A Pearl for Love (10 page)

‘
Found what?
’
asked Catherine, and surprised a look of annoyance which John directed towards his mother.

‘
Anything, dear,
’
the older woman amended hastily.
‘
Anything of interest, I mean.
’

‘
Only old bills. Paid, thank goodness,
’
she replied, and there was a long awkward silence. She could see a muscle twitching on John
’
s face, and knew that he was upset. Maybe he had been badly
h
urt by Rosalie Craven.

‘
I
’
d better get back to work
,’
she said lightly, putting down her coffee cup.

‘
Finish early and we can go and see a film. Your choice
,’
John offered.

‘
Thank you, John
.’

It was a nice offer, and she was happy to take him up on it. As she closed the door she could hear John
’
s voice, suddenly full of annoyance.

‘
Honestly, Mum, your tongue runs away with you at times!
’

She could not hear Aunt Lucille
’
s reply, and she walked on thoughtfully. Was that because of Rosalie, or because she had asked if Catherine had found
‘
it
’
? Found what? she wondered, then shrugged. Lucille was a very curious person. Going through a lot of personal things would no doubt give her a lot of pleasure, except, of course, if the circumstances were the same as Catherine
’
s. No doubt that was what she had meant.

Catherine got few letters, except from
Mrs.
Neill and a few friends she had known in Perth, but she exclaimed with pleasure when Elizabeth handed her a blue envelope with large rather scrawling writing.

‘
Oh, lovely
!
One from Janie. She never writes, either, unless she really has to.
’

‘
Janie?
’
asked Aunt Lucille.

Catherine
’
s smile wavered for a moment.

‘
Yes—Janie Howat. She was going to have been my bridesmaid.
’

Her voice trailed off as she read the letter, then the joy and laughter was back on her face.

‘
Janie
’
s getting married. On Saturday, no less. She
’
s dithered about writing to tell me, because
...
well, she felt I would be upset since she never was my bridesmaid. But of course I
’
m not. Not at all,
’
she added firmly.

‘
Of course not, dear. You
’
ll have to choose something nice for a wedding gift. No doubt James could help you with that
...’

‘
She
’
s wondering if I can go to the wedding.
’
Catherine bit her lip.
‘
But it
’
s a Saturday.
’

‘
We
’
d manage without you for one day now that Prycey is back,
’
Elizabeth told her, and Catherine restrained the impulse to hug her. Somehow Elizabeth wasn
’
t the sort of girl one hugged. All she ever managed for her mother was a cool kiss on the cheek, and Catherine often wondered if she had saved all her love for Michael.

‘
It would be wonderful if I could go,
’
she said eagerly, and when James Sheridan came in, and gave her permission, she was delighted.

Catherine bought a new suit and hat for the wedding. She had already telephoned
Mrs.
Neill who invited her to stay overnight until Sunday, and as Catherine travelled north on the train, she laid aside the magazines John had bought for her, and gazed out at the passing fields, and small lonely houses perched high on hillsides between each town. She
had much to think about.

Recently she had been avoiding Michael Rodgers, taking care never to be alone with him. Often she would look up to find his dark eyes fixed on her, and she was becoming more and more shy of him. That he and Elizabeth were often at odds was also becoming apparent, and Catherine was conscious of tension growing in the shop which, offered every sign of peace and tranquillity to its customers.

Often, too, Michael was out of the shop for fairly long periods, which caused Uncle James to frown a little. He liked to deliver the larger clocks himself, and to see them properly installed, and keeping perfect time.

‘
It
’
s essential to give this service,
’
Michael said,
‘
because people trust you to do the best for them.
’

‘
Even to sending them somewhere else when they come in to look at our range
?’
asked Uncle James, rather dryly, and Michael flushed a dull red.

‘
Yes,
’
he said defiantly.

‘
Sometimes people like to see a good variety of clocks, even if they have something special in mind,
’
Uncle James argued.
‘
It could be that something we have would have suited them much better. Only you don
’
t always give them the opportunity, Michael. They get sent along to Newdox before you
’
ve talked to them for five minutes.
’

‘
Maybe they send people to us, if they haven
’
t got what a customer wants either,
’
argued Michael.

‘
Maybe.
’
Uncle James
’
s tone was dry and he stroked his upper lip thoughtfully.

