The Teashop Girls Read online

  ‘Miss, can we have two cheese rarebits please, and a pot of tea for two?’

  Lily wrote down the customer’s choice and walked to the counter to hand over the order with her head still in the clouds. She had a lovely room now at Sea View, and it was time to turn over a new leaf and forget about her stepfather and the arrogant Tom White.

  ‘Buck up, Lily, or you’ll have the new boss down on us like a ton of bricks,’ Katie hissed as she hurried past with a heavily laden tray. ‘I thought old Butterworth was bad enough, but this one’s even worse. Goodness knows where Lyons find these women! Thank goodness Mr Grant saw fit to put Rose up for management training and promotion.’

  Lily grinned. Trust Katie to bring her to her senses. She’d best buck up, as she didn’t have time to step into Miss Roberts’ office after work for a telling off. Rose was coming home on the six o’clock train from London, and after tea with Flora they would be having the final fittings for their wedding attire. Who’d have believed that young Katie would be the first of them to marry? she believed as she greeted a family who had hurried into the teashop out of the cold and led them to a table. Although there was no longer as much snow falling from the sky, it was perishing cold. She’d taken to wearing two pairs of stockings to work and a thin jumper under her Nippy uniform. With her workstation being close to the front of the shop she was forever feeling the cold, what with the door opening and closing as people came in to buy bread and cakes or sit down for a meal.

  ‘Miss, is everything on the menu available?’ enquired the mother of the family she’d just seated.

  ‘To my knowledge it is, madam,’ Lily replied politely. ‘I’ve not been told otherwise.’

  The woman beamed. ‘I’m so relieved. It is my daughter’s birthday and this is our family treat. My husband joins his regiment tomorrow,’ she added with a little wobble in her voice.

  ‘Then we should make this a very special meal,’ Lily said, reaching for the tariff card to advise them. ‘Would you like sandwiches and cake – or perhaps you were thinking of a main meal? I can recommend the sausages and mash, it’s my favourite.’ She smiled at the children, whose eyes lit up at her words. ‘We also have trifle, and there’s jelly if you prefer; although perhaps the adults would like one of our hot puddings and custard? Would you like me to bring you a drink while you decide?’

  ‘Thank you,’ the mother said, giving Lily a grateful look. ‘We don’t often go out for our meals, and I was a little nervous. You’ve helped us so much. I would like a cup of tea – how about you, Bert?’

  ‘Tea would be very nice, thank you,’ the nervous man said, giving Lily a small smile. ‘Perhaps orangeade for the children, as this is a special occasion?’

  ‘I’ll get those for you now, and take your order when I return,’ Lily said as she noted their requests on the pad attached to her waistband by a cord.

  ‘Gosh, it must be hard seeing your husband off to join the army and being left behind with the children, not knowing when or if he will return,’ Lily said as she stood alongside Katie, who was also waiting for a drinks order to be completed. ‘My family on table ten are having a meal together before he leaves to join up. I don’t think they dine out much, so this is something of a special occasion. I do feel for them.’

  ‘At least she has children,’ Katie said quietly. ‘My wedding could be for nothing if Jack doesn’t return.’

  ‘Me and my big mouth!’ Lily said, realizing how insensitive she had been with her comment. ‘I only have to open it and I put my foot straight in. I’m sorry, Katie. However, if Jack doesn’t return – and I’m sure he will,’ she added quickly, ‘at least you will have the memory of a beautiful wedding. And two glamorous bridesmaids,’ she finished, trying to make her friend smile.

  Katie placed a pot of hot coffee onto her tray. ‘I’ll try and remember that, especially the glamorous bridesmaids part,’ she grinned. ‘Don’t mind me. I’m just nervous about the wedding. I think it’s allowed! I’ll feel happier when Rose is back with us and I know her dress fits.’

  ‘You’re worrying unduly,’ Lily said. ‘Unless she’s been tucking in to all the Lyons products while she’s been training, it will fit perfectly. Miss Tibbs said it would, and I have no reason to doubt her.’

  ‘It will be strange to have our Rose a fully fledged manageress. I hope it doesn’t turn her head and make her start to boss us about away from work,’ Katie joked.

