One Rainy Day (39 page)

‘I still don’t see why he should pay for our lunch,’ Poppy said, with a toss of her head which sent her curls swinging. ‘Why can’t we pay for our own?’

‘Don’t you like my brother, Poppy?’ Charlotte asked, managing to look upset. Her father had called her a little minx last night, and she was inclined to agree with him. ‘I thought you and Andrew were going to be friends.’ And, her
acting reaching Ethel Barrymore standards, she added, ‘But you can’t really be friends if you don’t like him.’

One look at that innocent face and Poppy knew she was beaten. ‘Of course I like your brother, Charlotte, even though I don’t know him very well. And to please you, I’ll be very happy to allow him to buy our lunch.’

Charlotte cheered up immediately. She couldn’t have her plan going off course now, not when yesterday had gone without a hitch. She’d known all along she would have to tread carefully with Poppy, but she did wish events were moving a little faster. ‘Come along then, and let’s find a table. Oh, and I believe you are partial to cakes, so I’ll order three cream cakes to have with our cup of tea.’ And smiling as though she didn’t have a care in the world … which she didn’t … Charlotte made her way to the counter to order soup and homemade bread for three. To be followed by a large pot of tea and three cream cakes.

Poppy had followed Charlotte’s progress to the counter with her eyes. ‘That young woman could charm the birds off a tree,’ she told Jean. ‘I find myself going against myself, just to please her! And I’m not easily talked into doing something I don’t want to do.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Jean said. ‘She does have a way with her. I think the word that suits her is captivating. As you said, she could charm the birds off a tree. But whatever it is she has, I’m glad she’s got it. If it weren’t for her, Poppy, I’d be the same woman today as I was yesterday. And that was a woman without hope, without any future to look forward to. I’ll be for ever in her debt.’

Charlotte joined them, looking like the cat that got the cream. ‘I know all about your interview, Jean, and how well you passed all the tests. Papa was very pleased with you. I
believe you’ll be starting the week after next? I’m so pleased you’ll be getting away from that horrible man who is so rude to you. But what about you, Poppy? You’ll still be working for him. You mustn’t let him be rude to you. I will worry about you if you are alone with him.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about me, sweetheart, I can handle Mr John. If things got too bad, even if I didn’t have another job to go to, I’d walk away. My mam and David would look after me until I found employment. I intend to start looking for a post as soon as I have a reference from the night school teacher. I’ll get it from him tomorrow night, which is my last night of the course. There’d be no point in asking Mr John. He’d be required to give one, as I’ve worked for him for over three years. But I know that, for spite, it would not be a glowing reference. So I’ll rely on Mr Jones.’

Changing the subject, Jean asked, ‘Are you seeing Peter tonight?’

Poppy shook her head. ‘No, I’ll most likely see him at the Grafton on Friday. My brother came with us last night, which is unusual for David, and he really enjoyed it. So much so, he’s coming on Friday.’

‘Could I come with you, Poppy?’ Charlotte asked. ‘I can dance, you know. In fact I’m quite good.’

‘Good grief, no! Your father would never allow you to come to the Grafton.’ Poppy saw the mouth droop and heard the sigh. ‘Charlotte, I don’t know where you live, and you mustn’t tell me. But I know it won’t be anywhere near the Grafton, sweetheart, so it would be out of bounds for you. How would you get there and back in the dark? No, it’s not for me to encourage you and get myself into trouble.’

Charlotte didn’t argue or press, but a little voice in her head told her to be devious and keep quiet. ‘You’ve called me
sweetheart twice now, Poppy, and I like it. No one has ever called me sweetheart before.’

‘My mother has always called me that, ever since I can remember. I know I’m a bit old for it, but I wouldn’t have my mother any different.’

‘What does she call your brother?’ Charlotte was hearing things she’d never heard before. ‘She couldn’t call a boy sweetheart, could she?’

Poppy laughed. ‘My brother is over six feet tall and very well made. I don’t think he’d take kindly to being called sweetheart. Do you?’

‘What does your mother call him, then?’ Charlotte asked. Her parents usually called her by her full name, or ‘dear girl’. She thought sweetheart was much nicer.

‘David used to get called lad, and still does. But mostly he gets son off my mother, and “dear brother” or “our kid” off me. He’s really too grown up for a nickname, and he suits the name David better. He’s quite handsome, and I’m very proud of him.’

