The Shoemaker's Daughter (20 page)

Emily bit her lip, she knew Hari was talking sense. She wanted to stamp her foot and rail at her cousin but there were customers in the shop and, in any case, such conduct was not becoming to a lady of business.

‘Let me talk to him first,’ Hari coaxed, ‘and if he’s going to be difficult, we’ll go to Bristol.’

Emily sighed. ‘All right, Hari, but don’t demean yourself to that man. I won’t have you lowering your pride.’

Hari smiled. ‘I can lower my pride like the best of them if it will get me what I want. There’s more than one way of beating a man, mind.’

Emily felt her anger dissolve. ‘All right but I don’t envy you going cap in hand to Craig Grenfell.’

Hari arched her eyebrows. ‘Perhaps I won’t have to. But now, I must go and see our customer.’

Emily watched as Hari walked away, her head high. She really was a beautiful girl, so small and delicate looking and yet with such strength of character. It was difficult now to believe she once looked down on her, just like Lady Caroline looked down on them both. Emily turned smiling to greet her next customer.

‘I hope you don’t mind me calling unexpected, like.’ Hari stood in the doorway of the sitting-room in Edward Morris’s house, blinking against the glare of the sun slanting through the windows.

‘I’m delighted to see you.’ Edward dismissed the maid with a nod of his head and stepped aside to allow her inside. ‘Is it business or pleasure, may I ask?’

Hari glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, ‘A bit of both really, Mr Morris.’

‘Come in.’ Edward pushed aside some papers he’d been working on and plumped up a cushion. ‘Can I get you something cool to drink?’

‘That would be lovely.’ Hari sat down and arranged the folds of her pale linen skirt neatly around her legs. She refused point blank to wear crinolines, compromising instead by having made for her some full skirts with matching bodices and replacing her woollen shawl with a shawl of fine lace.

Her shoes as always were hand made and dashing and, to her amusement, it seemed she was setting a bit of a trend in attire around the more elegant circles in town.

Edward was not away for more than a few minutes and returned with a tray loaded with a jug of iced cordial and some tall glasses. Setting down the tray, he poured out the cordial and handed her one of the glasses.

He smiled and Hari returned his smile, thinking that he really was very nice to her; he had been since the first time he’d set eyes on her.

‘What can I do for you, Hari, is it the accounts?’ He seated himself opposite her and leaned forward eagerly in his chair.

‘No, the accounts are fine, we leave all that sort of thing to your firm of course.’ It wasn’t quite true, Emily made a point of going over all the figures industriously. Probably worried because of the way her father had let the business slide.

‘I have finished your boots and if you will try them on, I will check that they are what you want.’ She handed him the boots and watched as he pulled a footstool close and tried on the boots, looking down at them in satisfaction.

‘Wonderful!’ he said. ‘But then I didn’t doubt they would be. Now what else was there?’

‘I need an order of French calf, at once,’ Hari said. ‘It seems that Craig has been given sole rights to sell the leather in this area and I feel a bit hesitant to approach him myself.’

‘Why?’ Edward said in genuine surprise. ‘I can’t see any difficulty in making such a request.’

‘Can’t you?’ Hari asked. ‘Well, it seems Emily can, she feels Craig might not be willing to sell to us in the circumstances. You must know they are not friends any longer.’

‘But that should not extend to you or to the business,’ Edward said quickly, ‘I really can’t see Craig being biased in such a way, he wants to sell calf, you want to buy like any other customer, it’s as simple as that.’

‘In other words you do not want to help me?’ Hari said putting down her glass.

‘My dear, don’t think that,’ Edward replied, ‘if you wish me to approach Craig on your behalf then I shall certainly do so.’

‘Good, that’s settled then.’ She leaned back in her chair and smiled at him and Edward, encouraged, leaned closer.

‘Will you honour me by coming to the theatre with me one evening, we shall take a chaperone of course?’ He sounded so much like a little boy requesting a treat that Hari could not bring herself to refuse.

‘Yes, that would be lovely, then you could come backstage with me and meet my friends.’ She was relieved that she’d thought so quickly, if she introduced Edward to some of the players, it might just take his mind off her.

