Authors: The Handkerchief Tree
Miss Bryce made no comment, anyway. Only said she was out for a breath of air and to take a rest from all the orders from authority to cut costs.
‘Cut costs! Now, you tell me where I can cut costs when everything is pared down as much as possible anyway! I told them frankly that under no circumstances would I cut food bills, so now they’re trying to make me cut the staff.’ Miss Bryce shook her head angrily as she and Shona began to walk towards the house, laughing after a moment and saying she must simmer down. ‘How are things with you, anyway? The flower shop keeping going?’
‘More or less. But we’re all a bit worried, to tell you the truth. Sales figures are down. We’re wondering if we’ll be having a few cuts of our own.’
‘Oh, dear, I hope not. You’d really found your niche there, hadn’t you? And Cassie, too. Now that did surprise me.’ Miss Bryce pursed her lips. ‘Seems she didn’t, after all, take to being in service, after saying she was so keen.’
‘Had bad luck with her places, I think. But she’s been very happy at Maybel’s.’
But not with me, thought Shona, for the coolness between her and Cassie had never really melted. There was still surface friendliness, but the old closeness had never returned. Another thing to make Shona feel older and sadder.
‘Like to come and have a cup of tea with the staff?’ Miss Bryce asked as they moved to the side door of the house. ‘We’ll be having a break in a moment.’
‘I’d like that, thanks. Have there been any changes since I was here?’
‘Well, Mr Glegg has retired and we haven’t had a replacement yet, and Miss Anderson is engaged but still with us, thank heavens.’
‘And Doctor Lindsay? Is he still the doctor here?’
‘Doctor Mark? Oh, yes, his practice still looks after us, but he’s doing a lot of work in Glasgow at present for a child health clinic. His special interest, you know.’
‘That’s wonderful, eh?’ Shona would have liked to ask about Miss Ruddick, but said no more as she followed Miss Bryce into the house and up to the staffroom, where she was given such a warm welcome she felt decidedly better. At least, for a little while.
There was nothing for it, though – she had to return to work next day, where the same anxiety hovered as before, made worse by Fraser’s lack of cheerfulness. Where was the outsize air of confidence that had always been his? Lost, it seemed, with the prosperity he’d once taken as a right. There was nothing for it but to keep going and hope for the best, but as the year wore on that became harder and harder to do.
The first real blow for Maybel’s came some months later, early in 1931. There had been no improvement in the world situation, quite the reverse, as more and more businesses – shops, mills, factories, shipyards – closed and more and more people became unemployed. In Scotland, where the recession was like an acid, biting so cruelly, families were facing severe hardship, there being so little help in welfare payments and no hope of work. Even the once serene Dean Village suffered when one of the mills was closed, and Kitty’s husband was without a job, just as their first baby was due.
‘Oh, it’s too cruel,’ Addie Hope wailed. ‘What’ll they do, then, what’ll they do? We’ll help as best we can, but who knows who’ll be next?’
‘I was thinking of moving out, with Kitty’s baby coming,’ Cassie told Shona, ‘but they’re keen for me to stay, seeing as I’ve got a job and can pay ma board.’ Her expression turning bleak, she’d added after a moment, ‘Well, I’ve got a job at the minute, anyway. Don’t know how long for, eh?’
‘Must hope for the best,’ Shona said, though the words rang hollow when Fraser called her into his office and gave her the bad news. He was going to have to close the Morningside shop.
‘Oh, no!’ Shona took the news like a stab to the heart. ‘No, Fraser, I can’t believe it. That’s such a good district; there must be people who can afford flowers, there must be!’
‘Not enough.’ Fraser put his hand to his brow. ‘It’s the loan, Shona. I’m finding I can’t keep up the payments without dipping into capital, and that’s shrinking fast. I’ve no choice but to sell up and hope to pay off with what I can get.’
‘But if you can’t sell?’ Thinking of the boarded-up shops seen everywhere, Shona’s voice was hushed. ‘You might be no better off.’
‘I’ll be saving all the overheads and, let’s face it, wages. Though I’ll still be left with paying off the loan, I’ll admit.’
‘All the girls will have to go?’
‘Except for Brigid. She’ll be coming back here.’
Shona hesitated. ‘Then we’ll have one extra?’
Fraser sighed. ‘No, I’m afraid Willa will have to go, too. She was last in, it’s only fair, and she does have a husband with a job.’
‘Oh, but poor Willa! She was so happy to be back at work.’
