‘Give that to me at once!’ Simon Wright snatched the board from Alice’s grasp and leaned it against the office wall. Inwardly he tried to keep an astonished smile from softening his expression. She had a lot of guts for a girl of her age. He looked sternly at her. ‘I told you earlier, young lady, that timekeeping is of the utmost importance at this company. You’re not hired. Now go away, Alice Keiver, or there’ll be trouble.’
‘But you gave me a job. It weren’t my fault I couldn’t get here on time. Why won’t you let me explain? Please!’ Alice demanded, sounding angry.
After the awful events that morning she’d set out for work, having first poked her head into the back room to see how Sophy was. Her sister had been flaked out on the bed, face white as chalk, so Alice had called a soft farewell and started off at a run for the factory. As soon as she had turned in the factory gate she’d noticed that the vacancy board was up. She’d stretched up for it but was unable to reach it, let alone remove it.
She’d found Mr Wright in his office. He’d scowled at her and gestured her away muttering she’d had her chance and it was obviously more than someone from The Bunk had deserved. Alice had taken the dismissal meekly and started off home again. But slowly a simmering sense of injustice had overcome her depression. She’d decided that she wasn’t going to accept her fate so readily, or her mother’s wrath when she came home later and found out she’d lost a good job. As Alice had paced back and forth on the pavement outside her home mulling it all over, she’d decided to go back and hope to find Mr Wright in a better mood after his dinner. Perhaps he might let her start on the afternoon shift for half a day’s pay. She’d work late and wear her fingers down to the bone if he’d agree to that.
But now, as she took a wary glance at the manager’s forbidding face, she realised he didn’t look any more lenient than he had earlier. Nevertheless Alice tried one final time to put her case. ‘It weren’t my fault. Honest. I was all ready and about to set out early this morning when something dreadful happened to me sister. I had to find me mum and bring her back home to look after her so’s I could come here to work. That’s why I was so late. It won’t ever happen again, promise.’
‘And what was dreadfully wrong with your sister?’ he asked in a voice that sounded sarcastic. Alice hesitated and looked away. If she told him she’d be revealing her family’s private business to a stranger and she hated doing that. But she desperately wanted this job. ‘She was in the family way … now she isn’t,’ she reluctantly muttered while her cheeks flared.
For a moment Simon Wright remained quiet. He coughed and stuck a couple of fingers between his neck and his shirt collar. ‘I see,’ he eventually said. ‘And is she … er … feeling better now?’
Alice nodded. ‘Think so. She’s home in bed. Looks like death warmed up though.’
‘Well … that is a very … unusual circumstance,’ he said gently.
Alice recognised the change in his tone. She looked at him with a glimmer of hope shining in her blue eyes.
‘One more chance then, Alice Keiver. If your timekeeping is bad again …’
‘It won’t be, swear,’ Alice interrupted breathlessly.
‘As you know Annie Foster, I think you can start this afternoon in Room 4, with her, when she gets back from dinner. She can show you what to do.’
Alice suppressed an urge to leap forward and hug him. She simply nodded vigorously then blurted, ‘I’ll wait by the gates, shall I, and catch Annie when she gets back?’
‘Yes, you do that, Alice,’ Simon said and watched her go out, carefully closing the door behind her.
‘How di’t go?’
Alice speeded up along Campbell Road when she saw Geoff leaning against the railing outside their houses, waiting for her to reach him. She grinned. ‘I got me job back,’ she told him, and, less inhibited than she’d been with her boss, she grabbed one of Geoff’s long arms and gave it a squeeze that incorporated her gratitude and excitement. ‘Ain’t easy work,’ she bubbled on. ‘Ain’t half noisy there ‘n’ all. But Annie’s showing me what to do, and I’m pickin’ it up already.’ She turned to go in. ‘Must tell Mum.’ She swung back to Geoff. ‘Thanks for helping me earlier. Think me boss knew I wasn’t muckin’ about when I took the notice in with me. Think he was quite impressed I did that. He knew I was serious about keeping me job, you see.’
‘Glad to help,’ Geoff said. Suddenly he pulled a piece of fabric from a pocket. ‘Dunno if yer dad might make use of this. I already got a few scarves and me old man’ll never suit it.’ He held out a length of charcoal-grey silk.
Reverently Alice touched the slubbed silk, running her fingers over it. She could tell it was of beautiful quality. ‘You don’t want it?’ she murmured in awe.
‘Got no use for it,’ Geoff said bluntly. ‘And Dan ain’t havin’ it, that’s fer sure.’ He looked at Alice as she hesitated in taking the gift. ‘Don’t have to have it. I can sell it on. Just thought as your dad’s got a sort of gentleman way about him, he might wear it on occasions; you know, weddings ‘n’ funerals. But if it ain’t his sort of thing …’ He made to withdraw his hand, and his gift, but Alice snatched at the scarf.
‘No … he’ll like it … he will … I know he will.’ She folded the soft silk neatly and held it. ‘Thanks,’ she said quietly, for a moment keeping her eyes lowered from his. She knew that really the gift was for her. But Geoff was right; her dad did have a gentleman way about him, and he deserved such a splendid thing. She must find a private moment to give the scarf to him. If her mother saw it she’d have it down the pawnshop first thing in the morning then she might spend the afternoon drinking whiskey in the Duke with Aunt Fran.
With a shy smile for Geoff she turned to go in. Looking back, she gruffly repeated her thanks before she ran up the stairs.
‘Back room,’ was her mother’s greeting and instruction when Alice burst in to tell her the good news about her job.
Alice swung a glance between her parents. She understood why she was banished from their presence. Her mother had obviously not finished telling her father what had happened to Sophy earlier. Such conversations between them were, as far as possible considering the cramped condition of their home, done in private.
Alice gave her dad a tiny smile then went to see how Sophy was. She found her looking pale but sitting on the bed brushing little Lucy’s hair. When she asked about Bethany’s whereabouts Sophy said she thought she was on an errand, getting Beattie Evans some snuff from the shop.
Having seated herself beside Sophy, Alice pulled out the scarf from her pocket then related how she’d come by it. ‘Don’t tell Mum, or she’ll have it off me soon as she can.’
Sophy took the silk and, holding it up, twisted her wrist to look at it from different angles. ‘It’s really nice.’ She gave her verdict and handed it back.
‘Yeah; and it’s a present for Dad.’
‘Why’d Geoff give it to you?’
Alice shrugged, keeping her expression neutral. She wasn’t about to tell Sophy that she thought Geoff had taken a fancy to her. For some reason that seemed private, just for her and Geoff to know. ‘He said he don’t want it,’ she explained airily. ‘And he won’t give it to Danny ’cos they’ve fell out over him not treating you right.’
The mention of Danny’s name made Sophy’s eyes narrow to slits in her white face. ‘Good. He don’t deserve nuthin’,’ she said spitefully. ‘All he deserves is a good thumping.’
‘Perhaps when he finds out you’re not having the baby after all he’ll come round to see you. Geoff reckons he feels right guilty about it all but he doesn’t want to be tied down.’
‘Well,