‘Meg is in town this week, perhaps we could all have supper together later?’ Hari said brightly, she didn’t want Edward Morris thinking she wanted anything but friendship.

‘Oh, yes, that would be fine,’ Edward said reluctantly.

‘You’ll let me know when you’ve spoken to Craig about the leather then?’ As Hari rose to her feet the front door was pushed open and footsteps could be heard crossing the hallway.

Edward smiled, a little relieved. ‘I believe this must be Craig now, no-one else walks into the house as though he owns it.’ There was a world of affection in Edward’s voice.

Hari would have liked to make a run for it but there was nowhere to go, then the door to the sitting-room swung open and she and Craig were standing face to face, his eyes alight as they rested on her.

‘This is a pleasure,’ he said moving closer, ‘Edward, you are a dark horse having secret meetings with a lovely lady.’

In the uncomfortable silence that followed his words, Hari took a deep breath. ‘I was just on my way out, sorry I can’t stay.’

Craig barred her way. ‘Don’t go on my account, it’s a great pleasure to see you again, it’s been far too long.’

‘Hari is here with a simple business request,’ Edward said. ‘But I think you can talk directly to each other now that you are here, Craig. Go and make yourselves comfortable while I fetch some more iced cordial.’

Hari felt she had no choice but to bow gracefully to Edward’s request. She moved back into the room and sat down. She was tinglingly aware of Craig’s presence and she felt suddenly clumsy and ill at ease.

‘You look very well,’ Craig said softly leaning over her, too close for comfort. ‘But I think I liked you best in your simple gown covered with a leather apron.’

She eyed him steadily. ‘In other words you think I should keep to my place, is that it?’

‘Don’t be so touchy,’ Craig said, ‘I was paying you a compliment.’

Hari wished he would move away, and yet she found herself breathing in the scent of freshness about him, the smell almost of sunshine in his crisp shirt. She remembered the feel of his mouth on hers, the strength of his arms around her. But never in tenderness, she reminded herself, to Craig Grenfell she could never be anything but a shoemaker’s daughter.

‘I need some French calf.’ She spoke more abruptly than she’d intended. ‘I tried to buy some from my usual supplier but I found that you had the sole rights to sell the leather in this area.’

‘Quite right,’ Craig said. ‘I suppose Emily sent you to persuade Edward to do the buying for you.’ He smiled, ‘My cousin would be too proud to make the request to me personally.’

‘
I
am the buyer for the business.’ Hari felt angered by his criticism, ‘It was me who thought of asking Edward, he has more chance of seeing you than I have.’

‘That simply is not true,’ Craig said at once, ‘I have an office in Gloucester Place where anyone can find me.’ He leaned over her once more. ‘And I would very much like you to find me far more often than you do.’

Hari turned her shoulder so that her back was almost towards him, she didn’t want him to see the sudden colour in her cheeks.

‘What’s the truth of it, Hari? A deliberate ploy to ignore me, Emily’s idea no doubt.’

Exasperated, Hari rose to her feet and moved away from him. Strange how she could hate Craig even while she loved him. Loved him? Nonsense, how could she love a man who treated her like a fool?

‘I am not playing at being in business, mind,’ she said, ‘I am deadly earnest about making a success of my life. I am using my own skills and innovations.

‘As for Emily, she is very efficient, she has great business acumen and, with all her contacts, we have a good thing going between us, so long as someone doesn’t come along and try to ruin us.’

‘And you think I am trying to ruin you?’ Craig said soberly.

Hari shrugged. ‘I don’t know, why else would you want to control the importing of calf, you must realize that I need it for my shoemaking.’

‘So do a lot of other shoemakers and cobblers in the town, you are not the only ones who now have to buy from me.’ Craig paced about the room, his hands thrust into his pockets, his hair falling in curls over his forehead.

‘I, too, want to make good in business though that might come as a surprise to you. I have dragged myself and the firm back from the brink of ruin and disgrace and I haven’t time for indulging in games, pandering to a few women.’

He faced her suddenly. ‘You can buy calf from me at the same price as any other buyer in Swansea, call round to the office any time you choose and you shall have a list of the new prices.’