  ‘She could never be as bossy as that Miss Roberts. We’d best look sharp, as here she comes,’ Lily whispered, looking past Katie towards the manageress’s office as Miss Roberts appeared, followed by Tom. ‘See you later,’ she added as she grabbed her tray and headed back to her customers.

  ‘So what’s it to be?’ she asked after placing the drinks in front of the family.

  ‘The children have chosen sausage and mashed potato,’ the father said. ‘My wife would like the meat pie with potatoes and cabbage, and I will have the curried meat and rice, if you please.’

  ‘Those are fine choices,’ Lily smiled as she noted down the meals.

  ‘I must say, it’s a treat not to have to cook for the family for once,’ the wife said.

  ‘If I had a penny for every lady who said that to me, I’d be as rich as a king,’ Lily chuckled.

  ‘My husband was wondering how Lyons manages to provide such a varied menu now that we have rationing? The business he owns is already experiencing shortages and restrictions. We have a greengrocer’s business on the other side of town,’ she added proudly.

  ‘From what I understand from our previous manager, who had the same concerns as yourself, it seems restaurants and cafes are not affected by the recent rationing announcements. But who knows what will happen if this war should continue?’ Lily answered, aware that young ears were listening. ‘I would have thought that in your line of business, you would have been in a reserved occupation,’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, my Bert has ideas about volunteering to sort out Hitler and end the war,’ the wife said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. ‘I’ll be running the place single-handed from now on.’

  ‘My landlady is in the same position. We’ve handed in our ration cards and she does the best she can for us. Flora’s even been told she has to put up a few soldiers as she has a spare bedroom going begging now my friend . . . that’s her daughter . . . is moving to Margate to be manageress of the teashop on the seafront,’ Lily said, letting her tongue run away with her regardless of not knowing these people from Adam.

  ‘That must be Flora Neville? Why, I’ve known her for years. We are both helping out the Air Raid Precaution unit here in town. We’ve got quite friendly during the meetings, and when we walk the tunnels to make sure there haven’t been any fresh rock falls.’

  Lily shuddered. ‘I hope we never have to use them,’ she said with feeling.

  ‘My dear, I don’t think we should be talking about such things. You never know who is listening,’ Bert said, glancing left and right. The children copied him.

  ‘Be like Dad,’ the little boy announced as he drained his glass.

  ‘And keep Mum,’ his sister added.

  Lily did her best not to laugh. ‘That’s very wise advice.’

  ‘Please send my best wishes to Flora. And will you tell her it’s doubtful I’ll be able to get to the meetings, now I’m alone running the shop? Seeing as this one here has decided to put his life on the line for King and Country,’ the woman tutted.

  ‘Now, Gladys, there’s no need to speak like that. We did have a discussion about this.’

  ‘Yes, and you then went down the pub, had a drink and went and signed up when you didn’t have to,’ she threw back at him. ‘Just remember that while you’re having a whale of the time with your mates, Muggins here has got to hold the fort,’ she glared.

  Lily noticed the children weren’t at all worried by their parents bickering, so perhaps they had grown up with it. ‘I’ll get your meals ordered,’ she said, slipping away before things bec
ame any more heated.

  She placed the food order and went to serve another customer with tea and toast before cleaning down a vacant table and setting it ready for the next customers. Turning to head to the kitchen to collect the family’s tray of food, she was stopped by Tom White.

  ‘I’ve been trying to get you alone,’ he said in a low voice while holding onto her arm so she couldn’t leave. ‘Come to my hotel this evening and we can carry on where we left off last time.’

  Lily wriggled free, managing to control her anger enough not to send her heavy tray crashing down on his head. ‘I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last man on earth,’ she hissed. ‘The way you ignored me after last time we – the last time I made the mistake of getting too close to you – was not the behaviour of a gentleman. So you can crawl back in your hole, and stay away from me.’

  ‘You’ll do well not to cross me,’ he snarled. ‘It’s no good acting all innocent and lily-white now. I could tell you’d been round the block a few times.’

