrived yet. Twice I’ve had to tell other Nippies that these seats are taken. I noticed your accident with the soup,’ she grinned. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t
tip the rest over the head of that obnoxious child.’

  Lily chuckled. ‘I was so close to doing just that. I think that’s why I’ve been overlooked as a manageress of my own teashop. No one could trust me not to lose my temper.’

  Katie looked serious for just a moment. ‘You’re not jealous of Rose, are you?’

  ‘My goodness, no. I think it’s marvellous that Rose will be running the Margate branch. With a bit of luck, perhaps we could work there with her? What fun we’d have.’ Lily grinned as she began to eat her lunch.

  ‘I don’t think I could move to Margate,’ Katie said, ‘not with the wedding and everything to plan. I like Ramsgate – it’s been my home for many years. I’m not one for wanting to change jobs and move from town to town; I’ll stay here, and we can meet up whenever possible. That’s if you decide to go,’ she smiled. ‘By the way, did you hear about, Minnie, that new Nippy? It seems she was a little too friendly with one of the RAF lads that came in. There was a complaint, and old Butterworth hauled her over the coals and gave her the sack. Do you think she was really on the game like the girls are saying? She also seemed over-friendly with that Mr White the salesman when I walked in on them in the staffroom a few days ago, but perhaps he was talking to her about work? Lily . . . did you hear me?’ Katie prompted, noticing that Lily was staring across to where Rose was collecting her meal.

  ‘Sorry, Katie – I’ve just got to have a quick word with Rose. I won’t be more than a minute,’ she apologized, and left the table to head over to Rose.

  ‘But I wanted to show you a picture of bridesmaids’ hats. I thought we could have a go at making them . . . Well, I never,’ Katie huffed, and bit into a slice of cold toast.

  Rose could see Lily heading towards her and steeled herself to tell her friend she wouldn’t be able to go to the pictures with her that evening. Knowing her friend had been so down earlier that morning, and then noticing the problems she’d had with a customer, she felt as though she’d be making Lily’s day even worse. Had Lily had words with her stepfather, she wondered? He was known as a lazy man, and he drank too much; but Lily’s late mother had always kept him in check. In those days, before she was taken poorly, she had provided Lily with a happy home.