‘I wonder if I will ever get to meet David, Poppy? Do you think I ever will?’

‘I can’t see it, Charlotte, for David has his own friends and is out every night. He’s only coming to the Grafton on Friday because I asked him to. He seldom comes into the city centre for he works on the other side of town. You wouldn’t know him if you passed each other in the street, so it seems unlikely you’ll ever meet him.’

‘No, I suppose not.’ What came out of Charlotte’s mouth didn’t match what was running through her mind. She wanted to get to know Poppy better for Andrew’s sake. He couldn’t chase Poppy, he was too shy, so she would have to do it for him. Her brother was a wonderful, kind and caring man, who
wouldn’t hurt anyone. He was thoughtful and gentle, and Poppy would like him if she got to know him. But it was proving difficult to get them together, so she’d have to get her thinking cap on.

The housekeeper was clearing the dinner plates and piling them neatly and efficiently on to the large wooden tray. Harriet waited for her to leave the room before addressing her son. ‘Andrew, dear, your father was telling me last night that he’d met the young lady who was involved in the unfortunate accident caused by yourself some time ago, when the young lady was knocked to the ground. And he was quite taken with her looks. In fact, he said she was stunning. Is that an accurate description, would you say, or the imagination of a man seeing what he wants to see?’

George snorted. ‘Really Harriet, what a strange thing to say! My eyes and ears are in excellent order, I am neither deaf or short-sighted.’ He looked across the table to his son. ‘Is Miss Meadows stunning, my boy, or was I exaggerating?’

‘You were right, Father. Stunning is more of an understatement than an exaggeration. She really is a very beautiful young lady.’

Charlotte sensed an opportunity to bolster her plan. ‘Poppy is not only beautiful, Mother, she is very good company and very funny. When she smiles she is really lovely. I’d say she was better-looking than any film star.’ Charlotte suddenly realized her mother wasn’t supposed to know about her secret visits to the city. ‘I could tell what a lovely person she was the day Andrew bumped into her. She didn’t rant and rave as most people would have done. She actually saw the funny side and began to laugh.’

Harriet raised her brows. She knew very little of what
went on outside her own home, where she was pampered by her husband and the servants. She only left the house to go on shopping trips with friends, or to Scotland on holiday, and neither gave her any insight into real life. She was quite happy with her lifestyle and had never questioned whether her children would prefer a different one.

‘I would very much like to meet this young lady, Andrew. Would you make arrangements to bring her here? She sounds very interesting, and must be outstanding if she has captured the admiration of all three of you.’

Andrew looked horrified. ‘I can’t arrange a meeting, Mother. I hardly know the girl. And I’m quite sure she wouldn’t even consider an invitation if she were to receive one.’ He shook his head. ‘It’s out of the question, and I would side with her if she did refuse.’

George agreed. ‘It would be an insult to invite a girl we hardly know, just because you think she sounds interesting.’

‘You keep calling her “the girl” or “the young lady”.’ Charlotte was ready to do battle. ‘Her name is Poppy Meadows, and I don’t think she’d come here just to be looked over. She’s very independent and proud, and I have much admiration for her.’

‘Oh, dear,’ Harriet said. ‘I do seem to have put the cat among the pigeons. The speed with which the three of you rushed to the young lady’s defence has raised my interest in her. I really don’t want to just look her up and down because I’m curious. Am I really so bad you would think that of me?’

All three were ready to appease her, for they loved her very much. ‘Of course not, Mother,’ Andrew said. ‘But if you knew Miss Meadows, you would understand what we are trying to tell you. We only met her because of my clumsiness,
so you can’t expect us to be her favourite people. She is very proud, and would not consider any compensation for my stupidity. So you can imagine if we asked her to come here, to visit a family she doesn’t know, she would think we were offering charity. And I have such respect for her pride, I wouldn’t insult her.’

‘I wonder if this young lady knows that three members of my family hold her in high esteem, while I am not allowed the privilege of making her acquaintance?’

‘You will one day, Mama.’ Charlotte couldn’t bear to see her mother left out. ‘I know where Poppy works, so if I ever go into Liverpool to visit Papa or Andrew in their office, I might just bump into her. And I’ll ask her to come and see you as my friend. I’m sure she likes me a little bit.’

Harriet laughed. ‘There is no one who couldn’t like you more than a little bit, my dear. But please don’t pester the girl on my behalf. Let us leave it in the hands of fate.’