‘New prices?’ Hari’s throat was dry. ‘They have gone up then?’

‘Naturally, if I am paying for importing calf in quantity I must make a profit, the first rule of business, I thought you would have known that.’

‘Well, thank you very much for your time, Mr Grenfell,’ Hari said forcing an even note into her voice though anger flared through her and fear too. With the calf at a higher price, they would need to make increases themselves, a change the customers would not like, especially the ones like Lady Caroline who had already put in her order and been given a price. Without the calf they could not supply the goods, or could they? Perhaps she could improvise somehow.

Edward came into the room with a fresh jug of cordial and Hari smiled at him. ‘I must go now, Edward, but I won’t forget our plan to go to the theatre some time this week, come over the shop and see me, we can talk in private then.’

At the door she turned. ‘Good-day to you both.’ Her eyes lingered for a moment on Craig before she moved into the hallway and opened the front door.

She walked quickly along Chapel Street, breathing deeply of the balmy summer air. Her heart was still racing and anger ran in her veins as she thought of Craig’s attitude of indifference. He intended to treat the firm of Grenfell and Morgan exactly as he would any other, but then why shouldn’t he?

Emily had retired to her rooms above the store and, as Hari went upstairs, she could hear her talking to Letty. In her own rooms, Hari slipped off the shawl which even though it was light as gossamer seemed to encase her in heat.

She took off her shoes and walked barefoot towards the small communal kitchen and saw that Letty was just brewing a cup of tea. The maid’s face was streaked with perspiration as she bent over the fire and Hari felt an immediate sympathy with her, remembering the many times she had worked over a fire in the summer heat cooking food for herself and mam.

‘I’ll get the cups,’ she said and opened the cupboard door. She set the crockery on the neat table-cloth and sank into a chair, looking round her appreciatively.

The quarters above the shop were small so as to accommodate the new tea rooms, but they were just about adequate according to Emily’s standards.

To Hari, the rooms were far more luxurious than anything she had known before. Good carpets covered the floor and, though the kitchen was shared, she and Emily had their own sitting and bedrooms.

Emily’s part of the building was more spacious being at the front but then Letty had to be catered for because under no circumstances was Emily prepared to do without the girl.

It was something Hari readily understood because she had insisted on William moving in with her. Emily had agreed on the understanding that the boy slept down in the shop. It would not be proper, she maintained, to have a male however young sharing the same accommodation as three women. In any case, William’s presence in the shop would deter thieves.

Hari had agreed, knowing that even the makeshift bed downstairs was better than Will’s own home had been. And certainly warmer and drier than the place she’d shared with him in World’s End. But she sometimes wondered at Emily’s unseeing selfishness, a result she supposed of being cosseted all her life.

She watched as Letty set out the tray with a dainty cloth and a small vase containing a rose and smiled a little. Emily liked things nice and it was to her credit that she clung to her standards even though now she was no longer living in a big house with a huge staff to take care of her.

‘Tell Emily I’d like to speak to her, please, Letty,’ she said and the maid glanced at her.

‘I shall
ask
Miss Grenfell if it is convenient, miss,’ she said and Hari concealed a smile, Letty was far more of a snob than ever her mistress had been.

Letty returned in a few minutes. ‘Miss Grenfell will be pleased to receive you in her sitting-room,’ she said. ‘And if you like you can take your tea in with you.’

‘Thank you, Letty, that’s very kind.’ Hari refused to be irritated by the girl’s manner which was much the same as that of Sarah who helped in the shop, a grudging deference that stopped short of being sincere.

‘Well, what happened?’ Emily came straight to the point. ‘I can see from your face that my cousin intends to be his usual obstructive self. Do sit down, Hari.’

Most of the time, Hari felt at ease with Emily except when she was in the inner sanctum, the name Emily gave to her rooms. There she felt Emily was inclined to get on her high horse and act the lady.

‘He was difficult, yes,’ Hari admitted. ‘Unfortunately he arrived at Edward’s house as I was about to leave.’

‘How was he looking?’ Emily leaned forward, lines of strain appearing around her mouth, it was clear she still cared a great deal about her cousin whatever she claimed.