  ‘What do you mean? I’d never been with a man before,’ Lily hissed back, doing her utmost not to alarm the customers sitting close by. ‘I’ve a mind to report you to head office for how you’re acting. It seems I’m not the first Nippy you’ve enticed to your room, from what I’ve heard since you took me there.’

  Tom White looked puzzled for a moment, then laughed in her face. ‘You can keep lying all you like, but a man can tell, and it wasn’t the first time for either of us. Don’t even think about reporting me, Lily, or you will find life around here very uncomfortable indeed,’ he said, heading back to Miss Robert’s office with a furious expression.

  ‘Are you all right, my dear?’ the nice lady at table ten asked Lily when she approached with the family’s food. ‘I couldn’t help but notice that man stopping you. He seemed angry about something.’

  ‘It’s nothing,’ Lily said, forcing a smile onto her face although she wanted nothing more than to sit down and sob her heart out. ‘It’s a chap from head office, and he can be a bit of a bully at times. Don’t worry – I can handle him.’ She slid a plate of hot meat pie and vegetables in front of the woman. ‘Please do enjoy your meals.’

  ‘Before you go, would you mind passing a message to Flora for me? She mentioned that a Polish lady who lives with her is looking for work. Would you tell her I’ll be needing someone to do a few hours every day now my husband’s not at the shop? It’s Peabody’s the grocers, in case she’s forgotten where I am.’

  Lily said she would do just that and hurried away, but not before she heard Mrs Peabody putting her husband straight when he dared to question her employing someone.

  10

  Rose placed her hand over her mouth, doing her best to stifle a yawn. It wasn’t yet midday, but she felt as though she’d been at Orchard House, the head office of J. Lyons, for a full day. Although the talk about managing staff was interesting and she’d been taking down notes, she couldn’t stop thinking back to earlier that morning.

  Rising early so as not to wake Ben, she’d dressed and collected her suitcase. If she hurried, she could be at Orchard House early and sort out her accommodation before beginning her first day of training.

  ‘Were you going to love me and leave me?’ a sleepy voice said as she put on her coat.

  ‘I’ve left a note,’ Rose smiled. ‘You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.’ He pulled her into his arms for a long lingering kiss. ‘Can I see you this evening?’ she asked.

  A shadow crossed Ben’s face. ‘I’m afraid I won’t be here.’

  Rose felt as though her heart was about to stop beating. ‘Oh – I thought we had more time . . .’

  ‘I’m afraid not, my sweet. I’ll be travelling with my regiment by this evening.’

  She felt tears prick her eyes. ‘Is this the end of the magic?’ she whispered. ‘Is what happened last night to be the only time we spend time together?’

  ‘No, never!’ he exclaimed, almost shaking her as forced her to listen to his words. ‘I love you, Rose, and last night was just the start of our love. I want to show you my world, share secrets with you . . .’ His voice started to falter.

  ‘Secrets?’

  ‘Now’s not the time,’ he said, taking an envelope from a side table. ‘I’ve put details here of how you can write to me. You will, won’t you? I can explain more about my life and my plans in my letters.’

  ‘I’ll write and give you my new address, but you can always reach me if you write to Sea View,’ she said, fighting back tears. ‘I’ve seen people saying goodbye to loved ones as they head off to war, and now I know how much it hurts. I feel as though my heart is being ripped out.’ She reached up to touch his face and ran her fingers through his unruly hair before picking up her suitcase.

  ‘Can you wait while I shave and pull on some clothes, so I can accompany you? What about breakfast?’

  ‘I daren’t, or I’ll be late,’ she said, wishing she could stay with him for longer.

  ‘I’ll phone down for a taxi then I know you will arrive safely,’ he said, reaching for the telephone. ‘I can at least walk you to the lift . . .’

  ‘Miss Neville, I asked a question,’ the instructor said. Rose was shaken from her reverie by the sound of polite tittering from the other women in the room.

  A girl sitting to her left discreetly pushed her notes in front of Rose, and she was able to give the correct answer before thanking her fellow student with a grateful smile.

  The following days saw Rose studying hard as she learnt about the duties of a teashop manageress and the official paperwork, as well as taking a refresher course on the duties expected of all her teashop staff. She was reminded of how Nippies needed to have the ability to add up the prices of tariff items correctly, and of how good deportment and a pleasant disposition were essential. At times it felt as if her head was about to burst with so much information.

