Legacy of Greyladies (8 page)

The motor car was standing outside but Babs wasn’t in it. She was haranguing a man about drinking too much and leaving his wife without money for food. The man stood with head bowed, listening to her in silence, even though he towered over her.

‘I’m going to call in at the pub and tell them not to serve you more than one pint a night,’ Babs finished up. ‘And I’ll set someone to watch that you don’t have any more than that.’

‘Two pints,’ he pleaded. ‘A man gets thirsty, working hard all day.’

‘One. And if your wife grows any thinner, I’ll have you banned from the pub completely.’

She strode back to the car and swung up into it. ‘I’m an interfering old woman, aren’t I? But I can’t bear to see men wasting so much money on drink when their families are going hungry.’

‘You seem to care about a lot of things,’ Olivia remarked.

Babs shrugged, her smile fading. ‘It helps to pass the time. And Humfy would have told me to do it now that he can’t. He knew everyone in the village, played with some of the men when they were all lads.’

She started the car, an easy job even for a woman because the large Wolseley had one of the new starter motors on it and didn’t need hand cranking. She raised her voice above the sound of the motor as she drove. ‘I’ve got some very good news for you. You won’t have to feel guilty about leaving, because I’ve found your cousin’s wife a maid.’

‘My goodness, how did you manage that?’

‘I put the word out through my servants that I knew a lady in the country who needed a general maid. The woman who came to see me about the job has been living in London. When a Zeppelin came over and dropped bombs nearby, destroying her neighbour’s house and killing the whole family, she grew terrified, and is desperate to live in the country till the war is over and her husband comes home. If you’ll kindly introduce me to your cousins, I’ll tell them about her.’

She glanced down at herself with one of her jolly chuckles. ‘I hope you appreciate that I’ve dressed in a skirt today so that I won’t shock the captain too much.’

This was going to be an interesting meeting, Olivia thought. Even the way Babs talked to people would upset Donald, who liked meek, quiet-voiced women. But if you wanted to get something done, you couldn’t be meek. She was learning so much from watching her new friend, who seemed absolutely fearless when dealing with people.

As Olivia got out of the car she said, ‘Give me a couple of minutes to warn them that they’ve got a visitor, then follow me in.’

She went into the house, calling, ‘I’ve brought a visitor.’

Cecily came out of the sitting room, saying in a low voice, ‘I was watching out of the window and saw who it
was. I don’t know if we have anything suitable to serve Mrs Horner-Jevons for refreshments. And I’m only wearing an old dress.’

‘Never mind that. She’s not here to take tea and she won’t give two hoots what you’re wearing. She wants to speak to you and Donald.’ She glanced into the sitting room and saw her cousin sitting on the sofa with his foot up. ‘Don’t try to get up when she arrives, Donald. Babs knows you’ve been wounded.’

There was a knock on the front door and a voice called, ‘All right to come in?’

Cecily rushed across to open the door wider. ‘Yes, of course, Mrs Horner-Jevons.’

‘This is my cousin’s wife, Mrs Ballam,’ Olivia said ‘And her husband, Captain Ballam.’

‘We met a while ago. Pleased to see you again.’ Babs followed her hostess into the sitting room.

‘Won’t you sit down?’ Cecily indicated a chair. ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’

‘No, thank you. I’m here on business. You may not know it, but I help women who’re struggling because they’ve lost husbands, or lost their homes in the bombing. I heard you were looking for a maid.’

Cecily gave her husband a worried glance.

‘We
were
looking for a maid,’ he said. ‘But as we can’t find one, my cousin will have to help out instead.’

‘I’ve already told you, I’ll be leaving after Christmas,’ Olivia said firmly. ‘I won’t change my mind, whatever you say, so you definitely need a maid.’

As Donald opened his mouth to argue, Babs spoke again, slightly more loudly, drowning out his first words so that
he stopped speaking. ‘I know a woman who’s terrified of staying in London because of the bombing. Her husband is serving in France, so she’d need to be able to see him when he comes home on leave, but apart from that she has excellent references; she used to work for a titled lady.’

Cecily gave her husband a pleading look.

He hrrumphed, caught Olivia’s eyes and said, ‘I’ll think about it. I prefer to do the hiring of servants, because I’m used to dealing with people. Besides, I like to know the person to whom I’m paying out my money.’