‘As I say, she’s better off than some. Though she’ll be a big loss, I know, and I’m really sorry to lose her. Sorry about losing them all, in fact.’
‘It’s no’ your fault, Fraser.’
‘That’s no consolation.’ As he walked with Shona to his door, Fraser’s look was dark. There was no sign of his usual smile or his dimples, no sign about him of his power to ride a storm. ‘What worries me,’ he said in a low voice, ‘is that I can’t even promise you folk here that your jobs are safe. We’re on uncertain ground until there’s an upturn in the economy and there’s no sign of that. What we’re starting to get is civil unrest. People ready to fight back. With what? They’ve nothing.’
‘Fraser, about us – we’re all prepared. We know the situation. We’re just hoping we can hang on, that’s all.’
He touched her shoulder. ‘Brave lassies, all of you. I’m lucky to have you. I promise I’ll keep going as long as I can.’
Brave lassies? Not really, Shona thought, when she’d left him. What else could they do but hang on and hope for the best? Oh, no, she wasn’t going to say that any more. There was no point, was there, in hoping? Just get on with the job while it was there. That was all they could do.
As it turned out, Willa’s departure was not the sad occasion they’d expected. On the very day she had to leave she arrived at the shop with a face so radiant, everyone was mystified. Until she told them her news. ‘Listen, you’ll never guess what’s happened! Never believe it either! I can’t myself.’
‘For heaven’s sake, put us out of our misery!’ Brigid cried. ‘If it’s good news, spit it out. We could do with it.’
‘It is good news. The best.’ Willa sat down, her face beaming. ‘I’ve fallen at last. The doctor told me last evening. I’m going to have a baby!’
There were squeals of joy for her, hugs and pats on the back, questions, even a few tears, for it seemed that for once there was something to celebrate. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to bring a baby into the world, but everyone knew how long Willa had been hoping for success, and if she’d been the one to lose her job, could anything have worked out better?
‘And what’s Grant saying?’ Shona asked as they all hurried into the staffroom to make their first cup of tea for a toast to Willa. ‘He must be over the moon.’
‘Moon, stars, planets, he’s there, sailing!’ Willa answered, smiling. ‘Keeps saying he was right, he’d no need to see anybody about it, everything had happened naturally, and now he’s the happiest fellow in the world. Of course, we’ve still got worries – I mean, we don’t know if anybody will be made redundant at the bank, but we’ll get through, I know we will, and if we’ve got our Miss or Master Henderson, we’ll be happy, eh?’
‘Happy’s the word,’ said Shona, pouring the tea. ‘Come on, everybody, raise your cups! Here’s to Miss or Master Henderson – and an end to the Depression!’
‘To Miss or Master Henderson,’ they solemnly repeated, ‘and an end to the Depression.’
‘You’ll never guess what we’re giving you for a leaving present,’ Brigid told Willa. ‘Mind you, if we’d known your news, we’d have made it bootees and bonnets.’
‘Wouldn’t be flowers, would it?’ Willa asked, laughing.
‘Madonna lilies, as a matter of fact, and what could be more appropriate? We’ve got them all ready in the plant room, and Mr Kyle’s coming down specially to present them before you leave.’
‘Oh, that’s so sweet.’ Willa suddenly looked sad. ‘But I’m going to miss you folks, you know. Expect to see me any time, when I’ve – ahem – done my chores!’
‘As long as we’re still here,’ Brigid said in a low voice, but everyone pretended not to hear. This was a day for joy and as there was little of that around they wouldn’t let anything spoil it. For all they knew, their little world would be collapsing tomorrow, so today . . .
‘Have another cup of tea,’ said Shona. ‘Listen, where do I get a pattern for booties, then?’
A few weeks later a telephone call came for Shona at the shop. ‘Who is it?’ she asked Isla, who’d taken the call.
‘I never asked. Sorry. But she sounded Edinburgh – bit like a teacher, I’d say.’
Edinburgh voice. A bit like a teacher. Miss Bryce, then? Miss Bryce it was.
‘Good morning, Shona. Andrina Bryce here. I hope I’m not interrupting your work?’
‘No, no, that’s all right. What can I do for you?’
‘Well, I may be quite wrong about this, but I’m wondering if you’d be interested in a job here. I mean, if there’s any question that you might lose yours in the near future.’
‘A job? At the Lodge?’ Shona was astonished. Never had the thought crossed her mind that she might work at the orphanage.