  It wasn’t all work; on some evenings, along with her fellow trainees, Rose went to the theatre or the cinema. It was only as she stood on the station platform at Charing Cross, ready to travel home, that she realized just how much she had grown up during the past fortnight – and how, with Ben now in her life, her future looked bright.

  ‘Oh, you really shouldn’t have done this,’ Flora said, running the silky scarf through her fingers. ‘You were in London to learn how to do your job, not to go shopping for presents for us all. You must have spent a fortune!’

  Rose laughed. ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep this a secret. One of the women who was training alongside me brought them in. Her dad works on a stall in the East End of London. Honestly, they didn’t cost that much money, and when I saw them I just knew you’d all love them as much as I did. Look – I’m wearing a blue one,’ she said, opening her jacket to show the peacock-blue scarf draped over her jumper.

  ‘I shall wear mine to the wedding,’ Miss Tibbs said, as the other women of Sea View agreed.

  ‘You must tell us all about London,’ Joyce Hannigan said. ‘I’ve never been. Mr Hannigan always promised to take me when he was over his illness, but it was never to be. Did you go to the theatre – and what about the dancing? I’ve heard there are clubs for such things,’ she said, her face glowing with excitement.

  ‘Joyce, Rose was there to work, not to enjoy herself,’ Flora scolded. ‘She probably didn’t draw breath from all that learning, let along visit dance halls and theatres.’

  ‘I did go dancing once,’ Rose said, her eyes taking on a faraway expression. ‘It was so lovely, and I was asked to sing with a band that was large enough to be an orchestra. And on another evening I went to the theatre and saw a comedy with songs, called Somewhere in England. Will Hay was in it, would you believe? It was funny.’

  Pearl came over to lean against Rose. ‘I missed you, but thank you for my dolly,’ she whispered. ‘I’m glad you are home.’

  Rose kissed the young girl’s cheek. ‘I missed you too, poppet.’

  ‘You must tell us more ab
out London,’ Joyce said, her hands clasped together.

  ‘Now, Rose, you must unpack, and you girls have to try on your gowns for tomorrow. At this rate you’ll be walking up the aisle with tailor tacks holding the frocks together. Now be off with the three of you. Perhaps, Mildred and Joyce, you’d help me with the washing-up this once? I have a million things to do before tomorrow – I don’t know where to begin,’ Flora interrupted, running a hand through her hair.

  ‘I will be down in two of the ticks once I have helped Miss Tibbs with the dresses. You must not do the panicking,’ Anya said. ‘In the short time I am here you and Rose are my family, and I will help my family as much as I can,’ she added, making Flora smile with gratitude. ‘As for this –’ she stroked the forest-green scarf around her neck – ‘I thank you with all my soul, for I have never owned anything so beautiful. I am eternally in your gratitude,’ she said, pulling Rose to her in a bear hug.

  ‘That goes for me too,’ Mildred said gruffly as she looked at the pink scarf she held in her large hand. ‘I’m not one for fripperies as a rule, but this means a lot; thank you. I will wear it tomorrow when we celebrate the young couple’s wedding.’

  Rose felt quite touched that her small gifts meant so much to the ladies of Sea View. She couldn’t speak, for she knew she would start to cry.

  ‘Come along,’ Lily said, grabbing her arm. She could see that her friend was fighting back emotion. ‘I’ll race you up the stairs,’ she said, and the three girls raced from the dining room along the hall and up the staircase, just as they had when playing together as children.

  ‘You look as pretty as a picture,’ Anya said, as Katie twisted and turned in the dress lent to her by Miss Tibbs. ‘No one would know it was so old, and it fits you to perfection. What do you wear to cover your face?’

  The girls started to giggle. ‘Do you mean a wedding veil?’ Lily asked.

  ‘That is what I mean,’ Anya said. ‘Did I say something funny?’

  ‘No, bless you,’ Rose smiled. ‘It was thinking of Katie having her face covered as she walked down the aisle that made us laugh.’