A knock on the door heralded the arrival of Frances with their after dinner coffee. So all talk of Poppy was ended, or so thought Harriet and George. They didn’t connect Andrew’s excusing himself from the table after finishing his coffee with Charlotte’s leaving five minutes later. Andrew’s excuse was the correspondence he’d brought home from the office, while his sister said her wardrobe needed clearing. But on reaching the landing it wasn’t her bedroom she headed for, but her brother’s.

‘Can I come in, Andrew?’ Charlotte stood with her hand on the doorknob. ‘I want to talk to you.’

‘Why do you ask for permission after the event, Charlotte?’ Andrew asked. ‘You are already in the room.’

She chuckled and closed the door. ‘If I’d asked from outside, you might have told me to go away.’ She moved to sit on the
end of his bed. ‘I want to ask you a favour, and I’d like you to be a darling and hear me out before refusing.’

Andrew was shaking his head, and he said in no uncertain terms, ‘The answer is a refusal before you start. You’ve put me in a difficult situation several times over the last day or two, Charlotte, and it’s got to stop. I find myself in a very awkward position with both Father and Mother. They had no idea you were going into Liverpool so often to meet up with Poppy.’

‘I couldn’t tell them, Andrew. You know very well I would have been forbidden to go near the city on my own. But if I have to stay in the house all day with Mother, I’m never going to grow up properly and learn how different people live their lives. And apart from all that, I should be able to choose whom I would like for a friend. And don’t tell me there are three suitable girls among Mother’s friends who would make excellent companions for me, because I’ve spent a lot of time in their company and I find them rather dull.’

Andrew sympathized with her, for hadn’t he gone to university to get away from the boredom? But while he understood, he couldn’t help his sister to go against the wishes of their parents. ‘I know how you feel, Charlotte, I’ve been through it. But because you are a girl, it’s only natural our parents worry more about you. And you are a little tinker when the mood takes you. Especially the last couple of days. You know I like Poppy and want to strike up a friendship with her. But dragging her up to my office, with no prior warning, was embarrassing for both her and myself. You are putting her off, not helping.’

‘Andrew, you are very sweet and I love you. But as you well know, faint heart never won fair lady! Poppy will be snapped up and married before you pluck up the courage to even ask her for a date.’

‘I can’t help the way I’m made, my dear sister. It isn’t because I haven’t had the opportunity to go out with girls, but like yourself I haven’t met one I could take to.’

‘If you agree to the favour I am going to ask, you could meet Poppy in a completely different situation from any you’ve been in so far. But I’m not going to try to force you, it’s how you feel about it yourself. It’s up to you, Andrew. You wouldn’t even have to talk to her if you didn’t want to. However, you deserve to lose her if you don’t make an effort.’

Andrew was torn between wondering what his sister was up to, and his desire to become closer to Poppy. ‘What does this favour entail, you little minx? I don’t want you making me look a fool in front of her again.’

‘Are you free on Friday night, brother dear?’

‘Why? Do you want to go for a run in the country?’

‘Far from it. In the other direction, actually.’ Charlotte was delighted now. She felt very close to getting what she wanted. ‘I want you to take me to a dance in a hall called the Grafton. I don’t know where it is, but I’m sure you can find out. Poppy is going to be there with her brother, David, and another boy and girl. I gather it’s a big dance hall, plenty big enough for Poppy to get lost in if she doesn’t want to see us. But she won’t, she’ll be happy, I know she will.’

‘And what excuse are you going to give our parents? Don’t expect me to lie, Charlotte, because I won’t.’

‘I’ll tell them I want to go to a dance, and would like you to drive me there, and bring me back home. That won’t be telling lies, will it?’ Charlotte’s legs were swinging like mad. ‘In fact, Andrew, I might tell Papa the truth, and he can talk Mother into agreeing.’

‘I would feel happier if you did that. I don’t like being deceitful, even in the cause of love.’

‘Papa always goes to his study for a last tot of whisky and a cigar. As soon as I hear Mother coming up to bed, I’ll nip down and have a talk to him. I’ll be very careful what I say, Andrew, and I promise I won’t tell any more lies. If Papa says I can’t go to the dance, I won’t try to coax him.’ She gave a cheeky grin. ‘Well, not much, anyway. And I’m not doing all this for you, my dear brother, I have my own interests as well. Poppy is as important to me as she is to you. I would be sad if I were to lose her friendship. I’d pine, and be very ill.’