‘Yes. Actually, it’s a new post. I’m to lose my assistant to the cuts, but they’ve offered to create a housekeeper’s job, at less pay than my assistant, but to be responsible for some of her type of duties. My assistant doesn’t want it as she’s getting married. Would you be interested? It would mean living here again, of course.’
A housekeeper’s job? Shona hesitated, having difficulty seeing herself in that role. Before she could reply, Miss Bryce was continuing, ‘Obviously, I’m hoping that your own job will be secure – I mean, that’s what you really want to do – but I feel that, if you can’t, you might consider working with us at the Lodge. You’d fit in so well!’
‘It’s good of you to think of me,’ Shona said slowly, ‘and I don’t honestly know if I’ll have a job at Maybel’s for much longer. But what sort of duties would the housekeeper’s job involve?’
‘Apart from the usual routines – checking on supplies and general maintenance, managing domestic staff, that sort of thing – there will also be looking after the children’s welfare in the way my assistants have done in the past. Organizing uniforms, seeing that they have all they need, know where to go if they need help and so on. That’s where you’d be such an asset, Shona – you’ve been through the system. You know what is required.’
‘I see. Well, as I say, I’m no’ sure what’s going to be happening but I think I would be interested if I need another post. When is the closing date?’
‘Probably in about three weeks or so. We’ll be advertising next week. Shall I send you details and you can think about it?’
‘Oh, yes, please. And thank you, Miss Bryce.’
Feeling slightly stunned at the way a new prospect was opening before her, yet at the same time dismayed that there could even be any question of having to give up her beloved work as a florist, Shona found herself, almost without thinking, on her way to see Fraser. She could do nothing until she’d some idea what might be happening to Maybel’s.
He had been closeted with Stuart MacNay, but came out when he heard Shona knocking on his door. ‘You wanted to see me, Shona? Go on into my office, take a seat. I’ll be with you in a minute.’
Coming to join her, he put on a smile, tried to look his old cheerful self, didn’t succeed. ‘What’s up, then? Nothing wrong, I hope? At least, no more than usual.’
‘Something strange has happened. I’ve been offered a job.’
‘God help us, a job? Where?’
‘Housekeeper at Edina Lodge. Sort of an assistant to Miss Bryce as well. Of course, I’d rather stay here, so it’s no’ really an option.’ She looked at Fraser hopefully. ‘Is it?’
His eyes fell. He took out his cigarettes and slowly lit one. ‘You want my advice, Shona? I’d say, take it.’
She sat very still, hands clasped, large eyes fastened on his face. ‘What are you saying?’ she asked at last. ‘You’re going to close the shop?’
‘Stuart and I have been discussing it. Things are pretty tight for me at the moment, as you know, and we’ve decided what I could do is close but not try to sell. Put everything on hold. Save on salaries and overheads, and hope to reopen – well, when things improve.’
‘Not sell? Just leave the shop empty?’
‘It’s what’s happened already to the Morningside shop. I’ve never had a buyer for that – probably wouldn’t get one here. People are closing shops, not buying them.’
‘But what would you do, Fraser? Where would you go?’
‘My market garden, of course. We’re still getting customers there, particularly for vegetables. I’d aim to cut down on flowers, build up the veg, maybe do more as a seedsman. And, if you remember, I already have a wee flat in Peebles. That’s where I’ll live, and if I had any takers to rent my top flat here, well, I might consider making a bob or two that way.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s not much of a prospect, what I’m planning, but it’s a way of keeping going until we come out of the slump. I’m not the only guy to be hit like this – I might be luckier than most.’
‘Oh, Fraser!’ Shona was almost in tears. ‘It’s too cruel, what’s happened, too cruel and unfair! You were doing so well . . .’
‘Whoever said life was fair?’ Fraser ground out his cigarette and rose. ‘So, are you going to put in an application for this job, Shona? You can count on me for a reference.’
She gave a sob and after a moment he came round his desk and put his arms round her.
‘Hey, hey, none of that. You’re one of my brave ones, remember. Look, things’ll come right again. It’s just a question of waiting and being ready. And if I open up here again you’ll be able to come back from the orphanage.’
‘I haven’t got the job yet,’ she said in muffled tones.
‘You will, you will. Your Miss Bryce will see to that. And you’ll do well in it, too.’ He kissed her cheek. ‘Maybe you’ll come over to the garden some time, eh? See how I’m getting on?’
‘You should be finding someone to make you happy, Fraser. I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to love you as you deserve.’