chap. For herself, she rather liked this basement underworld; there was something deliciously mysterious about it.
‘You’re not scared, are you?’ she teased.
‘No!’ he flashed back, a little too quickly. ‘It just seems like an odd place to keep uniforms.’ He hesitated for a moment, then added suspiciously, ‘This isn’t some sort of awful joke, is it?’
Lil felt a little ashamed of herself. The poor fellow looked exactly the sort who would be forever having his leg pulled. ‘Of course not,’ she said, heartily. ‘I say, there are a lot of rooms down here, aren’t there? Dozens and dozens, all of them empty. I suppose they’ll be needed eventually, but for now, hardly anyone seems to come down here.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Billy, muttering something else almost inaudible about not wanting to be seen skulking around a darkened basement with a girl, wearing only his vest.
Lil paid no attention. ‘Here we are,’ she announced triumphantly, pushing the door open on to a small room containing several racks of Sinclair’s uniforms. ‘Well, off you go then,’ she urged. ‘Try them on. One of them will do, I’m sure of it,’ she said, perching on the edge of a wooden crate.
Billy eyed her uneasily. ‘Are you planning to just sit there and watch ?’
‘Would you like me to cover my eyes?’ she asked mischievously.
He ignored her, and wriggled into a jacket that looked about the right size.
‘A perfect fit,’ she said, pleased, bouncing down from her makeshift seat. ‘Now, we’d better get back upstairs before anyone notices we’ve gone. Come on!’
But they had barely stepped out into the passage again before Lil stopped suddenly in her tracks. She could hear something: not the usual quiet creaking sounds of the basement, but something more distinctive – the sound of regular footsteps, coming closer and closer towards them. She grabbed Billy’s arm, and dragged him quickly around a corner, and against a wall.
She could see he was annoyed with her now. ‘What d’you think you’re doing?’ he began crossly, but she put a finger to her lips willing him to be silent. He gazed back at her, confused, then he heard the footsteps too, and understanding, he pressed himself back against the wall. A figure was approaching, shadowy in the dim light. Lil held her breath. Any moment now, they might be discovered. Beside her, Billy squeezed his eyes shut, as if waiting for the moment to come, but she peered round the corner, fascinated, as it approached and then passed by, down the corridor and out of sight.
She let out a long gust of breath.
‘Whoever do you think that was?’ she whispered, intrigued.
‘Shhhh! ’ hissed Billy.
They stood still and waited until the sound of footsteps faded away, before creeping back into the main corridor and up the stairs to the shop floor.
From the very beginning, it had been clear that Edward Sinclair planned to take good care of his staff. They had a far better time of it than their peers in London’s other great stores. They were not expected to sleep in cramped dormitories above the shop, nor to work long hours for low pay. They had proper training, decent wages, and sensible working hours, including regular tea breaks and a substantial midday meal, which they ate in shifts in the large staff refectory. Of course, the food on offer wasn’t anything to compare with the elegant dishes that would very soon be served in the store’s luxurious Marble Court Restaurant, but the smell of mutton stew that day certainly made Sophie feel hungry as she walked into the large dining hall.
On the threshold, though, she hesitated. The staff sat where they liked at the long tables, but there was a rule that the men and boys kept to one side of the room, women and girls to the other. Because of this, although Sophie could see Billy sitting by himself across the room – now looking much tidier, his copy of Boys of Empire spread open on the table in front of him – she couldn’t go over and sit with him. But equally she knew she would not be very welcome at the table where Edith was holding forth to a cluster of her fellow shop girls. With some relief, she spotted an empty place in a corner where she could sit alone. But before she could make her way over to it, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
‘Miss Taylor,’ said an unfamiliar voice, and she turned around to see a tall, fair young man whom she recognised slightly – Bert Jones, Ladies’ Fashions. He wore his hair sleeked back, and smelled strongly of cologne. Sophie nodded politely, but felt confused. She had barely exchanged two words with Bert before, and all she really knew about him was that Edith had been telling everyone that he had already invited her to walk out with him.
‘I hear you’re coming up in the world,’ he said, in a confidential tone. ‘Little promotion on the way? Mum’s the word though, eh?’ He tapped the side of his nose.
Sophie smiled awkwardly and made to move away, but he put a long-fingered hand on her elbow. ‘Look, the way I see it, Miss Taylor, you and I have got things in common. You’re obviously a smart girl, and me – well, I don’t like to brag, but I’m smart too. Going places, see? Catching the right people’s attention. So how about you step out with me on Friday night, after closing time?’
Sophie felt her face flush scarlet. She felt horribly conscious of the shop girls gasping and giggling, and Billy goggling at her from across the room. ‘But . . . I thought you were walking out with Edith,’ she managed.
Bert shrugged. ‘Well, maybe I was. But things change, don’t they?’ he said with a knowing wink.
Sophie lifted her chin. ‘Thank you, but I don’t think so,’ she said firmly.
Bert eyed her thoughtfully. ‘They all said you were stuck-up,’ he said. Then he grinned. ‘Well, that’s all right by me. I don’t mind a girl being a bit above herself. Come on, Your Ladyship. I’m a catch, me. On Cooper’s good side. Doing his special commissions after hours, so I’ve got a few quid coming my way. I’ll treat you proper – like a lady.’
‘Can’t you tell she’s not interested?’ came a clear, matter-of-fact voice from somewhere behind her. To her astonishment, Sophie saw that Lil had appeared at her elbow. She was now dressed in a plain skirt and blouse instead of the green and gold peacock gown, but she still looked as extraordinary as ever. ‘Leave her alone and go and eat your dinner.’
One or two people laughed, and Bert stared for a moment, taken aback. Then he seemed to register all the watching faces and a scowl broke over his face. He let go of Sophie’s elbow and stalked away towards the gentlemen’s side of the room, his hands in his pockets, as if nothing had happened.
‘What a bore,’ said Lil, leading Sophie towards a couple of empty chairs in the corner, leaving a babble of chatter in their wake. ‘You’ve simply got to put fellows like that in their place.’
Sophie pulled a face, feeling embarrassed. She could well imagine that Lil was used to dealing with all kinds of suitors, but Sophie herself was hardly accustomed to strange young men inviting her to walk out with them.
Lil was staring down at her plate in undisguised disappointment. ‘Mutton,’ she said with a sigh. ‘How dreary. Could you only imagine if it had been roast beef ? I’m simply ravenous.’
But Sophie wasn’t thinking about stew. ‘Edith is going to be even more browned off with me than ever now.’
‘Who’s
