Page 47 of The Winter Bride

Annie beamed. ‘I love it,’ she said happily, and so Marie took her off to put an order in with a local signwriter.

The paint had been delivered by the time they got back and after checking that all was well with Nancy and Adam, Annie was eager to begin decorating. The carpet was being delivered and fitted in two days’ time and she wanted it finished by then.

‘I shall ’elp,’ Marie told her as she peeled off her gloves.

Annie stared at her horrified. ‘You most certainly will not. Not in those clothes,’ she said.

Marie shrugged as she glanced down at her expensive outfit. ‘But they are only clothes,’ she pointed out.

‘Yes, very beautiful clothes,’ Annie responded. ‘But don’t worry, if you really want to help, I’ve brought some of my old working clothes with me for just this purpose. Come on, we’ll go upstairs and get changed.’

By teatime they’d managed to get most of the painting done, and the place was transformed.

Annie looked around with satisfaction. ‘I should be finished by lunchtime tomorrow, thanks to you,’ she told Marie gratefully. ‘And then I need to go and find some nice chairs and a table where people can sit if they have a tea or coffee. Oh, and I shall need some mirrors, of course. Some for in the fitting rooms and another full-length one out here in the shop.’

‘Never fear, I know all the best places to go,’ Marie chuckled. She was enjoying herself immensely. ‘But I must go now. John and I are giving a dinner party this evening for some of the men he works with and their wives. It will be a good opportunity to tell the women all about the new shop. I was going to invite you, but I didn’t think you would want to come while you are still so busy?’

Annie smiled. ‘Thank you, but no I wouldn’t just yet. I’ve hardly seen anything of Nancy and Adam all day, so I’m going to spend some time with them this evening.’ She wondered if Alex and his wife were amongst the guests Marie had invited but didn’t like to ask.

He was part of her past now and he must stay that way.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next week passed in a blur. So much so that Annie had little time to think of Nuneaton, let alone miss it. The carpet was fitted; the sign was fixed above the door and looked very grand; the furniture was all in place; the rails and the shelves were stocked with clothes; and the mannequins stood in pride of place in the window. But Annie’s funds were sadly depleted. Everything had cost much more than she’d thought it would, so all she could do was pray that the business would be a success.

‘It looks magnifique!’ Marie declared delightedly. She always tended to lapse into French when she got excited.

It was then that Annie put her idea to her. ‘I was wondering,’ she said cautiously, ‘if you might like to help out a couple of days a week while I go to the suppliers? Of course, I understand that you don’t need to work and you would have to ask John how he feels about it. And I couldn’t pay you much to start with, so I won’t be at all offended if you don’t wish to.’

Marie beamed. ‘I would love to ’elp,’ she said, crossing to the counter where a tray full of champagne glasses was waiting. Every customer would get a free glass of champagne on opening day. It had been Marie’s idea to tempt people in, and Annie thought it was a good one. She took Annie’s arm and led her into the kitchen where she filled the kettle. She was loving having Annie here. ‘John and I were thinking that now you are ready to open on Monday you should ’ave a day off tomorrow and we would like to take you all sightseeing. I am sure little Adam and Nancy would enjoy it. We could perhaps take you for a ride on the River Thames. You must ’ave some time to yourself. You ’ave worked so ’ard. What do you think?’

‘I think it’s a wonderful idea,’ Annie agreed. She was feeling a little guilty because she’d seen so little of Nancy and Adam while she’d been getting the shop ready to open.

And so, bright and early the next morning, John and Marie picked them up in their motor car and gave them a guided tour of London, which had Nancy hopping up and down on the back seat with excitement as she saw the places she’d only ever read about in books. They showed them Buckingham Palace and Nelson’s Column; Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London before ending the afternoon with a boat trip on the Thames. Then they went back to Marie and John’s house where the cook had made them a beautiful meal. As soon as it was over, Adam fell asleep and Nancy was yawning.

‘I think I’d better run you all home,’ John offered kindly as he ruffled Nancy’s hair. He’d loved spending the day with the children and hoped that he and Marie would have some of their own someday soon.

‘I will see you tomorrow at the opening,’ Marie promised as she waved them off.

On the stroke of nine o’clock the next morning Annie turned the sign on the door to ‘Open’ and silently prayed that her new venture would be a success. Soon after the bell above the door tinkled for the first time and Marie appeared with some of her friends following closely behind her. They looked along the rails, and it wasn’t long before Annie made her first sales. Marie had been invaluable in helping Annie to choose the stock, for she knew exactly what the fashionable ladies in London were wearing.

‘I don’t know how to thank you for all you’ve done,’ Annie told her humbly.

Marie laughed. ‘It should be me thanking you. It ’as been great fun,’ she assured her. ‘And you can be certain that the ladies will spread the word. Just be patient and soon you will be busy.’

Annie hoped she was right.

The first few days were relatively quiet, but Annie had learnt to expect that from her experience with the shop in Nuneaton, and over the next weeks things started to pick up. She’d received letters from Susan assuring her that all was going well, and she’d also had one from Peggy, who told her how much she and Levi were missing her.

It was this that made her say to Nancy one evening, ‘I think we might pay a visit to Nuneaton at the weekend. The Taylor-Lloyds will be wanting to see Adam, and we can spend some time with Peggy and Levi. I’ll see if Marie could manage the shop on Saturday and Monday then we can go on Friday evening.’

The shop had been open for a month and custom was slowly picking up. She knew it would have been better if she could have afforded a shop in the city centre, but they were too expensive to rent. Even so her own shop had a reasonable amount of foot traffic passing by each day, and her sales had slightly improved, so she still had high hopes for it.

Nancy nodded. She didn’t really mind where she lived so long as she was with Annie, but she missed the people back home too.

And so, knowing that she was leaving the business in capable hands, they set off on Friday evening. Marie had offered to take Alfred home with her for the weekend as she’d taken a shine to him and hoped that having him there would help persuade John to have a dog of their own.

There had been no time to tell Peggy they were coming, so when they arrived on the doorstep both she and Levi were thrilled to see them. ‘How long can you stay?’ she asked as she almost hauled Annie over the doorstep. ‘Eeh, it’s grand to see you all. We’ve missed you. But come an’ tell us how it’s goin’. Is the shop doing all right?’