Page 11 of The Winter Bride

She took the dress to the counter and carefully wrapped it in tissue paper before placing it in one of the rather expensive bags she had had specially made with the shop’s name on.

‘It looks very posh,’ Susan said approvingly. ‘But why she couldn’t have taken it with her I don’t know. Too idle to carry it I dare say.’

Annie nodded her agreement. ‘Aww well, a sale is a sale at the end of the day, and I don’t mind going out of my way if you can stay and keep the shop open. If we’re ever fortunate enough to get busy, I could perhaps employ a young lad to do the deliveries for me.’ She grinned as a thought occurred to her. ‘And I wonder what my mother-in-law will think when she finds out that her friend has bought from us? I’ve no doubt she only came in to be nosy.’

The next day was Saturday and there was a market on in the town, so there were a lot more people about and Annie had hopes of attracting more customers. Even so by the time they turned the door sign to closed only two people had entered the shop all day and only one of them had bought a blouse.

‘Two sales in two days,’ Annie groaned when she joined Monty in their rooms above the shop.

Ever the optimist Monty smiled. ‘What are you worrying about? You’re in a golden position. Thanks to Levi the shop is paid for, so it’s not as if you’ve got to worry about paying the rent, is it?’

‘No, but I do have to pay Susan’s wages, and make sure I keep my stock up to date,’ she pointed out.

‘Don’t forget we have my wages coming in and I’m more than happy to help out till it gets off the ground,’ Monty told her kindly. ‘Didn’t I tell you not to expect too much too soon?’

‘Yes, you did,’ she sighed. ‘Anyway, I’d better get us something to eat. I’m starving.’

‘I’m not surprised. You didn’t have any breakfast again and I suppose you didn’t bother to have anything to eat at lunchtime.’

By the end of March, things were improving, but only slightly.

‘For goodness’ sake, stop worryin’,’ Peggy scolded. ‘You’ll make yerself ill at this rate.’

‘I have been feeling rather under the weather,’ Annie admitted. ‘At least I do when I first get up. I feel queasy with nerves but then come evening I can’t seem to eat enough.’

‘Hmm.’ Peggy stared at her thoughtfully. ‘An’ are yer monthlies on time?’

Annie frowned. They were sitting in Peggy’s kitchen on Thursday, which Annie had decided would be a closing day for the shop, and Levi was out on his rounds with Davey.

‘I haven’t had much time to think about it,’ she admitted. ‘What with the wedding and opening the shop and one thing and another, but now you come to mention it, I did miss one last month and I’m due any day now. In fact, thinking about it I should have started at the beginning of the week. It’s strange because I’m usually as regular as clockwork.’ And then as she realised what Peggy was hinting at, the colour drained out of her face. She couldn’t be having a child, could she? Not so soon. She’d hoped to get the business established before starting a family. She had only been married for a few weeks but if she had missed two courses . . . A vision of Alex and the night they had spent together flashed into her mind. Could she be having his baby? And if she was and it came a month early, how would she explain it to Monty?

As if she could read her mind, Peggy reached out and patted her shoulder. ‘Now don’t go upsettin’ yerself. What will be will be, pet. Give it another month an’ then pay the doctor a visit.’

‘But what if . . .’

Peggy wagged a finger at her. ‘Like I told yer, what Monty don’t know won’t hurt ’im. Babies have a habit o’ comin’ when they’re good an’ ready. Especially first babies, they’re usually early or late. So, let’s cross one bridge at a time, eh? There’s no good lookin’ fer problems. Meantime, don’t even hint that you might be havin’ a child to Monty just yet. It could be that wi’ all you’ve ’ad goin’ on your body needed a rest, there’s still time fer your latest course to start.’

Annie nodded but now the thought that she might soon become a mother had been planted it was going to be very hard to think of anything else. And already she knew deep down that if she was expecting a child, it was likely Alex’s.

Chapter Six

It was mid-April when the bell above the shop door tinkled and Annie was shocked to see her mother-in-law enter. Thankfully over the last couple of weeks trade had picked up and Annie had recognised some of Mrs Taylor-Lloyd’s friends as her new customers.

‘Good morning Mrs . . . er . . .’ Annie was unsure how she should address the woman now they were related, but she soon put her straight.

‘I’ve always been known to you as Mrs Taylor-Lloyd, so I see no need to change that now,’ she said imperiously. It had gone deeply against her grain to come here today but she had heard so many good things about the establishment from her circle of lady friends that she could contain her curiosity no longer. Some of them had even attended her coffee mornings or gone to church on Sunday in the clothes they had bought from Annie’s shop, and even she had to admit that they looked to be good quality.

‘Susan, would you mind making my . . . Mrs Taylor-Lloyd a hot drink?’ Annie was doing a wonderful job of keeping her smile firmly in place. It was the first time she’d seen her since the day of the wedding, and she refused to let her obnoxious mother-in-law see how much her presence rattled her. Monty always asked her to accompany him on the rare occasions he visited his parents, but she always managed to come up with some excuse and he never argued. He could well understand her reluctance to see his mother after the way she’d treated her.

Reggie had continued to be a thorn in their sides too, constantly walking by the shop and peering in at the window. But as Susan had said, ‘We can put up with that so long as that’s all he does.’

‘Would you prefer tea or coffee, madam?’ Susan asked with her sweetest smile.

Mrs Taylor-Lloyd put her nose in the air. ‘Why, tea of course. Coffee is a pre-lunch drink.’

‘Of course, madam,’ Susan answered through gritted teeth as the woman began to browse through the clothes.

She was forced to admit they were worthy of being sold in some of the larger emporiums in the cities, all very good quality, and the shop was beautifully fitted.