‘Fine. But if you won’t take my word that she’s suitable and you need to interview her before you employ her, you’ll have to pay her train fare to and from London, because she can’t afford it.’

He stiffened visibly. ‘
What?
’

‘And her wages would be …’ She turned to Olivia and winked. ‘What would you say, Olivia? How about a pound a week and all found.’

‘Yes, that sounds reasonable.’

‘
A pound
! We’ve never paid more than ten shillings a week,’ Donald said immediately. ‘I don’t think—’

‘You’re out of touch, then. Prices have risen and so have servants’ wages. I thought your need was urgent, what with Olivia going home to Swindon after Christmas, so I came to you first. But if you’re not interested in hiring the woman, other people will snap her up.’

He turned to Olivia. ‘It really would be better if you stayed here till the end of the war – better for both you
and
Cecily.’

‘No, Donald. My mind is quite made up.’

He glared at her, then turned to Babs. ‘My cousin and I will
have to discuss this and get back to you, Mrs Horner-Jevons. After all, she and my wife have been managing perfectly well without a full-time maid. And I’m sure when she has time to think, she won’t want to leave us in the lurch.’

Olivia leant forward and said loudly and clearly, ‘I am leaving – after – Christmas, Donald. Cecily
will not
be able to manage without a maid.’

‘But—’

For once, his wife interrupted him, her voice fluting with nervousness. ‘Tell us about this woman, Mrs Horner-Jevons. It’s hard to make a decision without having met her.’

‘Pansy is forty-five and a hard worker. She used to be head housemaid for a friend of mine until she married. After running her own home for a few years, she has discovered that she also likes cooking, so she’d be ideal for you. If you don’t wish to employ her, I can find her a job like that.’ She snapped her fingers in the air.

‘Donald, dear, I do think we should reconsider.’ Cecily blushed and added, ‘Especially now, with a baby on the way.’

‘Ah. Oh. Yes. I suppose … given the circumstances. If Olivia
will
be so selfish. I might find the extra money for a while. Just until the war ends.’

‘Good. I’ll send Pansy a telegram and she’ll be here within the week, but you’ll have to give her the train fare.’ Babs turned to Olivia. ‘And you’re still coming to spend New Year’s Eve with me in London as we agreed, aren’t you?’

Olivia had agreed to no such thing, but her new, livelier self gave in to another of Babs’s winks, not to mention the thought of some more stimulating company. ‘Yes, I’m looking forward to it.’

‘Good. I’ll send someone with the car to pick you and
your luggage up on the 30th, because you’ll have to go home to your Swindon house first to get your glad rags. Bring something really pretty to wear on New Year’s Eve. Humfy and I always threw a big party, and he’d want me to carry on doing it. I dare say we’ll be dancing until dawn. When those officers come home on leave, they like to enjoy themselves.’ Her face took on a fleeting look of sadness and she murmured, ‘And who can blame them?’

Not waiting for an answer, she stood up and nodded to her hosts. ‘I’ll take my leave now. I’ll call in next time I’m down in the country to see how Pansy is liking it here, Mrs Ballam. Though, of course, she’d get in touch with me if things weren’t going well, because she knows I can always find her another job.’

Donald’s face turned red with annoyance at this notso-subtle threat, but he didn’t say anything else.

‘I’ll see you out, shall I?’ Olivia walked with Babs to the car and leant against it on the side away from the house, shoulders shaking with laughter. ‘You have the devil in you sometimes, Babs. Oh!’ She clutched her stomach. ‘Did you see the shock on his face?’

‘I can be a bit of a devil, can’t I? But I got what I wanted and what Cecily clearly needed, as well. And poor Pansy really is terrified of staying in London. She’ll have him eating out of her hand in no time. She’s much cleverer than he is.’

‘You got what you wanted in more ways than one. You also nudged me into staying with you for New Year’s Eve.’

‘Well, you need to start living again, my dear. We widows can’t wallow in our sorrow for ever. Nothing will bring our men back, will it?’

‘No. You’re right. Life has to go on.’

There was another moment’s silence, then Babs got into the car. ‘I’ll send someone to fetch you!’

Olivia went back inside to find Donald very stiff and on his dignity, so she went into the kitchen on the excuse that she was parched and needed a cup of tea.

