I shall,’ she said and touched his arm in gratitude as their bus arrived and they jumped on. Fred was the first to get his money out and paid for both their tickets. ‘I shan’t be home for supper this evening…’
‘I’ll buy a pie and a pint, mebbe see Harold down the pub. He likes a chat and a game of darts now and then…’
‘Yes, that would be nice – give him my regards,’ Beth said, grateful to the ex-Scotland-yard detective who had solved the mystery surrounding her aunt’s so-called accident, when she’d been pushed down the stairs and died in hospital of her injuries. She looked at him curiously. ‘Have you ever thought about getting married again, Fred?’
‘No, never,’ he said and sadness passed across his face. ‘I was happy in my marriage and I could never replace my wife… Besides, I’ve got you, Jack and Tim… and your friend Miss Gibbs comes to tea sometimes. I’m happy to work overtime at the store when I’m needed and I’ve a few friends I see when I want…’
Beth nodded. ‘You didn’t mind my asking?’
‘I know you’re wondering if I’ll be lonely when Jack finally finds you somewhere to live nearer the hotel…’
‘Yes, I was,’ Beth confessed. ‘I suppose that’s silly really. You lived alone for much of the time before I moved in…’
‘The lads were at school during term time and then working, Jack on the ships and Tim now in the Royal Flying Corps – but I served my time in the army as a youngster and I think you learn to be independent there…’
‘Yes, I expect so…’ She hesitated, then, ‘Is it because you served as a soldier that you think there will be a war?’
‘No, it’s what I read in the newspapers,’ Fred said seriously. ‘It might be just a skirmish and over in a few weeks, but it’s been brewing for a while out there in the Balkans. It will only take one spark to set the whole thing off…’
Beth was silent. Fred was very fond of reading The Times, which had just announced it was going to cut its price in half, to one penny. She sometimes picked up the papers her father-in-law abandoned and she’d read about the troubles in Ireland, with Ulster teetering on the brink of civil war only last month as the British government dragged their feet over the Home Rule Bill. Even though she looked mainly for news of the suffragettes, one of whom had slashed a famous painting in the National Gallery in January that year, which Beth thought foolish and unnecessary, she had noticed all the reports of unrest in various parts of Europe. One paper insisted that the arms race was becoming dangerous and lambasted the British government for sitting on its hands while Wilhelm II, Kaiser and Emperor of Prussia, prepared for war. Most people scoffed at such reports, believing it was warmongering and foolish, but she knew that Fred took it seriously. Mr Churchill certainly did, demanding a larger budget for the navy than ever before, which brought accusations from the opposition that he was risking national security by angering neighbours across the Channel.
It seemed to Beth that the German ruler was a hard man with no feelings. He’d gone so far as to ban a dance called the tango for his troops, because it was said to be too intimate. He’d even called on people to shun those who continued to perform what was a popular dance. What kind of a man would do that? Beth loved to dance. Jack had taken her a few times, though they mostly stuck to the waltz or the two-step, but she would have loved to do the more daring tango if she’d known how.
‘If war did come,’ she said slowly, looking at Fred, ‘would Jack have to go – and Tim?’
‘Jack wouldn’t be the first to be called on as he’s married,’ Fred said, ‘but Tim certainly will be in the thick of it. He’s already been flying over German factories and shipyards, helping to take pictures. My son is excited to be flying and nothing would keep him out…’
‘Maybe it won’t happen,’ Beth said hopefully as the bus slowed to a halt and they descended into the rush and noise of Oxford Street. A small crowd was gathering round Harpers and pointing at the windows. It was one of the new displays for the second anniversary of opening day, and there was a display of glass and china, some of which was advertised as being a free gift to the first six customers to spend thirty pounds in the china and glass department. ‘Oh, look what Sally has done…’ She frowned thoughtfully, ‘Do you think anyone has that much to spend all at once?’
‘A rich uncle or father perhaps,’ Fred said. ‘It’s a good sales ploy, Beth, and it has certainly drawn an audience…’
The free vases were just one of the special offers; men’s suits were offered with a free shirt and collar; ties were given free with a spend of more than twenty pounds.
‘Gosh…’ Beth drew a wondering breath. ‘I think we must be the only department that doesn’t have any special offers…’
‘It’s because you’re always busy anyway,’ Fred said. ‘Besides, we’ve got a week of these special windows, so yours may be another day…’
Beth nodded and smiled as she noticed that a small queue had formed at the front of the shop. Free offers and special reductions had brought a surge of extra custom, but would it tail off as soon as the offers were over?
It was a quarter past nine when Beth realised that Marion Kaye probably wasn’t coming in that day, because she was very late and, normally, she was no more than a minute or so, if that, and she tried hard not to be late these days. As soon as Mrs Craven made her tour of the floor, Beth asked her if she’d heard from her junior salesgirl.
‘No, not as yet,’ Rachel Craven replied with a frown. ‘It would not be easy for her to let us know if she was going to be late – but usually a relative can either telephone or call from a box if someone is sick…’
‘I know she has difficulty at home,’ Beth said. ‘We haven’t been rushed off our feet this morning, so we shall manage quite well – but if we did have a surge of customers, it would make things difficult at break time.’
‘The ground floor and the men’s department are where all the customers are this morning,’ Rachel told her with a smile. ‘I even gave the girls on the china and glass department a hand with wrapping a large gift. A gentleman has purchased a set of crystal wine, sherry, whisky, port, brandy, liqueur and water glasses, three crystal decanters, also a leaded crystal fruit bowl and a set of desert dishes and triumphantly carried off his two matching vases for spending sixty pounds.’
‘Goodness me!’ Beth cried astonished. ‘He must be wealthy to spend so much on glassware…’
‘He said it was a wedding present for his daughter – and he particularly wanted the vases for himself. He has been debating whether or not to buy a pair before this and he couldn’t believe his luck that he got them for nothing…’
‘I suppose it is worth it to turn so much stock over,’ Beth said, ‘but it seems extravagant to give so much away…’
‘Apparently, Mrs Harper thought it would bring customers in and Mr Harper said it is often done in America…’
‘Yes, she mentioned something of the kind to me,’ Beth said. ‘But more than fifteen pounds is a lot of money to give away…’
‘I suppose they didn’t cost that much and they were not selling…’