‘
Anyway, if sales are bad, why don
’
t you have a word with John?
’
asked Michael, his cheeks still flushed and his eyes sparkling.

‘
John?
’

‘
Yes. He
’
s fond of paying too high a price for secondhand pieces which people bring in. He
’
d get them very much cheaper if he tried.
’

It was John
’
s turn to colour.

‘
I give people a fair price if they want to sell anything,
’
he said, very quietly.
‘
We do a good trade in secondhand goods. Lots of people prefer to buy them, because there
’
s no tax.
’

‘
Even if new is often better cut and better set.
’

‘
That
’
s true, but it
’
s people we
’
re dealing with, and if they think they
’
re going to be happy with an older secondhand piece, then why shouldn
’
t they have it? Some of the pieces are lovely after I
’
ve cleaned them up. People allow their jewellery to get dirty, when they wouldn
’
t dream of using a soiled handkerchief.
’

‘
Even so, you won
’
t make much profit at the prices you offer.
’

‘
Oh, for goodness
’
sake
!’
said John crossly.
‘
We
’
ll get nowhere if we keep watching one another all the time.
’

‘
I agree,
’
said Michael, and James stood looking from one to the other.

‘
Nevertheless, things aren
’
t going as well as they might for the firm at the moment,
’
he said quietly.

‘
I hope you
’
ll both bear it in mind. The cost of modernising the shop, both inside and out, was considerable, and although we took a chance on mode
rn
-styled jewellery, which I have never liked myself, the public don
’
t seem to appreciate it either.
’

‘
Give it time,
’
said John.
‘
Those new gem stones in dialite and yttrium aluminate are doing well.
’

He had been mainly responsible for trying out new ideas. He knew, though, that it was also important to stick to traditional styles, though he argued that if new designs weren
’
t available, how would people know whether they liked them or not?

‘
They are selling, if slowly,
‘
he pointed out.
‘
My mistake was to buy too many at the start.
’

‘
We all make mistakes,
’
said James, sighing, then suddenly he smiled.
‘
It
’
s good to blow off steam occasionally, though, and we certainly want new ideas. We could do with something that was completely our own. Put your minds to it, and if you come up with something worthwhile, then I
’
ll be happy to try it. Perhaps the new gem stones might be the very thing. After all, it
’
s in your interests, too, Michael. You
’
ll be sharing equally in the firm when you
’
re married to Elizabeth.
’

Catherine had been unable to help overhearing the conversation. She was in the shop on her own, Elizabeth having gone for lunch, and Miss Pryce being at the bank for Uncle James. The men had been at the other side of the shop, but their voices had carried quite clearly, and although she had
cleared
her throat, and John had glanced in her direction, they made no attempt to walk away, or to lower their voices.

Now, sitting in the train, Catherine pondered a little. Was business so very worrying for Uncle James and John? And surely Michael had been staying out for longer than he need. Quite often both she and Elizabeth had had to help out with the watches and clocks.

She was well used to taking watches for repairs now, and showing new ones to prospective buyers. But she could not explain their relative merits to enquiring people, and unhappily, she had sometimes watched people leave without making up their minds, probably because she wasn
’
t competent enough to make the sale. She had, rather uneasily, explained this to Michael, but he told her to think nothing of it.

‘
If they really want it, Catherine,
’
he told her,
‘
they
’
ll have it, no matter what you say.
’

‘
Oh, I hope you
’
re right, Michael.
’

She had felt the pressure of his fingers on her hand, and had quickly pulled away, and gone back to her own counter. She glanced at Elizabeth who didn
’
t appear to notice anything, but her face looked pale and white under the bright lights of the shop, which did so much to turn the sparkling diamonds and other precious stones into some sort of fairyland.

Catherine pondered on the words she had heard. Uncle James had said Michael would be part of the firm
‘
when he married Elizabeth
’
. But surely he
was part of the firm now. He was the only son of Uncle James
’
s partner, who was now dead. Surely the partnership would then go to his only son.

Unless he had to earn his spurs. Perhaps he and John were both serving some sort of apprenticeship before they had any real responsibility in the firm
...
before they became junior partners.

Catherine gave herself a mental shake. It was none of her business what their position was with the firm. It wasn
’
t good that her mind should keep running on Mike Rodgers, and everything which touched
him.

She was glad to be going back to Perth again. There she might see things in proper perspective.