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Authors: Catherine Winchester

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BOOK: What You Wish For
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Of course,” she smiled. “What kind of tasks did you have in mind?”

He got up and showed her piles of paper work that were sitting on various filing cabinets and tables.


These are paid invoices, these are unpaid, these are correspondence, these are tenders awaiting replies, these are potential orders awaiting a bid. These are receipts for supplies and deliveries, these are filled orders, these are unfilled orders and these are correspondence from various sources that need replying to but that I haven't had a chance yet. As you can see, while there's a basic order, it still takes me a while to find things because I haven't had a chance to organise it.”

Carrie thought she could handle that.


The rest will be on an ad hoc basis,” he continued. “You'll be an assistant to me rather than a clerk, so I might ask you to do anything from running to the bank to signing for a delivery, or taking the letters to the post office.”


I think that's within my capabilities,” she smiled.


Good,” he smiled back and went to sit down at his desk. “Now, down to details. As to hours, I was thinking nine until two every day and a wage of eight shillings a week.”


Eight shillings?” she sounded incredulous.


You were hoping for more?” His tone was hard.


No. Eight shillings is twenty pounds a year for only five hours work a day! It's far too much.”

Mr Thornton relaxed slightly.


I believe a clerk working full-time would be paid in the region of fifty pounds for such duties.”


A man perhaps, but I am working half that time and I am a woman.”


I believe that to be a fair wage for the job,” he said, though he knew it was higher than she would be paid anywhere else. Still, if she was competent and capable, he saw no reason not to pay her the same as a man.


That's very generous of you,” she said, desperately trying to find a way not to offend him with her next words. “However I would like to make it clear that when I asked for your help, I wasn't looking for a handout.”


Nor am I offering one.”


Good, because I am not a charity case and while I think you are a very generous and kind man, Mr Thornton, I have no desire to be in your debt.”


You won't be,” he assured her. “As I said, that is a fair wage for the job.”

Carrie stared at him for a few moments, trying to gauge how truthful he was, but his features were inscrutable.


Remind me not to play poker with you,” she said, slightly irked by her inability to read him.

Mr Thornton smiled.


Do we have a deal?” he asked her.

Carrie nodded then stood up and held her hand out.


We do.”

Mr Thornton shook her hand and relished the contact, however brief. He held on for a moment longer than was acceptable but finally he felt he had no choice but to release her.


So, when do I start?” she asked.


As soon as you'd like; the work is just piling up.”


I'll start now then.”

And just like that she got to work. She cleared the boxes off a table in the corner, dragged the chair over to it and set about sorting the various papers.

She soon discovered that the filing cabinets were unused for a reason, because they were full. She began sorting the older documents for storage in boxes. Any paperwork that was over three years old was going into storage, though she labelled each box well so that things should be easy to find if they ever were needed. Finally, having freed up some space she began to organise the piles of paper, first into those that had been dealt with and those that hadn't. Those that needed attention she made into new pile, the other papers she arranged alphabetically to be filed away.

Mr Thornton tried to get on with his work and for the most part he was successful, but every now and again he would look up to see her industriously sorting his office out, and a smile would play at his lips. Absorbed in her work, she never looked over at him, so he took the opportunity to examine her for a while.

She was an odd looking girl by nineteenth century standards of beauty but to him, she looked perfect. Her features were strong rather than delicate, but as each was so perfect in his eyes, he found that strength only highlighted her beauty rather than detracted from it. Her hair was a very light shade of chestnut and her eyes were a bright emerald green.

He was annoyed when he was pulled from his contemplation, by Williams knocking and informing him that he was needed on the floor. Mr Thornton followed him over to the mill, as Williams explained that one of the looms had broken down. They arrived at the machine to see that the tuner was already repairing it, and he told Mr Thornton that it was an easy repair and should take half an hour to fix. Satisfied, John left him to it and returned to his office but as he opened the door he heard Carrie utter a word no lady should even understand, let alone use.


Oh bollocks!” she exclaimed as she began searching through her piles of paper.

Though he should have been offended, he found that the sound of such an elegant creature uttering such a profanity was immensely funny, and burst out laughing.


What?” she asked, turning to him.


Nothing, just your colourful language. I take it that you don't speak like that around Mr Hale?”

Carrie blushed a deep red. She had been trying so hard to remember the rules of this society but since she thought she was alone, her guard had dropped and it had just slipped out.


Sorry. Sometimes I say things I don't mean.”


Don't apologise, I find it rather endearing. Though I am curious about where you learnt such a vulgar term.”


In Spain. It was quite a common curse out there.” Poor old Spain had become the excuse for anything that she couldn't readily explain.


This Spain you speak of sounds like a very unusual place. Nothing at all like my sister describes.”

Damn, how could she have forgotten that his sister liked The Tales of the Alhambra?


Yes, well they don't put things like that in books, do they?”

Mr Thornton thought he detected a lie but he couldn't be sure.


No, of course not,” he agreed.

Carrie returned to her work and nothing more was said about it. The day wore on and Carrie kept working. John kept expecting her to need a break and when the lunch whistle rang, he was certain that she would want lunch, but the only thing she asked for all day was where she could get some water.

Finally at 3pm he drew her attention to the fact that her five hours were up for today.