Cecily came in and beamed at her. ‘Thank you so much for helping me get a maid. I’ve been trying to persuade Donald to pay higher wages for a while now. He simply doesn’t understand what it’s like running a house.’

‘That’s all right. Congratulations on the baby.’

Cecily went pink, a soft expression on her face. ‘I’m so looking forward to having children. I love babies.’

‘Good. What do you want? A girl or a boy?’

‘I don’t mind. I shall love it, whichever it is.’

‘I’m sure you will.’

Olivia turned to fiddle with the teacups. Once again she couldn’t help feeling jealous of another woman who’d got the thing she had wanted so desperately for years: a baby.

She hoped she hadn’t let her sadness show. She didn’t want to spoil Cecily’s pleasure.

Alex found life in London rather dull. He couldn’t forget how radiantly happy Mildred had looked at her wedding. He couldn’t ever remember feeling as happy as that, not even when he found a particularly fine piece of old furniture or a painting by a well-known artist.

He might have made a lot of money, but something had always been missing from his personal life.

So when an acquaintance invited him to tea that afternoon to meet a lady friend of the family, who had returned to London from the country, for once he accepted,
instead of pleading the need to work. It was probably another go at matchmaking. People would introduce him to single women every now and then. But none of the women had attracted him and few seemed able to hold an intelligent conversation.

He felt sorry for the poor women who were paraded before him, but he couldn’t live with a woman who bored him to tears.

He had no expectation that this tea party would offer anything different, but he felt like getting out of the shop and talking to people.

The phone rang just then, so he picked up the earpiece and leant forward to speak into the ‘mouth’ of the candlestick telephone. ‘Seaton’s Antiques.’

‘I’m so glad I caught you.’

‘Mildred! How’s married life?’

‘Wonderful, but never mind that. Alex, some things have been unearthed at your mother’s and I think you should see them, decide what to do about them.’

‘Well, can’t you post them on to me?’

‘I’d rather not. They’re … um, rather delicate. Besides, if you agree with me, and I think you will, you’ll need to come down to Swindon anyway.’

‘That sounds ominous.’

‘It could be.’

‘Can’t you tell me anything about it?’

‘No, dear. You never know who’s listening.’

She was right, really. Some telephone operators did eavesdrop on conversations, everyone knew that. ‘Very well. I’ll come down. But it’ll have to be after Christmas. I have one or two projects that are at a crucial stage. One is for a
war charity for whom I’m running an auction that should raise rather a lot of money.’

‘After Christmas will be fine. It’s just that we both need to decide what to do about this.’

He frowned as he put down the phone. Mildred wouldn’t ask him to go to Swindon for no reason, or exaggerate the seriousness of something. Why on earth couldn’t she give him a hint about the reason, though?

He looked at his watch. Nearly time to set off for the tea party. He’d lost all interest in it now and wished he hadn’t accepted the invitation.

When Alex saw that the woman attending the tea party was Babs Horner-Jevons, his spirits lifted immediately. He hadn’t seen her for a good while, not since before her husband died, in fact.

She
wouldn’t be looking for a husband, and even if she was, she’d no more want to marry him than he’d want to marry her. However, she always had something interesting to say and he enjoyed her company.

‘I didn’t realise you two knew one another,’ his hostess said.

‘I’ve been a friend of Humfy and Babs for years.’

As the two of them chatted, he saw his hostess smiling smugly, so he leant closer to Babs and whispered, ‘She’s got us married off already.’

She let out one of her delightfully infectious gurgles of laughter. ‘Oh, dear. Shall we tell her now that we’re just friends or shall we let her hope?’

‘If you know the lady of the house, you can tell her. I’ve only met her once or twice and never had a real conversation
with her, so I wouldn’t presume to speak to her about such a delicate subject.’

‘We’ll let her hope, then.’ Her expression grew sad. ‘I still miss poor Humfy.’

He gave her a moment to blink away the tears in her eyes, then asked, ‘What are you doing with yourself now, Babs? You don’t seem to have been around lately. Have you retired to your country home?’

‘I’ve been spending a lot of time there, yes, but not because I’m spending my days weeping. Humfy would come back to haunt me if I did. It’s a convenient place to stay for something else I’m involved in.’