Oh,” she seemed surprised, and maybe a little reluctant to finish her task. “I was on a roll,” she said.


A what?”


Oh, um, I suppose it's when you've mastered a task and are moving along at a good rate, and if you're interrupted it takes you a little while to get back up to full speed.”


Nevertheless, I can't have Mr Hale accusing me of overworking you, can I?”


Oh, heaven forbid!” she teased.


You will tell him, won't you? I don't want to keep secrets from him.”


Of course I'll tell him, I intend to start paying rent, or room and board, whatever it's called, and I expect he'll be a little curious as to where I'm getting my money from.”


Good. Then I'll see you tomorrow.”


Nine o'clock sharp, boss!” She put her shawl on ready to leave but remembered something. “Oh, I'll need some stationary supplies as well, files, dividers that kind of thing. How can I get those?”

John got up and went to the safe, opening it.


There's a stationers on Mabel Lane.” He handed her a note. “They open at nine, so stop in before you come here.”

Carrie was gradually getting used to the pricing here and had a fair idea what things were worth, but some objects were (relatively) much more expensive than they would have been in her time, and paper could well have been one of those things, so although she suspected that he had given her far too much, she couldn't be sure, so she took the note and folded it into her small purse.


I'll get receipts, of course,” she assured him.

He had meant to tell her that and once again, he was forced to wonder how a lady had any idea that receipts were necessary for all business expenses. He supposed that she might have gained that knowledge whilst learning how to run a household from her mother, but he suspected that wasn't the case.


Have you worked before?” he asked, because really she had taken to her task with far too much ease.


Every summer since I was sixteen,” she smiled. She chose not to mention that she also worked two nights a week in a bar just off campus. She thought that kind of work would be frowned upon in these times.


Why summers?” he asked.


It's when I was off school,” she said before she realised that women in these times didn't go to school, they had governesses who taught them at home. “I mean, that's when my brother was off school, we usually worked together so that he could keep his eye on me.”


Was your father in trade?” he asked, for surely no gentleman would allow his daughter, or son for that matter, to work during the summer holidays.


I suppose,” she hedged, needing a moment to decide how much to tell him.

Officially her father was a Spanish Duke. Aged just ten years old, Carrie's grandmother had fled Spain with her parents, who had been vocal supporters of the recently ousted King, Alfonso XIII. As their only surviving child, she had inherited the title and Carrie's father had then inherited the title upon her death. Despite his ancestry however, he had no land or estate to go with his title, and all his wealth had been earned by him and his English father.

The title didn't mean anything to Carrie and she always hated it when her mother insisted on people calling
her 'Lady Preston', es
pecially since it was only her title by marriage. Besides, Carrie wasn't even sure that her mother was still entitled to use it after the divorce, not that it had stopped her.

Carrie decided that since it wasn't relevant to the discussion, it was perhaps best to skip that aspect of her family history for now.


He made his money selling a type of carriage,” she told Mr Thornton.

He had actually owned a number of Jaguar, Mercedes and BMW dealerships in London and the Home Counties. Unlike her mother, who thought that money should be married, her father had had no compunction about his daughters earning their living. The brother she had mentioned was fictional.


That's very progressive of him,” Mr Thornton said.


Yes, well things were easier in Spain.”


I thought Spain was a Roman Catholic country; very traditional in it's views.”


Well, yes, I suppose they are.” How was she going to get out of this one? “But I was unmarried, you see. It's fine for a woman to work until she gets married.”


Right.” He knew something was off with her stories, he just didn't know what. “Well, I'll see you tomorrow.”


Yes. And thank you again, Mr Thornton. I really appreciate this.”


My pleasure.” He smiled warmly at her and her heart skipped a beat.


Good day, Mr Thornton.”

Carrie breathed a sigh of relief as she left the office. She suspected that he knew she was lying about her past, but she was keeping as close to the truth as she she could without sounding insane. She could hardly tell him that she was from the future, could she?

She gathered her wits about her once again and was about to walk out of the yard, when she felt eyes on her and turned towards Mr Thornton's house. Mrs Thornton was standing at the window, staring at her. She didn't look away as Carrie spotted her and though she tried to stare the other woman down, it was Carrie who looked away first.

She suddenly didn't envy Margaret one jot, because having her as a mother-in-law really was a rather cruel and unusual punishment.

She made her way out of the yard and decided that she would visit the stationers today rather than tomorrow morning; that way she wouldn't lose any time tomorrow and could crack straight on.

Speaking of cracking straight on, she really had to try harder to cut down on her use of modern vernacular.

She arrived at the stationers and purchased some cardboard files, some index cards and other general office supplies, but the closest thing she could find to an inbox and outbox were wooden letter trays. She supposed they would suffice though and bought four of them, although they were a little expensive. Since they were also rather bulky items, she asked for everything to be delivered to Marlborough Mills. Then, with her receipt and very little change in hand, she headed home.

For the first time since she had arrived, she felt relaxed. Finally she had a purpose; she was doing some good by being stuck in this place and she had an income, which gave her a sense of independence.

Mr Hale was in the middle of a lesson when she got home but she brought him some tea as soon as his pupil left.

BOOK: What You Wish For
13.08Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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